Pioneer Weekend-Sunday

We all slept much better Saturday night and Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny and I again hurried out to get some sunrise pictures. Since it was September 11^th I took some pictures of the flag flying over the ball diamond.

The sun was really strong and I got some really nice shadow pictures on the Octagon House.

When I got back Dad had the fire going so I got to work making our breakfast of fried mush, bacon, eggs and potatoes. Before the crowds came for the day we had to clean out our ticks.

Dad then decided to break out the scythe and mow down the pig pen. I love the look on Dad's face in this picture. Watch out for the piggies!Then we had to make our way over to the Brooks Grove church for a short service. Here's Kyle, Don and I dressed in our finest. When we arrived at church, we were asked to sit up front and Don muttered “We’re Burns’ we never sit in front”. He was overheard so then we were allowed to take up our usual place in the back pews to keep with family tradition. Sitting in the back is such a well known family tradition that at Art Burns’ funeral the pastor made a joke that this was the first time she’s ever seen a Burns in the front of the church.

After church, all 5 of visited the tinsmith where we learned all about the history of tinsmithing. The tinsmith was a great educator and I really enjoyed my time there. I had never really thought much about the art and importance of tinsmithing and I learned a ton. We even got to try our hand at making tin ornaments! Then it was Don’s turn at the blacksmith until lunch. We all reconvened for a delicious lunch of chicken soup and crackers. We couldn’t completely forget the 21^st century though as the bells rang at 1:00pm for a 9/11 moment of silence. I then got my turn at the blacksmith for the afternoon. The blacksmith was a wonder and had so many stories to tell and we all learned so much. Apparently women were very good at patience and detail work and therefore made excellent blacksmiths. I however, possess neither of those qualities and did not excel at blacksmithing (it didn't help that I kept alternating between my left and right hand). Kyle and Don stopped by to help me out though and between the three of us we made a beautiful S-hook.There was still some work to be done so I also helped Dad sift ashes in preparation for dripping lye.Finally as the rain moved in on Sunday afternoon, it was our time to leave. Here's us kids below with all our crafts and Aunt Marie. We bade goodbye to our wonderful Aunt Marie, shed our 19^th century garb and stepped back into the 21^st century. We were all very sad to leave as we felt like we were just settling in. I feel like I could have easily adapted to this lifestyle. We all had an awesome time, thanks to all the wonderful staff at the Museum. Every person was so nice and accommodating to us. The knowledge and passion everyone has for the Museum and its mission is wonderful and we are all very appreciative to them.

Here's the link to the application if any of you want to experience this amazing adventure with your family! http://www.gcv.org/historic-village/pioneer-house/