Elephant Tales: Pink Elephant and the Pioneer Day Adventure

Hey guys.

It's been awhile.

But, here I am.

Recently we attended a homeschooling get-together with door prizes.

I won a free admission to something called Pioneer Days.

We all love to win, right?

And hey, you can't beat free!!

Today it was time to redeem that coupon.

Pink Elephant and I headed out into the country for some old-fashioned fun and learning!

(Thankfully I pretty much knew the roads we'd be using, since it was on the way to a good friend's house.)

I was very impressed by everything.. the planning was well organized, the 'stations' were all fun and educational, and the setting was absolutely gorgeous!

I am hoping to take both elephants with me next year!

Pioneer Day 2013 in photos:

360 of the Pink Prairie Elephant.
(I made her skirt in about an hour last night, so PLEASE don't look too closely at it....it's a mess!)

As we waited for the 'official' opening to take place, Pink found a friend.

(His name is Victor, and he is a sweetheart!!)

And a swing....bliss.

Then, it was off to the 'stations'. First up:

She was given a wick, and had to alternate dipping into the hot wax and hot water....back and forth. "My arm hurts" came about 2 minutes into it...

And this was her tiny, yet beautiful, candle.
(It's sitting in my kitchen so I can see it and think of our fun every time I do the dishes!)

Fishing. She got a bite....but not a fish.
He ate her bait and got away! lol

"Make a bonnet" station. She's quite crafty.

Dunno where she got that from...

Modeling her new bonnet as well as moving on to the "corn shelling" station:

Turn that crank, Pink!!

Muscles!!

See the result?
(I am now the proud owner of an empty, dried corn cob.)

Sewing a sachet (apple shaped, mint scented) that now resides in her underwear drawer. She's a proper pioneer, with good smelling underclothes. LOL

I just loved this angle....AND the 'angel' in it..

Finding another tiny friend....

I wouldn't wonder if PE wants to be a Vet or Zoologist at some point.

She loves animals so much!

I asked her what she wanted to do next...
Her reply was "hold the kitten"....that she'd been holding for 10minutes! :)

Laundry time! She wanted to do the whole basket of clothes...so we did!

Pause to beat the rug (thank You, Lord, for my Shark vacuum....)
ahem...

Back to work! A Pioneer Woman can never rest....

Time to weave a rug!

And here is where I pause to say that when I was uploading these pictures, my breath caught at the sight of these precious little hands....oh that they would stay this young and innocent. I live for memory-making days like today.....

Her finished product is about 2ins square...and is making a lovely 'living room rug' in her Lovin' Family Dollhouse.

Lunch!

Loving our gluten-free bagel sandwiches!

Small "contraband" treat...hand-cranked, home-made vanilla ice cream.
Full of dairy.
Full of flavor.
No, I didn't have any...sigh.

Soap Carving!!

Learning how it's done....

Giving it a try....
(I ended up carving her a cross with her name on it.
She seemed glad to turn it over to ol' Ma.)

Cooking "Johnny Cakes" over an open fire. She loved this part!

The volunteers at Pioneer Day were awesome!!

Plenty of thick, home-made apple butter on top....

Making soap. I *told* you there was a TON of stuff to do there, right??

We were there for nearly the entire time it was open....

Making corn-cob/corn-husk dolls.

The doll is cute...but the little elephant in the pic is CUTER!!

"Gem Mining"....she got to keep the "jewels" she found.

By this point, we'd been in the sun and active for hours. Not gonna lie, this Mama Elephant was ready to pack it in....but Pink wanted to go on the hayride so desperately. We sat and waited. And waited. And then I saw that the tractor was stuck in the middle of the field! Oh, no! I tried to divert PE and we went to use the bathroom. I brought up the fact that it's harvest time, so there will be other chances for hayrides....she was sad. After using the potty, she was trying to be brave, but began to cry.
"What's wrong?! The hayride?"

She just nodded, tears spilling down her little cheeks.

I didn't know what to do!

The situation righted itself, though....

We looked out the window, and there was the tractor after all. The driver had gotten free...and was waiting for more passengers.

I looked at my Pink Pioneer, grabbed her by the hand, she gathered up her skirts (like a good and proper lady who runs in ankle-length garb) and we ran for it, giggling all the way to the trailer.

Look at that joy!!