menno museum

we live in a small town that has predominantly been mennonite over the years.
first settlers in this area, you guessed it, mennonite.
i did not grow up 'mennonite' but my husband did.
and being 'mennonite' can mean different things to different people.
to me, it's more of a culture and not necessarily a religion.
if you grow up mennonite in this region, it means you went regularly to church, you eat menno food, which includes such delicacies as vereniki (cottage cheese perogies) with schmon fatt (cream gravy), kielkje (noodles also with cream sauce), rollkuchen and watermelon, new year's cookies, farmer sausage, and a whole lot more unhealthy but delicious dishes.
all you mennos totally know what i'm talking about.  ;)
oh, and if you're menno, you always play the mennonite name game.
this is trying to find out how you're related to another mennonite.
and believe me, you will be related somehow (and it won't be as far as 6 degrees of separation... oh no! more like 2).
if you want to delve more into the mennonite culture, you just take a trip to our local mennonite museum.
i kid you not.
there's a whole outdoor museum devoted to the mennonites...
and it's fascinating.
it really is!
most children within an hour's vicinity of here have taken field trips to the museum.
i remember going in grade 3.
my children love to go to the museum and may long weekend is the perfect time.
it's the annual 'spring on the farm' which includes lots of fun events that were common in early mennonite settlement times.
this year was chilly but off to the museum we went.
here's a few pics from our day:

every year there's an antique tractor display.
then they do a tractor parade of sorts.

could you guess that this next one was my favorite?
hello!
mid century?!
LOVES it!

could you guess that lots of couples choose to take wedding pictures here?
the grounds really are unique and beautiful.

oh yeah, and i like to hang with the clydeses!
we're pretty tight!

would you believe she's the bravest out of the three in these situations?
hello petting zoo!
hello FREAK OUT SESSION by my 7 year old.
no, no pics.
that would just be mean, wouldn't it?

here she is teaching mennonite history in the 'private school'.

hello old crackled mirror.
can i steal you and take you home?

a picture of my pantry.
ha!
just kidding!
but i had you there for a second, didn't i?

p.s. isn't instagram like the coolest thing evah?!
seriously LOVES it!