5/25/2013

Today we had a really fun family outing.  There was a WWII reenactment demonstration at Camp Mabry which included some WWII era tanks.  Our friends gave us a flyer about it a couple of days ago and the boys were super-excited.  They've been playing another tank computer game-- World of Tanks maybe?  It's better than Tankionline, but the same idea.  This game takes place during WWII, however, and the tanks are real WWII era tanks.  The boys have learned a lot about them, and so this was right up their alley.
It was raining pretty hard as we drove down, so we stopped at Walmart for umbrellas, which we'll probably use only 2 or 3 times a year here in Texas.  :-)
Once there, we went through the great little military museum they have, and walked up and down among a whole bunch of tanks that are on display outside.  I took a picture of each of the boys next to their favorite tank.  I can't remember what they were called now, but the boys could tell you, and tell you all the important facts about it, too.

It had been raining when we got there, and in fact the first reenactment got cancelled because of it, but by the time we got through the museum, it had tapered off a bit.  We made our way down to a field and sat on some bleachers set up to watch the reenactment.
It was really cool!  We got to learn about a whole bunch of WWII era weapons-- American and German, and see them in use, although only firing blank rounds.  They also brought several vehicles out to the field-- jeeps, half-tracks, and of course tanks.
The demonstration itself was "totally awesome," to quote Mosey.  It was also LOUD!  The video I took does not at all convey the decibel level out on that field.  The crowd was given earplugs before the show, and they were needed.  How did those soldiers keep their hearing??

Anyway, this was the perfect tween-age boy activity, and was perfect weather-- overcast, breezy, and not at all what late-May in central Texas is usually like!
After this, we got food at Chick-Fil-A and then went to see the new Star Trek movie.  We liked it, but didn't like how much death their was...  On the way home we had a spirited family discussion about the plausibility of the Star Trek technology in the movie.
Then Ben and I had a solo-date to the grocery store, and then home and bedtime for the boys!  A good day-- one that the boys will probably always remember.