Post 60: It's Official: This Blog Is Nellie- and Almanzo-Approved!

From Anne – Perhaps an odd question for this blogger to ask, but: why just watch Little House, when you can live it?That’s right, while my eighth-grade peers were getting their first hickeys, I was running around in a self-styled sunbonnet with my cousins Tera and Amber down in the forested ravine across the street from our house Hendricks County, Indiana.

My cousins loved LHOP as much as I did, and I couldn’t wait till they visited so we could escape to “the creek,” as we called it, to get our Little House on. If memory serves, I was Ma, Tera was Laura, Amber was Nellie and my ‘lil brother Kurt was Willie. So what if we were missing half the cast?

In 2007, I persuaded my husband to purchase “the creek” acreage (photo below) so I can have a nature fix and keep acting nostalgic down there. It’s one of the wildest places I know, always a boon to the imagination, and an invitation to go feral:And almost 40 years later, cousin Amber (who lives in Arizona) and myself (in Indiana) continue to geek out together over LHOP. In July 2019, Amber made the sacred pilgrimage to WALNUT GROVE, MINNESOTA! (I did my ritual journey in 2005).

Unlike me, though, Amber attended the official Wilder Pageant, and afterward, got to meet none other than Dean Butler, Alison Arngrim, Lindsay Greenbush, and Charlotte Stewart (not going to ID them; you know who they are). Also around were “Jeb Carter” (Lindsay Kennedy) and “Jason Carter” (David Friedman).

Amazing Amber made it her business to get autographs of all these dazzling stars on my behalf, and, unbeknownst to me, decided to tell them about this very blog! Both Butler and Arngrim got a charge out of the name “Girls Gone Wilder.” Look at Dean’s snicker as he signs his autograph!

And listen to Alison’s response when Amber tells her about the blog’s name.

What more validation could a fan want?

Dear Amber: thank you for our shared love of lunch pails, sunbonnets, simplicity, and gratitude. Thanks for being the chief audience for the Little House print newsletter, and now, this blog. Thank you for using your 20 seconds of celebrity contact to spread the word about Girls Gone Wilder!Amber’s oldest daughter just tied the knot. Can’t wait 'til Amber has some grandchildren to indoctrinate.

From Tracy – First off - thank you so much, Amber. I don't think we've ever met but I've heard a lot about you.

Secondly - SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! I am super excited that Nellie laughed and Almanzo smirked at our blog's name. It makes the universe a decidedly more lovely place. Can we give them t-shirts with our blog's name for the next Wilder Pageant?