Our Trip to Mansfield and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum

As an early birthday present for Penelope I took her on a trip to Mansfield, MO to visit the Laura Ingalls homestead and museum! Her actual birthday is in October, but Wilder Days is held in September each year and we wanted to go! There's a big parade in town, lots of fun events, a fiddle off, and a pageant at the town park and amphitheater near the high school. We have been meaning to go for years and I realized time was slipping away from me. Penelope will always love Laura, and I am willing to bet her passion will find her in Mansfield many more times in her life, but she only has but this one chance to go to Mansfield as a (barely) 10 year old girl. At first we were going to take the whole family, but I soon started to worry about not being able to spend the quality time with Penelope at the Laura Ingalls-Wilder Museum that I had always imagined. I became concerned that Ricky and I wouldn't get to see much of the pageant because one of us would be juggling almost two year old Madeline at all times. Bea and Madeline, and even Everett, are really too young for us to take to most places without some degree of chaos.  I really wanted to experience the trip with Penelope rather than just something we drove her to go see and do. It was a  last minute resolution that I would just take Penelope, Sebastian, and Layla. We also invited Ricky's parents and sister to meet us there too! That made the trip even more fun! So, Ricky stayed back at home with the kids. It's about a three hour drive from our house. To a lot of people that's a little, teeny-weeny day trip, to me it's A BIG DAY TRIP. I'm not really a good traveler! And, I left my nursling baby at home. It's a big deal to leave a whole day from morning to bedtime! One day it won't be, but right now it just is.

We stopped for yummy pastries on the way and had a very nice drive through the country to Mansfield, MO. The park and amphitheater where the pageant is held had a playground and a great layout overall. It was nice to know for next time that this will be totally do-able with younger kids. While waiting we bought some handkerchief dolls that were for sale.

The Pageant:  “Laura’s Memories”
The pageant was very enjoyable. It's full of little children of all ages and it's so fun to watch! The kids work so hard and the program comes together so nicely despite a very large cast of mostly children!  It really told so many stories. It was so neat to have read the books, so all the story lines and songs were already very familiar to follow. Penelope looked on in awe. She had a quite serious face for most of the performance. I think she was so amazed as it came alive.

After the pageant we headed out a couple of short blocks away to the cemetery where we got to pay our respects to Laura. Penelope left a pencil on her tombstone thanking her for writing and sharing her stories with us and the world.

Penelope loved the brief bit we saw of Mansfield and so did I. We then headed to Rocky Ridge Farm!

Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home and Museum

There's a large museum expansion that just opened up this year. It is filled with so many personal items: clothing, shoes, toys, books, handwritten notes, real sewing and lace hand stitched by Laura. (She was wildly talented.) So many items that belonged to and were once used and well loved by all the family. It's a beautiful, touching tribute and time capsule of their lives. It was extremely special for us, even breathtaking at times. It amazes me more than ever how many people feel so connected to her and her family through the stories about her life. It's remarkable to ponder over and over how it really wasn't all that long ago that people had to work harder than we could ever imagine working just to survive. When I was a young girl I enjoyed Little House on the Prairie the book and I loved the television show. I think it's really quite special and amazing Laura ultimately got to talk to and hear from her fans as she lived out her days on Rocky Ridge Farm. She died a very famous and well known woman. I think it's special Laura got to know the imprint she made on generations of people, even having the Mansfield library dedicated to her while still alive. And now here we are, MORE GENERATIONS enjoying her work!  It's a very special legacy that brings tears to my eyes.

Each year more than 30,000 visitors from all 50 states

and about 20 countries make their own pilgrimage to the Laura Ingalls Wilder Historic Home

You couldn't take pictures in the home, but at the entrance of your tour you could take a picture with this accurately sized Laura cutout. She was very little!

There was no photography allowed inside the home, but this photo I found (stole?) online.

I ADORE the kitchen. 

The kitchen was divine and I loved it so much. The wallpaper made my mouth drop open. The home is perfect in every way. I absolutely fell more in love with it with each room we explored. I think we all did. I cannot wait to visit with Ricky. He loves old homes too and grew up in an old farm house himself. Ricky's parents and sister Deanna loved it too. We have a real *love* for this kind of thing!

Right after snapping this photo I was told I wasn't allowed to take photos in this area. OOOPS!

This is the beautiful Rock House, a beautiful more modern home that Rose (Laura's daughter) built for her. This is where the Little House books were written. Rose, a successful author herself, first encouraged her mother to tell her stories on paper.

You can read about both homes and their roles in Laura's life here 

 

Penelope's birthday gift from the gift shop: a new beautiful prairie dress, and Sebastian's coon cap.

We went a little crazy in the gift shop. We bought bonnets and coon hats and a lovely print of the below artwork.

Back at home we started planning next years trip. The other kids are so excited. I immediately followed a bunch of Mansfield pages on Facebook to keep up to date with the town. For fun we tried to think of businesses we could open up in Mansfield. Penelope wanted to move there so bad! (still does!) So we day dreamed about it and looked at maps of the area. Immediately the kids got right back into their prairie games at home. Something adorable is that Madeline will answer to the name Baby Grace just as well as she naturally answers to Madeline because they play so often. (Laura's youngest sister.)

I started a Facebook page to record the prairie kids' adventures, crafts, and play. I hope like minded Little House / Laura fans might find us. You can find that here:  Little Playhouse on the Prairie

Everett's 7th Birthday Mystery

September 21, 2017

Everett informed me that he wanted a Scooby Doo party with a mystery hunt. He wanted just his family in attendance. I had weeks I could have planned this, but I was suddenly wondering the day before his birthday how I was going to pull this off. I felt unmotivated and lacking in creativity. I really needed some motivation. Thankfully, he finally dropped a couple of hints, "Mom, if there is an alien monster then make it leave slime behind as a clue." That's brilliant! I wish I would have thought of that! I had no idea what monster I was going to use, but now I had a starting point. It's an alien monster! We have several alien costumes. We are super into decorating and dressing up for Halloween.

The other request he made was that I be the monster that gets revealed at the end. He wanted ME to be the monster in disguise. I'm glad he told me because I was fully planning on making one of his older brothers do it. I was not getting out of this that easily though. I now had to write, direct, and star in this production. Ok. Deep breath. Keeeeep thinking..

That evening Layla asked me what my plan was. Um, I still didn't have one. As Shaggy would say, "ZOINKS!" 

I also needed Scooby Snacks. (Another request of his!) I had forgot to get them, but Layla and Penelope reminded me. (They are brilliant and organized helpers!) So, off to Target I went at 9pm.

Once back home I still basically had NO plan for this mystery hunt. Sheesh! I was feeling like I was in big trouble! What the heck am I going to do!? I'm usually so creative! I sat on the couch tired and uninspired for a while, but then I remembered that I thrive under pressure. I can do this. I decided I would just write this thing out freehand and off the cuff. If it rhymes great, of not then who cares. This isn't a Broadway play. This is a children's hunt for a monster and this can be simplified, do not over think it. I seriously gave myself this pep talk at 11:30pm!!!

I had the whole simple thing written in well under 10 minutes. This was going to work!

The Hunt!
Early in the morning I sneakily slipped out the front door. Ricky took Everett to the bedroom to "wake" me up only to find this:

Dummy monster alien in my bed

Me in the kitchen the night before trying on my costume. Told ya we have aliens. LOL.

Everett was encouraged to run from it with Ricky's help. Ricky rushed him to the kitchen to get his shoes on and for the clues to begin. The first clue was taped to the back door. Layla meanwhile gathered up the monster dummy in my bed and threw it out the bedroom window. I was waiting outside for it. I grabbed it and ran across the street in the cemetery to my hiding place!

 I don't have a picture of the back door clue, but it was something really simple to lead him to open up the back door. Then Clue 2 was on the porch gate:

Second Clue... and Slime!

  The second clue read:  "You think you are sneaky but you ain't, you are seven not number eight. You won't find me, I disappear -unless you look for a deer here! " This makes him go to the garden because that's where we have had deer problems this year.

Third clue found at the garden: "Watch out by the road, or you will be squished like a toad!" He is then lead to the mail box, and all over the mail box I placed slime, prompting him to open the mailbox. Inside was a box of Scooby Snacks and the next clue.

You might need a Scooby Snack before you go on...for I am where the dead belongs...

Across the street in the cemetery was this on a tree. This was just clue to let him know he's on the trail.

He then sees trails of gifts that lead him further.... I'm behind a trash barrel that's also next to a tree, giving me plenty of hiding space. I pop out and scare him, he takes my mask off. It's fun!

  

Easy but fun. 

This is me in my bathrobe at 7:15am hiding behind the trash can, in the cemetery, in dewy grass, waiting. You wouldn't believe how much adrenaline you have when waiting behind a trash can and tree hoping you see your newly seven year old when he gets close!

So basically he had a great hunt. I startled him, he laughed, it was cute. He got to pull my mask off just how he told me he wanted to unveil me. The whole thing is on video somewhere. He told me it WAS EXACTLY what he wanted. (PHEW!!) 

What Actually Happened

But, OH NO it didn't all go quite as planned at first. OH NO it didn't. The part where Layla throws the costume out the bedroom window...well the window got left open. Unbeknownst to me, as the hunt just barely got started, our dog Gunnar jumped OUT THE DAMN bedroom window. I was crouched down in the dewy grass and dirt of a graveyard watching ants scurry about, starting to sweat in my too-warm bathrobe for an entire twenty minutes before I realized something was very wrong. Obviously, the clues were all small and easy! This was taking WAY too long. When I finally called the house phone Charlotte answered. She told me Gunnar was loose, Everett was crying but she was distracting him. Everett actually said to her, "My birthday is ruined." Why no one came and got me is beyond me! I was just left alone to die of old age in the cemetery. (lol)

Gunnar is doing much better now, but this was not long after the acted very aggressive towards a neighbor and her dogs. (Like, basically acted like he was attacking them and even me when I tried to get him. Did not bite or hurt anyone though.) We thought we'd have to put him down he was so horribly aggressive. It was only after talking to a rescue group for his breed and a vet that we felt we should give him another chance based on several factors including that he didn't actually harm anyone. We were scared to death about him getting out again though. So, this in our eyes was an emergency and needed our immediate attention. (Presently he's doing so well that we wouldn't have even worried about it until Everett's brief hunt was over, but this was back in September.)

Leaving my costume behind I emerged from the cemetery, I could see Ricky and some of the kids 50 feet feet away or so pointing and talking and then running. They spotted him. I ran like I've never ran before. I caught up with them and ran right past my family like a bat out of hell. I ran after that damn dog all the way into the woods behind our neighbors house. There is a narrow brush lined path and I just kept running down it. I kept thinking over and over no frigging way Everett's birthday monster hunt is getting ruined!! I was a mother bear chasing after him. I finally spotted a blur of white in the thick brush and I kept running. I said under my breath some expletives. He lead me close to an abandoned barn that I knew about. He stopped and looked at me and I called him, I quickly changed my demeanor and told him he was a good boy. He still wouldn't come to me. I pretended to trip and fall down and cry. I thought maybe he would try to help me. He's come to Bea before in the house when she was hurt or even just throwing a fit. Nope. He looked at me, looked at the barn, then took off running for it. I jumped up after him and yelled, "You're NO LASSIE!!" Finally I caught up with him again. He was a bit tired and I was able to lunge at him as he slowed to a trot. I literally thought to myself THIS ENDS NOW! I grabbed him by his leash just as he slowed to catch his breath. I barely got him. Once I had him he was fine. He never tries to get away if you have hold of him. We actually kept a leash on him a lot just in case he got out, so that was already on him. It worked like we thought it might need to -something for us to grab onto. I ran him back to the house triumphantly, but also with that total mad as a wet hen mom look on my face. I mean, I don't even think I smiled once until I saw Everett finally unmask me. I was in survival mode. I ran back to the cemetery on shaky legs. I still didn't even know it was the window that he got out from. I didn't ask questions until later. I was so sweaty and my legs felt like jello. Now I had a ton of adrenaline. The monster hunt resumed. This was ALL on a Thursday before Ricky got ready for work! Exhausting and stressful! Needless to say none of that was supposed to take that long! Thank goodness Ricky could be late.

Whew! The stuff you do for your kids. (And meddling dog!)

Zoinks!

Everett picked Chinese take out for dinner!

Everett age 7 the BIRTHDAY BOY! I took him to Mc Donald's for lunch and got him a haircut. He loves Mc Donald's but we don't go very much, so it was a great treat for him. He also had his favorite orange soda and said this was the best birthday ever.  The face says it all! Great Birthday.