We all loved Pioneer Day this year! It's never the same not being in Utah, and the kids were disappointed, for it's probably their favorite time of year to visit for the parades, fireworks, and fun. But we made our own Pioneer Day excitement here!
For church the day before the holiday, the kids sang a few pioneer songs during Sacrament meeting and then we did a great activity in Primary. We had our own little trek outside on our property. I wish I took some pictures of these great kids, but I forgot to bring my camera/phone with me. We had a map and had stakes with pictures of different stops along the trail. At each stop, we had a song and a related pioneer story, and sometimes a game and snack. It was a hit! Emma was especially excited about how many of the places along the trail she'd visited. The kids were touched by some of the stories and enjoyed playing the stick pull game and eating hard tack Emma made with me the day before and the wagon wheel cookies Sister Griffin made.
Monday, we started the day out with handcart french toast. Not typical pioneer food fare, but I thought I was pretty clever this time around with this one. We watched some of the Days of '47 Parade on the internet, which was fun. We read stories about a pioneer ancestor, Elizabeth Coffin Rawson, my fourth and the kids' fifth great grandmother from a book my mom compiled several years back about our her pioneer ancestors. The kids were shocked by how many times they had to move (7 times before they left to Utah due to persecution/fires, and then lived in 4 different places after arriving) and how many children she had (13). They particularly liked the story about how when Elizabeth had young children and not much to eat, the cow went missing. The family's main source of nutrition was milk and corn. After the cow was gone for days, the family was desperate and they prayed they would find something different to eat. They were able to find a wild turkey and it was just what they needed. They also liked her story of hearing and seeing the Prophet Joseph Smith for the first time. I read some things that really touched me and felt I needed to hear. It was said of her that she never complained and everyone loved her. Wow! After all she had been through and she never complained. I'm making this my goal this week - no complaining. It's so easy to complain sometimes, but I'm thankful for Elizabeth's example in this. I also appreciated this from her obituary: "She always bore a strong testimony to the work of God she knew for herself that this was the true Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she died as she had lived full of faith and love for all with whom she became acquainted."
We had our pioneer dinner that evening. We made Oxtail Soup (but used stew beef) and old fashioned oat muffins and the leftover hard tack along with apples, since our Rose ancestors started an apple orchard in North Logan when they settled. Some of the kids helped make the food and were glad the food wasn't gruel. After that, we did pulling taffy. Last year, I left it on way too long, multitasking and forgetting and it burnt, this year we were a bit too careful and I don't think we cooked it long enough. It got a little hard but was still kind of runny but the kids licked their hands and ate off spoons and still enjoyed it! Then it was time for FHE, Cal taught the lesson about pioneers and it was short and sweet. Then we played pioneer games in the back yard - 3 legged races, I have a little doggy, and the classic stick pull game. It was a lot of fun, but we made sure to emphasize how much work and how little play the pioneers got, and how little food they got sometimes and to be thankful. The crew has been talking about their hardships lately and keep saying things like "I'm so glad we have a nice big house and it doesn't get burned down all of the time like the pioneers houses." or "It's hot outside, but the pioneers had to walk outside all day in the hot sun. I can come in when I want." I think they're seeing the sacrifices the pioneers made and are feeling thankful their lives aren't as hard as they sometimes think.
Thought I'd share the recipe for hard tack, it actually is pretty tasty!
Pioneer Hardtack
Hardtack is an old-fashioned flatbread or sea biscuit that was popular with pioneers and sailors because it was lightweight, compact, tasty, and stored well.
4 c. flour (white, whole wheat, rye, barley, or any combination you want)
1 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. shortening
2 c. buttermilk, yogurt, cream or milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and measure ingredients into a large bowl. Mix well and form dough into a ball, then divide the dough and roll out a small portion at a time. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface as thin as you can. The thinner you roll it, the better the hardtack will taste. Sprinkle the rolled out dough lightly with salt and cut into any shape desired. Baking times with vary depending on thickness, but around 8-15 minutes. Look for hard tack to brown lightly around the edges, or completely light brown for a more crispy taste.
