Jesus, Pirates, and the Oregon Trail

we went to the oregon trail museum in baker city this last weekend. my family, the nieces, and in-laws. if you have never been, you should put it on your bucket list. it is way fun and very informative. there are actual horses, buffalo, oxen, sheep that have been stuffed (is taxadermied the right term?) they are set up to look like they are traveling on the oregon trail. there are foot paths you can walk on when the weather is nice and see ruts from the wagons. it is very neat to be in the place where these brave americans ventured out to find a better life.

while we were enjoying the life size wagon train, we talked about how the people had to walk 10-20 miles each day and once the children out grew their shoes, they went barefoot. this is our last field trip of the school year. and we are now enjoying the summer before third grade (gah! third grade? oh time, please slow down, just a bit)

near the end of the display, there is a man driving his sheep. he has a nice staff and about six sheep. of course his hair is long, because there were no barber shops along the oregon trail. Ehm sees the shepherd and yells out “LOOK! I FOUND JESUS! I SEE JESUS, HI, JESUS!” now i am trying not to laugh, because her faith is so perfectly childlike. but Jesus on the oregon trail? then i took a closer look, it does look like the classic pictures of the Savior that are so often portrayed. Ehm was so happy that she got to see “her Jesus.”

then comes the part of the museum where we start our oregon trail adventure starting at independence, missouri. there is a wonderful display of a ship in a box and Baba thinks it is a pirate ship. she has an unnatural fascination with all things pirate and has for over a year now.

right now in the exhibit room there is a life size wagon and foam blocks that are labeled (beans, rice, fine clothes, work clothes, china, grandmother’s clock, chair, bed roll, bedding, linens, gun making supplies, bullets, whiskey, medicine, cast-iron stove, cook ware, bacon, hard tack, dried fruit, trinkets, toys…there are many others to, i can’t recall any more at the moment.) the idea is to pack your wagon making sure not to exceed the weight limit and to make sure you are taking the necessary things and not wasting room on things you would like, but are not necessary. this is a fun way to learn about how difficult traveling would have been. also makes me grateful for all the things i have and feel that i can not live without.

there is a place to put on a puppet show with animal puppets, and a giant magnet word board (this was my favorite), also a dress up corner and a play camera to see what clothes and hats from that time were like.


the kids loved this part a lot. and who doesn’t like dress up?

all in all it was a very educational and super fun time had by all. and now i have shared it with you so now you know the oregon trail started out with pirates  on a ship and ended with Jesus and his sheep.







 click on the photo to read more true stories

My Story in Photos: Patriotic Edition {how we spent the day}

first a big shout out to all the military men and women past and present who fought and gave their time and lives so we can enjoy the freedoms we have today. thanks to the family members too. what a sacrifice you give to others every day. so we had no money to go away for the fourth. but we weren't planning on it either. daddy-o had to work on the 3rd and i had to work on the 4th. i work from 11p to 7a and we weren't sure if there would be time in the day for me to see the kids enjoy fireworks or not, so when daddy-o got home at 3:30a on sat morning, we woke the girls and lit fireworks. yea for walmart and combo pack for $7. the fireworks were lots of fun. this is us lit by one of the fireworks. we are sitting on the back deck wrapped in blankets to keep the skeeters away. (Jam is in bed. i did not feel like dealing with a cranky 7 month old, so we let him sleep, he would not remember it anyway) and yes we are in our pajamas

of course there must be a kissing pic too. i am glad we have the independence to marry whomever we see fit. and i am glad to be married to daddy-o.

i really like the fountainy effect of this one.

sparklers have always been my favorite. here is Yah. you can just see her face.

she is concentrating hard on not letting any sparks get on her. looks like she is not having fun, but she said she loves "sparkers."

Ehm did not know what to think, but daddy-o convinced her it was ok.

then she went crazy flinging sparks everywhere. (notice the glow of  Yah's face on the left)

of course you have to try to make a perfect circle with your "sparker."

now it is my turn. i have a remote shutter in one hand and the sparkler in the other. i absolutely love sparklers. you can take away all the rest of the fireworks, just leave me some sparklers and i'm good. (looks like i have three legs hahaha)

well after sparklers we went back to bed. daddy-o and Yah went to home depot for the kids workshop. she made a bird house and a picnic caddy. when they came home about noon, i got up and we played. daddy-o has been working on getting the pool ready for Yah's birthday party (three weeks to go)  Yah wants to have a "mermaid party." Ehm wanted in the pool, of course, she is a water baby! so daddy-o held her over the side and let her get all wet. when they came in, she took all of her clothes off and her diaper. she would not let me put a clean one back on. Ehm declared her independence from diapers (for a while) and insisted on playing us all a song on the piano (she sang too).

you can see how pleased she is with herself. yeah for "independence" day!

i did convince her to put on a diaper finally. Yah wore her home depot apron all day. she got a notebook, pen, and tape measure to put in the pockets too, just like daddy-o. he works the night restocking shift there.

here are all three kids together. aren't we blessed? hooray for the independence to have a family of your own!

no independence day is complete with out a barbecue! we went to papa and grandmas to partake of one. the kids were playing and having a great time.

Jam decided he had the freedom to have a pink binki. (or rather his mom did) but he liked it just the same.

 Yah played with this little light. her eyes are so pretty.

Jam has the freedom to be a mechanic on the tricycle, or to chew in the pedal (same thing.) i am thankful for the freedom we have to choose our own careers.

this is the tree in the back yard well and us of course, in our patriotic outfits. yes i planned what each of us would wear. as a mom i have the freedom to veto outfits on any special occasion. you can choose for yourself every other day.

we did get to stay long enough to shoot off more fireworks at papa and grandma's. here are all the girls (left 2 right) corky (2), baba (4),  yah (almost 7), ehm (20 mo). they sat there and yelled out the color of the sparks. too cute.

Jam got to see then too, and he loved it. he just stared and stared and had a funny look on his face. he was really trying to figure out what was going on with all that pretty light.

sun has just set and the show is started.

the kids had a blast. they liked the few that screamed the most. corky tried to whistle too. and Ehm just screamed back at them. then the older girls had to do it too.

i like the glow of the sky in these here. it is difficult to get good pics of fireworks. first it is dark and how do you know where to focus and then i can't figure how to adjust the time setting for the shutter, well and there is only one day each year when we get to light fireworks. no wonder why i got so-so shots. i like them just the same and the memory is here to stay.

it was really fun to watch our shadows "jumping" on the wall behind us. hard to tell in the photo, but it was comical.

after we were done here, i had to go to work and that was the end of the day.

i am glad that our independence lasts for more than just a day. i rejoice in the knowledge that we have the opportunity to be forever free from the bondage of sin and that Christ paid my debt on the cross. so that one day i may live with Him forever.

i am also glad that God gives us free will to choose or not, but He loves us just the same.

i look forward to seeing other's patriotic edition posts. just click on the link below to see more great photo stories. and you should post yours too and tell us what are your traditions and memories of independence day. mr. linky will be open all week. you know you want to...

thanks for reading...

i heart faces #20 silhouette

when i saw the category a few weeks ago, i instantly knew what picture i would enter. this is my niece, baba. we went to beverly beach, or a few years ago and baba had never been on the sand. she did not know what to think. when i took this photo, she was getting sand out from between her toes. this captures baba to a "t" she is silly, energetic, and non stop. notice she did not bother to sit to remove irritating sand...she is still this quirky girl today. just turned 4 in feb. and a bundle of fun. I heart faces is a great place to see other people's photos and to gain insight and inspiration. DO go there by clicking the button and check out all the great photos this week. you may wish to enter, but beware, it is addicting. =) after a few minutes of browsing, i have lots of great ideas for my kiddos.

interesting side bar here: baba calls me "aunt crazy" at first an innocent mispronunciation, but i asked her mom to let her call me this. I LOVE BEING THE CRAZY AUNT!

thanks for your comments and criticisms.

*EDIT*

as for sand in the toes, did you know that when you are done on the beach if you sprinkle baby powder on your sand covered parts, that it will fall right off? just rub on some baby powder next time, no chaffing or blistering from shoes. :) my kids love the beach, but the oldest reminds me to bring the "sand blaster powder"