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!
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1 comment:
Liz, do you think you are too "reserved" or grew up too reserved -- Just wondering what you are comparing the girls to when you say you want them to grow up freer spirits -- freer than what? They already are or you are or were? I find it a very interesting consideration, as a mom. -- Sara
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