Jesse James Farm!

Today we went to the Jesse James Farm and Museum in Kearney, Missouri.  This is Jesse James' boyhood home.  The museum features all sorts of James family items from the time period.  They also show a 20-minute movie about his life as part of the tour.  Guides bring small groups through the house itself, although we were unable to take pictures in the house or in the museum.

A view from the side of the house, with a cutaway showing some of the original construction.

A reconstruction of a nearby slave cabin on the farm.  There is no way to survive a hard winter in this structure; they would have had to have been in the house on the worst days.  The tour guide did say that both small family and slave children would sleep together in the loft in the upstairs part of the main house.

D being a goof and pretending to be "caught" in the reconstructed outhouse.

A large tree outside the farmhouse.  We thought it was interesting, so we took a picture of it.

Liebster Luv!

Bethany Carson at Liberty or Death has given me a Liebster Award.  The Liebster Award is a fun way of learning more about fellow bloggers by asking them questions.  I've answered Bethany's questions below:

 

1.  Would you share a favorite quote and a favorite Bible verse?  Well, I don't know that it's a favourite, but I have been thinking on Isaiah 5 lately.  The things God is warning Israel of are the things we are seeing happening today.  There is so much hatred for the poor and for people who want to live righteously, and even now in this country which (for all its faults) I do believe God has blessed.

 

2.  What would you like to accomplish before the year is over? I'd love to lose 40 pounds, but I'd be happy with 20.  It has taken me a year and a half to lose 40 so far.  After I lose five more pounds, I will no longer be obese.  I'll just be fat, like the rest of America.  Knowing I have a thyroid problem and being on medication just means this takes me a bit longer.  :/ 

 

3.  What is your ancestry (e.g. German, Italian)?  I think every rabble-rousing tribe from Europe has contributed to my ancestry.  Did you know I had relatives from Mexico?  (It's a city in New York state, but it sounds more ethnic and impressive if I leave that bit out.) 

 

4.  What is your favourite genre of music?  I like Indian music!  I just only have one recording of it that I got from a rice box years ago.  When I lived in Australia, my best friend was the daughter of the Indian Vice-Consul to Australia, and they listened to cool Indian music, had lots of parties, and ate great vegetarian food.

 

 5.  Do you have a favorite bird or flower?  I have a very un-favourite cardinal that hangs around one side of my house and enjoys the vehicles in our driveway.  He sneaks up when no one is looking, sits on our rear-view mirrors, and poops his little guts out!  I used to like cardinals before, but I think I have it in for this little fellow. 

 

6.  What is the most encouraging thing anyone has ever told you/or that you've ever read?  I don't remember where I heard it, but it helped me so much to learn that God has given me enough time to accomplish everything that God wants me to do.  So obvious, but so deep. 

 

7.  What is your go-to meal for when you need to cook something quickly?  Now that I am starting on this crazy gluten-free stuff, I don't eat anything anyone else eats, really.  So I have bags of cheese and crackers, yogurt, microwaveable rice, and veggies and fruits.  I rarely cook. 

 

8.  Do you have a favorite word?  Lolloping!  Well, that's one favourite.  It sounds like what it is.  "And the big brown bear came lolloping over the mountain."  Remember that quote in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang?  Hate the rest of the movie, really, except for the child-kidnapper fellow with the lollies.  He's symbolic of socialism, I think.

 

9.  What is your favorite tv series?  I just got done watching all the Amazon Prime episodes of Flashpoint.  It's about elite Canadian police doing tactical stuff.  I find myself wondering how they get all their information so quickly and in such a high-tech manner.  When I had to call the cops about a local threat on twitter, they asked me, "What's twitter?" 

 

10. If you could have a gift card to any clothing store, including online, what would it be for?   I would order a skirt in size 12 from Delarosa Custom Jean Skirts.  You know, as a goal for when I'm done losing 20 more pounds.  Gorgeous handmade stuff. 

 

11. If I were to visit you in your hometown, what would be the first place you'd want me to see?  I suppose we'd have to go drive by the bank that Jesse James robbed.  If I were entertaining Mormons, first stop would be the jail in which Joseph Smith was held.

 

My nominees (if they'd like to participate):

 

Kerrie @  The Kerrie Show

Jaime @ No Getting Off This Train 

Merle @ Merlesworld 

 

And anyone else who would like to participate, please feel welcome!   

  

Fall Festival!



Six Gun Sally's sells soaps, toy guns, yo-yos, and about everything "frontier."  We got some rubber band shooters and handmade soap here. (sixgunsallystradingpost@hotmail.com for info)



The older children and I piled into the car and went to the Liberty Fall Festival.  We saw several booths, bought popcorn and T-shirts and books, and had lunch in the local Mexican restaurant.  We also watched a parade every politician and marching band for about 50 miles around must be required to attend, as well as all police and fire units.  It started to rain, so we missed Jesse James's scheduled bank robbery at 2:30.  He robs the bank twice during every festival; you'd think the cops woulda caught onto this gig by now.  Yes, the bank in town he robbed is really a museum and (ironically) named for Jesse James to draw the tourists.



Yep.  Emperor's Hello Kitty getup is getting him quite a few stares and backhanded comments.  He doesn't notice.




The Southern History buffs WILL talk your ear off, but they're nice folks and you'll learn a lot from them.  They just don't take too kindly to that revisionist history they teach in public school and are *happy* to see homeschoolers pop by.  The ladies pretend to be shocked at seeing you in your "undergarments" when they see you in shorts that reach your knees.  Probably when you're wearing a hoopskirt on a regular basis, that's what it looks like.



This is Duane Porter, author of the Molly O'Malley series as well as a book on chess.  He beat both the boys in short order at the game.  Elf lasted longer than Emperor in the fight. (http://www.buriedtreasurepublishing.com/)

The new high school, Liberty North, has a marching band, fight song, and football team. And new uniforms. But the old high school has about three times as many people in band and a football team that occasionally wins games.

Letter to Grandparents of Asperger Children

It's a shame this letter is addressed only to grandparents, because it has a lot of useful information for people in general who are learning about autism in a family member or friend. The truths are pretty universally applicable, but the writer urges grandparents to consider that the parents know a few things about their own children and are already under a great deal of stress. They don't need any judgmental comments from you because they already get enough of that from everyone else, thank youuuuuu....

"Your son and daughter-in-law are now so used to defending their child that it comes as second nature. Give them some time. Once they are more certain of your support, they will be less sensitive.In the meantime, think carefully before you speak. Choose expressions that suggest sympathy and genuine curiosity, and avoid those that convey criticism... The most destructive things you can say are those that convey your lack of trust in their ability to parent, your disdain for the diagnosis, and your unwillingness to make accommodations..."

"Otherwise, you may suddenly be faced with the pain of being unwelcome in your grandchild's home."

Well, mercy me. The letter even mentions homeschooling as a source of potential strife! Fancy that! But what would you write to the parents of a newly-diagnosed child? It takes two to get into a fight. Hm. Well, it probably needs a little refining, but here's mine:

Dear Parent of Newly-Diagnosed Child:

Welcome to the wonderful world of autism! You love your child, and that's awesome. Your child is unique and different in a way other children aren't. The more you discover this, and get used to arranging your home in a way that makes him comfortable, the more you will be able to live in harmony. But get ready to face a lot of rejection and pain from others. There are some bright and supportive spots out there, but you've been warned in advance to prepare your heart for trouble. And make it double. To protect the world from devastation. To unite all peoples within our nation. To denounce the evils of truth and love. To extend our reach to the stars above. Jesse. James. Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light. Surrender now... or prepare to fight!

That's called a verbal stim. Get used to those, too. :)

I want to encourage you to get online and join a blog ring or an IRL support group. Now, while you are still coherent. Not to discourage you so early in your journey, but I'd caution you to NOT go looking for understanding from ANYONE at ANY time if they are not going through the EXACT SAME THING you are.

PLEASE, for your sanity and that of others, refrain from discussing anything with anyone who is not also the parent of an autistic child. To phrase it positively, other people who have "been there" will really understand. I know that these are precisely the people who are overwhelmed with their own problems and can't help you much, but there it is.

I don't mean to paint autism as this awful child-stealing monster like some organizations do. I'm on the neurodiversity bandwagon and all that. It's more that I have little faith in the people around us to be able to listen, understand and offer support. By all means, share the "letter to grandparents" discussed above with family members. Maybe you have a unique family that will understand. You might not, though, and what I've learned is that it probably would be best just not to chat with them at all if the subjects are any of the following:

homeschooling
autism
parenting in general
how many children you are having
the weather and other controversial topics

One thing I've discovered in *my* journey with autism (and we have a lot of that going on around here) is that your child needs you. He needs you in a way your other children never will. You need to be ready to step up and do what you need to do to parent this child. There will be a price to pay in your relationships with people who don't understand. Maybe sometimes you will even find YOURSELF acting very wrongly and unjustly toward your friends and family. You expected them to be supportive, and to "get it." Why are you so furious at them?? YOU don't even "get it." You can't expect them to! Please stop lashing out at them for not doing the impossible. Just stop talking too openly with anyone who doesn't understand. I can't stress that enough. Don't do that "talking frankly about your problems" thing. Bad things happen when you do that.

Remember that next time there is a discussion. Try to forgive others. Try to forgive yourself. Forgive yourself for being angry and hurt by these inevitable situations. Remember, your child needs you. He will need you tomorrow. He will need you the next day. And the next day, when no one else wants to be there for you guys. And the next day. And the next. Keep giving it your all, and may God bless and keep you when you are tired and feel you can't do this one more day. May His face shine upon you and your children when you can't see the sun shine anywhere else.

There ARE people out there who will care for you and who will understand you and your children. It is your task to find them and cultivate those friendships. It is your task to find out how you can help others and be a source of insipiration. Even a friendly email or blog comment can make the difference to another parent. Our children are so quirky and loveable in their own way. I would never trade mine for anything. I know you wouldn't, either. There is always hope for new and better things tomorrow. And things are not so very bad today so long as we have our children and our friends. :)

In Christ Who Holds All Things Together,

Mrs. C

Homeschool Organization and Scheduling.

Almost all of our curriculum is organized by lesson numbers or by weeks (1-36). And almost always, I don't do things that way. I like to do things like "supplement" or go on little rabbit trails. I'll just give as an example what we're up to in Social Studies. As our base curriculum, we're doing BJU 3 Heritage Studies, but we've been working on it for a year and a half.

We will study the things in the textbook, but we'll also take time out to do things like make a model of the Bastille and have a bit of fun.

Here, we're staying a few months on the Civil War. Our Bob Jones curriculum tells the story of the Civil War in brief outline. It's probably written by a Southerner because the curriculum includes the holiness and devotion of the Southern commanders (list six reasons Stonewall Jackson is one of the greatest generals of all time!) and emphasizes the fact that most Southerners didn't own slaves, the South had very little in the way of weaponry and factories and able-bodied white men ready to fight, etc.

And you know, they're right. Of course, it doesn't follow that slavery was the "right" thing (and I think our curriculum makes that pretty clear). More that, nobody likes to feel bossed around and having their rights taken away, even if one of those "rights" is to harm another person under the law.

One rabbit trail we happily followed was finding out more about Jesse James. Click here to see those adventures! (This post might pop up first... if it does, just scroll down.)

Now, everyone outside our local area will tell you that Jesse James was a "bad" guy. Here? They have festivals for him. And look-alike contests! You can see his farm and museum. Or the bank he robbed. They even have a documentary at his farm about how he was truly a great countryman, and this whole robbing trains thing was the North's fault (they started it because they didn't let the South alone).

So anyway, to balance our curriculum a bit, we are watching the Ken Burns Civil War documentary. Elf has been visibly upset through most of it. It is very hard for him to watch. He doesn't see that much real-news violence and that sort of thing, so even the paintings of battles are difficult for him and he is sad for the drummer boys and the slaves, and the men... Well, everyone. He says that he wishes they didn't have a war anyway.

We are also using Evan-Moor History Pockets. This history is told more from the Northern perspective and features a section on "famous abolitionists" and the like. Elf and Emperor are colouring the pictures of the various Union and Confederate soldiers based on a chart. They're also learning a bit about life in the armed forces and later will be doing some recipes. (Modified slightly. I refuse to serve squirrel or "worm-castle" biscuits. Thanks.)

I tend to concentrate on whether the children are learning about a given thing and nevermind the gaps. After we're done with this curriculum, we're going to do a world overview for a while. Which I think will actually be much tougher, the reason being that when one doesn't cover something in depth, whole countries and eras are going to be skipped. My children may just emerge from that year-long (or two!) study not knowing where Zimbabwe is located. Most people at least will not quiz my young kids at the local Feldman's. Speaking of which, we MUST make the trip out there next baby-chicken season in the spring. This place has the entire line of Farm-Boy clothing AND wrenches as big as your arm. G was not surprised to see this stuff. He said no, it's not a joke. You need that for tractors.

(OK... I TOLD YOU we went on rabbit-trails here.)

Now, every month or so, I write a few lines under each subject and give an update in my log book. This is usually where I realize that wow, we haven't done science in a few weeks or whatever. I tend to do intensive work in social studies for a few weeks, and then intensive science work. It seems too much switching around, combined with inevitable rabbit trails, is just too hard to keep track of if I try to get to every subject each day.

So why don't I just lay out my schedule and follow it? That's a good question. I think when the children get older, it will be necessary. For now? Nah. Though I do follow the math curriculum very strictly page by page. I just don't necessarily do a full "lesson" each day. I do it based on how long the children will reasonably take to get something done. So, some days we will just do a few problems, and other days we can zing through and get a lot accomplished. The main idea, however, is that the children learn the math. Promise you that 20 years from now, it won't matter what workbook they used. It will, however, matter if they can't add and subtract. :]

Homeschool Rabbit Trails

I'm running in circles trying to teach the same stuff over and over.

What is the opposite of "shorten?" Emperor says it's "grown." It couldn't be "lengthen" as MOM suggested because, Mom, don't you know that "length" is just telling us how LONG something is? It's measuring something when you do that!

Silly Mom. I wonder when we're going to grow out of this phase. Emperor thought "thinked" was the past tense of "think," too. Thankfully, Elf corrected him by telling him nooo, it's "thunk." Emperor got his paper out to transcribe this bit of information.

Arg! No, stop that... Though in the old days, they'd have said something like, "thinkdid-ed-did." Really. I should be glad for small improvements.

Or we're talking about classifying plants. The teacher's book instructs me to chat with the children about classifying books as an example. So. "Where would you find a book about history?" is supposed to lead us into how scientists classify plants by shape, colour, stems or lack thereof, etc. because we'll talk about how all the history books go together, the science books go together...

Our world is an ordered place.

Instead, I get a small Elf telling me that George Westinghouse used science to change history, and he thinks the science and history books ought be together. That really, when you think about it, in his opinion there is no difference between science and history.

Well, I suppose you could have... well... you're ruining my analogy, kid. Scientists just like to group stuff, ok? Like... they like to group stuff in terms of PLANTS or ANIMALS. And they put living stuff into one of those two groups.

"But there's a third group!" interjects Elf. "People!"

"Nope. You're an animal. Now ---"

"I am NOT AN ANIMAL!" Elf folds his arms. "I object to that. People are not animals. They should not be treated like animals!"

(Oh, boy... Yep, Elf went on and on here for a bit. Those scientists are ungodly for even *thinking* of classifying him as anything but a person in his own special group, etc. etc. My, but he had a few things to say, but concluded with...)

"I want to find this scientist that says that and hit him on the head with a baseball bat!"

Linnaeus? Yeah. Good luck with that. But is that a nice Christian way to act? Especially if the Christian in question is really, really short and tiny and has trouble lifting the bat in the first place?

"Um... I guess not. Nevermind."

And so ends our science lesson for today. Next up is history, in which we learn that it's ok to solve our "some states are seceding from the Union" problem with lots of violence and bloodshed. It looks like things are going to go pretty badly for the South in this fight. We've looked at the "who has the factories, people and railroads graph" and kinda predicted that probably the North is going to win. Emperor says that he just KNOWS the North is going to win, because G mentioned it once and he heard it at the Jesse James Museum.

"Then do the Romans happen, Mom? What year was that?"

Homeschool Happenings

Here's a little post about what we've been up to of late:

Mathematics

YES! We have finally finished book 4A in our Singapore Math curriculum. We did a bit of review in this book before moving on to the B book. The beginning of the B book is relatively easy, and gets harder in the next few weeks.

Science

We finished a unit about heat, sources of heat and how to use energy wisely. D even took the children outside to do an experiment about the sun's rays using a magnifying glass and some paper! The boys loved that.

Art

Spiderman velvet posters and iron-together beads. Crayon drawings. Mostly art is a fun subject in our school at this point, though I probably ought to buy an actual curriculum. We find quite a bit to occupy ourselves in the "how to draw" books, though. You'd be surprised at how detailed those can get.

Heritage Studies

Trains and the Wild West. We learned about how the train operates using steam and coal. We learned some cavalry hand signals. We made our own "brand" that would discourage cattle rustlers. We listened to songs from the time period. We also examined maps from the time period and talked about the Coffeyville robbery. We're technically done with the academic part of this series of lessons, but I think we'll revisit some of our curriculum and read books about Jesse James and the West.

English

We're finished with BJU Grade 3 Unit 13, dealing with the difference between adverbs and adjectives and reviewing comma placement. Unit 14 entails writing a biography. Emperor wanted to write one about God. I was able to talk him down from that, to Satan, to Michael, to about John the Baptist. (*whew*) You'd be surprised at the number of resource materials available from the library about him! Certainly much more about him than George Westinghouse. That's Elf's choice, because the air brake is an exciting invention!

Yes, I found almost nothing at the "juvenile" level about Westinghouse, but plenty of technical books he probably won't understand. Bummer. Maybe there will be pictures, so we'll check these out anyway. It may be that we have to learn to REVISE our topic ideas when things don't work out. That's something I didn't learn until I went to college.

Reading

We finished Bram Stoker's Dracula!! Finally! Now, we're reading Boomtown. Elf is actually having more trouble understanding what is going on in the text than he did with Dracula. There are many idiomatic expressions in Boomtown. Things you and I would just pick up, that he needs help on. Dracula had more advanced vocabulary but was very literal. Boomtown is a funny book. Elf and Emperor keep imagining that it isn't real. Then I would show them the pictures, and they'd think it's real. They're not sure if it's a true story or not. It's one of those stories that is impossible to believe, but because it has a PICTURE in it... welll... "Is this true, Mom?" Of course not. But I get asked that question occasionally anyway when someone wants to be sure.

Emperor just finished an ABeka book titled, Growing Up Where Jesus Lived. It actually isn't a religious book at all, but the fictional story of Jacob going to Jerusalem to Passover and detailed explanations of what Jewish life was like when Jesus was alive. I would highly recommend it even to those who aren't believers, who just want a background text about life in Israel. I learned a lot from it myself.

Elf is still working through one of the ABeka third grade texts as well. His book has short stories about historical characters and legends and fables. Sniffle warning, because some of the ABeka stories make me cry. So does The Velveteen Rabbit.

Spanish

We just finished Unit 2 of our BJU Kit A. I can't believe the children did well on the test, but then again, the curriculum is geared toward younger children. I need to get more consistent with teaching Spanish, but I am one of those teachers who likes to do EVERY activity in every book... so much so that even though we homeschool all year, I fall behind! The children are learning and enjoying it, too.

We even went to lunch a bit ago and ordered real Mexican food! And Emperor tried something new! Elf... well, we love Elf. I think he had a burger or something. :]

Bible

I count most of our Bible hours toward reading, as we are working from the King James and reasoning in our workbooks about what we read. Sometimes we sing songs. We're doing BJU Grade 4, so the work is more challenging and we are going at a slower pace. So far, I have NOT liked BJU 4 as much as 3, because the Bible stories seem more "split," if that makes sense. I think we will take a whole book next unit and read it through rather than doing a chapter here and there and working on that. Sure, you get bored during the begets, but I think there is something to be said for taking a work as a whole and evaluating it that way. When that sort of thing is taken to extremes, you get "friends" who comfort you when a loved one dies with Bible verses that are aimed at Jewish people being dragged into captivity and have nothing at all to do with the fact that you've faced a loss.

No, BJU stuff doesn't go that far with the pat verse, but it is a curriculum that is meant to be done in one school year. We're not limited to that. We can take longer or skip lessons if we so choose. I'm choosing to stretch things out by reading a whole book every now and then. It took us *almost* forever to read through Acts as a group. I was continually explaining this or that, giving background and that sort of thing. There's nothing wrong with that, but it does slow down the reading.

Thongs. Because the Economy is THAT Bad.

In these dire economic times, the human female will wear shorter skirts. It's an absolute, ironclad fact... you can even go to the Psychology Today's "Evolutionary Psychology" section and check it out for yourself.

We all know that those pioneer ladies with the long skirts weren't REALLY hungry or hard-working. That was just a show to keep the tourists away. Don't you hate tourists? We get about fifty billion of them each year in "Cowtown," Kansas City. That's right: they all come to look at a big concrete cow on a building somewhere downtown. I've seen it once and then I think they moved it. Whoopee!

Oh! We also have the Jesse James Farm nearby, but you have to drive way out in the boonies to see it. But you'd be surprised how many people come from all over the world, as far away as the UK and Japan to see a two-bedroom frame house. Whoopee!

Maybe I shouldn't write that because then we'll get even MORE tourists than we're already dealing with. I can't tell you how often I've been in the local Hy-Vee and had my picture taken with some stranger because they thought my family looked so authentically native.

Anyway, somehow this article doesn't convince me of the "facts" of evolution. I'm thinking of all the 58 billion OTHER things they could be saying about psychology and evolution, this is pretty lame.

Beep... Beep... Beep.

That's the sound of me backing up a little bit in our math work. Time to review some concepts and get strong before we move to the next level. I've discovered that the children could use some review in long division, multidigit multiplication, word problems and tally graphs. I think every now and then, it's useful to throw a review sheet at the children and see how they do. It helps me to know where their areas of strength and weakness may be on work we covered recently.

We have an anniversary coming up! We will have been homeschooling two years as of November 18. I bought little bottles of bubbly cider and we will make a cake! Elf wants *extra homeschool* to celebrate; can he have (shaking) mooorrre worrrk pleeease? Well, maybe if you're really good, kid.

Elf just learned to do long division. You see, it LOOKS hard, but it really isn't if you line your numbers up correctly. We need our math so that we can work at the Keebler factory properly, doubling and dividing recipes and all. I can't believe that still really works on Elf. I'd tell him about how all elves are naturally good at (fill in difficult subject), and he usually works very hard on it because if all elves can do it, and he's an elf, that must mean HE can do it! He has not yet asked me to back up my assertions with any data, which is just as well. I am sorely tempted to make a pretend blog about elves for that inevitable day. Once when Elf was sleeping, I put cookies in his hands and woke him up. He was so happy that he brought those cookies home from the factory for breakfast!! Oh, I'm mean, but I have so much fun being that way. The kid is going to be nine next year, so I'm enjoying these moments while I can. Note to self: make sure the cookies are KEEBLER brand, not Nabisco, next time. The joke doesn't work with Nabisco cookies as well once he gets into the light.

Emperor has been enjoying the McGuffey reader I bought at the Jesse James farm. He likes the pictures and wants to be first to read the story lessons. I think his favourite so far is a poem about a little white kitten that goes out and gets dirty playing where it shouldn't. Emperor's nickname during homeschool is the "Peanut Gallery." He will know all the answers instinctively. Even some longer division answers, he doesn't need paper to do. It's very annoying. Sometimes, though, in his haste he will multiply when division is called for, etc. So I'll ask Elf if he's going to listen to the "Peanut Gallery" or come up with his own answer. Usually, the Peanut Gallery is correct, though. I don't know how you can jump, twist your body around and generally not even be looking in the right direction and still get the answers right. Love him, though. Emperor has asked for only a half day on the homeschool anniversary. :]

Jesse James

Elf's artwork has been featured on Casdok's Faces of Autism blog.

Stanley Goes to Liberty!

We took Stanley into Liberty, Missouri, on this adventure. See our travels to the Jesse James Bank Museum and the town square right here! We had a lot of fun hosting Stanley. I think he should have arrived back at his home by now, or will very soon.

Jesse James Farm - Souvenirs

Each of us picked a souvenir in the gift shop. Guess which one is mine??

The Jesse James Farm and Museum in Kearney, Missouri.

**

***************This tour and museum is worth it. Kids under eight are *free* as well. The tour begins with a wonderful short historical movie about Jesse and his older brother, Frank James. Then you can wander about the exhibits featuring the boots and feather-duster Jesse James was using when he died. His wallet. His letters written under a pseudonym. Some coins and saddles. BTW, *real* outlaws have flowers embroidered on their saddle blankets. Yes, they do.

Jesse James Farm - Outhouse.

Brr... this is not a place I'd want to have to go to the bathroom in the winter. Fifty feet from the house in the wind in the middle of the night. Bleck, but I wouldn't want my home to smell of "chamber pot," either. It isn't like Jesse's mom could have lit candles to disguise the smell, either. Or used air fresheners. Thank God for indoor plumbing, would ya?

Jesse James Farm

You can take pictures and touch things, but they ask you to please not sit on the furniture. A chamber pot and other "personal" items are still around the house. It seems that the work is not done well inside or that they ran out of money halfway through. Possible, as our guide informed us the back porch was JUST replaced as a child fell through. I guess that's how they know when to make repairs. The inside is dusty but the overall value of the tour is such that I'd still recommend it. In the second picture, you can see the "original" sides of the house and the window next to the door is the one the Pinkerton people threw a bomb into the home, fatally wounding Jesse's stepbrother and making it necessary for his mother to get her arm amputated. The guide told us that this was probably because the mom had her arm around her baby and the blast came and got him full in the chest as she was holding him. I didn't take pictures inside because everything is out for touching and Elf and Emperor... I was afraid someone would bump into something and my hands needed to be free.

Jesse James Farm - Slave Cabin.

This, unlike the farm which was carefully restored using the original materials whenever possible, is a reproduction of a slave cabin that was on the premises. It would have been absolutely miserable to spend a winter in these conditions. There is no insulation and no chinking between the boards. The shack is about the size of a medium-sized modern bathroom.

Jesse James Farm - View From the Creek.

Jesse James Farm - Running About.

We were permitted to take pictures just about everywhere except inside the museum. The boys ran up and down the paved path from the house to the museum and tired themselves out. Elf and Emperor had races and rode their "horses" all over. There were shouts of, "I'm Jesse and you're Frank!" heard from all about. Eventually poor Emperor became exhausted and sat down to rest.

Jesse James Farm - Nature.

This place isn't too far from where we live, but we found amazing numbers of daddy longlegs, ladybugs, birds, butterflies and other animals. We wandered down to the creek about twenty yards from the farm where Jesse and Frank must have played as boys and found this snake. It's going sideways across the picture and is near a big stick. It was only about a foot long, but an exciting find. One could easily imagine the James boys taunting snakes with sticks and leaves as we did over this bridge. Nearby were several very small fish or tadpoles. It was hard to tell which as as wet as the ground was that day, we didn't want to slip into the creek because we got a closer look. As I was buying some souvenirs, a staff member led the boys out to pet a woolly caterpillar. I'm thinking they would LOVE if Dad were to buy some of the moderate acreage near the James farm that is for sale right now. The countryside is simply gorgeous.

On Jesse James.

We took Flat Stanley into the town of Liberty, Missouri, yesterday. We went to the fountain near where slaves were sold on the square downtown and peeked at the Jesse James Bank Museum. The first daylight bank robbery took place there. A post detailing our adventure should appear here soon.

Elf and Emperor are VERY interested in learning more about Jesse James. I don't get it. I suppose some other time we could trek to nearby Kearney (pronounced CAR-knee) and see his house or even go to St. Joseph and see the bullet holes in the wall where he was shot dead. Elf and Emperor say they want THAT for a field trip... looking at hideouts and houses and whatnot. And they wanna see his gravesite, too!

Well, I kinda would rather have gone off looking at the pumpkin patch again, but there you go. What is it about outlaws and bad guys that little boys want to hear about? Because if I could make up characters like, say, the Number Nine Bandit and the Division Desperado Gang somehow relate to their maths, they'd be doing college-level stuff now. D has sarcastically informed me that we missed an entire Jesse James FESTIVAL in Kearney about a month ago. It's true!

I just don't get it. An entire festival, complete with boy beauty contests, all for an outlaw murderer. Well, they call them Jesse James "look-alike" contests. But still.