Happy Pioneer Day!

What's Pioneer Day? Check out S's post on early LDS History on Duke Archive's blog. :)

Our Pioneer Day celebration included a pancake breakfast and games for the children: corn-husk doll making, face-painting (yeah, I'm sure pioneers painted their faces!), even a buffalo chip toss! (Yuck! at least they were fake, right?) H had been looking forward to it for weeks, ever since her Primary leaders told the children to tell their parents about it. Being a very attentive child, H was quick to let me know of it. The fact that Curious George also attended a pancake breakfast of course increased her excitement. She's been begging for pancakes for the past two weeks! :)

Me? I was excited about the corn-husk dolls! Having been a Laura Ingalls Wilder fan since childhood, I was eager to help out at that kids' station so that I could learn how to make them. I was not disappointed: they are SO EASY to make! No, seriously! They're my kind of craft: you only need three things to make them (corn husks, string, and scissors--oh, and some water to soften the husks if they're hard), and they only take 3-5 minutes for a novice to assemble--an expert could easily make one in 90 sec. or less, I'm sure. Loved them, loved them, loved them!

Hey, look! They got the instructions from online. (Go figure.) Although, I have to say, there at the very beginning we tied the pointed ends together, not the wide ends, so that the edges of the dress were flat. Check out NativeTech for fancy-schmancy corn-husk dolls.

H was also excited about the dolls. She stood patiently and watched me make her one. When I was done, she colored it with markers and then carried it with her the rest of the morning. As of right now, she's even sleeping with it!

I think Providence was kind to us today. It was another heat-advisory day (at least 100, but supposed to feel like 105-110), but it didn't feel nearly so bad thru the morning when in the shade--especially when a breeze began to blow near the end of the morning. I was quite surprised! (And grateful, as I'd expected to have to bail early.)

H and Lil'S waiting for Mama a couple days ago.

Another smile for the day.