back in time

Ellie has been begging to go to Living History Farms as one of our 'adventures' this summer.  Usually I plan these kind of outings during the week, and often with with friends, so we can have an experience 'out of the ordinary' from our regular summer lazy days.  This trip peaked the interests of Dave, however, so we planned for a Saturday when he would be home from work.  In addition, the calendar for LHF listed this weekend as a special "Family Weekend" with various events planned specifically for all ages.  

Maddi has been to LHF with a friend, I attended with a Mom's Group year's ago, and Dave and I ran the LHF cross country road race in 2008. In other words, we thought we knew all about the place and what kind of experience lay in front of us.  (from the LHF Website)

"Founded in 1970, we are a 500-acre, outdoor museum that recreates history and lifestyles in four time periods – the 1700 Ioway Indians, the 1850 pioneers, the townspeople of 1875 and 1900 farmers. Historical interpreters dressed in period clothing complete the daily routines of each time period – caring for animals, cooking, blacksmithing, gardening, and much more. The story of 20th century agriculture is explored through an exhibit of crops, displays and interactive activities. "

And, come to find out, we did know all of this information ....... but it was MUCH MORE FUN than I thought it would be.  So much so, we are seriously considering getting an annual membership so we can go back for special events like:

• Threshing Days
• Pioneer Wedding
• Behind the Barn Concert Series
• Fall Carnival
• Quilt Show
• Harvest Days
• Halloween Hoedown
• Prairie Christmas

For $95 a family (+2 guests ...... we love to invite friends, so this would work out nicely) for an entire year of membership to the farm.  Yep, I see this needing to be worked into the budget fairly soon.

Of course I took my camera, and here are some shots from the day.  I played with my editing software and used the 'antique' tool for several of the pictures. This was the perfect setting and I think they turned out pretty nicely.  In fact, I re-designed my blog header to highlight some of the 'artsy' photos.

And, back to modern day.