Memorial Day; version 2011

When I think of all who have gone before me so that I can have the comforts and freedoms I enjoy, my heart is filled with gratitude.

Memorial day is a day our family celebrates our rich pioneer heritage, and in the past (when we lived in Utah) we've gone to the headstones of our loved ones to place flowers, reminisce, and laugh and enjoy our relatives.  Since moving to Idaho a little over ten years ago, we've (my family) have had the opportunity to be involved with the Historic Chesterfield Townsite, just a short three miles from my parents' home.   (seriously, if you live in SE Idaho and need a fun and inexpensive vacation that's family friendly, head that way!!!)

Memorial Day marks the opening of the townsite to tourists and locals during the summer season.  This is a day filled with fun, games, education, history, and much, much more.

This year, it was a day filled with rain.

The beautiful tithing house, picture taken from inside my warm car. :) 

I began the day by 'running' a 5K with my brother Keith and his wife, Tricia, and Katelyn.  We totally rocked it, and I totally walked it...well, the last 2 miles or so. :)  My mom graciously watched my kids and even brought up the whole clan to cheer for us from the last corner...go team Crandall!  (I really need to get in shape and get some decent 'workout' clothes. LOL! 

Katelyn, Keith, Tricia, and Me
Katelyn and Tricia finished in 30 minutes or so, and Keith
and I brought up the rear runners in a little bit longer.
My face was nearly purple...LOL! 

The Meetinghouse is newly renovated, so I spent a good deal of time trying to get a good picture or two...without much success with three children hanging on me and Deseret.  Ryan had to be back to work this day, so I flew solo with the much appreciated help from my family.  LOVE THEM!

Original Pedal Organ...I've played it before...super fun, super old!

Examples of period Sacrament cups and trays used.

There's quite the story that goes along with this
beautiful meeting house.  Apparently the LDS church
sent up someone from Salt Lake to correctly match
paint chips and styling true to the days when this
chapel saw its members congregate in its pews.
Beautiful colors, and I LOVE that all the memorabilia
is off the walls and in the Mercantile Store.
The banners on the back wall were used for the
different auxiliaries for parades and whatnot. 

Then we hunkered down for the long haul with layers and blankets and galoshes and enjoyed the festivities.  It was a blast!  A blast of cold wind, that is!  These poor California girls my brothers keep bringing home freeze...and so do my babies.  But we made it through the wind and rain and at some point snow...Just adds to the reverence and gratitude I have for my ancestors.

This day wouldn't be complete without a quick trip to the Log Store for some penny candy and treasures and trinkets.  I made my kids stop at the penny candy this year.

Then over to the Mercantile Store that is now housing all the historical pictures and memorabilia from the newly renovated church...the meeting house is fully restored with the Mercantile Store acting as a museum.

couldn't resist these colors and imagining all the
beautiful fabrics they might have sewn.

Then on up to the food tents for some good chow!

After eating with family and friends, and spilling hot chocolate and crying over it, we all headed home to warmth and a dry house...but I made my kids go to sleep in the car by promising them a fun afternoon filled with swimming at Grandma's.  This enabled me to experiment with the camera and weather 'conditions' and visit some of the sites I had not yet seen.  Luckily I had Deseret with me, and we accomplished what we set out to do...make the kids take a nap.  LOL!

This cabin is in the process of being rebuilt log by log,
from my dad's ranch.  Each log was numbered previous to disassembly,
and is now being put back together.
How would you have liked to hand-hewn each of those logs?
Or watched your husband and sons do it?  WOW!

Deseret got to make butter...

the boys finally fell asleep!
This is the only day they had naps this week. 

I had never been to the cemetery up on the hill, so while my babe slept, I drove around it a few times, and admired the beautiful historic headstones from the warmth of my car.

Can you see the snow coming down in the mountains?
Yeah. It was wet and miserable. 

Chesterfield was settled on the Oregon Trail.

This building was newly rebuilt, and is a dugout.  The parents
stayed in the bottom, with a ladder through a hole in the
upstairs portion you can see in this picture.
Humbled me to see how much room they lived in...Charming, yet cramped.  

Every year my dad works volunteers in the Blacksmith's Shop.  He makes
Prairie Diamond rings from horseshoe nails to give away, and teaches
bratty little kids like mine how to make rope, then gives them a piece. :)
A new addition this year is that gorgeous "Knot Board" that his scout
troop made (I'm sure he did most of the work!  LOL!).  It's fun to see
my dad's handiwork around. :)

What a day!  I kept my promise and went swimming with the boys in the pool and watched Tanner show me everything that he is learning on the swim team...It was a very full day!  But very enjoyable.