What are YOUR favorite childhood memories?

My dad taking just me up to his work building to pick blackberries on the grounds, in little bowls and baskets.

Camping with my family and singing goofy civil war songs on a tape we must've worn out.

Going to the beach in my youngish years, and getting up real early to leave on the car trip.

My dad building little lincoln log forts with us and then helping us make stop motion movies with the plastic cowboys and indians.

Making wax figures with old plastic molds and melted crayons.

Christmas. Unpacking all the familiar special Christmas things - the nativity set, the ornaments, the wind-up cymbal-clapping monkey, the stockings my mom had decorated herself. The scent of the tree filling the room, the lights at night, the excitement of getting and giving presents, singing Christmas carols.

Playing with my brother. We'd act out complicated stories with assorted action figures - Rich Guys and Poor Guys, Sky City, Cannibals. And we'd act out other stories with just ourselves and a few props, like the one where we were captured by friendly aliens and taken to their planet, where we learned their language, went to school with their kids, etc.

Exploring the woods and fields in my neighborhood as a teenager - learning to identify birds and plants and animals tracks, finding owls, walking across the golf course at dawn spotting muskrats and bluebirds and hawks, gathering hickory nuts, picking raspberries, and just doing a lot of walking and thinking and daydreaming.

Listening to music LOUD in the car with my dad

Having long, deep conversations in the car with my mom

making up dances with my friends and having my dad videotape them

Making maple syrup candy by pouring the heated syrup on fresh snow, just like in the Little House books!

Swimming with my cousins, going to the ocean, playing on the mountain at my Grandma Josie and Pap's house, spending hours upon hours outside at my Granny's, pretending my little sister was *my* baby, playing twister, reading chapter books aloud to my sisters, the drive in theater next door, going to the roller skating rink every Tuesday, sleep overs at my best friend's house and the homemade slip'n'slide!

Vacations where all the aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents would come along--we'd rent a giant house or go camping or on a houseboat together. So much fun!

And having pets.

And getting to have a turn to play music in the car--my family was very diplomatic about that, and everyone had a turn.

Visiting grandparents every summer. They had a cottage on a lake, and my grandma would take me out to feed the ducks every morning. And she had a huge collection of bells, and she would let me touch them and ring them carefully. And it was just fun to be by the lake and make sandcastles all day.

I also have good memories of my dad reading chapter books out loud every night (Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, etc.).

And I have a lot of good memories of books and reading generally--like just spending whole weekend days reading. My parents owned and ran a bookstore when I was growing up, so I spent a lot of time there, playing and reading.