Kitchen Kettle Village

Like I had mentioned before, Friday, March 18, was an extraordinarily beautiful day for our area. Mamaw & Papaw were in town from FL for a couple days because Papaw had a business meeting in OH so they drove over our way to visit before heading home. We received a call Friday just before lunch time to see if we'd like to meet them at Kitchen Kettle Village. I don't remember having been there before, and I quickly agreed. We jumped in the minivan, both boys excited for our adventure even though they were both coughing. Mamaw had also gotten the flu while she was in OH, but thankfully I feel fine and Papaw also seemed to be feeling well.

When we got there, we waited for Aunt Missy to arrive. We saw two horses hitched to an Amish buggy that sold rides. Knowing that the Amish do not like pictures of themselves, I refrained from snapping a photo of the boys with the horses, whose names were Mary and Martha. Martha was the one the boys petted, and the man told them that she was expecting a colt! Next, the boys continued to walk and stopped to smell the beautiful flower arrangements. Next they were put in the wagon above, and I took this picture of the grandparents with them, which I thought turned out nicely. The boys played and played at this area while we waited for Missy to come - over the bridge, on top of the rocks, running to hide in the gazebo and back again.

Once Missy arrived, we headed to the shops, stopping to take a picture of the picture. Unfortunately, little Caleb Luke was not quite tall enough to clear the frame. :) Both boys wanted to hold Papaw's hand, and he led us first into a toy store and then into the Fudge Kitchen, where we sampled some chocolate.

That wasn't the only store where we sampled yummies. Of course we tasted a few things in the canning store, and Papaw generously bought us some cookies and a sample of different types of jellies. He also bought the kids each a gingerbread cookie, and Mamaw helped the boys decorate them with the icing provided while I took pictures.

Caleb told her which colors he wanted on his cookie, and Joshua eventually got the idea and decorated his own.

Joshua's looked a little "hot dog"-esque to me as he put on the yellow that matched his shirt followed by the red, which looked like ketchup and mustard.

Caleb tried to lick the icing, and he got a red mustache that made us smile.

When we left the store, the boys stopped to wash their hands from the sticky icing and then we sat at a little table for them to enjoy their treats. Thanks so much!

We continued looking in the various shops there, enjoying the outdoors with the refreshing breeze and beautiful sunshine as we walked. We saw candle shops and kitchen stores with aprons that had funny sayings on them like "I'm not a slow cook, I'm a half-fast cook." Haaa!!! The one store was of Christmas decorations, and there were so many breakables that I decided to take Caleb Luke outside. There was a big dog named 'Grace' sitting out there, and she was VERY friendly toward our little guy, as was her owner. He gave Caleb a little treat to feed Grace, and the dog was very obedient, sitting, barking and doing what she was asked to do. Caleb LOVED her, even though she was big. He warmed up to the idea of petting her in a shorter amount of time than most dogs, but I think she was pretty gentle.

When Joshua came out of the store, he was also able to give the doggy a treat, which he thought was cool. From there, we ventured to lunch at a little cafe. Neither boy ate much of their lunch, but I thought the chicken salad sandwich I ordered was heavenly. When we got up, Caleb told me he was VERY tired. So, that was our cue to head to the minivan, where both boys passed out before I even exited the parking lot. We had had fun, though!

When I got home, Caleb had a belly ache, and I think it kept him from napping more. I tried for an hour to get both boys to lay down to no avail. Finally, after changing three pull-ups from the little Bluke, I decided to let them get up and play outside some more. We went for a walk and then stayed on the driveway to enjoy the beautiful weather. When Daddy got home, we moved the back yard, sliding and kicking balls, etc. Mamaw & Papaw joined us that evening, and we all drove to Freeze & Frizz to grab some ice cream before calling it a night. It had been a beautiful day.