Pioneer Day 2009

Seeing as how I didn't grow up in Utah, Pioneer Day has never been a big deal to me. But ever since we found a "Kirsten" American Girls Doll at a garage sale a few months ago, the girls have been obsessed with pioneers.

They are constantly asking me questions--What did the pioneers eat? Did the pioneers have toys? Did the pioneers burp? (Yes, that was a real question.) So I decided to take advantage of their obsession and celebrate the day this year. We ate flapjacks for breakfast, since that seemed like a pioneer meal and then started off the morning with a nice hike with some friends. The girls did their best to dress as pioneers (their Dorothy dresses were the best we could do--and Gap baseball hats for bonnets!) I did their hair in braids, but had to draw the line when they wanted to go barefoot. Chloe almost lost it when I couldn't provide her with a white apron--I'm not sure how she got it stuck in her head that the apron had to be white. We had a lot of fun on the hike and talked a lot (more) about pioneers.

After our pioneer lunch of grilled cheese, we watched "Little House on the Prairie" for some quiet time. It is always interesting watching the shows from your childhood as an adult. All I can say is if I was married to someone who told me it was "foolish to sweep a dirt floor", especially after he took me and my small children off to an unknown place in a wagon, I just might backhand him right out of the little log cabin. But that's just me. Poor Caroline Ingalls. I definitely need to go read those books again.

Anyway...We then made our own covered wagon in the family room and the kids played in it for the rest of the day. Well--sometimes it was a wagon, sometimes a tent, sometimes a log cabin. Either way it was a fun day. Lincoln and I got to be the indians. We ended the day with Sloppy Joes. I think we will make this a yearly tradition!