Lindsay's 8th Pioneer Birthday

I can hardly believe this girl of mine is 8 years old (or will be soon).

Several years ago, we decided to do a pioneer themed birthday (yes, this party has been YEARS in the works).

I have several fond memories of going (what felt like every weekend), to the Lion House, for every girl's 8th birthday!  I thought it would be fun to do our own version of a Lion House birthday!  I am so glad we did!  I was very happy with the way it turned out!

Last year, when my grandpa died, i inherited 6 sets of sheets that we turned into pioneer aprons, bonnets, bags, jar covers, and decorations.  My mom spend hours making them for us, and I think they turned out SO cute!

We started the party by letting each girl picking out their outfit, then going to a cute log cabin just a few blocks from our house!  The lady that gave the kids a tour did a WONDERFUL job!  We orginally asked for a 15 minute tour, but it turned out to be a 50 minute tour that FLEW by!  The girls were so involved, enthralled, and enchanted!  I couldn't believe it had been that long!

After the tour, we came back to the house to make homemade bread and butter (and each girl got to take home their own loaf in a tin and a jar of butter).  Next, we had a little tea party luncheon on dishes that belonged to a REAL pioneer!  (And Lindsay got to ring the lunch bell, just like the Lion House!) The lunch was pretty simple, but I did find a recipe for the Lion House tuna cheese ribbon sandwiches!  They tasted EXACTLY how I remembered them!  Most of the girls LOVED them too!  After lunch we had cake, and there was a gumball inside (also like the Lion House), and LINDSAY got the gumball!!  

We asked each girl that instead of bringing a gift, to bring a story to share about one of their pioneer ancestors.  They each shared their stories while we ate lunch.  It was really sweet!  I loved listening to their stories, and the girls loved sharing and listening too!  They were all SOOO cute!   

After lunch we played a few pioneer games and activities.
They "washed" clothes on a washboard, and hung them on a line to dry.
( I was surprised by how much they LOVED that).
Next, we played button, button.
We also had a clothes pin drop game and a button on a string--but not everyone did that.

One of the FAVORITE parts, was Lindsay's Mercantile shop with penny candy!
Each girl got 20 pennies in a little bag, and they got to "buy" the candies they wanted from Lindsay.

If they didn't have enough sugar from the cake and candy, we also pulled homemade saltwater taffy!  Some of the girls loved that, others got frustrated theirs didn't turn white as quickly as the others.

Last, we ended just how the Lion House ends their parties--with a Porcelain Doll for the birthday girl!  (I found that doll, brand new, in the box at DI a few years ago for $2!  That was a MAJOR win!)

All in all, the girls had a GREAT time!  

Happy Birthday cute Lindsay!!