pages from my COOKBOOK

Gettysburg

We took Jack and Owen to Gettysburg over the weekend (Fiona got to party with G'mom and Jippy). The boys (and we) LOVED Gettysburg.

We had reserved a licensed guide from the visitors center and it worth so much more than the $60 fee....he spent over 2 1/2 hours with us. He drove our car for us (he knows all the shortcuts) and gave a running commentary the whole time. We stopped at various points to get out and walk the battlefield and see some landmarks.

Jack and Owen listened to every word he said, asked -- and ANSWERED -- questions, and contributed their own opinions and theories about the battle. Our guide was a retired high school history teacher and about halfway through he said that Jack and Owen could have easily passed his 11th grade history exam. He asked if we had early dinner reservations--he said he was having so much fun guiding us and was it OK if he ran overtime.

We got a good overview of the battle and it really makes a difference in understanding the battle to be able to see the landscape.

(above: Jack and Owen learning about Napoleon cannons and Parrot cannons, rifling and ammunition.)

(above: Jack & Owen next to "Sallie," the 11th PA's mascot. Apparently, Sallie wouldn't leave the field after a number of her unit was killed. When the rest of the unit returned three days later to bury the bodies, Sallie was still there. People leave dog biscuits on Sallie's memorial.)

(above: Jack and Owen both got Union army forage caps and weapons. They spent a lot of time running around the woods fighting battles. Owen built Fort Sumter in our hotel room out of pillows and was STILL fighting a battle after Jack, Kevin and I were alseep.)

(above: Soldiers from a confederate Maryland unit demonstrate how to load and operate cannons.)

One More....

Jack & Owen's Big Adventure

Last Saturday, we put Jack and Owen on a plane to Missouri to visit Aunt Jo & Kevan. Fiona must have misunderstood the plan, because she kept trying to get on the plane with them.

Lumley Castle

From our trip to England. We stayed one night in this castle. Jack and Owen insisted on sleeping in the canopy bed and told Kevin and me to sleep in the "servants bed" (the pull out sofa!)

Pizza in Edinburgh

I'm trying to get started on the vacation scrapbook pages, but it's going slowly. This is from one of our days in Edinburgh.

We're Home!!!

It seems like all I have time to do nowdays is put up photos, but that's probably all anyone cares about anyway ... So. We're back from our trip to England and Scotland. Photos are here.

Back from Vacation ...

And we had a great time. I have tons more photos to post, but here's the first batch. We had a great time at Lake Wappapello and we're looking forward to 2007.

Drive Thru Zoo

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On a dreary grey day of our Virginia vacation, we needed something to do, so we decided to check out the Safari Park, with pretty low expectations. Were we ever WRONG. I can't say we learned all that much about animals, but I've never been so "up close and personal" with them. I think the buffalo was going to get IN THE CAR if we didn’t give him something to eat, and then he sneezed what we did give him all over the car. The ostriches and emus were also very messy eaters and the llama girls wouldn’t get out from in front until they were fed.

This is the watusi that almost amputated Kevin's hand. He was trying to feed it when the watusi squished his arm and pinned it against the van.