Wagon Wheels ...

Thanks so much for the well-wishes...I'm still not 100%, but am feeling much better! Hope those of you who were also sick are on the mend, too!

I feel like we just went from ultra-fabulous musical dance numbers...to wagon wheels and prairie bonnets, all in a span of 24 hours.

You see, my girls have been sort of wanting to watch High School Musical 2 again after we recorded it.
Just a few times.
And of course, when one of my favorite numbers would come on, it wasn't my fault that I would need to stroll through the room about then, and suddenly need to put my feet up.

But when they felt the need to put on a mini-version of the show for their daddy and me, and I seemed to hear the soundtrack in my head and in my dreams...I knew I was glad that the field trip with our new home school group which I had planned was finally here.

So...we suddenly stepped back in time and onto the Oregon Trail! The girls wore their most old-fashioned type dresses and donned their prairie bonnets (taken off from time to time)...and we spent a great learning time looking at actual artifacts brought over on the wagons and watching some pretty interesting films and presentations.
And of course, there's nothing like getting to hold a genuine buffalo chip!


(This little child's chair sitting in a wagon was actually brought over by one of the families on the trail.)


Later that day, I suggested we follow up with our time there by doing some....(shhh...homework.)

My five year old drew our family in a covered wagon, while I had my eight year old pretend to be a girl on the Oregon Trail and write a journal page, just like the real travelers sometimes did.
She said she would do this, only if I did one too. Since we're not officially back to school yet, I was being a little easy-going with this, so I agreed to her demand novel idea.

Here's a sampling of hers, complete with a few spelling errors:

"Yesterday we saw a lot of buffalo. My brother, James, wanted to cach one. My mother said he cold go outside the wagon but if he took 5 steps away from it, he'd wold have to sit in the back!"

Good for you, Ma! I like a pioneer woman who knows how to keep her kids in line.

(And not bad writing, I have to say!)

Here's a tiny bit of mine...

August 24th, 1857
"Just when I was pinin' away for my special china and things, my long-time friend surprised me on this my birthday. She had taken some of my keepsakes amongst her own...things I had to leave behind, saying' We just have our one youngin'- you have three. I could make room for a couple of plates and a figurine.' Not a better friend could I ever want for."

I was sitting in the living room with her, hurriedly scribbling this out- and thinking I was all clever with my wording...but of course she didn't understand half of what I was talking about. ;)

Anyway, it was good to "go out on the trail" today and away from modern life.

Still, musical phrases keep dancing through my brain, even now...


"We're going to have fun-in-the-sun...now that all our hard work...work...is done..."

Nothing like having each foot a couple centuries apart in one day to make you feel a little dazed.

How I wish I could dive into that pool with those crazy teens for that big finale.
But I'll have to settle for just pretending for the time being, as I dive, instead, into my big pile of laundry.

Have a great rest of the week to all of you!