List 43 of my favorite Childhood Memories

11. bath time! Because I had soo many toys. I remember I was always sad when I had to get out.

12. Special toys on Christmas. My parents always put up an old dollhouse and an almost as old toy mom-and-pop store for Christmas and kept them up for only a few weeks. My sister and I would get so excited about them, definitely way more than if they had been there all year. We’d also always get little gifts for them, like a new… bathroom sink for the dollhouse or whatever.

13. Running around the apple tree screaming our heads off until it got dark.
I don’t know why this was so much fun, but it was. Barefoot in the cool grass. Yes yes.

14. Making apple pancakes with my grandma on the toy stove.
I need to learn how to cook a lot more dishes from her.

15. Laternelaufen :P
This is totally German, I don’t think anyone else does this.
In fall, kids craft colorful paper lanterns, put candles in them, and attach them to wooden sticks (see http://www.almutundhendrik.de/blog/uploaded_images/laterne_01-763299.jpg)
and then the families walk around the neighborhood, singing specific lantern songs, sometimes by themselves, sometimes in large groups.
I’m guessing this was supposed to have the same effect as making jack-o-lanterns, but I don’t know for sure.
Anyway, it looks really pretty, and coming up with new lanterns every year was so much fun (I had a 3D dinosaur once, my mom always went all out on those), and of course the greatest thrill was when someone’s lantern caught on fire :P

1. Playing baseball with my Daddy, brother, Uncles & cousins. There were no family reunions because we all lived pretty close to each other. We’d all gather at my grandparents’ house every week for dinner and we’d go outside and play baseball. Being a girl, I was definitely one of the weaker members of the team compared to the big strong boys. But they were all kind to us girls and cheered us on just like everyone else. I can still see the field of smiles against the dark green grass with the summer sun setting behind them. I can still hear the sound of cheering and laughter, clapping and shouting. For just a little while, nothing else mattered but that we were all pulling for each other, regardless of which team we were on.

I have often said that I had the perfect childhood. It was simple with few storebought pleasures, but tons of homegrown fun. I can’t think of anything I would change about my childhood. It’s high time I kept a running record of those memories.

I had such a wonderful childhood, I could easily come up with hundreds of happy moments :)
(I’m gonna say childhood ends when you’re 12 btw.)

1. When I was too little to brush my teeth myself, my mom and dad would do it and sing songs to me to keep me entertained. My dad sometimes even recited funny poems.

2. Traveling to the states.
We went on family vacations there a load of times, and it always felt so different and luxurious. To this day, flying and staying in hotels gets me all excited. I could probably list 43 things about each trip alone, like how bad the geysirs at Yellowstone Park smelled, and how my mom gave me a handkerchief with her perfume on it so I could hold it in front of my face. I ended up acting like smells bothered me a lot more after that, because I loved smelling her perfume so much.
I also remember being terrified of all the bad things that could happen at the national park, because of all the warning signs (bears, forest fires, and all.)

3. Preparing gifts for my sister’s first birthday.
I was two and a half years old then, but I remember distinctly how I was wrapping the gifts with my mom. One of the gifts my sister got was a ball, and I wrapped it and put a smiley face on the paper. I was really proud of that idea for some reason.

4. Doing somersaults off the back of the couch.
My sister and I did that for hours. Until we got too tall.

5. The little paddling pool we had in the garden.
My mom is a very practical lady, and she’d always fill up the pool early in the morning to have the sun heat up the water by noon or so. She’d say there’s no reason for wasting energy to heat up water, and if it was too cold for us, it probably wasn’t a warm enough day to go in it anyway. (It was always okay once you got used to it, though.)

6. Creating pretty things in school.
From first through 4th grade, we always had a project every one or two weeks where we had to write a poem on a blank piece of paper and draw pictures around it to decorate it. I always got an A+, because I always put loads of work into it.

7. Going to the movies.
I rarely got to see any movies when I was a kid, not on TV or video either, so going to the movies was about the most special thing I could imagine. I highly recommend raising a movie-depraved child, they will appreciate them much more later :)

8. Making Christmas cookies with my mom and sister while singing carols.

9. Going on camping trips with our dad, and a bunch of other kids and their dads.
Fun, fun times. Us kids would spend most of the time telling each other jokes. I think I knew about 5000 at one point.

10. Having sleepovers at my grandparents’ place. They lived in the same building, but it was still super exciting! I got to eat a lot more candy than usual, and I could stay up late. Or at least as late as them :P

38. Wearing my elementary school basketball uniform
39. Doing the tip off at any basketball game
40. Climbing the crab apple tree next to my house when it was in full bloom
41. Playing Ghost Busters with my cousin (slime, light projecting “lazers” and all)
42. Chachi’s Oreo cookie plastic potted plant and gummi worms
43. Trying to see the North Star thinking it would look like the Northern Lights in Wisconsin

38. Wearing my elementary school basketball uniform
39. Doing the tip off at any basketball game
40. Climbing the crab apple tree next to my house when it was in full bloom
41. Playing Ghost Busters with my cousin (slime, light projecting “lazers” and all)
42. Chachi’s Oreo cookie plastic potted plant and gummi worms
43. Trying to see the North Star thinking it would look like the Northern Lights in Wisconsin

26. Looking at the other entries when I won the top prize for my clay dinosaur themed creation!
27. Stealing the basketball from one of the top players and dribbling down the court during 8th grade try-outs!
28. Going to choir with all my friends every morning of junior high
29. Sitting at lunch with my circle of friends at lunch
30. Writing notes in my shared notebook with Kristen (my best friend)
31. Walking down the hall to see Matt’s Nirvana t-shirt (and laughing or loving it)
32. Bringing Snowy the white monkey in my overalls to kindergarten
33. Pacing back and forth with a protest sign saying, “Fight for women’s rights” during my speak (I’d guess 4th grade?)
34. 6th grade graduation
35. Watching a movie with the entire 6th grade
36. My outfit for 8th grade graduation (I felt so tall and beautiful)
37. Having my hand held sophomore year

1. Cuddling with my cat, Tommy, when I would cry.
2. “Getting married” with my neighbor
3. Surprising two of my classmates with an unexpected catch
4. Laughing at a student presentation about leaning on the “balls” of your feet and not knowing why it was funny…but not being able to stop laughing
5. Writing and decorating my folder for journal writing in 3rd grade
6. Going to Florida
7. The second grade dinosaur performance
8. Swimming with my dad at the pool
9. Catching a Northern Pike on the lake in Wisconsin
10. Playing a “Double Dare” styled game in Wisconsin
11. Shopping for toy horses in Wisconsin
12. Stopping on the way to Wisconsin
13. Couch forts
14. Dressing up like rock stars in metallic wigs
15. Egypt project video
16. Christmas trees with the Smogers (warmth, excitement, scent, and music!)
17. Brookfield Zoo
18. Riding in the car to somewhere in Chicago
19. Zulu warriors
20. Seeing friends play “shows”
21. Recording friends playing shows
22. Mam
23. Going to the Fireside with Matt Foster, RJ, and Mike.
24. Shows at the Agape Church in Downers Grove
25. Seeing My Girl – the first movie I saw without an adult!

At my wedding my brother and my husband’s brother each shared their favorite memories of us (our brothers are each 13 years older than us). My brother shared about coming home from college and going to the pool because that was where I was. He said he opened the gate and all he saw was arms and legs and this big beautiful smile running to meet him because we hadn’t seen each other in a while. I remember that well—I missed him so much because he was my big brother. Here we are at my wedding.

The hotel was HUGE and awesome! Train rides, and horseback riding, and swimming. And CHA CHA lessons!!!