A Very Missouri Christmas

It's funny how you can be away from something for so long, but as soon as you come back it's like you never left. That's exactly how I felt this whole week while visiting my family in Missouri. 

The town of DeSoto, Missouri might be one of my favorites of all time. The small railroad town is filled with antique shops and local businesses, plus a few chain stores and a Wal-Mart (because every town in MO has a Wal-Mart!) It was nostalgic cruising Main Street, seeing the same store fronts I remember as a kid. The Melba (the local one screen movie theater) still shines the same neon sign it did 28 years ago when I was a resident, and ticket prices remain at $2/$3 a show. Many of the buildings and homes haven't changed a bit, which I find quite refreshing and remarkably charming. There is a special place in my heart for DeSoto, Missouri and being able to spend our Christmas there this year made it extra special. 

As I mentioned in the last post, we decided to make it a two-day trip on the way down. So after a quick pitstop in Cedar Rapids, IA on Sunday night we continued our road-trip and made it to Festus Monday afternoon. After checking into our hotel and getting settled into our "home away from home" for the week, we headed to DeSoto to my Grandparent's house. Like I mentioned above, everything is exactly how I remembered it. The wood-burning stove is in the living room where it always sits in the winter, and the Christmas tree is in it's designated spot. I even found my very first Christmas ornament hanging on the tree! 

Harper took a liking to my Grandma's giant piggy bank, and treated it like a chair. It was great to see Grandma and Grandpa, and Harper warmed up to them quickly. Mitch's family has all the great grandchildren call Granny "Super Granny" rather than "Great Granny." It's so catchy and adorable we've adopted it on the Schumer side too. The whole trip Harper referred to them as "Super Grandma" and "Super PaPa," it was heart melting cute. 

Aunt Joan and Betty stopped by after work to visit and join us for dinner. I had one restaurant request while I was visiting, and that was Pogolino's. This pizza place is legendary to me, and has been a town staple forever. My Mom and her sisters talk about how they used to hang there after football games and order the same pizzas we ordered Monday night. We devoured toasted ravioli to start, a small house salad (seriously one of my all-time favorites) and a pepperoni and pork sausage pizza. Oh, and did I mention two buckets of beers? The food was just a good as I remembered, and the company was even better. Afterwards we took a detour on the way home to look at Christmas lights. I used to beg my Grandpa to drive around town as a kid to look at all the decked out houses, and the same townsfolk are creating their impressive displays today. 

Mitch and I both agreed it felt a little strange staying in a hotel during the holiday, but it worked out perfectly. Harper had a quiet place to nap and sleep and we got our own king bed! :) Christmas Eve morning we woke up and got ready for the day. Austin was flying in from Minneapolis that afternoon, so we were riding up to St. Louis with my parents to pick him up. After a quick lunch at St. Louis Bread Company, we were on the road to Lambert - St. Louis International Airport. With the ride being 45-50 minutes away, Harper was able to catch a quick nap and I might have caught a few Zzz's myself. 

I remember Christmas Eve as a kid at my Grandma and Grandpa Schumer's. I can still picture their tree with silver tinsel and the amazing nativity scene displayed close by. After awhile my Aunt Margie Schumer started hosting Christmas Eve dinner. She's a terrific cook, and we never leave her house hungry. Plus there is every type of cookie you can imagine, and she always gives you a to-go plate! This year was the same, and I ate entirely too many sugar cookies. I found an old picture mounted on the wall at Aunt Margie Schumer's and couldn't resist capturing the classic image on my own camera. It was from my Grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary in 1994. My Mom was pregnant with Austin at the time, and I remember being very excited about the dress I picked out. Who wouldn't like a crushed velvet pale pink dress with matching choker? It was fun to see everyone, and we're very thankful for all the nice gifts we received. Harper is a very lucky girl to be loved by so many wonderful people. 

Christmas morning is always spent at my Grandparents house where we open presents with everyone followed by a Christmas lunch. The house was stuffed with 20 bodies, which made it feel like old times. We started the gift opening, where we were all spoiled once again. We watched Super Grandma open her gifts, and it's obvious her favorite color is yellow since most of gifts she opened were in that hue. Aunt Joan and I deemed ourselves the photographers for the day. We were scurrying snapping candids and selfies. A few people even stole Harper's game of "1, 2, 3 Silly Face." I am so glad Mitch and Harper got to experience the Missouri Christmas I remember. It's certainly one I won't forget.  

After things started winding down, it's tradition to go to the Elk's Lodge with my Aunt Joan. Mitch took Harper back to the hotel for a little nap, which was much needed. Once we finished up at the Elk's Aunt Joan and Betty drove me back to Festus to meet Mitch and Harper for dinner. Where did we eat Christmas dinner you ask? Well, Steak 'N Shake of course! It was right next to our hotel, and happened to be one of the only restaurants open. We weren't the only people with the idea, the place was packed! Harper enjoyed her first Steak 'N Shake experience, and even let us get a picture of her with the cute hat! Burgers, fries and milkshakes was an unusual, but fun way to end the holiday. 

The day after Christmas was always reserved as a girls shopping day. We would get up bright and early and start our journey to St. Louis with a few stops along the way. This year it was just 3 of us, but we still managed to have a blast. With stops at Walmart, Target, 2 Outlet Malls, lunch at 54th Street Grill and a few stops at Ross - we were exhausted by the end of the day, but we had bags full of deals! 

It was our last day in town, so we had to say our goodbyes. We stopped at Aunt Margie Schumer's to thank her again for the nice gifts, and hosting a wonderful Christmas Eve. In true Aunt Margie fashion, she sent us off with fresh baked peach pie. Afterwards we headed to my Grandparents to bid farewell. Harper jumped right on Super Grandma's scooter and made herself comfy. We exchanged hugs and kisses, and headed back to our last night of hotel living. 

Yesterday as we started our road trip, we were all anxious to get home to our own beds and back on our regular routine. Rather than splitting the drive into two days, we were pushing to make the 9 1/2 hour trip - and I'm proud to report we all survived. Harper watched enough movies to last the next year, but it kept her content in the back the whole 9 hours. We do however, need to detox her from screen time and drive thru's after this trip!  

I am so happy we made the jaunt to celebrate Christmas in Missouri. It's a trip I think we'll all remember and being able to spend it with my loved ones makes it even more memorable. Hope all of your had a very Merry Christmas, I know we did.

:: below are pictures I snapped from the passenger seat on our ride home yesterday. I got a new camera, and had to play around! :) :: 

Until next time...
The Helleen's