Ch-ch-ch-Changes!

That David Bowie song got me through high school, and it seems perfect to use it as the title to this blog entry. We are now over a month in to a new school year. This is going to be one wild ride for us! With Noah entering his freshman year, and Nik entering his senior year, our family is facing many changes.

The boys in their class shirts. 

We are off to a great start. Noah has adapted to high school nicely. Last week was Homecoming, and Noah jumped right in to the fun. He marched in the school parade. I was thrilled to hear so many of his gen ed peers saying "Hi Noah!" He seems to have made an impression with his peers, and that was awesome to witness! He even introduced me to his friend. That's right, I said friend. This kid has never used that term before until this year. Now, it's not the type of friend that you go to the movies with, or hang out after school. Noah still very much prefers to hang with family. But Noah identifying someone as a friend is huge! To him, his friend is someone who he can talk to while walking the halls or having lunch. I'm so happy to see such progress!

Noah walking in the Homecoming Parade

Parade watching!

The kids in the parade floats were throwing candy, so of course my smart senior was ready to pounce on that!

The boys were invited to a Homecoming Dance pre-party at a classmates house. Since I had to work, Alex jumped in and made sure that the boys looked handsome. Nik wore his 11th Doctor Who bow tie, because they are cool. Noah wore the 50th Anniversary Doctor Who tie. Nerds rule!

Of course they had to go on their adventure by walking through the Tardis!

At the pre-party, I was able to join them. It was so much fun to see all the kids hanging out, having a great time!

Nik and Noah and their awesome teacher!

Yes, I was standing on something.

What a great time! Eventually, the kids all carpooled to the dance. About an hour and a half in, my phone rang. Nik called to say he was ready to leave. As we were talking, Noah called to say he was ready to leave too. The kids reported that they did not dance. But they did have fun hanging out and taking pictures with their phones. In case you are wondering, one kid took pictures of people coming in to the dance, and the other took pictures of his brother taking pictures of people coming in to the dance.

I just love how the boys are willing to try new experiences and step out of their comfort level. What more could a parent want?

Everything is a learning opportunity. Exploring Civil War history at Lexington Battlefield.

I've said it so many times before. Everything is a learning opportunity. We love to get out there wil the kids and find new ways to teach them something meaningful. My kids are visual learners. They can read it in a history book, but they won't fully appreciate the lesson until they can see the sites firsthand. So on 4th of July weekend, we decided to pay a visit to Lexington, Missouri.

Over a span of 3 days in 1861, a fierce civil war battle was fought here. There is a free visitor center where you can see some of the artifacts of the battle.

Cannonballs are pretty heavy.

 Once we saw all the exhibits, we decided to watch the free documentary on the battle. It was very informative, but short enough that the kids stayed interested. Once the video ended, we took a tour of Anderson House. There is a charge for this, but it was worth every penny. We had a private guide that walked us through the house and gave some great commentary. 

Anderson House, built in 1853.

Our guide. He was awesome, and he was also from California!

The detailing on the house was very impressive.

You could still see cannonball holes on the house.

We really picked the perfect day to go. Normally summers in the Midwest are hot and humid. This 4th of July weekend was in the mid 70's and low humidity. Good thing, because the house did not have air conditioning and our guide said it got very hot in there.

Furniture was authentic from that time period.

The piano still worked!

This was a wreath made of human hair, meant to honor the dead.

Original door, with cracks and damage from the battle.

The guide made a point to let the kids see the items from the table. They got to see through the viewfinder. And the guide pointed out that playing cards did not have numbers or letters because many people couldn't read back then.

The dining room.

Next to the fireplace was a discoloring on the floor. The guide told us that he would explain what that was from later.

More battle damage on the staircase.

All original woodwork. This house was amazing to see, but really challenging to photograph without flash.

Cannonball damage up on the ceiling to the left.

One of the bedrooms.

The guide explained to the kids that those bowls on the floor were chamber pots used to go to the restroom. The kids looked horrified.

Check out the tiny closet in one of the bedrooms.

The guide told Nik that the oldest son would have been responsible for emptying the chamber pots.

The battle was fought right outside the house.

The guide explained that the house has ghost stories tied to it. Some of the guides have heard crying come from this room when no one else was in the house at the time.

Noah totally loved this bed.

The guide explained that there was a significance to a painting of a child with a missing sock or shoe. This was meant to inform visitors that a child had died in the family.

This was their operating table! They drilled holes in to the floor so the blood could drip down to buckets on the first floor.

The discoloring near the fireplace was where the buckets of blood were.

The slaves room. Our guide was very frank and honest about slavery. 

Moor cannonball damage on the bricks.

We got to go out on the balcony and inspect the damage up close.

The battlefield as seen from the balcony.

The kitchen.

More damage to the exterior of the home.

The tour was about an hour long. As I said earlier, it was worth the time and extra cost. I'm so glad we did the tour of Anderson House.

After the tour, we were free to explore the battlefield. There is no charge to go on the battlefield.

The guide made sure to point out some things for us to watch for as we toured the battlefield. 

The guide explained that the trenches were still visible. That little slope with dried grass was what remained of the trenches that soldiers had dug.

Honoring an unknown soldier from the civil war.

As we were walking through the battlefield, we could hear 4th of July fireworks going off at a  nearby home. It was eerie, as if we were hearing memories from so many years ago.

Soldiers used bales of hay and rolled them up that slope for protection.

More remains of trenches from the civil war.

Walking back toward Anderson House. It was surrounded by the battle and soldiers took over the house.

Such a beautiful home, rich in history. 

It's hard to explain the civil war to kids. But walking through this house and seeing the damage, really showed the kids how devastating the civil war was. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend Lexington Battlefield and Anderson House.