A prairie day~

Last Saturday was "Thee" day for demonstrations...

After breakfast was over, there was a rope making demonstration:

I remember the first time I watched a rope being made at the first Prairie Days and it was so fascinating to see. Guess what? I still think it's fun to watch, 9 years later! :)

Andrew and David Dagley, chatting while waiting for the twine strings to be twisted together on the other end of things...

Then there was a recorder class, which my brother (Andrew--Man of Courage!!!) quickly jumped into... This little group actually did quite well in the short amount of time they practiced (I have a video which I hope to post, sometime).

Meanwhile, several of the young ladies were setting up the "Trading Post" with things they'd made to sell...

My friend, Susanna looks on as....

...her husband, David helps their oldest daughter, Hadassah learn how to walk on stilts! :)

Hadassah was not the only girl on stilts! (Thank you K. family for taking/posting pictures too! I hope you don't mind I saved this one, as I don't have many pictures of myself at Prairie Days...)

Volleyball was unusually popular this year, with games running late into the evenings even!

A couple "Indian" children, helping out on the West team...

There was a pretty, young "Indian" woman wandering the park too...

A goodbye picture with Miriam K.---a blogger friend that I/we first met last weekend. :)

(We were so glad you all could come, Krahn family and only wish you'd been able to stay longer!)

There was archery for the young folks in the morning...

And then came the "Instrument Petting Zoo", where people could try playing different instruments. By far, the most unusual instrument there was the Hurdy-Gurdy! When played, it sounded almost like bagpipes....

Sarah S. showing how to play an accordion...

Amanda (Dagley) Balyeat sharing her trumpet...

Our friends, the S. family won the "Best dressed family" award during the "Guess Who?" skits time. Can you guess who these 2 little pioneer girls are?

Mom's cousin, Kristi, had fun at our house, trying on my prairie outfits to see which she wanted to wear to Prairie Days. Here she is, looking lovely (though a bit cold, as it was quite cold that morning!) in a green dress I sewed a few years back, with her daughter Rachel in a dress Kristi's mom sewed for her when she was a little girl! :)

In the later part of the morning, Dad arrived (see the black pickup with the tote of screenings for Ben's chickens on the back?)

I was up at the zipline, getting pictures when he arrived.

Here is our cousin, Eric, zipping across the water... Jacob's on the other side already, climbing up the ladder to make the return trip!

Before the noon meal, anyone who wanted to be in the group Prairie Day picture gathered for a BIG picture! Unfortunately, I don't have one of those pictures (yet) to share here, but hopefully I can get one from a friend....

Later, Betsy Ross (aka: Mrs. S.) taught everyone who was there......

...how to fold paper/cloth so as to be able to make only 1 snip and have the shape that opens up be a 5-sided star!

There was a "Chat with the cowboys" time somewhere in there...

Here's darling Clementine, picking out a tune....

The potluck-meal serving tables were set up under the blue canopy....

"Anyone need a ride?"

My dear friend, Rose Balyeat, slicing up some juicy watermelon...

"Finally, it's time to EAT!".....

A couple more "Guess Who?" participants, James & Amanda as, well, can you guess who? :)

....and yet another "Guess who-er"...

Andrew, getting some video footage....

Oh yes, here is yet one more person to guess... (Yes, it is Mr. S., but who is he dressed up as?)

The item he's standing by is our corn-sheller.

At long last, a man came who all were waiting to see! I'm sure you can guess who this is! We were blessed and impressed by Mr. Mark Collins' impersonation of President George Washington and now pray for his ministry to grow and grow in this country!

During supper, Mother sang a song and then my brothers did their Andy and Barney skit (which Andrew's now posted on his blog!). Right after that, the Murphys and our family did a short, fun little skit about worry/gossip, and how such things can quickly get out of hand!

Later, the Balyeat family sang and played....

After eating supper, we said goodbye to my parents, as they were headed for home to do the milking and then they went to Eureka the next day to attend their former churches' 124th anniversary celebration. They sang in the choir and got to catch up a bit with old friends.

Later in the evening at the Dagley's, many people gathered around the campfire to sing and eat smores. :)

There were also a LOT of people playing, yes, more volleyball....
Our cousins, the Murphys enjoy volleyball too, so they were having fun.

As I'm not so fond of volleyball as my brothers are, I went on a walk with a friend, Camille L. to get some pictures of the sunset and other things... (See the rain falling not too far away?)

The curious horses...

How do you know when you've found the Dagley's place? When you see "The rock", then you know! I heard that a couple families had trouble finding the Dagleys farm this year. (*Mental note to self:* Be sure to get better directions put on the website before next year!!!)

The cross....

Just follow the little red road!

Bounce, bounce, bounce......

I stayed up quite late that night, visiting around the campfire with a couple of friends. I knew it would be our last night there and wanted to enjoy it for as long as possible. It was sprinkling on and off, but the campfire kept us warm and we dried our jackets thoroughly before finally heading for bed.

I do have a few pictures from Sunday to share, but that will have to, once again, wait for another day.

My family and I spent an interesting day together, eating a picnic lunch in Wilton, then driving on to see the Garrison dam and spillway. We took lots of pictures, but that too will have to wait for another day to get posted about. We're getting company tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write. I just love the adventures God sends our way!!!!