Pioneer Children Sang as they Walked?

I took this picture while we were waiting for the Saints to meet us, she had worn her cowboy boots with no socks and was miserable from the six block walk... I told her a story my grandma Ferguson told me about one of our ancestors, before they left Nauvoo she had just gotten a brand new pair of boots (which was a real treat back then, I think it is a treat now too) But, she did not want to ruin them by wearing them by crossing the plains, she wanted to wait until they got to Zion to wear her new boots. She was a young girl, and sometimes young girls don't have a very good concept of time or distance roughly 1200 miles by foot mostly, sometimes in heat, sometimes in snow... by the time they reached the Salt Lake Valley her feet were so badly bruised, swollen, cut, and infected she could not get her feet into her new boots,she had to wait several,several months... But, her father gave her a priesthood blessing that they would heal,a nd they did and she was able to wear her boots in Zion...it is one of my favorite stories from my heritage!

Remeber when I said I forgot my camera on our Pioneer trek...silly me, how could I forget my camera on such an important journey... sure the woman had to leaver valuable china and watched their beautiful houses and possessions be burned but,I would have had to photo document the journey across the plains, I am sure Brother Brigham would have wnated that of me, and to blog it across the way, of course :)
They had people with different colroed stickers, if I remember correctly orange, they did not make it tand they had died, yellow, they were healthy and helping the pink who were ill or wounded. We had taken a handcart full of water down to one the buildinga (a few blocks away, that still kills me:) to meet up with one of the pioneerparties with supplies aka water and meet up with them for the remainder of the trek back to the stake center. (which happens to also be our building) Dont't you love my happy pioneers :)
I am pretty sure when the Saints arrived in the SL Valley they did not have a pancake and sausage breakfasty waiting for them, but we were glad that we did...this is a fun tradition and a great way to to recognize and remember our ancestors and honor the sacrifices they made to make our way of life possible. To be able to worship when, where,and how the Lord wants us too. We are so blessed and to have this day set aside to ponder their sacrifices truly humbles me, that I should remember them more. I had many ,many pioneer ancestors. So many stories... it was kind of a joke that David was off on the Mormon Battalion because he was not with us,but we have 3 ancestors - 1 Ferguson and 2 Hancocks who marched with those 500 men. Not one man had to fight in a a battle, Brigham Young was a brilliant man! The Saints got supplies from the govenment they needed by these men volunteering, and the men men were able to return unharmed to their families!

Here we are minus Dad (on the Battallion trek of course:)
And some will push and some will pull
As we go marching up the hill,
So merrily on our way we go
Until we reach the valley-o!
Peyton is a HAPPY PIONEER GIRL :)
We make better modern day pioneers, could we have donet his in the 1800's?
Wemet up with ourparty and now on to the stake center it was a GREAT Pioneer actvity!