Christmas Vacation

It's Here!! We made it!! The Girls and I are going to Missouri to visit my mom and maternal side of the family. I am soo EXCITED!! I feel worse than a kid. I realized I haven't been to "the country" for Christmas in well over 17 years.

I was thinking today of my "country" memories. First let me set the mental picture where I am going. You know the "Over the river and thru the Woods to Grandmothers house we go"? this is the truest sense of it. My Grandparents and Mother live down in the Valley of the woods complete with one lane bridges over the river that if it snows and melts or rains, the flood out. My Grannie has the river flowing thru her back yard. The other side of the river is a cliff. At the top of the cliff and around the bend a bit (OK about 20 min) is the house and Museum of Laura Ingals Wilder. Its where she lived when she wrote her books.

When I was a kid, there was no garbage service there yet, they burned or composted everything. They still had party lines until maybe 10 years ago. My family has real live deer that come feed off the back porch. It is the most calming, relaxing environment. The neighbors are the most amazing network of friends that it puts even the closest city neighborhood to shame. (Can you tell I love love it there?)

I was remembering today how all of the families would drive in and then at some point we would all trek into the woods ( and by woods I mean they live in Mark Twain National Park land so it's all the woods there) and pick the tree and dads would chop it down while us kids explored and pretended we were lost leaving trails to find each other. Then dragging it home and decorating it and sitting around the fireplace. The sounds of the wood snapping and popping. The smells of the Peanut butter Pies and Lemon Meringue pie baking for Christmas Dinner. All the cousins and us fighting for spots on living room floor to sleep in because all the bedrooms were filled with the Adults. Such happy thoughts.

So with all this in mind I am packing up my own kids and heading over the river and thru the woods to make our own New memories because unfortunately time has moved on and cousins don't get together like we should. Sad things have happened since then and some have passed on. But these are things only us Adults will remember and the kids will be in awe of the new experiences.

With all that said Merry Christmas Everyone and Have a Happy Wonderful Holiday!