Almost all of my family came up to the ranch to celebrate Pioneer Day last week: my Mom and Dad, my oldest sister Holly with her 4 youngest (Sadie (10), Aidan (5), Brendan (4), and Olivia (5 months)...Neal was working and Whitney (14) was at camp), my sister Wendy and her husband Andy with their 6 kids (Natalie (11), Brian (10), Zachary (8), Landon (6), Sam (4), and Ammon (almost 2)), and my sister Julie and her 4 kids (Aubrey (9), Brad (7), Ethan (5), and Owen (almost 2)...Drew stayed in Provo to work).
It was fun being together. We slept 24 people in our house that night. We missed the brothers & families!
We played around during the day, went on a treasure hunt (turned trek-through-the-creek) prepared by Natalie, Sadie, and Aubrey.
Then we had a delicious meal with tons of food, got dressed in our pioneer clothes that Mom, Wendy, and Julie made, and headed down to the over 100-year-old barn (which was constructed without a single nail!) for some knee slappin', Virginia reelin', butter churnin', rope swingin', hay jumpin', Pioneer pretendin' fun! Seriously, it was a BLAST! I wish that my sweet and hilarious sister Julie didn't have a migraine so that she could've joined us. She stayed at the house with the sleeping babes.
(Thanks for touching up some of these photos Wendy!)
With Alan Jackson pouring out of my little CD player, and tiny white Christmas lights (even though they weren't all working) providing a magical ambiance, Weston's little brother Ammon, who was on the BYU Folk dance team last semester, taught us some dances. Of course the Virginia Reel was all of our favorite, being that all of us Sheleys still consider ourselves Virginians; plus, it is a super fun dance.
Kate and Ammon:
Bring on the dancin'!
Butter making contest. We got fresh cream from one of the farmers in the ward, split it up between 3 jars with 3 teams, and shook away. We have been eating the butter, and we've already used the buttermilk. Yum! Shakers in this photo: Spencer and Zach:
From the outside looking in:
(All photos are courtesy of Andy and Wendy Hair.)
That was the best Pioneer Day I have ever had. I feel a tradition coming on. Anyone up for next year?
8 comments:
I love it! You guys are so fun!
Man, that does sound like it would have been a blast. And in case anyone was wonder, that is reason #46 for being on a folk dance team at BYU, so you can teach people dances at a family 24th of July celebration (incidentally reason #45 is to be able to teach at a ward 24th of July dance). just FYI :)
What a great way to celebrate the 24th July! Like a previous comment about trampolines, etc. andelins know how to turn everything into a competition and have fun doing it.(who would of thought that butter churning could be a contest)
(mom)
That looks like so much fun. It seems like you guys have so much fun living on the ranch it makes me want to also.
What?! What a blast!!! We might crash your family tradition next year!!! HA!!! Does that count when you are family? Just not THAT family?
hey carebear!
i love checking up on your fun family blog. you are such a great family and always have smiles on your faces!! it was fun to see pics with your sisters and kids as well! miss you to pieces!~
Now this is how you celebrate Pioneer Day. So stinking fun. Wish I could have been there.
I am sure it was so fun! We love square dancing, and its even more fun dressed up and in a barn. We just might have to join you next year... we spent our pioneer day celebration at a tri-stake event at Rancho San Rafael park. We were not dressed up. We had snow cones and the kids went in a bounce house and on the log flume ride. It was fun, but definitely not as pioneer-ish!
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