This Is The Place Heritage Park

One of the great things about living in Utah is that they celebrate the 24th of July almost as enthusiastically as the 4th of July.  Just about everyone gets the day off and it is celebrated with family, friends, and fireworks.  David had to work today but I still really wanted to take the kids somewhere to learn what it was like for the pioneers.  This holiday is to remind us that on this day, 165 years ago, Brigham Young came to this valley and knew (from a vision that he had) that this was to be the new home of the early Latter Day Saints. 

So we headed off to THIS IS THE PLACE HERITAGE PARK.  The workers there dress and act as if they were in Brigham Young's day, complete with long hair (for some of the men), bushy beards, and heavy clothes.  I don't know how they did it in the heat but they kept to their characters very well.

We made it just in time for the flag ceremony.  This made me so proud as I knew that the saints had done the same thing....even though they lived in a time when our government was not kind to them at all.  After being pushed out of several states (and starved because of it), murdered, some women raped, and just horrible horrible persecutions, these early saints found a home somewhere else and yet still were loyal to our country.  In fact, the pioneer that Levi is named after (Levi Hancock) served in the Mormon Battalion (to fight in the war against Mexico at the time) during this time.  I am sure many felt betrayed in so many ways but they still were Americans in their hearts.

 At the park there was a petting zoo.  The boys "milked" this fake cow.  Afterwards Hyrum said to me, "I made him pee!"  I thought that was so funny but later as I was thinking back to it, it was a little disturbing to think Hyrum actually thought I was encouraging him to grab this cow's "penises" and make it pee!  I guess I just thought he already knew that this is how you got milk from cows.  

Well, now he knows!

 It was so fun to be able to talk about all the boy's names and who they were named after.  Of course, Brigham got the most attention with all the historical facts surrounding this place and Brigham Young but I think they all left this place realizing once again just how important their names are.

 Here the kids are with some of the "pioneer children" outside of the school house.  This park is really unique in that they took these original houses from other parts of the valley and brought it all here in one place.

 This was one of Brigham Young's homes.  I learned so much in this home! 

-The house was painted pink....the masculine color of the day!

-Brigham Young had 50+ wives but the majority of them were namesake wives, meaning that these women needed to be remarried in order to keep their land and possessions after their first husbands died.  He would marry them and then would never see them again because all they needed was to be married to keep running their households.  I loved what the lady said who was giving us the tour, "Back then, Polygamy was a way of life (for some of the saints).  Now polygamy is known for dirty old men!"

-He built the mantle in this picture.  It still had nicks and dings on it, which made it seem all the more real to me.  Marble was hard to come by so they were creative and the "marble" that you see at the bottom was actually painted wood!

 It was a warm day outside so the boys were so happy to see that some water games were being played.  They were racing to see who could get the buckets filled up first.

 ....but of course, it turned into a water fight.  Believe it or not, my boys actually didn't start the water fight!

 This was a barber shop where Levi and Brigham were shaved.  They smelled so good afterwards :)  We learned that one of the things that barbers did back then was bloodletting.  That is actually where the red and white striped pole outside of a barbershop started; the red representing blood and the white for the tourniquet.

 We got see a little bit of our Okie/Indian roots as we watched a Pow Wow.

 The boys participated in a watermelon eating contest.  Later Hyrum told me that he, "...liked eating like a dog!"

Some of the other things that we did that I didn't take pictures of was panning for gold, crafts, watched a candy cannon go off, saw houses that the pioneers lived in that were smaller than our living room, and so much more.  We ended up staying there for 5 hours which is saying a lot since I don't like to be out in the heat at all unless I am exercising or in water.  It really was so interesting and just fun.  The boys never once complained about being bored.  It was a perfect way to celebrate the holiday!