The Homeplace

There is a really cool place at Land Between the Lakes called The Homeplace.  I highly recommend visiting there if you are interested in pioneer days.  You can tour all the buildings at your own pace.  There are people their in costume doing activities from that time period.  This is what we were hoping the Laura Ingalls Wilder house would have been like.  The girls were able to play lots of games that children would have played in pioneer days.  Someone actually stays there and lives off of the food from the garden and livestock.  They have pens for pigs, chickens, sheep, cows, oxen and horses.  The buildings on site were living quarters, the kitchen, smoke house, and several barns.  It was a great day of learning and exploring.

This lady was working on quilt squares.  Lulu really wants to make a quilt.  She was explaining to her how to make a simple nine square quilt pattern.  Another girl was knitting a dishcloth.  The girls were telling her that they know how to knit.

Lil really liked this doll.  There were cornhusk dolls in on of the rooms as well.  They had clothing that kids could dress them up in.  All three girls had such a great time here.  It was a really nice experience.

This is the kitchen area.   Lots of cast iron pots.  James wanted to sneak some of the home with us :)

Lil was pretending to knit while she was sitting by the fire.I cannot remember the actual name of this game.  The girls want James to make them a set though.  Basically you have a hoop, like an embroidery hoop, that is wrapped with ribbons for decoration and two pointed sticks for each person playing.  You cross the sticks inside the hoop and pull your arms apart quickly to send the hoop flying off your sticks to the other person.  The girls practiced this for a really long time.Lil and James ready to carry water.  Our kids have it so easy today.  These were very heavy empty. Lulu and Monkey gave it a try as well.

James would love to live like this.  I really enjoy camping and trying to live more simply, but I don’t think I am ready to live this simple. 

My prairie girls!

Of course Lil had to see what it would be like to be a young lad as well.

I like this picture of James and his dad.  We had a great visit with him and his wife.  The girls stayed with them for a few days after James and I came home.  It was a nice break for all of us but I sure was glad to get them back home.