It was so fun to be in Utah for Pioneer Day with the whole family. I have such happy memories of celebrating this unique LDS holiday as a child. The one that stands out the most was in 1977. It commemorated the 150th anniversary of the Mormon pioneers arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, and people pulled out all the stops to celebrate it. There was a neighborhood parade with kids as well as adults dressed up in pioneer garb, tons of potluck picnics, and fireworks. I was hoping to recreate some of that for my own kids. And over the course of the whole weekend, I think we accomplished just that.
It started with the child’s parade around the church parking lot behind our rental house. We didn’t have any pioneer clothes to wear, nor any bikes to decorate, but we participated by clapping and cheering for everyone that passed us.
They even had a band playing music for them to parade around to. I think they must have gone around the building about 3 times, at least.
There was also a pancake breakfast, but we were still in our pajamas and no one wanted to eat with strangers bad enough to get dressed! 🙂
After lunch guess who stopped by for a visit? Uncle Tom! We just talked and the kids showed him all their tricks and toys and basically caught him up on 4 years of stuff they had been doing. Then we went up to Sugarhouse Park for a picnic with everybody else as well. It was epic in it’s perfectness. Seriously.
We ate, we played, we talked, the kids all got along for hours, the babies were happy, the weather was gorgeous, the shade was plentiful, and it felt like old times, but better cuz it’s more rare and precious.
Also, my brothers are awesome dads, and their wives are the best sisters I never had growing up. 🙂
Who wouldn’t love to hang out with these three adorable boys all afternoon? But wait, there were even more adorable boys hanging around. 
This one is camera shy, I discovered. But as soon as I would put it away, he would look right at me and smile some more. Love him!
Love these two as well. Gotta have the hats to protect those sensitive heads. I especially love that you would NEVER be able to tell what these guys do for a living based on how they dress. 🙂
This guy needs to do some modeling and paying for his parents’ trip over to see us.
Also, he is the spitting image of his father at that age, just with blonde hair. No wonder I wanted him to show him off at show and tell so bad! 🙂
The older kids spent about 3 hours right here.
Then they crossed over to the other side and played for another hour or so.
They even made themselves a fancy snack!
Most appetizing mud pie I have ever seen. Then we decided to hit the playground a little. 
Sarah crossed all the way for the first time ever. After that she couldn’t stop. Way to go, Sarah! I have never been able to do that in my entire life. Really. So I was super impressed. Then Noah and Ethan wanted to try, but ran into a little problem…
each other!
The fireman pole is a favorite, ever since Sarah showed us all how to do it. But traditional slides are still the best for maximum thrill capabilities.
When they got tired of the playground, they went to the car to get their bubbles.
I just have to add here, that this orange dress on Elle is how she will remain in our memory for a long time to come. She wore it all.the.time. Obviously it’s a favorite. 🙂 I understand because I also have a 4 year old who, despite a closet full of clothes, continually chooses the same couple of outfits over and over and over. Anyway, back to the recap.
Mindy took pity on the little kids, and offered to blow the bubbles for them to chase after. Worked much better that way.
Joe and Tom took all the kids over the tennis courts to set off firecrackers and throw those little poppers. You know, the white things filled with gun powder that snap when you tossed them on the ground. I can only think of the name in German, which is less than helpful to most of you. 🙂 Well, they eventually all came trooping back and Sun casually asks, “Where is Riley?” Joe went back over to get him, and this is the resulting photo.
Notice the shoe and sock in Joe’s hand and Riley’s bare feet? That is a result of his swim/near drowning in the lake. The other shoe and sock are at the bottom of the lake, but as Joe said,”Who cares about the shoe? I’m just glad it’s not him.” A very kind woman jumped in and pulled him out of the water just as Joe got there. Could have been a tragic ending, but wasn’t. Every parent has at least one of these stories, don’t they? I know we do.
I just had to add this extra happy photo of George to lighten the mood. I swear, this kid was almost always happy and content.
Pete and Colleen’s family went with Tom to hike Ensign Peak and watch the sunset, but it was too late for our kids. Or would be after the long drive back to Provo, so we said our goodbyes to Tom then. It was very sad. The kids adore him.
We hope he and Kathy can come visit us again sometime soon. They have already been twice, for which we are very grateful, but we always want more. 🙂