A TRIP IN THE WAYBACK MACHINE!

There are trips my family took as we were children on a regular basis- to the beach, the mountains, state parks, to visit family, etc. I loved going on these trips......packed in with my sister and brother in the station wagon, sitting in the back seat (the ones that faced completely backwards and you were staring at the driver behind you!), playing cards, reading, saying cheese for pictures and being carefree. We made some great memories of those times. I love to go back and look at old pictures. It is always fun to reminisce. MacGyver and I both love to share childhood memories such as these with our children. In fact, quite often at night you can hear MacGyver giving a detailed account of stories from his childhood. He has such a vivid memory! We love to take them back to see the neighborhood/homes we lived in as children and the schools we attended. It is a fantastic way to shed light to our children about our youth and experiences we had. Not to mention how much fun it is to recollect ourselves!

Now, having children of our own, it is fun to see the kids creating memories of their own childhood. It makes me wonder what they will retell to their children as parents! Since we still live in the same area where we both grew up for the most part, we visit some of the same places. It is a unique experience to see your own children taking trips you enjoyed at the same age some 30+ years ago. It seems as though things are so much the same, yet so different at the same time. These are pictures from a recent trip we took to a local military state park. The kids had a blast! Bottle Rocket loved reading each of the informational signs and learning about the battles that took place along the path. It was neat to see the various levels of development on the trail. Sparkler was way too young to understand and to her we were taking another nature walk on a beautiful Fall day. Fire Cracker milked his Uncle for all it was worth- claiming to need a "ride" when in fact he simply loved some one-to-one-time with him! Or perhaps he was taking after his own mom who once exclaimed on the same trail that her legs "were only this long!" Smoke Bomb asked lots of questions and took many clues from Bottle Rocket since he was able to read. There were informational posts all along the trail which told the story of the Revolutionary War. Bottle Rocket thoroughly enjoyed reading each one. It took some convincing for both of them that this happened 200 years ago. They kept expecting to see actual war trenches and red coats up on the hill! I think they finally began to understand by the end of the walk. I have to admit it was neat to see things through their eyes- imaginative, creative and literal. It was also neat to be the 4th generation of family that had walked the trail!