My Day at Fort Atkinson

                                                         My Day at Fort Atkinson

                                                                  by Benedict

   Yesterday we went to Fort Atkinson State Historic Park in Fort Calhoun, NE. Established in 1819, it was the first U.S. military post west of the Missouri River. We all had a lot of fun learning things about the fort. My brother, sister, and my friends from our history co-op did a cannon drill. Then we went into each room in the fort and people dressed as soldiers, blacksmiths, and laundresses, etc. talked about the things in the room. We even got to try many activities including making and drinking homemade apple cider. We went on a hike to Council Bluff where Lewis and Clark met with the Oto and Missouri Indians. Finally, I enlisted in the army. It was a fun day.

The Apple Cider Press

Ephrem enjoying the cider

The blacksmith making a nail

Broom Making

Making Lace

   In a cannon drill there are 6 people who man the cannon. First, Man 2 worms the hole for leftover shells. Then Man 1 cleans the hole with a sponge. Man 3 holds his thumb over the lighting hole. Then Man 2 dries the hole with a dry sponge. Man 6 gives a cannon ball to Man 2 who puts it in the cannon. Then Man 1 rams it down with a rammer. Man 5 puts in the wick. Finally, Man 4 fires the cannon.

Cleaning the cannon

    In 1820, to enlist you had to be at least 10 years old. You had to swear an oath to the U.S. Military. In the oath an enlistee promised to obey orders and protect the United States. To enlist a commander and the enlistee must sign their names onto the contract, which was usually for 5 years. Then for enlisting a soldier get a $6 bonus.

Me with my 5 year contract. I've enlisted!

    My favorite room was the 6th infantry barracks and kitchen. In the barracks the soldiers had bunk beds and 2 soldiers shared each bunk. The bunks were smaller than my twin sized bed! Each soldier had one peg to hang his stuff. The kitchen had a table, a cupboard, a fireplace, and a wood stock. They would cook food in closed pots and pans. Soldiers always carried a musket, a blanket, a knapsack, a canteen, a haversack, a cartridge box, and a bayonet.

Inside the 6th Infantry barracks kitchen

A typical barracks kitchen

Heading down the bluff to the site of Council Bluff

                                                                                                 

                                                                      

More self portraits

These were just too funny not to post.

Foreign Language Comes Naturally to Ben

Ben: I know that "wee-wee" is French for "I have to go to the bathroom."

Me: How do you know that?

Ben: Oh, I just know these things.

More Pictures from our Budding Photographer

I may be partial, but I always enjoy Ben's photographs. Whether it's one of his many self-portraits or other random things, I love seeing our life from his point of view. He's quite good at landscapes as well. The last few days he's been on another photography streak, clicking away at himself and his siblings in a series of lovely portraits.  

 

 

Photo of the Day

A New Twist on an Old Phrase

So, you've heard the phrase, "My dog ate my homework," right?

Well, after yesterday, Ben's version is:

"My sister ate my homework!"

His homework just looked really tasty, I guess. 

Emanuel and the Haunted House

Today we made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. We had a lot of fun doing all the usual things, but this year Ben wanted to try something new. He wanted to go through the haunted house. It's not a very scary haunted house- just a little shed with some black lights and animatronic ghouls making cackling sounds, but I knew even that would freak out my sheltered boys.

In the past I've been able to talk Ben out of going in, but not this year. I told him to go ahead and go through if he really thought he could handle it, but that I had to stay outside with Isabel and Emanuel. I thought it would be way too scary for Emanuel. If he even hears the word "ghost" he's spooked for days.

Ben stood outside and stared at the shack for a few minutes, then took a deep breath and walked through the entrance. After about 5 seconds I heard a yell and he came running out.

"Do you want to skip it?" I asked. "Were you too scared."

"No," he answered nonchalantly. "I just want Emanuel to go with me. Come on Emanuel."

"I'm not scared Mom. I can go with him," Emanuel said and bravely walked through the door with Ben.

I counted. As soon as I reached five, the yell came and Emanuel came tearing out the entrance of the little shed with his eyes wide and arms flailing. He nearly ran past me in his mad escape.

"That is too scary," he said. "That is too scary. I need to go back in."

In he went. About two minutes later he and Ben came out the exit, very proud that they had made it all the way through the haunted house!

He's Growing Up: A Dialogue

Today I told Ben how cute he is. Because he is. He's got such an adorable round head with beautiful hazel eyes and long, thick black lashes. I gave him a buzz cut on Monday (long story) and it reminds me of his baby days in Florida when he always wore his hair that way. *sigh* Memory lane...
However, memory lane is not the point of this post. After I told Ben how cute he is, this is the conversation that followed.

Ben: Mom, I'm not cute. Don't call me cute.

[Emanuel (wrinkling his nose): He's not cute! I'm cute.]

Me: So what should I call you, Ben? Handsome, like your dad?

Ben: No. I'm not cute, I'm not handsome. I'm just cool. I only want to be cool.

Me: O.K. Ben, you are cool.

A (theological?) Dialogue

Emanuel: When we get to Grandma's house, I am going to sit on Daniel and stink on him!

Ben: Emanuel, you can't do those kinds of things. It makes Jesus so sad when you stink people.

Emanuel: But God will laugh!

Happy Birthday Benedict!

Benedict is 5 today! I can't believe how much he's grown! We love you, Ben!

Ben's Book of the Week

Buenas Noches Luna by Margaret Wise Brown

Ben's Review:

I like when my mom reads me this book. We read it in Spanish and in English. It's about saying goodnight to everything. My favorite pages are when we say "goodnight kittens and goodnight mittens." In Spanish you say, "Buenas Noches."

Additional comments by Emanuel:

It's wonderful. There's bunnies in the home and there was the moon and the stars. It was bedtime. They had to go to bed. They had to close the curtains and go to bed and "fleep." The end.

Game Day

Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Hi-Hi Cherry-O, Don't Spill the Beans- so many great kid games at our house. So what did Ben and Em choose to play this evening? Chess.

Soccer!

What is more fun than watching 4-year-olds play soccer? Ben (yellow shirt with orange hoodie underneath) played well today. He has a great team and an awesome coach!

Ben's Book of the Week

Benedict's first ever pick for Book of the Week is...

Creating Clever Castles and Cars from Boxes and Other Stuff by Mari Rutz Mitchell

Ben's review:

I really like it because it shows me how to make so many things. We made a pirate ship and it was so fun to play in. Lots and lots of fun. Me and my uncles are saving milk jugs to make an igloo! I also want to make a sub in the bathtub.

Additional comments by Emanuel:

I want to make all the stuff!

Benedict's Point of View

A few months ago, Benedict picked up our digital camera and started flashing away. The kid's a natural. At 4 he can work the camera better than I can. He takes a lot of self portraits. There are usually many shots of his lego creations, and many other very random things. It is always interesting to look at his pictures, just to see what he sees and take in life from his point of view. Or to see his little brother doing something that makes me think, "Where were the adults when this picture was taken?" Here are a few examples.

A dialogue

Ben: Yeah, Emanuel is just a baby still. He can't talk.
Emanuel: I'm not a baby. I can talk.
Ben: No, he can't talk. He's not a big boy, he doesn't know how.
Emanuel: YES I CAN TALK BEN!

Halloween

Tattoos, etc.

Ben has a fake tattoo on his arm, and Emanuel has followed me around all morning asking, "Please, tattoo? I want tattoo! Please?"

Ben is also trying to pay his way through pre-school! He decided he wants to do the classes at the YMCA. I explained that we've already paid for soccer, vacation bible school, and preschool classes at the local botanical gardens, and we couldn't also pay for classes at the YMCA. So Ben has been saving every penny he can find for "school" at the YMCA. He also has been asking if he can get a job to earn more money. Hope he is still this motivated when college time rolls around!

Emanuel can say anything and its just shocking what comes out of his mouth. Not that he says anything shocking, but that he can say so many things! He switched from his crib to a toddler bed this week, and waved goodbye to his "baby bed" (as he called it) with great excitement. He loves to sing the alphabet loudly, especially in church when everyone else is singing hymns. And of course, eating is still a top priority for him!

Worms!

Ben's 3rd Birthday in the Jungle