Medieval Times

This is a massive long post with the rest of the good but not the best pictures from our evening at the castle. It's in Belleville Texas if you want to know. A mystery dinner theater place.

They charged to take pictures there, which I didn't know, or I might have rethought things a bit.  But once I had already driven there, dressed up the kids, ironed the dresses, etc. etc. I wasn't coming home without pictures.  Anyway, it was worth it.

But I'm definitely posting every moderately good photo to get my money's worth.

Also, I bribed the kids with french fries and dilly bars.  DQ is in every small tall in Texas. I am not joking.  McDonalds--you rarely see it.  Dairy Queen is EVERYWHERE. In this one matter, Texas exhibits superior taste.

The castle really looked much cooler from the outside than it was on the inside.

This is her "gosh mom aren't you done yet?!?" face.

Nicolas got poked in the eye about this time. That's why he looks a little hurt in some of the pictures.

I loved this dog.  He was so sweet.  Leo tried to convince his mother that it was our new dog. She didn't believe him.  Hee. Hee.  The dog was owned by the people who owned the castle. More ambiance I guess.

Ringing the bells in the bell tower was a highlight.

And yes I did wash Elena's surcoat with Isabel's dress when I got home (chocolate dilly bars are messy) and I did turn Isabel's dress pink and blue.  I am an idiot.  I tried soaking it in Oxiclean. I think I'm going to try carefully dabbing with diluted bleach next.  Sigh.

Isabel drew this picture a long time ago (Halloween) and I thought I lost it, but then just a week before I took pictures I saw it in the trash.  It's all yucky, but Isabel's drawings crack me up, they always are VERY romantic.  

 This was Elena's second drawing, I really did throw away her first, much better drawing of her in her dress.  Whoops.  The top of the castle is cut off.  Imagine crenellations.

And Sebastian's picture also got thrown away. He drew a picture of the castle this past Sunday at church. It was amazing.  Really.  So I'm posting this picture of his dinosaur skeleton instead.  The end.

Oh wait. Jubal was there.

The Castle

On either side the river lie Long fields of barley and of rye, That clothe the wold and meet the sky; And thro' the field the road runs by To many-tower'd Camelot; And up and down the people go, Gazing where the lilies blow Round an island there below, The island of Shalott.

    A steed! a steed of matchlesse speed,

    A sword of metal keene!
  All else to noble heartes is drosse,
    All else on earth is meaue.
  The neighyinge of the war-horse prowde,
    The rowlinge of the drum,
  The clangor of the trumpet lowde,
    Be soundes from heaven that come;
  And oh! the thundering presse of knightes,
    Whenas their war-cryes swell,
  May tole from heaven an angel bright,
    And rouse a fiend from hell.