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