My favorite

Before we ever new about the perfection that is Grabill, I knew about this store and it became my favorite the moment I walked in. Back up a bit. Within the first month of moving to Indiana I asked fellow ward members where I could buy bulk items (besides the church supply in Indy). Most said they didn't know, then one directed me to Shipshewana, home of all Amish goodness. However, it's like, an hour & 1/2 away, which is where one of the big families went...they faithfully drove their truck to pick up the items that were cheapest there to last for 6 months...and then drove to Indy/Church Supply to pick up the items that were cheapest there (they have 7 children). We made the trip twice to Shipshe & then this glorious establishment opened up just 10 minutes from Woodburn--mini Shipshewana!! So, when I found out the rental house we're in was available my first thought was about being within walking distance to this beloved store :)

This is where the Amish park...as a side note, the Wal-mart & several other stores closest to Grabill all have these sheds w/ hitching posts for the horses. It's awesome.

This is my favorite aisle...well, it's all my favorite. I love that I can order anything they have in the store at a bulk price and wow, their selection is amazing. From nuts, to spices, rice, flour, powdered milk...they have it all & most of it is cheaper than anywhere else (the brown rice is even cheaper than the church's price!)

This is the boys' favorite aisle. For obvious reasons. Red 40 and Blue Lake screaming their names, I tell you what.

And this is my most recent favorite discovery...Pear jam first of all, but with no added sugars! It's hard for me to be motivated to make my own when I can buy this deliciousness.

So, after working in the yard (see post below) we headed over to this store's 1 year anniversary par-tay. They had taste tests galore (homemade, organic PB & chocolate PB, cheeses, honey, fruit dips, etc.), a few games set up, buggy rides o' course and...buggy races, minus the horses. Between the Amish gentleman running the 'event' & me, we convinced Devin this would be a worthwhile endeavor (hee hee)--the boys really wanted to do it. You had to have four people and then you were supposed to switch the one who pulls the buggy, but because I was in flip-flops Devin said he would run down & back. The Amish director said we could do that as long as someone switched places, so the boys did. One pushed on the way down & the other pushed on the way back (I was the 'sitter'). Up to that point the fastest time was around 50 seconds (mostly Amish groups, I might add). Devin earned the title of 'a horse' (as a compliment of course)--they announced the time "38 seconds" with a surprised voice & plenty of looks all around. One lady even said, "Well, you must have done that before." Riiigghht...lots of buggies where we come from :) I think the Amish took it as a challenge so we were beat out by 2 other Amish-only groups after us, but only by 3 seconds! And Devin was told he should come to a complete stop before the 2nd stretch, whereas the others didn't stop at all so I'm thinking they [I did nothing but 'helpfully' urge them on 'faster, faster!'] would have had that $100 in the bag if he hadn't. The boys both pushed with all they had, too, they were great. Anyway, it was so amazing...the Amish guy kept saying, "Wow, you guys really surprised me, you surprised me the most." Yes, Devin, you are definitely 8-cow husband material. Put it on the resume.

Then, at the end of the yard work, Amish store day we headed to a Tincaps game where we had free tickets (Tony's work) in a Suite. One of his co-workers bought an endless bowl of popcorn & told the boys if they could finish it before she came back he'd give them $5--which they did, so he did :) I don't know who won, but we sure had a good time!