I did what???

Went on a field trip.  Yes I did.  With small children.  Well, smallish.  They were 5th graders.  Some of you may be thinking "Oh I ALWAYS go on field trips with my kids and their classes."  Well, you are not me.  I DO NOT go on field trips.  The whole I don't like other people's kids thing, which is becoming less of a thing for me these days.  I still have my limits.  I have no desire at all to go on a field trip with ANY child under the age of 9.  Unless I am homeschooling and the only 6 year old I have is my own.  But yes, I went on my first ever field trip as an adult.  I usually avoid them at all costs.  Because I don't like walking, bad weather, other people's kids, and pretty much any other excuse to keep me from going.

But Katherine practically begged me to go and the teacher needed drivers, and I happened to be free. So I went.  And you know what?  Not only was it not as bad as I feared (though I admit I did take my Xanax with me), I actually learned something and enjoyed it.  Now all the other kids are like "What about us?" and "You never go on field trips with us."  Suck it up kiddos.  I never go on ANY field trips and we will have plenty next year.

We first learned about Elijah Lovejoy and saw the statue/monument erected in his honor in Alton, IL.  Pretty cool guy.  Fought against slavery, and got killed for writing about it.  Here are just a couple of pictures.  I didn't get one with just Kat, and I don't think it'd be right to post one of her whole class, without the permission of all the parents.  Here is what I did get though.

There are three things I love about this "sign".  The first is what it says above his name.

"Considered by many to be the first casualty of the Civil War, abolitionist editor and Presbyterian minister Rev. Elijah P. Lovejoy was killed defending the freedom of the press."  I just found it interesting that he was considered to be the first casualty of the Civil War.  Ever since we took the kids to Gettysburg a few years back, I've been fascinated by history and especially that surrounding the Civil War.

Next, is a quote from Lovejoy himself, which for some reason, reminds me of our church, The Outpost, and it's name/meaning.  And also, in general, the way we should approach these battles that we get into between good and evil, God vs. Satan.  Lovejoy said this:

"I can die at my post but I cannot desert it."

And lastly, Abraham Lincoln himself said this about him:

"Lovejoy's tragic death for freedom in every sense marked his sad ending as the most important single event that ever happened in the new world."

After seeing the monument, we went over to learn about Robert Wadlow.  Kat has been telling me he was this really tall guy.  Tallest man in the world.  I didn't realize he lived in Alton, IL.  Just 25 minutes from where I live now.  We watched at 25 minute video about his life, which was really interesting.  And then we got to see part of the museum that is dedicated to him and has replicas of his height, as well as personal belongings, such as his size 37AA shoes and a ring made to fit him, that a half dollar would fit inside.  His graduation gown and cap used FOURTEEN YARDS of fabric!  If you know anything about fabric, you know that 14 yards is a LOT of material!  Here are some of the pictures I got.

The guy was still growing at age 22!  If he hadn't died of an infection in one of his feet at that young age, who knows how tall he would have gotten!

Understand, Katherine is almost 12.  This is a "replica" of the height Robert had reached at age 13!!!  Can you imagine?

A replica of his head.  Looks huge compared to Katherine's.

Sadly, compared to mine, my face is obviously fatter but lengthwise, his head is almost half as big!

It's hard to tell by the picture alone, without seeing the actual replica, but his hand was HUGE!!!!

His height before he died.  Katherine is shorter than the top of the man's cane!

A bronze replica of a chair made for him, to fit his very large size.

It's hard to see from here but I am holding his humongous hand (which now seems a little creepy), while Kat has wrapped herself around his cane.

So there you have.  My first field trip.  And it wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be.  It was actually fascinating to learn what I learned and how much history there is in Alton, IL.