Pioneer Day

On Saturday, our ward joined up with the other ward that meets in our building for a kids’ Pioneer Day activity (From Wikipedia - "Pioneer Day commemorates the entry of Brigham Young and the first group of Mormon pioneers into the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847, where the Latter-day Saints settled after being forced from Nauvoo, Illinois and other locations in the eastern United States."

My understanding is the other ward has done this activity for a few years now, but this was the first time we’d had anything for Pioneer Day in the years that we’ve lived here. Which as a side note – we’re starting our NINTH year in living here in Chicago. That’s a long time!! (and a lot of cold winters!)

On to the pictures -

The kids started at one part of the building and loaded up a cart with supplies and things they would need for their trek. Then they took turns pulling it around the building, all while decked out in pioneer outfits.

Charlie wasn’t interested in wearing anything remotely pioneer (he was going for the opposite look – more like the future with his robot shirt :). But he had picked up this crayon at the very beginning when we were in the craft room and didn’t put it down until the very end when we were back in the craft room. It’s amazing how little kids will grip on to objects like these and not let go. For a long time.

One of the funniest parts was that the kids had to stop along the way to hunt for food. They shot rubber bands at this stuffed squirrel as part of the activity.

We have an old church building – it’s the stake center and was built in the 1960s. It reflects the style of the homes in the neighborhood and has a pretty unique look compared to newer LDS churches being built today.

Later, we went inside for storytime and songs -

Stephen did a great job and was very enthusiastic with his stories -

Eli’s mood had turned a little sour by this point. I’m not sure why… this just happens sometimes.

And lastly, this is from the end of the activity when the kids had picnic lunches in the gym – with pulled beef sandwiches, carrots, chips and ice cream for dessert. I think there were about 70 kids at the event (this was taken before the rest of the kids came in) and I was really impressed with the organization. It went really smoothly for having this many young kids moving from one activity to the next in groups.