The Coolest Kids

I have the coolest kids.

No, really, I do.

This week we've been attending presentations by Ohio Chautauqua, a troupe of actors who portray historical figures under a big, old-fashioned, red and white striped tent. To be boring for a moment, I'll define what this is a little better. The Ohio Humanities Council website defines it like this:

"A Chautauqua offers living history presented by scholar-actors who assume the role of historical characters."

The events are called Chautauqua after the lake in New York where they first became popular in the late 19th century (incidentally, the lake is gorgeous, especially when frozen and covered with snow). They were originally designed to be educational opportunities for adults to enrich their lives, but they now attract audience members from all age groups. Music, seminars, and live first person performances are featured. 

Two years ago, Ohio Chautauqua was in our town portraying Civil War figures who were either from Ohio or who had an influence on our state history. We got to see Harriet Tubman, and I learned so much! This year, the actors are portraying people who were part of our history when Ohio was the western frontier of America.  So far, we have heard from Chief John Logan, Oliver Hazard Perry, and Margaret Blennerhasset. Tomorrow, we will be missing the performance of Lewis and Clark expedition member, York, but we'll be back under the tent on Saturday to hear all about Johnny Appleseed. I think we're all the most excited about hearing from him!

Actually, if you're local and you're reading this, I can tell you the gentleman who portrays John Chapman has been making me laugh all week, and he hasn't even been portraying his character. If you haven't made it to the fairgrounds, go on Saturday and hear Johnny Appleseed!

Back to my point. I have the coolest kids. They love this.They are engaged in the performances each night, they come home discussing everything that they learned about each character and that period of history, and Ava even asked a question during the question and answer session one evening with a few hundred strangers watching because she was interested in what she was learning!  I don't think they even realize how much they're learning by participating in this.

It could be said that my kids are just used to this stuff. We took Lukas to Fort McHenry, where the Star Spangled Banner was penned, when he was 11 months old. Ava saw Valley Forge, Gettysburg, the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall when she was a toddler. We study history through living, historical books. They've been to museums and monuments and even a castle.

The thing is that they love all those things.  And that's what makes them cool.

I have the coolest kids. For real.

A Perfect Weekend

I have been sitting here staring at the screen trying to decide how to begin this post. Last week was a tough week for us. Some issues arose that left us feeling like we needed rest and relaxation more than ever. The Lord knew what our family needed this weekend more than anything, and He provided accordingly. We have had the most blissful, fun-filled weekend together. It is as if God looked down upon us and knew we needed this blessing. Of course that's what He did! I went to bed smiling last night, and tonight, I shall do the same.

Two things were going on this weekend. Coshocton's Canal Days Festival was on the courthouse square (can someone explain to me why this doesn't happen in Roscoe anymore?), and Roscoe Village was having Coshocton Appreciation Days and allowing all county residents free admission to their tour. Yep. Free events. You know we were there!

We started our Saturday with a phone call from my parents asking us to meet them for breakfast. That was a nice way to begin our day! I'm so glad that living here allows for more opportunities like that.  Living in my hometown rocks. Seriously. It. Rocks.

We headed to Roscoe Village, a restored canal town, and got our free tickets for the Living History tour. I seriously had no idea what was inside the visitor's center since I think, as a teenager, I didn't really appreciate it as much as I do now. Fellow Coshoctonians who have moved away and only visit, check it out. My kids very much enjoyed the hands-on crafts, dress-up clothes and toys as well as the exhibit hall downstairs. Ava made a quilt square, Lukas painted a wooden top and both kids got to dip candles (all complimentary for Coshocton residents for the weekend only).

The only downside to our adventure was that we didn't realize how much time we needed in order to do the entire tour and see the Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum. We only planned to stay until 4 because the Canal Days parade began at 5, so we decided to get through as much as we could without rushing and to return Sunday afternoon instead of worrying about getting it all done at once.

The tour was well done. The kids got to see a blacksmith making hot dog roasters and a weaver making rag rugs for special orders (I had no idea they made such things on order in Roscoe!!!). They also learned about 19th century printing, medicine, broom making, schooling and, of course, the canal itself. 

As I mentioned, Canal Days was also this weekend. We didn't go to most of the festival during the day, but we headed to the parade in the evening. It was fantastic. They really stepped things up for the bicentennial celebration. The floats were well done. The parade lasted over an hour. We very much enjoyed it!

After running home for a quick dinner, we returned to the courthouse square in time to hear the Texas Tenors perform. They were apparently on America's Got Talent, but we've never really watched that show, so we weren't familiar with them. I expected a mediocre concert. I mean, it was free to attend, so I didn't want to get my hopes up too much.

Their first number was an old country-western song. It wasn't bad, but it didn't really impress me either. Their second number? O Sole O Mio. Done perfectly. PERFECTLY. My jaw dropped. My eyes bugged out. I was stunned. Eric laughed at me. It was AMAZING. They did an incredible rendition of Danny Boy with inspirational lyrics included, and my sweet little girl asked her daddy to dance with her during it. Watching my husband dance with our little girl in the twilight on the court square will be forever remembered as one of my favorite moments ever.  Adding to the effect was her southern belle gown that was bouncing back and forth as she danced. It was...unforgettable.

The Texas Tenors also did an arrangement of You Raise Me Up similar to the Selah arrangement but with pipes not unlike Josh Groban's. Wow. Sitting under the stars, listening to the cicadas singing along with great music, enjoying small town life, running into old friends...it was a perfect evening. PERFECT. Blessings from Jesus were everywhere.

After what could not be described as anything less than a difficult and challenging week, this weekend would have to be described as blessed, peaceful, joy-filled and beautiful. I could probably come up with a few more adjectives, but you might stop reading while you rolled your eyes.

I am loving living here. I was never one of those people who wanted to get out of my home town. I loved living here. I loved having roots that ran the depth of several generations. I always loved coming back and visiting. Now? I just love living here. I enjoy the slower pace of life. I enjoy being closer to my parents and running into uncles and cousins at at the grocery store. God is amazing, isn't He? Who knew that bringing me home could be one of my life's greatest blessings?

Civil War Encampment

I believe I have mentioned once or twice that Lukas asked to study the Civil War for school. I have to tell you, he couldn't have asked to study anything more appropriate at this point. The timing is perfect with the county where we live coordinating our bicentennial celebration with Civil War events and activities since it is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War's commencement. We attended our second Civil War event yesterday, and it was incredible. I have always wanted to go to a Civil War encampment, and I knew they held one here in Coshocton for the past few years (maybe longer. I don't really know), but this year, we made it a priority to go since Lukas was asking to learn about it. I am so glad that we did!

If you are not a lover of history, this is the way to learn about the Civil War. I am a lover of history, so I ate it up, of course, but I can't imagine a better way to make history come to life than to go to an event such as this one. The people who participate are experts on the Civil War, and they are anxious and willing to share their knowledge with you. The kids were able to learn so much yesterday, and I had a great time learning a few things too.

At the beginning of our day at the camp, we stopped by the blacksmith. Neither of our kids had ever been to a blacksmith's shop, and none of us had ever seen a portable blacksmith! Ava was completely enthralled. We sat and watched and asked questions for 10 or 15 minutes, and then Ava asked to go back again, so I sat with her for another 10 minutes while Eric and Lukas went off to something else. 

After that, we weaved in and out of a few tents learning about the lives of soldiers and what they did all day each day(Euchre, anyone?). The kids got to lift a musket and learned that the bayonet was actually used rarely as a weapon. As one soldier told us, "Once it got stuck in someone, it was just stuck, and so was your musket." Good point. The bayonet did have lots of other uses, however, such as this one:

At 11, we knew there was going to be a ladies tea. My understanding was that we would be able to observe the ladies who were in Civil War period dress taking tea. Ava and I were quite surprised to discover that we were actually invited to participate! My girl loves tea parties, and this was like the ultimate tea party with fancy tea sandwiches, tea cookies, scones with Devonshire cream and, of course, tea. If I had known in advance that we could attend, she would have been dolled up in her southern belle gown. The Bicentennial Committee sponsored the tea, and they did an amazing job!

In the afternoon, we picnicked by the battle field (Not that Ava and I needed much to eat) and then watched the battle. One of the encampment participants explained how things usually went during a typical battle, which was interesting. The kids thought the cannons smelled awful, but they were pretty fascinated by the whole thing. The only downside? The Confederates won!

We meandered through the rest of the camp, saw a leg being amputated, learned about Civil War era toys and games, talked to some ladies about artillery and one particular cannon and headed out for the day. We were there for five hours. Next year, we just might have to attend the Civil War ball if they do it again. Wouldn't that be a blast? Maybe you don't think so, but, as I told my best friend via text, I'm a history nerd. I love it. 

As we were driving down the hill from the encampment, the kids immediately began discussing their plans to play Civil War when we got home. Lukas donned a ball cap that he thought most resembled the shape of a Civil War soldier's hat, and Ava wore her southern belle costume. Lukas grabbed a toy pistol as well. They were all set and even got their cousins to play along. I think we will be able to recover from this past year of history not going so well. If they're playing Civil War, I guess the history bug might have bitten them a little. Here's hoping!

Bloop, Bloop

Do you have an awesome Christian radio station where you live? We have one here in Columbus that we listen to nearly every day. If you're ever driving through, tune into 104.9 The River (bloop, bloop...just go with me on this. It's at the end of their call number each time). It's refreshing, godly radio with NO TALK radio the way most Christian radio stations are. I'm not saying that talk radio is a negative thing; I actually used to enjoy listening to Focus on the Family and a few other shorter radio shows once in a while, but, most of the time, when you're taming the children in the car, music serves the purpose better. 104.9 always delivers, and Lukas enjoys it so much that he has started listening to it at home each morning too.

About a week and a half ago, Lukas became a little bit obsessed with winning a contest on The River. It started when "Lukas" was the name of the day for the River Name Game. We didn't win, though Eric and I both tried to call. Lukas was devastated. The prize for that contest was four tickets to Fort Rapids, an indoor water park here in Columbus. There were actually tears as a result of this great, devastating loss. He assumed we would win because, last spring, when "Ava" was the name of the day, we did actually win four tickets to the COSI extreme screen theater. He was pretty bummed about losing the Name Game.

After that, Lukas starting posting "Tomorrow's Answer Today" on a post-it note on the front of the radio so that we could call and try to win that game each morning. It was kind of making me laugh. Then, last Wednesday, we were listening at home in the afternoon when they announced they were playing, "Are You Smarter than a River Kid?" Lukas begged for the phone, and I consented (I have The River in my contacts list at this point). He called not realizing he had to actually have a question ready to stump them, so I fed him a question from that day's history lesson (something they told us happens all the time with this game). He asked them, "How tall is the Great Pyramid of Giza?" Of course, almost no one knows such an answer, so he won! He could not have been happier! He went to church on Wednesday and told everyone. 

Today was the day we got to use his prize. He won four tickets to today's Columbus Crew game followed by a Phil Stacey concert. He was super excited about the Crew game, and I was super excited about the concert. It was shaping up to be a great late afternoon/evening of relaxed family fun until Eric happened to stumble upon the information that the concert was moved to BEFORE the game. ACK! We were late by about 10 minutes, but we caught most of the concert and we were able to meet Phil Stacey and have our pic taken with him (which I can't post because we used a cheap disposable since the Crew website said I couldn't take my Canon...but LOTS of people had them. Grrrr). He was great to meet and talk to, and his concert was pretty good! Some artists are not as good live as they are on the air, but he absolutely was! I guess that's probably why he made it to the top 5 on American Idol. I will definitely see him again if I have the opportunity. 

I don't think I've ever had my photo taken with a celebrity even when I've had the opportunity (though I do kind of wish I hadn't passed up the opportunity to meet Candace Cameron Bure a few years ago). It's not usually my thing, but this man so impressed me when he was on Idol. He was always poised no matter what was thrown at him. His values shown through everything he did even before we knew for sure from the press that he was a believer. He's a family man and a Navy man. It was an honor to meet a man that so epitomizes what being a celebrity should be. It was pretty cool to have our photo taken with him.

Now, after this glorious family day given to us by The River, Eric is snuggling our children into bed. Lukas is exhausted after a weekend filled with activity. He went to the zoo with Grandma on Friday, spent all day and last night at a birthday party for a friend, got home this afternoon to nap(because he went to bed around 3 and had to get up to go to church with his friend this morning) and was awakened to rush to the concert early. He loved the game. Ava loved the concert. Eric liked both, and I was surprised that I enjoyed the game as much as I did (the concert was lovely, as I mentioned). It wasn't the game so much as the chance to be outdoors on a perfect fall day and enjoy time with my family while discovering major league soccer. It was pretty interesting. I would go again. I think I could maybe even become a fan.

I love days like this and weekends like this, but I'm tired! Today's busy day followed a Saturday of activity. Eric and I took Ava to Logan and did some hiking after hitting up the bulk food store (I seriously purchased 50 lbs of whole wheat flour among other things). I will sleep hard tonight, as I think everyone in our house will! I hope that you are also blessed with a night of exhausted slumber.

The Polar Frontier

We took a rather spontaneous trip to the Columbus Zoo today. We were there less than three hours, but that is the benefit of having a membership(thanks to Pat and Bob, my in-laws, for providing it for us!). If we decide we want to go for just a little while, we can. 

Today was probably our shortest zoo trip ever, but it was more than worth it. We finally got to see the new Polar Frontier exhibit. It opened late spring, and, once the weather gets hot, we usually avoid the zoo, so we hadn't been able to explore the new exhibit before now. The animals don't like to be in the heat any more than we do, which makes the zoo not quite as fun. Today, we went late in the day hoping that the heat of the day was past enough to encourage the animals to be more active. Somewhere around 5:30, they seemed to start coming alive.

The Polar Frontier is pretty cool. We've been waiting for what seemed like forever for it to open. They moved our favorite bears, the brother brown bears, to a new, much larger habitat in the polar region. They were entertaining, as usual. The polar bears were laying around for the most part, but it was still cool to see them. I think we'll enjoy them more this fall when the weather is more tolerable for them. The arctic foxes were adorable. They were chasing each other and playing. We briefly went into the tunnel under the polar bears. It was kind of cool to look up and see trout swimming over our heads, though I wasn't very interested in staying under there for long. Inside the exhibit there was so much fun, educational stuff to see. We'll explore that further on another trip since our time was rather limited on this zoo adventure. They designed this new exhibit so well, as they always do. The Columbus Zoo never ceases to impress me.

We left the polar region about five minutes before the zoo closed, but we took our time. Having worked in the zoo back in college, I know they allow you to meander through for an hour after closing, but they won't tell you that at the gate. Heehee! We made it to the gate by 7:30, half an hour past closing, but we enjoyed a few animals on the way through. The wolverines were out, which seems to be rare. The otters were back in their habitat, which was a thrill since they had three sweet otter pups! The otters smell so awful that I actually gagged several times, but they're still one of my favorite spots in the zoo. They're completely adorable.

Our family loves our zoo. We enjoy any zoo, of course, but our zoo is definitely the best we've ever seen. We're so spoiled, and we love it. If they keep adding new exhibits like this (which I hope they do. We need some hippos. I hear an African savanna is in the plans, and I hope it's true!), they're going to have to start offering 2 day tickets. If you're in Ohio, go to the Columbus Zoo. See everything I mentioned. Visit the manatees. The gorilla house is awesome. The reptile house is pretty cool (though I could avoid it altogether and not be disappointed). There are lorakeets to feed, okapi to arouse curiosity, giant tortoises, lion cubs, tigers...gosh. There's so much. It really is tough to squeeze it all into one day. It's so worth it to give it a try. Even if you miss something, you'll never be disappointed.

Star Cinemas FREE Summer Movie Series

I'm going to post this here in hopes that I will better remember it and maybe actually go once or twice. Star Cinemas in Grove City offers free summer movies for families. They do the same thing in December. Last December, we saw The Polar Express for free (which we own on DVD, but it was fun to see it in the theater again). We've gone a couple times in past summers as well.If you don't live around here, check your local theater to see if they offer a similar program. It's becoming more and more common! Also, as an FYI, if you show up 5 minutes before the show starts, expect to leave with a very sore neck from having to sit in the front row. Been there, done that.

Here's the schedule and details for this summer.

Family Summer Morning Matinee Series

Join us this summer for our annual summer morning matinee series.  The shows are on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.  The doors open at 9 am and the movie starts at 10 am.  The movies are FREE!!!!

June 16 & 17

 Hotel for Dogs - PG

June 23 & 24

 Curious George - G

June 30& July 1

 Monsters Vs. Aliens - PG

July 7 & 8

 Journey to the Center of Earth - PG

July 14 & 15

 Charlotte’s Web - G

July 21 & 22

 Wizard of Oz - PG

July 28 & 29

Night at the Museum 2 - PG

August 4 & 5

Ice Age 3 - PG

August 11 & 12

Alvin and the Chipmunks 2 - PG

August 18 & 19

Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie – G

A Day on the Farm

Every fall since Lukas was two, we have ventured to a local pumpkin patch to pick the perfect pumpkin.  This year is no different, and we managed to find our favorite pumpkin farm yet!  Circle S Farms had so many things for all of us to enjoy. 

Lukas' favorite part of the day was playing in the Hay Barn.  It was filled with piles and piles of straw (I don't know why they didn't call it the Straw Barn) and had two slides that the kids could sail down and land into a pit of straw.  They loved this!  All of the adults in the barn were focusing on staying upright because every now and then in the midst of straw, your foot would find the place where two bales of straw met.  It is a good thing that straw is soft because if it wasn't, we'd have some sore rear ends.  

Ava's favorite part of the day was  mini-maze of straw bales with little rooms all over the place.  They designed this perfectly so that the kids could tunnel through the straw safely and the parents could just stand and watch them doing so.  We had to bribe both kids out of this maze with doughnuts and cider.

We also enjoyed searching for pumpkins, a hay ride, petting zoo, and more during our visit to the farm.  At the end of the day, the kids were completely exhausted.  So now I must dash off to do family devotions and tuck them into bed for the night.  Enjoy our new smilebox of photos of our day at the farm!  Just click on the link below, and it should take you to a slide show of photos!

http://tinyurl.com/yho9uf

Jack Hannah's Fall Fest

My sister Cassie and her two beautiful children, Zackery and Maia, joined us for a day at the Columbus Zoo.  Cassie was delighted to see Jack Hannah, though we missed him by a few minutes.  The kids had a terrific time, and so did we.  When it comes to zoos, I am a kid at heart.  Today was a perfect day for the zoo.  The weather was great, and the animals were entertaining.    I'm a photo fanatic, so of course I am posting a link to photos!  Here it is:

http://tinyurl.com/gqx3q

Enjoy!