a trip to Mizzou

A few days into our stay with my sister and her family, we decided to take a little outing to the University of Missouri campus. Tons of Chica's relatives attended Mizzou. In fact, I learned a while back that out of state tuition is waived for alumni's kids. So it seemed appropriate for her to take a trip around campus and get acquainted with all the Tiger surroundings. She'll need to know where she's going come fall of 2026. After touring the recently renovated commons area and bookstore, we headed across campus to the Quad, where the historical parts of campus are.
This was the face Chica made when she first saw the columns in the middle of the Quad. I love age 2 and a half because if you talk something up enough she'll react like this every time. :) We settled down for a picnic lunch on a bench and watched college students hustle to their classes. Our crew attracted quite a bit of attention.

She's enthusiastic when she's in black and gold.


What we didn't realize when we sat down was that we picked a bench next to Thomas Jefferson's original headstone. Three college tour groups came by, each stopping directly in front of us. The toddlers distracted some of the groups. I'm just thankful none of the backward walking guides tripped over them as they went on their way!

After lunch, we took a closer look at the columns.

Our view of Jesse Auditorium from the columns.
I hoisted her up on one of the bases. On nice days students hang out, study and nap on the columns. I don't think anyone was napping while we were there.


This is half of the quad and where the Hintons are guessing the ESPN College Game Day desk is going to be this Saturday. (Woohoo!)
After a quick restroom break, we looped back around the quad. The Thomas Jefferson statue was quite the attraction. Chica loved his shoes and his quill pen.

On the way back to the car, my sister snapped this picture of us as proof that I was there too. Because when we move Chica into the freshman dorms, they'll probably have to leave me at home. On the other hand, that might be the perfect time for me to go back for a master's degree. :)