Calico Ghost Town!

May 4, 2009
I extended our trip to California one day so Sadie, Ashley and I could take our kids to Calico. Sadie and Amanda had already been here a couple months ago. Even though we skipped over the Ghost Town section of our theme to come back to later, we still couldn't resist visiting this real old west town while the weather was still mild. Alexander is going to help me caption some these photos.




"Alexander is doing a cool pose and Levi is doing a bad pose. And Alexander is doing this because that means he is starting to fight the bad guy, Levi. Levi is pretending he is bad and that what happens in here." -Alexander


"Levi is driving the chuck wagon and Olivia and me is riding. But there's none horse! And Alexander is drinking a drink. And Levi is making a funny cowboy face." -Alexander


Olivia, Levi and Alexander getting ready to go into the silver mine.

"We like to be in here. The mine. And it's so cool to be in there. But there might be very end but we can't go out the very end but we go all the way down to the top of the part and it will be cool, cool, cool. This is where they dig for the silver. I thought that means to put the shovel and they put the dirt on it. Mom, how you look for gold?" -Alexander

We told the kids we would pan for gold, but by the time we were done in the mine the panning had closed. Still, the next day Alexander said his favorite part was when we looked for gold. Hmmm. 

Olivia the outlaw gets her feet put in handcuffs by Sherrif Levi

Lincoln and Alexander

Sadie and Levi are sad to be in jail

Sadie, me and Ashley. Levi took this picture for us during our snack break before we drove home.

Singing Cowboy/girl Guitars

Alexander and I made these guitars for the "Singing Cowboy" section of the Wild West theme. This was our last big cowboy activity we did before finally moving on to pioneers (though I think we'll never be able to really say we've ended our "cowboy school" as Alexander calls it).

We cut up some large cardboard boxes to make three guitars: one for Alexander, Lincoln, and me. Alexander only did a little of the cutting, in case you were worried.

Alexander was better skilled at cutting the duct tape he picked out with Daniel at the hardware store, though even that proved to be sticky. Ha ha. Actually, he was really good at taping the guitars together. We had a lot of fun making them.

Like all the singing cowboy's quitars, ours had to bear some great western graphics.


Alexander's: That dark figure is himself as a cowboy, lassoing the smiling cattle and/or horses you see scattered around. You may be able to spot his nickname "Ale" among the coils of the very long lariat.

Mine: Dreaming of Daniel (in his Sheriff Woody costume).

Lincoln's!

We put strings on the guitars, following an online tutorial for making cereal box guitars. The strings are stretchy cord for making beaded bracelets. With some effort the guitars can be tuned and played, but we're not very skilled in that area. I was hoping Uncle Mark would help out there. We ran out of cord before we did Lincoln's, and still never got to it, even after buying more cord.  This picture was taken after we reinforced the bendy necks with narrow wooden dowels.

And now for a special treat! Another video of my awful singing! Please stop groaning, it's rude. I just wanted to show them in action. We're just strumming, not trying any chords or anything remotely complicated. Notice Alexander's "wah wah wahs."

The New Chisholm Trail Song

Here is a video of Alexander and me singing our new verses to the Old Chisholm Trail song. You may recognize some of Alexander's favorite phrases that we hear a dozen times per day: "All day long," "Of course," and "Bigger than you've never seen before." I suppose our verses are more about a round up than a trail drive, but we've got round ups on the brain.

I'll write the words to the song below. Sadie and Amanda (and anyone else, I suppose), let me know if you would like me to email you the audio recording to add to your cowboy music collection.

I should add that (supposedly) there were over 150 verses to the original song. Cowboys used to sing it along the trail, making up their own verses. That is why we decided to write our own version.






The Old Chisholm Trail Song
Verses by Alexander and Brittany Henage
January 21, 2009

We want to have fun - rounding up the cattle
It's so - much - fun to ride in a saddle
(chorus:)
Come a ti yi yippy, yippy yay, yippy yay,
Come a ti yi yippy, yippy yay

Champion is the name of my bucking bronco horse*
I love to ride him all - day - long, of course
(chorus)

The longhorn cattle run all over - the - land
So I've gotta mark them with - the Horseshoe Ranch** brand
(chorus)

I tie up three legs and the calf says "moo!"
Gonna brand him with the red - hot- iron horseshoe
(chorus)

I lasso all the cattle with my rope, rope, rope
Then I have to wash my hands with soap, soap, soap
(chorus)

I like to make biscuits and eat - some - more
At the biggest chuck wagon that you've never seen before
(chorus)

We go in the middle of the Old Chisholm Trail
We go to take the cattle to the new train rail
(chorus)

The End
*Champion was Gene Autry's horse, who Alexander named his rocking horse after. Gene Autry is the current favorite celebrity of our household. Daniel only just today realized Gene was a man.

**Alexander made up the Horseshoe Ranch himself while we were writing the song. I'm not sure where that came from. We named our own "ranch" the "Medium Fantastic Family Corral at the Happy Henage Ranch" at the beginning of the year (Alexander wanted Medium Fantastic Family and I wanted Happy Henage, so we combined them).

Numbers Round Up Rodeo

One day Amanda surprised us with a special invitation to a Number Round Up Rodeo to be held the next day at the Bald Eagle Ranch (the Amakasu's house). At the rodeo the kids "competed" in lots of fun cowhand events to help them learn their numbers better (particularly 10-20).

Even Lincoln participated. Here he's moving numbered cattle from one corral (wall) to another.


Alexander is "cutting" the calves from the rest of the herd (in the bowl)


Peter and the bucking bronco


Owen shows off his bronco-busting skills


Owen "branded" this cow with the number ten

Alexander tries his hand at rope-throwing


Here the kids are making bracelets from foam barnyard animals.


What roundup wouldn't be complete without biscuits from the chuckwagon? These are sweetened up with brown sugar and cinnamon.


The boys at the awards ceremony. They received beautiful hand-painted medals from Amanda.


Alexander recieved the "Best Round-up Rookie" award


Peter got "Best Cow Hand"


Owen got the "Best Bronco Buster" award


Next we took cowboy pictures like the real cowboys often did at the end of a long cattle drive. Here's lincoln. He's holding his belt buckle instead of wearing it.


Cowboy Pete. He's got his rope ready for any runaway steers.


This cowboy doesn't mess around. Owen poses with serious cowboy scowl.


Alexander wouldn't pose, so I Photoshopped a video still from his bronc ride.

P.S. I've been trying to post this for over a week, but the videos keep failing. I guess Alexander just won't get his lassoing featured because this is dragging on too much.

The Old Cattle Trails

Peter put the old cattle trails on our map with yarn. We passed through the Western, Chisholm, Shawnee and Goodnight-Loving trails on our trip. I wish I had been aware!

Wild West Show

11/5/08

As part of Heber City's Cowboy Poetry Gathering this week they had a Wild West Show. Besides being way overpriced, the show was awesome. The best part for me was when, at the beginning of the show, a group of cowboys came out on horseback driving a herd of real longhorn cattle. I was amazed. It was perfect, since we're learning about the cattle roundups right now. Alexander's favorite part was at the end of the show when they had the fake shoot out at the O.K. Corral and several people "pretend died." Lincoln's favorite part was probably when his dad took him off to the side to bounce him.

 
Alexander, Lincoln and me in front of one of the cowboy performers.

And the best news of all...Alexander is writing! Yesterday he wrote his first word, "HORSE." Today he wrote several words. Here's a picture:


Alexander is writing in his adventure log about the big show. He wanted to write "WILD WILD WEST SHOW." I helped him sound out the words to determine which letter came next (in this case, H) and he wrote the letters himself. To the left of Alexander is a notepad where he wrote his second word, "WILD" and then his third, "HORSE" (again). I'm so proud of my boy. I practically go to tears when I see those cute little words in his own sweet handwriting.

P.S. Alexander typed the title of this post and his name at the beginning of this sentence.

Ranch Hand

 
Alexander at the ranch on Antelope Island. If only he had been wearing his hat! (I was carrying it for him at the moment.)

P.S. Aren't you proud of me for posting only one picture?

Movie: A Cowboy Needs A Horse

The much-anticipated film starring Alexander Henage, with co-star Lincoln, is now yours to experience.