Kids are home and our Saturday adventures in Amish Country

Happy Monday! How's your Monday going so far? I had cardio rehab this morning, and then spent the day babysitting my niece and nephew and "A" (whose dad is working a different shift this week so I will have her all day.) It is now around 4PM and "A" and my niece and nephew just got picked up in the last half hour. I am tired so decided that I will sit for a while with the fan on, the Olympics on in the background and my kids playing. 

The kids are back together again. Ben and I picked up Rebecca and Jacob from camp on Friday. Thankfully it wasn't too hot. We got there at 12:15 and we were finally home around 4ish. They had mass for the campers and their families, that was officiated by the Bishop of Cleveland. Then we had to go to the cabins to get the kids and their stuff. It was crazy. 

On a side note, as we were walking back to our van, Rebecca stopped to say goodbye to a counselor that she had gotten close to. Well, this counselor looked over at me and we both kind of had a look on our face that we knew each other. Turns out that she was one of my students at the small school that I was teaching at when Rebecca was born. She had met Rebecca as a newborn! Rebecca said that her and Monica hit it off right away and it felt like they had known each other forever! Crazy how life works sometime! 

Our weekend was pretty busy. Saturday, we had an early birthday adventure for me. The kids and I met up with my parents, my sister, her girlfriend, and my niece and nephew out in Amish country. Our first stop was The Farm At Walnut Creek, where we had a blast on the 1+ hour long wagon ride feeding the different animals. I got slobbered on by numerous cattle species and by a juvenile giraffe! I enjoyed seeing the baby lemur and the baby porcupine. It is such a pretty farm. 

We spent most of the morning at The Farm. After we left, we headed to Der Dutchman Walnut Creek for a yummy lunch. I ate way too much, but it was so good! Then we stopped at Coblentz Chocolate which was right down the road and got some super yummy chocolates to take home. Thankfully, I had a cooler in my van as it was really hot out and I didn't want the chocolate to melt. 

Then it was off to our final stop of the day... Hershberger's Farm and Bakery. They have a huge petting zoo that we wanted to take the kids to. We enjoyed feeding the animals carrots. Rebecca fell in love with the baby goats. I thought the pigs were pretty cute. They also had a HUGE horse that was taller than any horse I have ever seen. We stopped in at their farm market, where I got 2 loaves of super yummy homemade honey wheat bread. Oh it is so good!

 

We drove home to drop off our goodies and to pick Bill up who had worked all day. Then we headed back out to my parent's house to enjoy a pizza dinner with my brother who stayed home with his puppy and my sister's puppy. Needless to say it was a fantastic day! 

Sunday, I was super tired. The day before was A LOT of walking in the heat and I am still not able to go, go, go like I used to. I spent most of the day relaxing and doing a little bit of laundry. I tried to stay out of the living room as Bill decided it was time to paint the walls. In the evening, we watched a little bit of the Olympics.

 

This week it is supposed to be HOT!!!! It was in the 90s today and super hot. Not sure what fun I will get into this week. Wednesday is my birthday which will include cardio rehab and babysitting. One thing I know is that I am not cooking dinner Wednesday although I am not sure what I want to eat that night. I am supposed to get a new exercise bike that I ordered on Thursday. My parents also ordered me a rowing machine that is supposed to be here this week as well. Not sure what else I will get into. But for now, I guess it is time to go start chopping veggies for dinner. I am making a make your own salad bar for dinner today, which sounds like a perfect meal for a hot day!  

How was your weekend? What's the weather like in your town?