crooked and steep

  While my sweet guy is a pacifist and gentle soul, he admittedly loves WWI reenacting. He is fascinated by so many varied aspects, from learning songs of the time - in different languages, to cooking recipes from the early 1900s, to studying the technological and medical breakthroughs of the war years; he has a passion for immersing himself in another time. Living history is a transformative and experiential way for him to more deeply understand that period in world history, a means to foster a deep connection with the human experience of that terrible time, a mechanism for him to honor the lives affected by the Great War, to cultivate empathy, and to help teach others in an interactive, detailed manner.  And, yes, it is also a way for him to recreate battles, throw reproduction grenades, fire blanks, capture prisoners, and experience the camaraderie, fear, and frustrations in a safe and sanitized way. Surely shearing off about 8 inches of beautiful curls is a sign of absolut...

Road trip! Packed to the gills we begin the 10+ hour drive to the shore of Lake Erie for our second ever D-Day Conneaut! So grateful to also be meeting up with some of our dearest friends to share the experience!    First stop - a free ride in a Higgins boat. Those are 2 of our kids in the masks. These shallow draft boats were made of plywood and allowed soldiers to be released up and down the beaches, instead of only at ports. Hello, Operation Neptune.   The Sipes + the Mattias are the sailors in the front of the boat - minus Max who would rather be paradropped in, in the middle of the night, behind enemy lines, than arrive anywhere by boat.  ;)  From there it was hard to choose where to go next. Here the kids overlook the extensive area where the Allies will re-enact the landings/battles of Normandy on the 6th of June 1944. The battleground stretched even further to the west, plenty of room for the 1500 reenactors to each play their part.  Everyone stayed...