Hear Ye! Hear Ye!

This would be our court jester...he is a hoot!

The traditional fanfare playing in the background...

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Sir Michael & Lady Lisa of Willow Oak Castle

Cordially invite the Sir Zack & Lady Susan

and the entire McDonald Family for a Medieval Feast.

We will be celebrating on the 29th day of January in the 

2012 Year of our Lord.

This is in fact how it all started. Completing our homeschool studies on the Medieval Era only warranted a celebration. So in fact, we worked together as a family, as a classroom,  to make something special. My only rule was that Sir Michael had to cook within a very strict budget and my children had to come up costumes on their own. We chose to celebrate with our friends who are like family to us..the same family we celebrated Christmas Eve with...living life with the McDonalds is always special & packed full of fun!! Indeed we had a blast!!

First they had to prepare. Brendan researched Court Jester, found some really great jokes too. Like..

Who built King Arthur's round table?....Sir Cumference! He made a great Court Jester.

Kyle wanted to be a Wizard..& convinced we can do anything with construction paper!

Shane loves this cape - he wanted to be a monk. He loves Jesus after all! 

Look at their finished projects...I'm so proud...they did an amazing job...with no help from Mom or Dad. In fact, they even made our costumes. 

The Monk, The Court Jester and the Wizard...we off to a good start!

Now we wait for our friends to arrive...

and did they ever arrive in style! 

We took a moment to hug, laugh and then of course start our photo shoot. Yes, people were staring as they drove down the street, but isn't that all part of the fun!

This woman next to me is Susan and I'm eternally grateful for her friendship. She has been a wellspring of encouragement to me for almost 8 years. Kindred spirits she and I share. Grateful for her wisdom especially when it comes to homeschooling. Always cheering me on..always reminding me of the important things. 

Here are our precious kids! Just look at them all!! Bravo kids...bravo!

Oh and then there is Zack! Apparently young Zack in the above picture didn't want to be the only boy with stockings...so his Dad was kind enough to oblige. So glad he didn't get pulled over on his way to our house.

He is always ready to strike a pose!

Zack with oldest daughter Riley...she was the brains behind all of their costumes. I've watched this girl grow up, and you know as a teenager, she could have been anywhere else on a Saturday, but she chose to be with her family and not only enjoy the festivities, but be a pivotal part of it. It blessed my heart to have her here with us. I love this girl!!

Now onto the menu. So glad that Susan decided to make some authentic Medieval food. I don't think our food was quite authentic..it was more for the fun...here is what we had for our feast.

Sallet of Lemmons

The lemons would be our appetizer and pallet cleanser. That was probably my favorite dish and Kyle's too.

We did smoke turkey legs...for the first time...

 & Baked potatoes...which I don't think was authentic, but it had that rustic 1500s feel about it...and they were delicious.

 Mr. Incredible's favorite was what Susan made....

Pottage of Turnips with Powder Douce.

 This was Applemoyse...yum! Apples, cinnamon, ginger, egg yolks, sugar...yum!

So we feasted until we were full. We laughed and the court jesters were there to entertain us with riddles and tricks. The children all tried the food....they didn't all like it, but they tried it! 

After we feasted..we sat by the fire pit and roasted..shhh...don't tell...marshmallows...just because we all like that and it was fun! Not very Medieval however! 

Then I popped tons and tons of popcorn..and we watched...

and we laughed and laughed and everyone enjoyed this film so much! What a perfect ending to a perfect night!! Now..we move on to the Renaissance...learning about famous artists...I'm thinking maybe an art show of some kind when we are done with that. It might be kind of fun to have some fun appetizers and invite friends to display their art work..make like an open house...ooohhh...my wheels are spinning.

Hey, if you want to host your own Medieval Feast and are curious about the recipes we used...leave a comment and I'll be happy to send them to you.