Winter Vacation to Shipshewana

My parents took us on vacation to the Essenhaus Inn this week.  We had a great time!

We went to the pool 5x in 2 days and each time we had the whole place to ourselves.

Joel LOVED the water, especially with his puddle jumper.  He wore it so much he had raw spots on his arms.

The first night we went to dinner at the Essenhaus.  Chris got the turkey Manhattan.  It must've been good because it disappeared very fast.

I had the beef and homemade noodles over mashed.  I know, carb overload, but it was delicious!

The boys all had grilled cheese and fries.  I think Noah ate 1 1/2 sandwiches by himself.  

Someone is having fun!

Aaron didn't eat much grilled cheese, but he loved the rolls with Amish peanut butter.  I loved the apple butter.

Noah, the boy who told us he didn't like going to hotels and swimming pools.  Whatever.

Andrew showing me how he can swim underwater.

Aaron on "Franklin."  They had a little 1 ft kiddie pool inside the enclosure.

Joel's turn.

Tuckered out!  

Joel sampling one of the cookies the hotel puts out every afternoon.  Hot coffee and tea is available all the time too.  They also had a continental breakfast in a beautiful breakfast nook on the 2nd floor.  Highly recommend this hotel.

Attempt at a family picture outside the inn.  I should've had Andrew stand in front of me.  :-)

Attempt at a boy picture outside the Bluegate restaurant.

On Fri, we visited the local cheese factory and I attempted to take some pictures of the countryside from the moving car.  Didn't work so well, but I did get a picture of a house with a bunch of carriages out front.  It was a bit rainy but that didn't stop the Amish women from doing the wash, they just hung it on their front porch.  

Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma!