Uncle Carl

Nope, Noah doesn't have an Uncle Carl but he did go to Uncle Carl's Way Back When Camp at Kaufman Museum last week. Tuesday through Friday for 2 1/2 hours each morning Noah, Abram and Mara (from swimming lessons) and a bunch of other new friends got to learn from Ms. Kristen and her helpers about how life was "way back when".

Noah had a great time and was eager to go each day. They learned about all sorts of ways that life "way back when" was very different from how we live today. They visited the horses near the museum, cut out log cabins, made mud bricks, washed rags the old fashioned way (after getting them as dirty as they could), explored the old red barn and the old house at the museum. On Friday, they gave their families a little program and then showed us around.

To start things off we had a campfire - each camper got to take their own campfire home.

They sang us a song, as Ms. Kristen and her daughter Naomi led them.

He seems to take programs pretty seriously and I think I'm OK with that.

After the short program Noah took Levi and I out on a tour. We went to the barn,

and the Voth-Unruh-Fast farmhouse - my great grandmother grew up in this house. It was fascinating to walk through it. It helps that we've been reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie book series. We're currently reading On the Banks of Plum Creek so all of this "way back when" stuff fit right in with what we've been reading at home for the past couple months.

We even spotted a few mud bricks in one part of the house.

Noah really wanted to show us the horses, so even though it was steaming hot outside we walked over there. I thought there was no way the horses would come to us, but sure enough! Noah started calling to them and they all came right over. I was amazed!

Finally, we grabbed a snack and Noah showed us the "snack tree" - I guess they ate snack in the shade of the snack tree each day. It also happens to be a great tree for little ones to climb on. We walked through the museum - we didn't even break anything!

What a great week of fun, time making new friends and learning new stuff for our little Noah. He certainly seems to be growing up this summer - I think he's actually turning into a kindergartner in front of my eyes.