We just returned from a very simple weekend in Lancaster County, PA. A place where people, not things, are what matters most. It was just what we needed. The girls had fun with friends and so did we. There were lots of laughs and memories from the weekend.

You can see them above with their buddies building a fire with corn stalks they plucked out of a corn field behind the Amish Country Motel. They were calling them "whackersmackers," and I laughed today when I saw 2 "whackersmackers" that were snuck into my car. The little motel we stay at every year for the last 10 (?can it be that long?) years is right at the edge of the corn field, and surrounded by Amish farms. You can watch and listen to buggies pass. This year a major bonus was the playground and playhouse right outside our room. I cannot believe we never found it before. Also above is a day after picture from the "Mud Sales," an Amish auction held every year at this time. You can see the farm equipment and buggies waiting for the highest bidders to come claim them.

I don't have too many pictures because a lot of our time was spent with an Amish friend and her family. Out of respect to them and their beliefs we stash the cameras and just absorb as much of the simple life as we can.