Wow. We've been busy around here. Here is a picture of the youth at 3:30am heading out the door for their pioneer trek! For 4 days they will brave the heat (100 degree weather!), the wind (gusts up to 25 mph!) and fatigue (pulling a handcart full of equipment) in order to learn what it was like for previous generations to settle this part of the country! It'll be a memorable experience.

To prepare for this, they sewed their own clothes. This is Jacqueline's purple dress. She made 90% of this!! She also has a dark green one! I was happy for her to learn this skill. (Her hair is still braided from girls' camp.) I think she looks cute!

Cheyennah made a brown dress and a navy blue dress. She wasn't much for taking pictures, but she did work hard, and I was pleased. She also helped a friend make 2 skirts. She stayed up late one night to do this for her friend, which made me proud of her willingness to sacrifice! What a lady. In one day, we made one green pioneer dress (all of it!), 2 skirts, 2 aprons, one bonnett, 2 men's shirts, and finished the details (buttons, hems, etc.) on 3 other pioneer dresses! I had some help from Cheyennah, and a gal from church who did the button holes for me, and a youth from church who sewed all the wooden buttons on one of the dresses! Dakota helped a great deal, too.

Here's mom's dress. I didn't get to go on the trek (the adults needed to be married to go), but I had made this dress before then. I loaned it to a very nice friend to wear on the trek. She was a sweetie, and I'm glad the dress got to go!

So, we're glad we learned a new skill. I'll never worry about fixing a seam again...and Cheyennah can put in zippers now. I can even make a shirt (although I seriously need to work on the cuffs!)!! So, we're enjoying our summer. If we do nothing else, it will be a success. I'll try to get some pictures of the youth when they come back. I'm sure they'll be tired!

How to sew. Really. I know we don't NEED to, but it was part of the youth's trek to dress like pioneers. Walmart doesn't sell pioneer dresses and bonnets. So, I had to learn to sew. The girls did, too. And, even Dakota got a few lessons! In one day we finished 2 men's dress shirts (loose like in the 1800's), 2 skirts, 1 full pioneer dress, 2 aprons, 1 bonnet, and the details (buttons, hems, etc.) for 3 other dresses! Yes. One machine, one day, one tired mamma!