Fair Days

I've got more photo fun for you all!  Aren't you excited?

This labor day weekend we went to Fall on the Farm at the local museum.  If you live in the area, this is an awesome museum to visit!  It celebrates Mennonites and the way they lived, as well as the beginnings of our town.  It literally has the first general store, a blacksmiths shop, some old barns (and barns that are attached to the houses), and many other interesting buildings and equipment to see.  And the most awesome part is the windmill.  The original was one brought over from Deutchland and built in the area.  Unfortunately, we don't have the wind here to power the thing on a regular basis, so they didn't use it as much, and it ended up in the museum.  It was burned down in 06 I believe (some vandalism.  Really sad), and a replica was put up in its place.  And it was perfect that day... the wind was strong and we got to see it actually grinding the wheat into flour.  And if you wanted to, you could buy the flour from the store.

 Above are some pictures of the museum.  It is literally a street filled with old buildings with real items that were donated that were once used by many of the people of the area.  I love the tricycle!  Toys, old tools that you would get to see in action (yes, there is someone volunteering to work in the blacksmith shop... they do things as though it is a real working town right there in front of you on special occasion days... there are about 4 or 5 of those days per year).  I got to see someone working at the original Derksen Printers on the printing press.  It's interesting to see how things were done way back then.  And a woman was using a weavers loom to make a bath matt.  Some made pickles right in front of you, others baked bread and made butter (and you could taste some of these goods), there was a pig butchering that happened at a certain time, and the meat was auctioned off, and they even had some harvesting with actual sickles if you wanted to watch that.  The sawmill in the back would go into operation at a certain time, there was a petting zoo for the kiddos, as well as an entertainer, people in all the buildings 'living' out the lives of the people then (in full costume).  The schools and churches are always interesting, as the people there were always willing to describe how things were way back then (grades 1-8 in one classroom).  A real trip through time.

M loved it!

Wanna know her favorite part?  The candy 'shop'... a little outdoor place with rock candies, peppermint sticks, and penny candy (you remember those, right?  They're 5cents now, but still). 

Enjoying some candy

They had bouncers for the kids, as well as some other activities near the sod house.  I call it the sod house because the roof has grass growing on it and it is half buried in the ground.  It is a very interesting little building!

M had so much fun that she tuckered herself out...

Instead of bouncing on the bouncers, she was content to lay down and let all the other kids do the work.  It was so funny!

She loved the petting zoo... I think we've got a natural animal lover here.  And Bram?  Well, he was content to sit in his sleepy wrap the whole time (unless he was hungry) and watch from there.  No pickle tasting for him!  :)

The last weekend in August was the Honey Festival in our town.  Can you believe I haven't been there since we got married?  So we braved the wet weather and went this year.  It was so much fun!  M had a great time.  She loved the parade, especially the bikes.  Tradition, after all.  A bunch of kids and parents alike decorate their bikes to ride at the beginning of the parade.  It is always fun to see.  After that was lunch... good noodle soup and a bun, or a sausage burger (mmmm... great Mennonite meal).  We had lunch for $6... for all three of us.  For $2, you could get a bracelet for your child and they could partake in all the children's festivities (bouncers, face painting, games and more games, toys, other activities).  M actually bounced in the bouncer. As for face painting, the lineup was so long, so we didn't bother.  I think M's favorite was the barrel rides... a bunch of barrels on wheels pulled behind a garden tractor around the park for 50cents a ride.  She cried whenever we tried to take her out.  (see photo below).  Oh, and they had a 'honey hunt'.  Straws of honey were hidden in a bunch of straw and kids had to search for them.  M didn't find any, but another girl had a few and gave one to her.  So sweet!  M just liked digging out all the straw and giving it to daddy.  I guess she figured that the straw was the prize, and we should bring it home for our calves!

Later that evening we went back for supper (chicken... sooo good, and only $12 for us both to have chicken, bun, coleslaw, and dessert... and I think there was more but I cannot remember...).  We stayed around for the fireworks... the first we've seen in a few years now.  M's first ever.  She did NOT like the loud boom at first and would cry, but after awhile of oohs and aaaahs, she got used to them and pointed and said 'pretty'.  Bram slept through most of it... started crying near the end due to all the noise I'm sure.

It was a great couple of weekends!  I love all the fun we've been having, and honestly, it is SO much more fun with kids.  You get to see things through their eyes, and their eyes are always so much brighter and in love with so many things that we take for granted.  God definitely blesses us through our children!

Funny thing, I actually completed two items on my 101 list by going to these fun things!  #9: Visit a museum, and #95: Go to 3 Local Festivals/Fairs 3/3.  How cool is that!

Have a great weekend, everybody!  :)