A Prairie Days post (with pictures!)

Just a quick update on the past 2 days:

 

The guys were glad to finish getting Andrew's lift set up in the shop.  Jacob said he has his snowmobile working well now----after many months of troubles!  (No, we don't want snow yet though.)  My mom is in Bismarck today.  I babysat the past 2 days.  We moved the cows quite a distance in the pastures yesterday morning.   Oh, and Andrew bought supplies so we can now get our flag(s) up and down without needing a very tall ladder to do so.  :)

 

Now here are the Prairie Day pictures I promised...

 

Lining up in order of height for the water-relay:

 

They played several other games throughout the day too.

It was a beautiful, hot day!

Getting the teams arranged...

The water and some picnic tables for eating were under that white canopy...

My mom and Naomi F. visiting...  (It was their first time at Prairie Days.)

Run, run, run!

Relays are so much fun!

Run Andrew!   

Benjamin P...

Charis Balyeat out in front...

So, the goal was to get the bucket on this end filled to overflowing before any other team did...

Peter Bartlett...

Even the little ones ran very fast!

Getting close to full...

Amanda (Dagley) Balyeat is in the yellow dress (she's now mother of 2 adorable little boys)...

They had something new this year:  a treasure hunt where you follow clues that lead to the next clues that eventually lead you to the "Treasure".    I told Amanda that it reminded me of the "Good old days" when her family and my family got together for birthdays and wrote up clues for the birthday person to find their big present.  She said that's what gave them the idea to do it this year.  They actually had 2 teams looking for the clues, each team starting in a different spot in the clues, but using the same clues to eventually end up in the same spot.  It was fun, although I had to drop out before my team was finished, as I needed to get our contribution to the potluck ready...

Nate Dagley climbed up to the top of this rope looking for one of the clues...  (It wasn't up there.)

My brothers, getting their instruments tuned up...

Music...

We sang/played during the noon hour on Saturday. 

Mrs. Lorentzen and her daughter, Amanda...

Charis, Benjamin P. and James Balyeat---with a young audience...

More great music!

Listening to Jaidra Dagley explain about the "Trim Healthy Mama" way of eating/living and how it's blessed her family.  My mom and I've been attempting to follow this plan since March and have also seen good results, so we answered a few questions (throughout the day too)...

Square dancing...

This lady had several authentic prairie outfits to show, as well as some very old accessories...  :)

The boys blew up the air-mattress for Mom and I to sleep on (the 4 of us stayed in a tent Saturday night while my dad did the chores---thanks again, DAD!)...

Mr. and Mrs. Dagley---our host and hostess...

A young cowboy...

The trees in Dagley park are such a blessing on hot days!

The Virginia Reel...

Michael and David Dagley gave horse-pulled-cow-hide rides...

Pretty sky!

My brothers and David Bartlett visiting with a gentleman who I don't know the name of...

More horse rides....

Oh, here's a better picture of the cow-hide rides...

The potluck meals were always so good!

Tim and Louisa S....   It was so fun to see them as proud parents to an adorable little boy this year!

There were a few new things to do this year.  One was taffy pulling, which was something I'd never done before.  James Balyeat and I were having quite the race to get our piece more white than the others'.  :)  I think I won, as his piece kind of melted when he added more butter, so he ate most of it.

Something else that was new was called the "Band scramble".  They took down names of the people who wanted to participate and what instruments they could play, then put together 3 different bands with those people.  Each band practiced several songs for at least an hour, probably two.  They selected a name for their group; gave introductions; and sang and played during supper.  It was really neat!  

Here's the group that Andrew was with...

The trampoline was always a popular place for the little ones...  I'm sure the zipline was busy too, although I never did make it up there.   Some people played horse-shoes, some volleyball, and others visited in the shade.

Later that evening, after clean-up, there was a very nice, long hayride.  I was holding David and Susanna's sleeping little girl, so I was nice and warm.  :)  Several young people stayed at the farm to play Frisbee instead. 

Later still, there was a campfire to sing around.  Andrew and I stayed up pretty late, just enjoying the beauty of the evening and the fun of singing with friends!

The next day was more relaxed.  After breakfast, there was a time of sharing from God's word...then more singing/music.  After lunch, and after saying some goodbyes to friends who had to leave (and after packing up our own tent), we played games.   Last year, Lauretta and Sarena taught the group how to play "Steal the Bacon".  Well, everyone still liked that game, so we played that for a couple of hours.  There were a few new people we taught the game to also, so maybe they'll teach their friends, so they can teach their friends...........

This was my team:

And our opposing team:

After that, we did a water-balloon toss which was so fun and cooling.  :)

SO, once again, Prairie Days has come and gone.  I believe it was a blessing to many.   I imagine it makes God happy too when He sees people enjoying each other's company here on earth....

Next big picture post to come:  Family Camp at the Sip's farm.  (Yes, I'm a bit behind!)