Aren't you lucky?

What? Another post from me? So soon? Okay...a few pics.

I excused Annika and Lauren from school on Friday and we drove to Mankato for HistoryFest--a sort of hodge-podge of era re-enactments. Abraham Lincoln and some Civil War soldiers were there shooting off muskets and a cannon (with one live round). They were a bit down from the Vikings (era 1100?).

The girls with Abe Lincoln (Bryce Stenzel who has been a re-enactor for 21 years--and lives near a friend of mine in St. Clair, Minn).



Why, yes, I do let my children play with very large knives...



After visiting the Vikings and learning about their weapons, seeing their method of getting wool ready to spin and defining "trencher" (because that is very practical knowledge if they ever grow up to read period romance novels), we continued on, jumping ahead to about 1800s era Texas.

Who knew that cowboys came about as one effect from the Civil War? The cattle had been roaming free while everyone was busy fighting battles and needed someone to get them to railheads.

Lauren roping a steer...




They had Cookie there, some pieces from a trapper, a blacksmith and a cowboy cracking his whip and helping the kids do it, too.

The cowboy helping Megan crack the whip...



Walking across the field from Texas, we stopped in 1600s era Scotland. We got to see men and women fighting in different types of armor. They also had armor the girls could try on--kid-size! But very heavy chain mail. Pictured here also is the armor a horse would have worn. Looks very dragon-like. We also saw a demonstration on how the chainmail was created. Very work intensive!





We also caught a very brief glimpse of about 1912 in Mankato--the town is where author Maud Hart Lovelace grew up. She wrote the Betsy-Tacy books I loved. Here are Annika and Lauren behind the stand...Lauren is in the Betsy spot, Annika is Tacy, and Emily (too short!) is Tib...





General cute picture from the day. The girls dressed up in period dresses and aprons--well, as close as we could get. They got a lot of attention!



The next night, Annika, Lauren and I attended a Pioneer Stew night at an 1867 home (The Chubb House) here in Fairmont. We then got a tour of the home. Dinner was yummy: homemade stew, homemade bread (3 types), homemade applesauce, candied beets and cucumbers and homemade chocolate brownie in homemade caramel sauce. Annika again dressed up, and I wore my pioneer bonnet...No, I would not have done that a few years ago. Probably wouldn't have done it Saturday either if Annika hadn't asked me--and I want them to be freer spirits as they grow up. So I had to pretend I was a free spirit, too. No pics from that one!

Everything Old is New Again

(This was one of the columns I wrote for our local paper.)

If you want to add a little spark to your own history, which you might think a bit hum-drum, see it through the eyes of a child.

Our seven-year-old had been begging for the outing all summer, and two days before school began, we finally got to it: a trip to the Pioneer Museum.

Annika had been there during school last year but wanted to go again and show us everything she had learned. I love history so it wasn’t really twisting my arm to go.

So we packed the mini-van with one mom, four small daughters and one stroller, and off we went.

As we walked up to the museum, I noticed the stained glass windows, granite columns and cornerstone dated 1903 from the original Carnegie library in town that once stood where the current library is. While I wish the original building still stood, I am glad parts of it still remain in town. The girls were not quite as fascinated as I.

However, as we entered the lobby and saw the photo collection of homes in the area, they were more interested as we saw one of 310 Woodland Avenue, a home we had toured last year when it was for sale, and we were planning a move to Fairmont. It’s a beautiful home (made even more stunning lately by the current owners) with great dark wood throughout. It was fun to learn that home had been the carriage house for the Wohlheter mansion next door before being moved and added onto.

Past those pictures and the rock and roll memorabilia, including the swamp monster poster, we found the Pioneer Room with toys from that era and a very small bed for the parents. My highlight was explaining how the icebox worked. Annika’s highlight was the large ostrich egg around the corner.

As we entered the Brodt room with the information on Fairmont Railway Motors, my five-year-old noticed the rotary dial phone on a table connected to the wall. It was the first thing she spied. She stopped, excited and exclaimed, “Mom, look! A really old cell phone!”

Annika found it amazing that all wedding dresses were not white as we toured the Welcome Room and saw a dark dress that had been worn by Mrs. August Filberg in 1885 for her nuptials. I am fascinated, and want to learn more, about Fairmont resident and active historical society member Mrs. Brodt who attended Ike Eisenhower’s inaugural ball in a gown now at the museum.

In the Carlson room in the basement, we saw a 1923 American LaFrance fire truck. Because the girls’ grandfather is a retired Minneapolis firefighter, this was a great find, along with the body basket used by funeral homes, and the model of the covered wagon, just like at the Pizza Ranch (that was the three-year-old’s addition to the tour).

This room also has a jail display, complete with the old solid jail door which had one small door at the top so jailers could slip food trays into the inmates. The upper door is then surrounded by a rounded metal cage for additional security. I wanted to see if my girls could come up with what the little glassless window at the top was for. Lauren, the five-year-old, came up with a very clever, but innocent response: “Of course, Mommy. That’s so the jailbirds can fly in and out.”

The 1912 Wagner motorcycle, the 1950 Baby Tiny Tears and the 1874 Wooton desk (one of only 150 made) also are pretty cool and provide something for everyone.

So if you want a new, if not historically accurate, perspective on your past, I recommend bringing your kids or grandkids with you to the museum. If you don't have any of those, borrow a neighbor kid. Since three of our girls can’t read all the signs yet, about one hour was a good amount of time for us to spend there to see all three floors of the museum. It’s open regular business hours, it’s free, and it can be very entertaining.

School Daze...Good ol'fashioned rule days...

With September, of course, comes school. Annika is now the BGOC since second grade is the oldest grade at Budd Elementary. Lauren is officially a student now in kindergarten. Emily began preschool. Man, is she loving life! She thinks school is "awesome!" She loves being a big girl.

First day of school pics...






For the first time in their lives, Emily and Megan began going to daycare a few weeks ago, also. The daycare is in the same building as Emily's preschool so she just walks down the hall after school is over. The first few days were rough for her in daycare; we're not sure why but are thinking it was too much separation. Now she's in Megan's daycare room and today went much better, she said.

They go two days a week so I can do my writing during daylight; I'm almost on schedule with getting things done when I should. However, today I played hooky and had lunch at school with Lauren and then Annika. I got to go to two recesses, too!

As I was waiting at the school for Annika's class to go to lunch, I was waiting in the office. That place is really busy! First there was the girl who had a ring stuck on her finger, then the boy who needed a bandaid, then the boy who needed to talk to the principal--for peeing on the playground, and another boy who was vomiting. All this and more during 30 minutes.

During September, we also had an appointment at Mayo Clinic (yes, THE Mayo clinic) for Megan. We were able to get in with the doctor who had been recommended to us by the head of the children's diabetes department at our hospital in Chicago. We learned that, at Mayo, you don't ask for an appointment time--you get an appointment time. And you better make it or it's back on the very long waiting list you go. We go back tomorrow for more education. It's been nine months since Meg was last seen by a diabetes specialist.

We're still exploring all our town has to offer. Friday night was tailgating with the soccer teams night at the local high school. Our babysitter is on the girls' team so we went. We got there early to see the Mayo One helicopter land at the high school. Very cool! We stayed for half of the game; that was more than enough for three of the girls. Lauren stayed to finish it with Daddy.

This was the Mayo One helicopter that landed at the area high school





I've been writing columns for the local paper about our adventures. I'll post some of them as separate posts in case you were interested...

Lauren at the Pioneer Museum


The new water park in Truman, the town next door. We've had a lot of flooding down here.



Celebrating Lauren's 6th birthday with Papa, Grandma Yvonne and Great-Grandma Margaret.



Lauren opening her fave present this year: zhu zhu pets.