Hundred Days of Blogging, DAY 1 Pioneer Day

Well, I have SO much to catch up on.  I have always been the type of person that when I have too much to do, or I don't know where to start, I just do nothing.  Do you relate?  My sister did "30 days of Vacation" on Instagram this summer.  I have had other friends do similar ideas.  I have so much to catch up on I was thinking of doing 30 days of blogging, but I don't even think 30 days would catch me up at this point.  Soooo, I am going for 100.  You heard me, 100 days of blogging.  Don't worry, you don't have to follow along, but it's mostly more for me.  I am not good at scrapbooking at this point in my life, so this is pretty much our family journal.  So, here I go.

I am starting with yesterday, Pioneer Day.  Here is Idaho, unlike in Utah, Pioneer Day is not a State Holiday.  However, we still take time to think of the Pioneers, and all those who have gone before us, and celebrate their journey.  We usually go to our Stake Pioneer Celebration.  Everyone is invited to dress in their best Pioneer gear.  We didn't get that far, however, these two cuties from our ward did.

Each ward was in charge of a game for the kids.  We did Tug a War. The kids really had fun with it, and some of them really cracked me up.   

After we became tired of being the tug a war referees, we delegated the job to Joshua and Abigail.  Joshua had just finished working 12 hours at his new job, so he really looked like a pioneer with his work boots and dirty face.  They were more fun as referees than we were, because they actually jumped in and played.  This kid is strong. I don't think he ever lost. 

She might not be as strong, but she looks cute!

Abigail didn't like this picture, but I still think it's cute.  

This is the one where Joshua looks like an old man.  Isn't that funny looking?  I should not have edited it, because pre-editing he looks like at 80 year old. 

 I am so grateful for cousins my kids age. This year at Bear Lake it was so fun to see all the older kids together and how much they are growing up.  (We miss you Garzas!)  The kids really love each other and have each other's back.  These two girls are kind of like the sisters Joshua never had (until he had his actual sisters.) I am so grateful he has them not only as cousins but friends too!  Even though he likes to deny it, he loves watching musicals with them (ha-ha) and hanging out.  I am sure his future wife will appreciate all the training they have given him.  :)  I can't believe that this will be Abigail's last year before she is off to college.  She will be DEARLY missed and I just hate to think about it.  Boohoo.

And I don't know what Sophie will do when she finds out that Emmaline is actually eight years older than she is and they won't be in school together.  Sophie asks to go play with Emmaline practically everyday.  Soon Sophie will be bigger than Emmaline, and there will be no more carrying her around. 

I think they would have been pretty cute pioneers.  I don't know how much Sophie would have appreciated the food situation.  No spicy chips?  No strawberries?  Forget it. 

And these two pioneers kept busy running around the whole evening, I barely saw them. 

I am SO grateful for my Pioneer Ancestry.  In Primary (the children's group at church) each family is taking turns telling about their Ancestors.  It has been a great experience.  My kids told a few stories from both sides of their family.  We still need to call our Grandma Bogren and get some stories from her about our Ancestors and where they came from and what their life was like on that side of the family.  One of the stories I shared was about a modern Pioneer, my Grandma.  I have so many memories of my Grandma, but none of them involve this part of my Grandma's life.  I never heard her talk about it, but I loved reading about it later.

This is my Grandma-

Edna May Prigmore Milligan

The above picture was when she was in the Navy in 1943.  She was in the WAVES (A unit of the US Naval Reserve) and lived in New York City.  SHe lived with her sister, Rose.  (Who I named Sophie Rose after.)  I just LOVE this letter that she wrote to her parents on August 15, 1945.  

"Dear Mama and Papa, 

So much has happened so fast and furious of late in the past week that I'm not quite sure whether or not I'm awake or just dreaming. 

The end of the war and the exciting events leading up to it are never to be forgotten.  Ever since the first news of the first atomic bomb, the people of New York have drifted around like bombs themselves awaiting a spark to explode them.  Last evening, after a week of intense waiting the good news came over the radio at about 7:05 o'clock and New York simply went mad.  

Rose and I got home around six.  We turned on the radio immediately but didn't expect to hear any too favorable news because of the word we had heard in the afternoon informing us that the Emperor's first note to Switzerland had not been too enlightening.  

But at 6 o'clock the atmosphere was changing.  Rose and I stayed glued to the radio and when the final news came we dashed around like mad and got up to Times Square.  So did every body else.  The factory whistles blew (many of them out where we live) the subway trains screamed at every station and church bells rang.  All street cars and automobiles detoured around the square.  There wasn't room for the people let along anything else.  For twelve blocks the streets were packed with yelling, screaming people.  

Rose and I pushed ourselves through the streets about 8 o'clock and finally found ourselves in the middle of the square.  We went up in the Bell Telephone's Servicemen's Lounge and got a view of the swarming beehive of people below.  In about 20 to 30 minutes we went back into the street again to fight our way up to Broadway.  And it was a fight."  

And this is my favorite part-

"It was a sight to see and we would have stayed longer but there were so many silly service boys so determined to kiss the girls and especially the ones in uniform it became unbearable.  I was becoming doubtful that I'd make it out in one peace."  

Not really a typical "Pioneer Story", but so fun to see this iconic peace of history come to life in the words of my own Grandmother. 

More Pioneer stories to come!  All who have gone before us were survivors.  They lived through hard things and I am so grateful for their courage and the sacrifices that they made for us.