Friday and Saturday were St. Anthony's annual old-fashioned picnic. I LOVE the church picnic. The only things that could even come close to rivaling my love of the picnic are Harvest Homecoming and Girls' State. On Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, the boys helped me bake cakes to donate for the cakewalk. All told, we ended up making five cakes and one pan of brownies. There were also 3 dozen cookies that burned and made my house smell...those obviously did not make it to church.
Friday evening at the picnic was wonderful. The weather was beautiful, and there was a decent crowd. Mom and I chair the capital prize ticket booth, so we're pretty much anchored in one spot both days. Sophie enjoyed the breeze so much that she was asleep before the picnic opened.
Andrew and Aidan also love the picnic. They both enjoy socializing with friends they haven't seen all summer. Andrew can be a huge help - making trash runs and deliveries to other booths. On Friday evening, we have brats, hot dogs, and (my personal favorite) fish sandwiches and onion rings. In addition to the midway booths that are open both days, there's also live music, bingo, a beer garden, and monte carlo style gambling. Tony's mom came and picked the kiddos up about 9:00 Friday evening to take home and put to bed. We closed up shortly before midnight.
On Saturday, we headed back to the picnic to do it all again. We start about 2:00 and go until 11:00. The best part of Saturday is the chicken dinner with dumplings. When we arrived, Andrew helped out setting up the ring toss both by moving hundreds of two-liters.
Unfortunately, about 3:00 there was a tremendous downpour. Luckily, Tony had taken a break from frying chicken and was close by. He grabbed the three kiddos and headed for the building while I huddled in the booth and tried to keep the money and tickets dry. The sun came back out, we ate dinner and the boys played some games before Tony's mom again took them to our house. Then the evening became more interesting. A line of severe storms moved through, forcing us to shut the midway down very early. Mom and I stuck it out in the booth for awhile, decided death by lightning didn't sound good (even if it was probably instant sainthood), and headed over to the beer garden and bingo to sell tickets. The night finally ended, and I took my sopping wet shoes home and fell into bed.When we finally got up this morning, Tony suggested we head to Spring Mill State Park. We fed the kids a quick lunch and then got on the road. It turned out to be an awesome day - it's nice when Tony occasionally convinces me to drop everything and have some spur-of-the-moment plans. We needed to get away after spending all weekend with our church family.
The boys had never been wading and were amazed by the kids walking in the creek. So, the two of them and I stripped off socks and shoes and in we went. It was so cold!!! Aidan loved the water and dubbed it "his creek". We had to walk to the spring in the village because he wanted to see where the water came from. (Just a note - while the path claims to be accessible, it doesn't mean strollers). He was obsessed with the water, and spent the majority of the trip watching it.
When we finished wading and playing in the playground, we went into the pioneer village. Although their attention span was short, the boys did understand that the buildings were very old and they enjoyed listening and learning about how the pioneers lived. The star attraction, of course, was the grist mill. Aidan couldn't get enough of the "big wheel" that "his" creek turned.
We finished our afternoon with a late supper at Spring Mill Inn. They have a great buffet with homestyle cooking, and the boys ate free. Can't beat that value! So to wrap up, I've been outside during multiple severe thunderstorms this weekend. I've had two fried chicken dinners. We've been hiking, wading, and history buffs. I need a vacation....it's time to go back to school for a break!
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