Day 149: A Protected Castle is a Happy Castle

The Princess Dream Castle has returned yet again.  Mike joked last night that we needed to make weaponry for it.  Well, Iris picked right up on that and before Mike even made in home tonight was asking me if we could "build the stuff for the castle that Daddy was talking about."  So, after dinner, we brought the weaponry materials out and got to work.

The girls colored Popsicle sticks for a Ballista (sp?), Iris cut ruffled triangles for the ballista guidance system, we colored egg holders black for boiling oil, crumpled paper for rocks and boiling oil, and made a "murder hole" system, while Mike worked on making the ballista bolt (look at me, i learned stuff tonight!) and the catapult and trebuchet.  (as i am writing this, I am realizing that blogger is not familiar with medieval weaponry because there are a lot of red squiggles on my blog right now).

So, I learned a lot about weaponry tonight, like murder holes are holes drilled into a platform above the main entrance that boiling oil could be dropped through and onto invaders.

A catapult is a huge mounted sling shot (ok, that is a really dumed down explanation, but it works, i think)

The trebuchet is an above ground teeter totter that launches rocks/boulders/etc through the air.

And, the Ballista.. it looks like a huge arrow on a stationary bow system that when wracheted back, will launch the arrow (bolt according to my hubby) through the air.

So, you remember what our castle looked last last night and here is the new and improved castle!