Field Trip to the Kalamazoo Institute of Art

On Tuesday afternoon I took the punks to Kalamazoo to visit the Institute of Art which was hosting a National Geographic Exhibit. Here's our trip in pictures.

I believe they are actually reading the informational plaques. Whodda thunk?






Many of you probably recognize this famous photo. Well, the one hanging on the wall.


Cool, there's interactive stuff for the punks. Putting together a puzzle of a famous painting.


Boy wonder enjoys computer art.


The bed of nails...always a hit with kids.




Of course he had to try his face.


Here's the side view and the front of his face.


Here you're supposed to draw the owl.


Notice the tongue-in-cheek...always helps with form.


Budding artists.




Can't go to Kalamazoo without stopping for dinner at Red Robin.






That is one big burger. Good thing the mouth's big enough to handle it.


A great afternoon was had by all. We stopped at Barnes and Noble in Battle Creek on the way home. I'm thankful for a year of homeschooling that allows us to take off on educational adventures at a moment's notice.

Somewhere a dog barks....

Crafts on a Monday Night

Monday night was craft night at the Chili's. Cold night + no cable + craftie kids = Christmas coloring pages and.....SNOWFLAKE MAKING!! My girls are expert snowflake makers. Me? Well I just can't see it...the image in my head beforehand I mean. The girls on the other hand, seem to have this idea in their head and then they just start cutting and before you know it, they've created this beautiful masterpiece of a snowflake.

First we colored.










And then the kids made snowflakes. Here's what my patio window looks like.


And here's what my front window looks like.


It's quite festive and makes the house oh so cozy. So even if there's not much snow on the ground (which I might add is causing punk #3 a great deal of misery), I feel we have made up for it in a plethora of paper snowflakes.

Somewhere a dog barks....at the moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow,
which gives the luster of mid-day to objects below.

Random Table Talk

Sometimes dinner at our house is like being at a comedy club. For some reason everybody just gets goofy at the dinner table. For instance, tonight we all sat down and I asked Chase to pray. So we all reverently bowed our heads and waited for him to say his prayer of thanksgiving. And we waited, and waited, and waited. Until finally we all looked up and Chase was sitting with hands folded, head bowed, and eyes closed. Sensing our glares, he opened his eyes and exclaimed, "I'm a mime." We all burst out laughing. How do you then go on and say a serious prayer I ask you?

We finally regained our composure, and again we all closed our eyes, bowed our heads, and awaited boy wonder's profound words of thanks. He took a deep breath and began speaking in this southern black preacher-type voice....and I quote, "Dear Lawd, please protect my throat. I ain't never done nothin' to nobody." Again laughter ensued and once the commotion was settled I realized he had just quoted a line from the movie, "Imagine That" with Eddie Murphy. An 11 year old white Eddie Murphy, that's what I'm dealing with here.

After dinner Jodie revealed to me that she happened upon Chase earlier in the kitchen as he was standing all by himself and peering into the refrigerator. She said he was talking to his shoulder.
"What?", I asked with a perplexed look on my face.
"He was talking into his shoulder. You know, like that scene from Pirates of the Caribbean where Jack Sparrow talks to the little Jack Sparrow conscience on his shoulder."
"What was he saying?"
"He was asking himself what he should eat."

It's nuts around here I'm tellin', ya. Nuts. I used to be allergic to nuts, but fortunately I've grown out of it.

Gettysburg in a Long Weekend

EVERYONE should make it a priority to visit Gettysburg. For us it was about a 9 1/2 hour drive, most of which was on the turnpike. The trip could be done in a long weekend and here's how I suggest you do it:

Go in mid October when the leaves in southern PA will be at their peak. Leave after school on a Thursday and drive to the Cleveland or Youngstown area. Remember, you'll be on the turnpike and hotels will be a few miles off the beaten path. We didn't plan ahead, so we used the GPS (and my sister by phone)to help us find hotels. On Friday, rise early and get on the road even if those kiddos are complaining, you don't want to waste any time.

Once you arrive on Friday, go to the 1863 Inn of Gettysburg on Baltimore St. and get a room. (This is just a suggestion, but we found it to be conveniently located and a nice place to stay. It was only $80 a night.) Drop off your stuff and walk around the town, making note of places you'd like to visit or eat over the weekend. If you like pizza, try Tommy's Pizza which is just a couple blocks from the hotel or this would also be a good night to eat at the Dobbin's House.

Saturday morning get up and head to the Gettysburg National Military Museum around 9:00a.m. and reserve your personal tour guide. Either take the tour then or spend 2-3 hours in the museum and then take the battlefield tour with the guide. The battlefield tour will take 2 hours. At some point, get some lunch. We bought picnic food and made sandwiches to take to the battlefield. Spend the afternoon at the battlefield exploring on your own.

On Sunday, visit museums and places in town. I'd recommend touring the Shriver House, visiting the train station where President Lincoln arrived, visiting the David Wills house where President Lincoln spent the night and eating at the Dobbins House at some point. The rest is personal preference. There are plenty of places with interesting relics from the battle which we found fun to look through. And of course, there are ice cream shops.

On Monday drive straight home and wah-la, you have just given your kids an amazing lesson in American history that they, and you, will never forget.

A New Nation, Conceived in Liberty

The third full day at Gettysburg was spent visiting the Gettysburg National Military Park. The first part of the tour was a 20 minute, giant screen movie about the Battle of Gettysburg. I loved it. Next we road the longest escalator I've ever been on. Seemed like it went up 3 floors. This took us to the Cyclorama, a 360 degree circular oil-on-canvas painting that depicts "Pickett's Charge," the climactic Confederate attack on the Union center on July 3, 1863. Completed and exhibited in 1884, it is one of the last surviving cycloramas in the United States. The painting is an amazing sight at 377 feet in circumference and 42 feet tall. Along with lights and narration, this was quite an experience. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take pictures.

The museum is filled with photos, artifacts, information, and interactive programs that could take all day if one were to be there by themselves and not with 3 kids. We probably spent 2 1/2 hours there, but I could have spent most of the day. The kids are standing in front of a huge display of photographs of some of the soldiers that fought in the war.


One of the interactive programs challenges you to pack all the items a soldier would need to set off on the march with only a 90 second window of time. The goal is to keep the pack under 45 pounds and still have all the essentials. None of us met the challenge.


Many of the men fortunate enough to survive the battle, came out of the war without legs or arms. We learned that at one farmhouse turned hospital, the surgeons would amputate and then toss the limbs out the window and the pile of amputated arms and legs was as high as the window sill.


After hanging out at the National Military Museum, we went back in town. There were numerous museums and tours of buildings available. In fact, one could spend a whole lot of bucks visiting all these attractions and while some seemed quite reputable, others seemed to be a bit more sideshow-ish. So from day one I had been asking every tour guide, store clerk, hotel employee, and visitor center volunteer what they would suggest we see. There were various answers and I was perplexed as to which one would be worth forking over the money to see. We continued to walk around town and came upon a quaint little bed and breakfast called the Brafferton Inn, but when I tried to open the door it wouldn't budge so we turned around to leave. Just then a kind gentleman opened the door and asked if he could help us. I asked if we could just look around. He graciously allowed us in and gave us a mini tour. Built in 1786, The Brafferton Inn is the oldest continual residence in Gettysburg. Here's the punks standing at the front porch.


Of course I asked him which of the museums we should see. He told us of The Shriver House and it sounded exactly like what I was looking for. We were not allowed to take pictures inside so this is all I have of our excursion, but you can click on the link to see more.


This was definitely a highlight of the trip for me. A woman dressed in clothing of that time period narrated the tour. We learned that George Shriver, owner of the home, set off for the war and left his wife and two young girls here at their home. When Confederate soldiers began to infiltrate the town, Mrs. Shriver took her girls and the neighbors' 15 year old daughter, Tillie Pierce, and traveled a few miles to Mrs. Shriver's parents' farm where they thought they would be safer. Little did they know this farm would be even closer to the fighting and was quickly used as a hospital. Tillie Pierce kept a diary of the events and 25 years later published her story. I bought the book and found it fascinating. To learn more about Tillie Pierce click here.

Back at the Shriver home, the Confederates took over the house placing sharp shooters in the attic. We saw where they had knocked the bricks out of the wall so they could shoot through them. A Confederate soldier had actually been killed there and we saw the bullet holes all over the outside of the house where Union soldiers fired back.

Of course no day was complete without a trip to the Battlefield, so we took a drive back out again. We took 4 trips out to the Battlefield and on the last one I really wanted one more picture in particular....


Here's a Reb. coming up Little Round Top....take cover!

If you've seen the movie "Gettysburg", you may recognize the above picture. This is the cupola at the Lutheran Theological Seminary where General John Buford, played by Sam Elliot, surveyed the ground of the upcoming battle.

After a full day of hands-on learning it is imperative that students converge at the local coffee shop for some hot chocolate with extra whipped cream.


A few other tidbits of information about our Gettysburg adventure:
1. We ate pizza 3 nights in a row...it's a cheap dinner. $11 bucks feeds the family.


2. We bought bread, lunch meat, mustard, chips, bottled water, and Oreos and made our lunch everyday, which we took along and ate out at the Battlefield. So about $20 provided 3 lunches for 4.


3. Natty didn't even eat one whole bowl of dog food the entire trip, so that saved us a bundle. (Of course, she still begged for ice cream, but then, don't we all?)


The next post will tell all about our sweet, chocolatey adventure. Stay tuned because....

Somewhere a dog barks....and its breath smells of chocolate.

Our Fathers Brought Forth Upon This Continent

Our second full day at Gettysburg was simply suberb. We began at 8:30a.m. in the Gettysburg National Military Park where we secured our personal tour guide to the battlefield. I highly recommend that when you come to Gettysburg you hire a guide to take you around the battlefield. We learned so much from Paul, our tour guide, as he drove us around the park pointing out all the different aspects of the battle as well as information that I know we wouldn't have heard or learned on our own. It was great because he drove our truck, so I could just enjoy the ride and...bonus...Natty could ride along so we didn't have to leave her in the hotel.

We began with a drive past this house that was hit by an artillery shell.


Next we went to visit the monument of the Michigan 24th Regiment. Notice the hat was not the typical Union soldier hat. The Michigan regiments wore black hats that turned up on one side and typically had a feather or deer tail in them. These soldiers were known as the "Black Hats".



These cannons were positioned at the top of Little Round Top. The Union army took control of this high ground and held it throughout the second and third days of fighting and is the reason that the Union won the battle of Gettysburg, and ultimately the war.


Notice the green color of the cannons. These are actual cannons used during the Civil War and are made of iron which has turned green over years of weathering. (The "stands" that the cannons are on are not from the Civil War, just the cannons.)


Looking up at Little Round Top.


This is the view from atop Little Round Top. The statue is Brig. General Warren who became known as "The Savior of Gettysburg" due to his quick decision to take control of this high ground which ultimately gave the Union the upper hand and led to the Confederate's defeat at Gettysburg. If you've watched the movie "Gettysburg", you will probably remember the scene after the battle on Little Round Top where the Chamberlain brothers were sitting on a rock looking over the battlefield. That scene was filmed on the rocks right next to the Warren statue. They hid the statue with some "trees", and you can see the hat of the statue at one point in the film.


This photo is looking down from Little Round Top to Devil's Den below. Devil's Den (the labyrinth of large boulders) was taken by Confederate soldiers in a long and bloody skirmish, after which the Confederates brought in sharp shooters to carry out their deadly task of pecking off Union soldiers at the top of Little Round Top. Stinking rebs.


Jayme is standing on Little Round Top. You can see rocks piled in front of her. Exhausted Union soldiers worked through the night stacking rocks between the boulders for added protection from the likes of those aforementioned stinking johnny reb sharpshooters.


I told Chase to pretend he was a Union soldier and get behind one of the piles of rocks. I could barely see him so I suggested he prop himself up as if he were shooting his gun. His intelligent reply? "Because if I had to fight in this war, I wouldn't be shooting, I'd be hiding." Smart kid.


The kids are walking down Little Round Top to the 16th Michigan monument. Monuments are placed where each regiment fought. Gettysburg is one of the most monumented places in the world.


Walking up from the monument of the 16th Michigan. Did I mention that Gettysburg is very pet friendly? Lots of folks brought their dogs and many shops in town are pet friendly.


The kids are climbing around Devil's Den. I must admit I hesitated to let them climb around some of these places. It just seemed like hallowed ground, not a jungle gym. But many folks were exploring and so I sat quietly, contemplating what had taken place on this very spot, while they enjoyed themselves.


Chase pretending to be Spiderman.


Jodie is sitting at the monument of the 24th Michigan which is also at Little Round Top. We spent a lot of time here because it was so beautiful and there were lots of places to explore.


As the sun went down we headed back to our hotel and ate some pizza. Later we walked a block to the annual Gettysburg Halloween parade. I'm pretty sure that was the first time I've watched a night parade. It was pretty cool.

There is so much more to write and many more photos to post, but for now.....

Somewhere a dog barks....still chasing that johnny reb I suppose.

Four Score and Seven Years Ago

Gettysburg. I've wanted to come here for quite some time now. American history fascinates me, thanks to my dad. He amazes me with his depth of knowledge and his ability to spew out little known, and well known facts. I wish I had half his knowledge of American history. And now that I'm a grown up (well that's still up for debate) I'm thrilled that my own kids seem to have an interest as well, especially punk #3.

For almost 2 months I have been trying to come up with somewhere for us to go...that was the whole reason we are homeschooling this year. But it seemed there was always some reason we couldn't get out of town. Suddenly, I realized that we had this one week without too many responsibilities, and so on Friday I decided we needed to get to Gettysburg. I made a few calls to rearrange appointments and told the kids to start packing. Punk 3 had 2 soccer games this weekend which meant we wouldn't leave until Sunday evening.

We drove to Cleveland on Sunday night and finished the rest on Monday, arriving in Gettysburg at about 2:00p.m. The drive was beautiful, especially once we got off the turnpike and drove Highway 30 into Gettysburg. Here's a pic.



Oh and by the way, we didn't have time to really think about arrangements for our dog Natty, so we just brought her along with us. Here she is enjoying the ride.



Once we unloaded all our stuff in the hotel room we jumped back in the car and went straight to the Visitor Center. It was too late for a tour of the battlefield, but we found out what we needed to do for the next day. President Lincoln gave the kids a warm welcome.





I thought this was worth a picture...the belt buckle that saved a soldier's life.


We left there, went back to the hotel and then walked around town for a couple of hours. Gettysburg is very dog-friendly so it was easy to get around with Natty. We stopped at many Civil War buildings and homes, reading every plaque along the way (well, I read every plaque along the way while the kids tolerated me reading every plaque along the way).

The building in the picture on the right is the Farnsworth House and is riddled with bullet holes. It is believed that a Confederate sniper was shooting from a small window in the attic and that one of his bullets killed Jenny Wade, a young woman who was in her home down the street tending to her sister who had just had a baby. Jenny Wade was the only civilian killed at Gettysburg.


If trees could talk.....


President Lincoln's in town to deliver the Gettysburg address.
The punks are in awe.


Natty's in awe too.


President Lincoln slept here at the home of young lawyer David Wills the night before he gave the Gettysburg Address.



The Dobbin House was built in 1776 and is now a restaurant and tavern that has been decorated to depict the time. The servers wear authentic costume.


We had dinner in the basement tavern. It was lit mainly by candles so getting good pictures wasn't easy. I had the french onion soup....yummo!


I could go on and on, but I won't because I'm about to go nuts with this super slow internet connection. More to come later.

Somewhere a dog barks...probably at some Johnny Reb.