We narrowly avoided some pretty big storms and tornadoes in northwest Ohio on Saturday night. Henry was disappointed because Grandpa will usually take him around in the truck looking for damage right after the storm is over.
Driving up from Carmel, we drove right through Amish country (we saw 4 buggies) and right by Miss Megan and Mr. Scott's house. We stopped by to check out their playset, HUGE gardens (that's right, multiple gardens) and squeeze on sweet baby Lillie.
Baby Lillie is just about perfect right now. She's 11 months old and soft and cuddly and sits quietly in your lap. No sharp elbows or squirming. The only problem Henry had was that she kept trying to steal his puzzle pieces. Thanks for having us over and thanks for the green jello!
When we got to Grandma and Grandpa Seibert's house, our Seibert cousins were already there waiting for us. After supper, Grandpa let us all take turns driving the tractor. Grandpa said that he never touched the wheel when Henry drove because Henry spent the entire time making sure the wheels were going in the right direction and carefully maneuvering the tractor and wagon. Mama verified this later when she let Henry back the van up. He sat on her lap while she pushed the pedals. He backed up the van while turning, and told mama when to stop before she got to close the the garage, then told her to shift into drive so he could turn again to position the van to drive down the driveway. Mama might start letting him parallel park for her.
While one kid drove, the rest of us rode in the back. The big kids were in charge of letting Grandpa know if Tessa or I stood up. But we all stayed on our bottoms until the tractor stopped.
Aunt Elizabeth was nice enough to push me on the swing while I yelled "Higher! Higher!" nonstop.
The boys kept themselves busy loading rocks into the wagons with construction equipment.
On Tuesday, we visited Sauder's Village, a village full of historic buildings that were moved from all over the Black Swamp into this little park. Everyone dresses old-timey and practices crafts from way back when, like broom-weaving, tin-smithing, and coopering (making wooden buckets). They also have a working farm. We got to take a ride on a horse and buggy. Mama didn't get a picture because she was "in town" at the herb shop with Great Grandma Wagner.
No surprise that our favorite part was the only thing that wasn't old-timey- this little train that went around the village.
Everybody is on-board and ready to go! For the price of one ticket ($1), we were able to ride all day. We got two rides before we headed home.
While mama and Great Grandma were in the basement of an old house checking out the sauerkraut press, Grandma got us all chocolate chip cookies at the Doughbox! (From left to right: Natalie,5; Henry,4; Oliver, 3; Tessa, 1; and me, 2.)
Henry said he wasn't tired, but he spent a good amount of time cuddling Grandpa on the last train ride. When we got back to Uncle Kevin's house, we all took naps.
It wouldn't be a trip to Grandma Seibert's without haircuts. Henry had his in the driveway because there was a tractor in the field to watch.
He held very still, despite the fact that I played peek-a-boo with the cape.
That summer haircut looks pretty good!
I had my first official Grandma cut (remember mama cut it once last fall). They tried to get me to sit still with a sucker, but I chomped it quick and kept on wiggling.
Eventually, mama figured out that I'd hold still if she let me watch the videos on her camera. Mama was so happy to have my hair short again. Since it all grows forward from my double swirl (and 3 cowlicks) in the back, she was having a hard time keeping it out of my face.
The finished product. Have we talked about mama's "sticky cheek" theory? No matter how often she wipes it down, there is always dirt on my left cheek. She thinks I must secrete some kind of mucus, like a frog. It's probably more likely that snot and spit get all over my cheek when I'm brushing hair out of my face.
Thanks for the haircuts, Grandma!
