Magic House with Grandma Vivi

Doug's mom came out to visit us for a week in March. It was a great spending time together. She joined us for homeschooling and the kids loved showing off all they knew. Then, on Saturday we went to the Magic House in St. Louis. It had been awhile since we'd been there so it was a lot of fun for everyone.

They had a section set up with imaginary play from the Magic Tree House books. Since we've read a lot of their books they really enjoyed it.

Their favorite part of the Magic House is the Lewis and Clark trail. We've been studying US history this year, so they understood a lot about the things that were there.

 Grandma Vivi and Audrey had a great week together. They were like two peas in a pod.

Nina and Pinta

It just so happens that the Sheldon's and us are studying American history this year and the Nina and Pinta just happen to be in Grafton, IL. So, we took advantage of a great opportunity to see both of the ships. 

It was quite an eye opener to see how small these ships really were and learn more about what they had to endure. Truly amazing!

Autumn, Audrey, Ethan, Annika, Jacob and Micah 

The boys found a pile of wood to climb on, but what do you know? Audrey is right there with them. You could split that girl in half because she can be so girly, but also such a tomboy. A great mix if you ask me!

Apple Picking at Eckert's

We had a fun afternoon of going apple picking with the Sheldon's!

 Audrey loves wearing her fake pink hair!

 From left to right: Josiah, Micah, Autumn, Annika, Jacob, Audrey, and Jacob

Columbus Day

Doug had the day off and The Magic House in St. Louis opened their doors to homeschooling families that morning. They do this once a month, but I had not been able to go to their home school days until today. We all had such a wonderful time because it wasn't overly crowded so it was easy to see everything we wanted to see. We even found a Lewis and Clark Trail on the bottom floor that was a lot of fun. At the kid's swim lessons that afternoon we realized Audrey was getting sick because she wasn't able to finish her class. By the evening her and Doug were running fevers. I don't know if Doug is going to make it into work today, but I do know that soup and bread will be on the menu for dinner tonight.

Tri-County Field Trip

The Scott Home School Group set up a field trip with the Tri-County Antique Club. I found the field trip fascinating because these people taught us what it was like to grow up on the farm before there was electricity and modern conveniences. Each of the stations we went to was given by a different person who offered their own unique insight to the past. A couple of the kids' favorite things was shucking corn and riding behind the tractor. They also learned how to make butter and soap, learned the advatages of a pully, how to pump water, watched bees in a bee hive, use a witch to find water and they learned an old time kid's game I forgot the name of. We brought sack lunches, so after the field trip was over we enjoyed PB & J while hanging out with friends.

Eckert's Apple Picking

We went apple picking with the Scott Home School Group. The kids had a great time picking apples and it was a great way to spend a Friday afternoon with the kids.

Our Last Outing with the Walter's

In the last few months we've actually done quite a few things with Dorothy and her three grils Carlie, Molly and Ellie. However, this was our last "field trip" to The Botanical Gardens in St. Louis because they are moving to Virginia next week. We will miss them a ton, but as with everyone we meet in the Air Force, it's never goodbye because we know we'll see each other again someday.

Lincoln's Tomb

This statue of Lincoln was the first thing we saw when we entered the tomb and it was done by the same artist as Lincoln's Monument in Washington DC.

Lincoln's nose has been kept polished by thousands of people who have rubbed it when they come to see his tomb. When I stepped back to look at his face, I was surprised to see how sad he looked. It was one of those moments that took my breath away.

Lincoln Home Tour

After we visited the Illinois State Capitol we headed over to Lincoln's home. It was facinating touring his home and seeing the last place he lived before he became our 16th president. We learned so much about Lincoln on the tour, and the movie we watched at the Visitor Center was outstanding.  

Springfield, Illinois State Capitol

One more state capitol checked off our list! I think this makes the 10th we've toured and the 12th we've seen. The tour of this capitol was a bit different because the legislature was in session and there were a lot of school tours. Our tour was with fifty 4th graders, which actually went quite well.

Below is a picture of the House of Representatives. We weren't able to see the Senate on the tour because they were in session. However, after the tour we went back to sit in on the debate over a bill and got to see it voted on. It was very interesting and it was definitely the highlight of our visit to the capitol.

I thought it was very interesting seeing the governors office after the scandal and impeachment of Rod Blagojevich. They didn't say much about the scandal, except that he has to pay to have his picture put on the wall with the portriats of the other governors. They are trying to pass a law so that any governor who has been impeached cannot have their picture on the wall, so there is a possibility that his will never be hung. Also, Patrick Quinn is the new governor of Illinois and was sworn in on January 29, 2009.