Pioneer.

 After being gifted the set of vintage Pfaltzgraff dishes we decided to give our dining room a pioneer theme (have I already mentioned this?).  I printed pictures from our trip to Nauvoo to hang on the walls.  The canvas of Angel Moroni was a gift from the Thornocks before we moved, Brad did a great job!  I needed one last picture to print out for our shelf.  I saw this one of Bompa walking with the kids and thought it'd be so fitting for the room. (My dad is the first member of the (LDS) church in his family.  I am so grateful that he & my Mom raised us in the church.  It has, is and will forever be my greatest blessing!)  I got everything printed and hung just in time for Pioneer Day, July 24th.

Pioneer: One who goes before, showing others the way to follow.

This was the first year that we really celebrated Pioneer Day.  We went all out and it was so memorable and fun for us all.  We decided to use minimal electricity (no lights, A/C or microwave) at night we used tin can candles.  If you kids got your clothes dirty you washed them out in the sink and hung them out to dry on a make-shift clothes line (Brie, you loved this!).  We had oatmeal for breakfast, made our own butter and had stove-popped popcorn for a snack (I figured that while living in houses the Pioneers would most likely have had stoves).  We did watch "Legacy" (They definitely didn't have movies back then, not even VHS ;0), but we thought the movie would give you kids a feel for what the pioneers went through.)  Brie, you helped me to make a delicious peach cobbler and hand-shaken whip cream for on top.  Brie & Alex, you both helped me make homemade biscuits (with cookie cutters), did a fantastic job and loved every minute of making AND eating them!!  Dad cooked up the rest of our dinner in a dutch oven, then we got dressed in pioneeresque clothing and had a special dinner together.  After dinner we played a stick-pull game and had 3-legged races.  Brie helped me to hand wash all of the dishes!  After Lij was down, you older kids came to the family room where we told pioneer stories by the light of the fire place.  Loved every minute of our family celebrations and can't wait til next year!