So I promised the other day that I would post some pics from our fun day in Shipshewana last week. Shipshewana is an Amish town. Quite a bit commercialized, but the food and shops make up for it. We're not overly fascinated with Amish life since we have Amish neighbors next door, down the road, and enjoy the sound of buggies going by regularly. It's just become part of our lives.
We first stopped at the Rise 'n Roll Bakery in Middlebury. Love their doughnut holes! A bit pricey, but their melt-in-your-mouth-goodness makes up for each expensive bite! *wink*
We bought seedless red raspberry jam! They make their own jams and other canned goods to sell. I *love* red raspberry jam, but dislike the seeds so this was perfect! The only thing is I have to ward off my kiddos because they want to slather half the jar on their toast! They have something interesting called F.R.O.G. Jam! Super deeelish! Rest assured there are no frogs harmed in the making of the jam...it's main ingredients are Figs, Raspberries, Orange peels and Ginger. Hence the name! We bought "Hoppin' F.R.O.G. Jam"...it's about the same sweetness but with a little hot kick on the backside. Still deelish!
After the bakery we stopped at the
Guggisburg Deutsch Kase Haus otherwise known as The Cheese Factory.
We all enjoyed watching the large vats of milk being turned into cheese!
Our little guy, Elijah, loves to learn...most of all he loves to eat so he loved learning about what he was eating! Food...it's his passion in life!
Sampling various types of cheeses was a treat,too!
My mom's favorite was the spicy "ThunderJack" cheese. A bit too spice for me! I loved the Amish Cheese...kind of like Farm Cheese in it's mild nature. Very yummy!
They also had various treats like peanut brittle and candies to sample! Super yummy! (Samuel's trying to figure out what he can reach for from the backpack carrier!)
Here's hubby and I with our little guy, Samuel. He enjoyed riding in the backpack carrier at times...mostly he enjoyed pulling on my hair and trying to eat it!
After the Cheese Factory we drove in to Shipshewana. It was quite a bit chillier than we had hoped for, but we still managed to picnic. Needless to say we ate very quickly!
After our speed picnic we went to the Davis Mercantile building.
We *love* that building. So beautifully made! Large wood beams inside! Lovely to look at!
Our first stop was
Simple Sounds. Our family loves music so it's a favorite store we spend lots of time at! They have all sorts of instruments to try. From auto harps to maracas to
hammered dulcimers (my *favorite* instrument that I would *love* to own and play one day!
Daddy and Elijah playing the lap harp.
Abby enjoyed the bongos...a lot!
Hannah and Isaac playing something...I think it's on an odd angle, but really, I think it's a lap harp, too. They all really liked the
lap harps. May have to put that on their Christmas list.
After that we visited some other shops in the mercantile. One of my favorites is Lollys Fabrics!
Talk about creative eye candy!
Love it! Unfortunately my camera batteries decided to run out of oomph. Fortunately I was able to get one last picture of a few of the kiddos on the carousel in the Mercantile building!
Lastly we visited JoJo's pretzels! They have the best pretzels! They even had gluten free pretzels so my mom was able to enjoy one!
It was a very fun day and the kiddos can't wait to go back again!