Halloween 2011

We had a blast at our ward's Halloween Party! Mama bear dressed up as a Ninja Mama, Papa Bear was a clown, Panda was Pikachu (a Pokemon), Cinnamon was a princess (or the good witch), Gummy was a football player, and Baby was a bunny rabbit. There were fun activities (pumpkin decorating, a sensory room, trick-or-treating, pin-the-heart-on-the-skeleton) and yummy treats. Papa won the Funniest Costume award. Go Daddy!

Berkshires Vacation: Hancock Shaker Village Part 4

The Shakers actually had a car! They used it for business purposes.

The place where we spent the most time was the children's shed (not the official name). They had all kinds of activities to do there, including holding baby chicks. Panda was a little worried about crushing the little thing (or getting pecked or scratched), but she did great!

Soft!

Cinnamon got to make a bracelet. Twist, twist, twist!

Just like a kitty cat!

As you can see, it looked pretty sunny. But within a few minutes of taking these pictures, the sky turned black, and we had a huge storm sweep through. There was thunder and lightning. The power went out (fortunately, the village had backup generators), and wind shook the windows and doors.

Shaker girls! Panda is holding one of the seed packets the girls got to make and take home (bird seed). The Shakers were known for their gardens and the seeds they cultivated from them.

Panda tries out weaving on a loom. It takes a lot of coordination--like playing the organ. She had to use her eyes to follow the pattern, her hands to guide the yarn, and her feet to change the pattern.

Berkshires Vacation: Hancock Shaker Village (Part 3)

This is the Hancock Village guest house. Outsiders who came to do business with or visit one of the Shakers would come here. There was a store where people could buy baked goods, textiles, and other products made by the Shakers. The building also had accomodations for visitors who needed to stay overnight (they were not allowed in the Shaker quarters). There was also a room with a huge safe and a banking window for financial transactions. Women were very involved in the financial welfare of the village. The Shakers believed in the equality of the sexes, though men and women had different roles. Those roles were considered to be equally important.

(Banking windows with safe behind the counter)

Pictures of the store

Bershires Vacation: Hancock Shaker Village (Part 2)

The Shakers made beautiful, useful oval boxes. They were made to endure and became quite popular. We wanted to buy one, but even the tiniest box was $50.

An exhibit in the Visitor's Center featured famous people who shared their favorite Shaker things. Yo-Yo Ma loves the oval boxes.

Mama Bear was extremely excited to attend a Shaker song and dance session. The Shakers loved music. They had simple music which they sang over and over in their meetings, which, combined with some simple, repetitive dance moves, induced a hypnotic state. People would start shaking and twirling about. Some of their dancing, musical meetings would go on for 24 hours. (They always met separately--men separate from women--for meetings, as well as meals.) One of the Shakers' most famous songs (and one of Mama Bear's favorites) is "Simple Gifts."

The Shakers had some children in their community. They usually came with their parents when families converted to the Shaker religion. Many of these children left the community when they came of age. Since Shakers believed in celibacy, they did not produce children themselves, which is partly responsible for the faith dying out. Below is a children's room.

Apothecary room

Most of the rooms are very plain, in simple wood. But originally, the Shakers used bright paint in their buildings. For some reason, they did away with the paint.

Berkshires Vacation: Hancock Shaker Village (Part 1)

On the second day of our Berkshire vacation, we went to nearby Hancock Shaker Village. The village was once the home of a group of Shakers--a community of faithful who believed that Christ's Second Coming had been manifested in the form of their leader, Ann Lee. They believed in the equality of the sexes, celibacy, and communal living. They earned the nickname "Shakers" because of the shaking and whirling they did during the music of their worship services. Their believers dwindled, but some communities still remain. The Hancock Shaker Village was sold in the 1960s to a group committed to preserving the Shaker heritage. It is now a "living history museum" run by non-Shakers. Some of the museum workers dress in costume, but they are not Shakers themselves.

The village's energy needs are provided for by a mixture of solar and electric (grid) power. The solar panels were the first thing we saw as we walked into the village.

The Round Stone Barn greets visitors as they leave the visitor center and enter the village itself. This intriguing barn was built in 1826 and housed the village's farm animals, including the dairy cows. The Shakers produced a lot of dairy products, which they sold in the community. There are also rows and rows of vegetables and herbs. The Shakers were known for their herbal remedies.

In 1854, Shaker woman Hannah Cohoon had a vision of a tree. She recreated this tree in a real-life painting. The tree was called the "Tree of Life" (sometimes "Shining Tree of Life") and came to symbolize the unity of the Shaker people.

A museum worker demonstrates the water-powered saw in the Laundry & Machine shop.

There was men's work, and there was women's work. Each gender had a role, and those roles were considered equally important. Women churned butter and made other dairy products. They also produced textiles.

Shaker men made unique chairs. They sat on four feet, but you could rock on them!

Men's work also included making brooms.

Shaker men also made shoes.

The Shakers made gorgeous cloaks, which many non-believers (including First Lady Frances Cleveland, wife of Grover Cleveland) loved to wear.

Berkshire Vacation: Norman Rockwell Museum

We took a small family vacation to the Berkshires in Eastern Massachusetts at the end of July. We stayed at a ski resort in Hancock. Our room was actually more like a small condo. The kids had a room, we had our own room, and then there was a kitchen, dining, and living room area. It saved us a lot on food. Although there wasn't any skiing to be had during the warm summer, it was beautiful, green, and close to lots of fun places. And best of all, the resort had an indoor swimming pool, which we used every day of our visit!

Our first day, we visited the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA. When we first got there, everyone needed a potty break, so Mama decided to take pictures of the outside of the museum after our visit. Unfortunately, there was a big rainstorm as we were leaving, so Mama didn't get any pictures. Pictures are not allowed inside the museum, but if you want to see images from the museum (or find out more about it), here's the website: http://www.nmr.org/

We got to visit the museum for free, thanks to the Blue Star Families program, which gives military families free admission to select museums nationwide during the summer.

Mama had a lot of favorites when it came to the Rockwell paintings. (She thinks he might be her favorite artist.) His paintings have such character and tell great stories. Some are serious, and some are hilarious. Lots of them portray children and families (or dogs). The one (actually two) Mama remembers best was a painting of a family headed out on vacation in thier car. Dad's sitting up straight at the steering wheel, and the kids look eagerly out the window. Then there's a painting of the return trip home, with dad hunched tiredly over the steering wheel and the kids looking decidedly bored. So like real life!

The museum had a worksheet for the kids to fill out as they went through the various galleries. Panda had a great time tracking down the answers to the questions on the worksheet.

The museum has special exhibits on display, too. The visiting exhibit we got to see was "Ice Age to the Digital Age." The girls got to learn how animated movies go from concept to paper to screen. The security guard let Mama take a quick picture of the girls drawing their own story boards. They also got to create 3D sculptures on a computer. Mama got a turn, too. It was pretty fun!

The museum took all of the morning and a lot of the afternoon. We were famished! We went to Arizona Pizza, north of Pittsfield, MA to eat lunch. Mmm, mmm, mmm!

Where's my FOOD???

We had a TV at our table!

After lunch, we headed to the Chocolate Springs Cafe. Heaven for Mama! Papa got her a crunchy, dark chocolate lollypop. She wanted more.

A view of their kitchen, including a really big mixer.

The Hill Cumorah Pageant: July 2011

The Hill Cumorah Pageant is hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (that's the church we attend). The pageant is peformed every year for two weeks in July in Palmyra, New York. It was written by author Orson Scott Card, with music by Crawford Gates. The pageant acts out stories from the Book of Mormon, including the story of how Joseph Smith found the gold plates the Book of Mormon was originally written on. This was our first year seeing the pageant, and we loved it!

The pageant began at sunset (around 9:30), but we arrived about 6:00 to get good seats. It's performed on a steep hill called the Hill Cumorah, where Joseph Smith actually found the gold plates. At the top of the hill (hidden by the trees in this picture) is a monument. The audience sits on chairs or blankets on the huge, grassy field in front of the hill. The field can seat 9000 people.

Vendors sell salt potatoes (a New York cultural food), BBQ food, and lemonade at the pageant. I packed a picnic dinner for everyone, including yummy, ripe strawberries. Gummy Bear ate most of them!

Cinnamon enjoys her sandwich. The lady next to her is a good friend and Gummy's respite care worker. She'd never seen the pageant before, so she was very excited to come with us!

Cast members come out before the show to mingle and talk with the audience. Panda and Cinnamon got to meet "Joseph Smith" (and he was really, really tall)!

The pageant had a lot of awesome scenes, with fire, water, wind, and smoke. But one of our favorite parts was when "Jesus Christ" came down from the sky and blessed and taught the people.