Eureka Pioneer Museum

Nathan, Teresa, Rachel and I started our Schmeckfest Saturday with Papa Butter and Grandma Shirley at the Eureka Pioneer Museum.  This beautiful one-of-a-kind wheat sculpture that celebrates Eureka's title as Wheat Capital of the World is outside the entrance. (For more on Eureka's history, visit this Germans from Russia site.)

Our first stop was a rope making station where they learned how to twist their own 3-strand rope.

The player piano caught all their attention.

Everyone took a ride on the wooden colt (which was also built by the man helping them make rope).

We stopped in the school house.  Teresa was most interested in the pens, ink wells in the desks, and handwriting books.

The country church has a very large collection of antique hymn books, most of them in German.

We don't visit the museum every year, but I always enjoy it and so do my kids.  There is also a sod house on the grounds, as well as an extensive collection of farm machinery, a fire truck and cars.  There is even a jail cell!  

They always find something new to interest them, or revisit favorite displays from before. 

It's always good to go back home . . . and be reminded of our roots. 

Homecoming 2014

It's Homecoming in Wildcat Territory today!

The annual Homecoming parade is one of the most fun things about being a part of a small school.  Next year, we will be part of the marching band scene.  Wohoo!  I looove marching band.

The parade theme this year was Dr. Seuss stories and we had quite a long parade for a small town!

The Senior Moms were Molly Shannon "Superstars"!

(And, yes, Rachel noticed that Yellow Bus.)

Yellow Bus

The YELLOW BUS is Rachel's dream car.

Remember playing M.A.S.H. (Mansion, Apartment, Shack, House) on school bus rides when we listed our top three dreams for all things important in life?  

Rachel's list of three dream cars would include a YELLOW BUS.  She spots them everywhere and anywhere.  The arrival of the yellow bus in the morning and afternoon are the highlights of her day.  One day we were stuck at a railroad crossing beside a yellow bus.  

A train AND a yellow bus?  It just doesn't get any better!

Remembering that Nathan had also been motivated by a bus ride when he was a little guy, I mentioned to Rachel that big girls have to poop on the potty in order to ride the yellow bus.

The message wasn't always clear--"Where do you have to poop?"  "On the yellow bus!"

Uh, no.

But, it still looked like the timing could be about right to promise a yellow bus ride for the Grand Prize.  Within a few days of school starting, she was starting to get it.  She has actually been near 100% since Labor Day weekend and she did not forget that promised ride.  

Today it worked for her big YELLOW BUS journey.  Our awesome driver Camille agreed to pick her up at the corner and take her along for the last stop a mile away.

Of course, she needed a back pack, too!  Why ride a yellow bus if you don't look the part?

Hooray for life's little victories!

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

After a busy weekend, this week has been full of catching up both inside and outside, with a little bit of field work tossed in, too.

This morning, having been given the day off from the field, I decided to use up some brown bananas in my baking.  This recipe is from an old newspaper and was given to me by David's Grandma Rosemarie Melius a long time ago.  I made it once, but today I decided it was time to try it again.  

As I usually do with quick bread recipes, I made this into muffins instead.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cups mashed bananas (or 3 bananas)

1 cup chocolate chips

Beat the sugar, oil and eggs together until thoroughly mixed. Beat int he vanilla. Blend the dry ingredients together and stir into the sugar/egg mixture until just combined. Sitre in the bananas and chocolate chips and mix well.

Pour batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 250 for 60 to 70 minutes, or make muffins and bake them for about 25 minutes. 

Hello, Kitty!

We love kittens, but what farm family doesn't?  Farm cats come and go around here, and sometimes we even import them from another farm.  

Teresa was promised a kitten last summer (which you can see, turned into the generous gift of 3 kittens).  I just went to adopt them on Friday and surprised her after school.

(Rachel's drawing of a cat!)

Teresa took these photos of her new friends.  We kept them pretty close to their carrier on the first day, so that we wouldn't lose them.

They are already great friends. :)