Friday, September 23, 2011

What Kind of Books Do You Take When You're Roughing It?

We always take along several relevant books when we take trips.  I have fun choosing books with themes related to our travels.  For our trip to stay in the Pioneer Cabin and to ride the Cass Scenic Railroad, I had quite a few good choices.
 I also packed the book Freight Train for the twins, but somehow between packing it and arriving, it didn't actually make the trip.  Funny how things like that happen.
 Reading with Daddy.

And reading with Mommy.  We're lucky enough to have 3 little boys who love to read.

As it turned out, the most fitting of the books we brought was When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant.   It's long been one of our favorites, but it was fun to experience so much of the book in real life.

Living life simpler, for a few days.  No electricity.  No running water.
Brushing teeth with a dipper in the "sink".  Which led to a conversation about how we could conserve more water at home - you don't need much at all to do little things like teeth brushing.

Just like in the book, Pierce got to experience pumping icy cold water from the hand pump.
  
We also experienced what is called in When I Was Young in the Mountains the 'johnnyhouse' or outhouse - or as they call it now, the vault toilet.  Not so much fun in the middle of a cold night!

Sadly, although we brought hot cocoa to drink like in the book, we couldn't get the wood cookstove to take correctly, so we opted for s'mores by the fire instead.
 
 Not a bad consolation prize, huh?

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43 comments:

  1. JillSeptember 23, 2011 at 5:10 AM

    You're such a good Mommy!

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  2. Karen thisoldhouse2.comSeptember 23, 2011 at 6:11 AM

    I love good childrens books, my kids had many when they were young. Good choices!...and what a great experience your boys will cherish.

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  3. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2011 at 6:55 AM

    You really did pick out the perfect book. It looks like the boys had a great time during their time in the mountains.

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  4. Galit BreenSeptember 23, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    Love this! What great ideas- and photos!

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  5. LoriSeptember 23, 2011 at 8:16 AM

    Such good ideas!

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  6. TexWisGirlSeptember 23, 2011 at 8:58 AM

    nice that your real days coincided with the book. makes it 'real'. :)

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  7. MelodieSeptember 23, 2011 at 9:01 AM

    Curious George was one of the reasons my son learned to read.I had bought him a set and he would not rest until he could read them all himself!

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  8. LoriSeptember 23, 2011 at 9:07 AM

    Thanks for the comment on my photo.
    Yes, I did find it a bit tricky, and I came up with the theme. But it all makes for good practice.

    Thanks for stopping by!
    Lori

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  9. Eat To LiveSeptember 23, 2011 at 9:23 AM

    What a great idea... taking book that relate to what you are doing. I never would of thought of that.

    When we used to go camping, it was in a tent and exploring was our main entertainment.

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  10. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2011 at 9:54 AM

    Just can't emphasize how important reading is to a child and so necessary in their school years. Great post!

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  11. DebbieSeptember 23, 2011 at 10:06 AM

    memories they will have forever!! adorable pictures, i am soooo glad there is one with you also!!

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  12. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2011 at 10:21 AM

    My daughters love reading too. JBird even cuddles books at night, seriously. She rather have books in her bed then stuffed animals :)
    Funny girl.

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  13. Our Creative Day September 23, 2011 at 10:29 AM

    Fun! We enjoy taking Mr. McGee's Camping Spree, Owl Moon and others depending on our camping trip.As well, I try to bring along nature books relevant to our surroundings.

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  14. AnonymousSeptember 23, 2011 at 11:05 AM

    When I was Young in the Mountains is one of my favorite books to read to my boys, too! And Owl Moon. That one is super, too.

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  15. Chatty CroneSeptember 23, 2011 at 11:37 AM

    They learned a lesson in life that you can only read in books this weekend. Sandie

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  16. AndreaSeptember 23, 2011 at 12:26 PM

    Love it, I love that you took them on this adventure and brought books, too! :) You guys look so adorable, each of you w/your lil men!

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  17. Ginny HartzlerSeptember 23, 2011 at 1:34 PM

    This looks like a really good book! I have never been roughing it in my life, even though we live in the mountains! Did the boys think it was great fun, or did it make them more thankful for their home when they got back?

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  18. AngieSeptember 23, 2011 at 2:25 PM

    Yay for reading!! I was so excited to see my daughter start to carry her books around with her, and she talks to the school librarian every day. She's in 2nd grade. Son started Kinder this year and I had a special note come home about how good he is with starting to read. We read to him a ton, but he doesn't like to get "help" from us. Love the roughing it...I dream for a simpler life!! :)

    Thanks for visiting my blog. Yes, eBay is more difficult these days. Auctions don't get near the "excitement" they used to.

    Angie

    www.wyliemomangie.blogspot.com

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  19. Liz MaysSeptember 23, 2011 at 2:45 PM

    I would have been happy with the s'mores trade-off too. Using the water dipper would be such a fun thing to do!

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  20. ChrisSeptember 23, 2011 at 4:30 PM

    I take abook I can swat critters with...

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  21. trumpSeptember 23, 2011 at 4:36 PM

    Nothing like a cold drink from a water pump in the country. Happy fall everyone!. Richard

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  22. Jenny @ Practically Perfect...September 23, 2011 at 4:46 PM

    I absolutely love reading books to Joe. One of my favorites is "Hairy Mclary from Donaldson's Dairy", by Lynley Dodd. She's a New Zealand author and I'm so glad that I've been turned on to her :-)

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  23. NancySeptember 23, 2011 at 4:52 PM

    Have you ever considered homeschooling your boys? I think you would be awesome at it. :)

    And about our predator, we lost another chicken a couple of days ago to an owl -- but I found another chick under the turkey last night, so it's all good again. :)

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  24. Sweet Virginia BreezeSeptember 23, 2011 at 6:27 PM

    It's wonderful that you are teaching your boys the joy of reading.

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  25. AngelaSeptember 23, 2011 at 8:48 PM

    Your boys are just too sweet and adorable.

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  26. TracieSeptember 23, 2011 at 10:58 PM

    Okay so them in identical PJ's are adorable! I love the book idea I will have to try that on our next trip

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  27. JenSeptember 23, 2011 at 11:07 PM

    Wow, that is really roughing it!! I don't think I'd like trying to find an outhouse in the middle of a cold night! I don't even like to use our bathroom in the middle of the night ;)

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  28. Grumpy Grateful MomSeptember 23, 2011 at 11:20 PM

    My little boys are sporadic readers, especially my 3-year-old. Some days he loves it and wants book after book, but other days he can't sit still.

    And I love the matching jammies.

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  29. Tweedles -- that's meSeptember 24, 2011 at 12:02 AM

    It's me Tweedles
    Thank you for coming to visit me!
    I love mountains and cabins and adventures,. And I would love for you to read to me with your boys.
    Come back again
    love
    tweedles

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  30. DawnSeptember 24, 2011 at 1:42 AM

    Ahhh....books. We never leave home without at least one. Each. I think we've read 100's of books over the years....and I can't for the life of me get rid of any. I need more bookshelves....
    :D

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  31. Valerie BoersmaSeptember 24, 2011 at 8:44 AM

    A few favorite books and some s'mores-it doesn't get much better than that:)

    One of our favorite books when Amy was little was Night Tree by Eve Bunting. The story is magical, and the illustrations are beautiful too!

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  32. laughwithusblogSeptember 24, 2011 at 4:34 PM

    Great ideas! I don't think I would have thought to bring relevant books. We haven't roughed it as a family. My roughing it days were all when I was a kid. I can't seem to talk my husband into taking us camping!

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  33. jp@A Green RidgeSeptember 24, 2011 at 6:45 PM

    You're a good teacher and you & Paul set good examples for the boys...that's why they enjoy reading!...:)JP

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  34. DonnaSeptember 24, 2011 at 8:21 PM

    Love the matching PJ's! I love the idea of taking our family somewhere to teach the kids about how things used to be, but I don't know if I could handle using an outhouse in the middle of the night!

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  35. Deb ChitwoodSeptember 25, 2011 at 12:39 AM

    What a special experience! Reading together as a family and making s'mores over a fire were always some of our favorite activities, too! You're creating some awesome memories for your boys! :)

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  36. BrittanySeptember 25, 2011 at 9:16 AM

    Love this post!! :))))

    Just found your blog through JDaniels Mom and I love that you are a mom of boys too!! Your little ones are precious and I love the book ideas!!

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  37. MichaeleSeptember 25, 2011 at 10:33 AM

    This is great. I still have all my children's books - hoping someday to read them to my grand children.

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  38. LeontienSeptember 25, 2011 at 1:09 PM

    WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

    i got your package!!!!!!!

    THANK YOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!

    it arrived yesterday at the farm but my dad brought it this morning to my home (we arrived late back home yesterday evening) And it was fantastic! But my mother and father in law LOVED the little doggie (as did i)!

    And thank you for the sweet treat! i going to eat it all later today! hehe

    thank you, thank you, thank you!

    big hugs from Indiana
    Leontien

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  39. OneMommySeptember 25, 2011 at 2:41 PM

    I love that you brought books that went with the theme of your trip! What great memories I'm sure you will share from it. And, yes, I'd say s'mores aren't a bad second to cocoa...

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  40. Alicia@ eco friendly homemakingSeptember 25, 2011 at 3:11 PM

    Oh those are such adorable pictures of you all with your sweet boys!! That trade off looks mighty fine!!

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  41. SandySeptember 25, 2011 at 4:29 PM

    I think it is great you are exposing your kids to this at such a young age. We took TJ's kids camping with us ONCE and we were all miserable since they did nothing but complain...no tv, no video games, no internet, no friends etc. etc. They went home complaining to their Mom that we basically tortured them for the the weekend and she agreed. Hence why her & TJ were divorced, fundamental differences...lol

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  42. jennoharaSeptember 26, 2011 at 6:34 AM

    I love the pictures of the boys reading with you...love the matching jammies! :)
    So nice for you to get away from the fast pace of life for a while.

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  43. Kim@stuffcould....September 27, 2011 at 2:26 PM

    Yall seem to have a blast!

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Thanks for taking the time to comment. I love hearing from my readers!