Last week the girls and I had fun visiting an Amish farm. Dave's mom is a lactation consultant who works with a lot of Amish women, and because of that she has a lot of Amish friends. Years ago, when Dave and I were quite broken up before my mission but I was somehow visiting him anyway, I tagged along with her on a home visit and met a lovely Amish woman who has remembered me ever since. When she found out Dave and I had moved to the area, she was kind enough to invite us over to play.
And it was fabulous! I cannot even tell you how positively refreshing it was to have someone for the girls to play with and someone for me to chat with. Simply wonderful. This woman has a little girl just a few weeks older than Madeline and a little boy just a few months older than Violet, and they were both friendly and nice to play with. In other words: It was a perfect match.
Our first stop was the barn, to see how the cows are milked and to feed the calves. Madeline's highlight of the day, hands down, was feeding the calf a bottle. She took it very seriously and the Amish kids thought it was so much fun to show her what to do.
We also got to see a couple of colts and pet some horses, and that was probably Violet's favorite part of the day. She LOVED petting the horses. Then we were off to see some other animals and tour the gardens, which were huge and amazing. The girls are both little berry monsters, and they couldn't believe their luck when they were allowed to pick as many raspberries as they wanted.
Violet and her new friend were hilarious, following each other around and imitating each other. Violet is always amazed to see another person her size because she doesn't see very many of them these days.
Madeline and her friend played in the yard, and then the woman we were visiting offered to dress Madeline up like a little Amish girl, just for fun. She combed out her hair and twisted it back into a little bun, just like the Amish girls and women wear, and then she let her borrow a cute little dress. The Amish women were all very impressed that Madeline sat still as a statue while her hair was getting combed. I think she was just too nervous about it to do anything but obey, but hey. It worked.
She was a cutie pie as an Amish girl, but I have to admit I'm glad I get to see those long beautiful curls every day. All in all, it was a fun day at the farm and we can't wait to go back!
7 comments:
Oh, how neat! That's a pretty unique opportunity. And Sarah, how is it that I've never heard how you and Dave got together? I think you should share at least a brief synopsis of that on your blog one day . . . :)
Oh I Love it. And I'm so glad you got to have a playdate---they make all the difference in the world. I hope you get to go back soon.
Are these Amish kids not allowed to be photographed?
In general, Amish people do not take photographs or like to be photographed. Some are more lax on this than others, depending on their congregation and personal beliefs. This friend did not mind me taking pictures of her kids, but there are certainly people who wouldn't have wanted that at all. I tried to be respectful and not take very many pictures with their faces. I have a few, but those didn't seem respectful to post online.
That's so cool! Playdates are wonderful.
A farm, what a fabulous start to play dates!
Sarah, I think this might just top Dave's dog journal entry as best blog post ever. Seriously, this is amazing!!! I love Lancaster!
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