We often used to go to Amarillo to enjoy a family weekend. Dad and Mom always got a nice hotel with an indoor pool and other family amenities. My mother was raised to dress well and on this weekend was wearing a new suede jacket. She has always been a beautiful and classy woman. While walking across the pool area to get to the on-site restaurant, Mom noticed a body floating face-down in the hot tub. Without even thinking, she jumped in to pull the limp body out. However, the kid was nearly scared to death when this crazy woman interrupted his relaxing swim by yanking him out of the water.
Actually, I'm not sure who was more scared...but I do know who was most entertained. The pool area was FULL of people, not to mention the restaurant that opened into this area so that diner's could watch their children frolick in the water. It all happened so fast that I just remember hearing a SPLASH and looking over to see my mother fully-clothed in the hot tub. She was so angry that we were laughing...
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Before my parents bought a van, they had a pickup with a topper. Although we can't imagine having our children ride back there in this day and age, that's how we went on vacation back then. Seatbelts were not required. We would just fill up the bed of the pickup with blankets, pillows, books, and stuffed animals then put on the topper and we were ready to hit the road. But the topper was also handy for trips around town when you had more people than you had seats.
On this occasion, my Uncle Dean was in town from Washington state. For some reason (I don't know if they were forced into it by my Mom and Aunt or if they had the idea on their own) they decided to take the kids to the Jet Drive-In for ice cream cones. So, they hopped in the front of the pickup and us kids (all SEVEN of us) piled into the bed of the truck. After picking up the cones, we started back toward the house.
An interesting fact about Hugoton is that it was built with a drainage system that includes canals. We loved the canals as kids because they made a great place to skateboard and ride our bikes. Not to mention that when it rained, we had a blast playing in the fast-moving water. Dad's shed was right beside the entrance to the canal (where water would drain from the roads into this system) and it was just a short couple of blocks from the house. On this particular day, that entrance to the canal called my father's name. In a split second, he realized how fun it would be to drive through the canal, up and down the slopes, with his brother and all of us kids in tow. Wow...just like a roller coaster.....with ice cream cones! You can just imagine this mess.
I can't resist throwing in a quote from The Wedding Singer here: "They were cones!" LOL!
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We had a little Honda XR75. Actually, Dad still has this little motorcycle and we still enjoy riding it! But we all had little bumps in the road to error-free riding...including the time (probably the same weekend with the ice cream cones above) that Mom and Aunt Janice were sitting on lawn chairs in the yard watching the older kids ride. As they chatted, Casy headed toward them...and kept coming...no slowing down...and coming...still not slowing... And finally, "She's not stopping!" and the two women bailed out of their chairs right before being plowed over because Casy forgot where the brake was!
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We used to go to Clark County Lake often with the Suttons. Bill loved to fish. That is the thing I remember most about him along with his trademark sideburns and mustache. On this particular trip, I decided to climb the hill by the campsite. I think I was in the first grade and I remember how hard that hike was and how high it seemed. I got to the top and was thrilled at the view but when I looked down, I froze. This was the first time I realized that I was scared of heights. After trying to coax me down for quite a while, Dad or Bill came up and carried me down. That hill was known in our little circle from then on as "Gina's Mountain" as name by Bill Sutton.
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When Lisa was little, mom and dad couldn't keep track of her. She was a climber (on the roof, top of the swingset, in trees) and an adventurer. When we would go somewhere, we would often lose Lisa. So...they bought a cowbell and put it around her neck on a purple leather strap. I wonder what in the world strangers thought when they saw this stray child running around with a cowbell clanging around her neck! I didn't think it was weird at all. All you had to do was listen for the DONG DONG DONG and you could find her. My folks had some innovative parenting techniques!
________
Before my parents bought a van, they had a pickup with a topper. Although we can't imagine having our children ride back there in this day and age, that's how we went on vacation back then. Seatbelts were not required. We would just fill up the bed of the pickup with blankets, pillows, books, and stuffed animals then put on the topper and we were ready to hit the road. But the topper was also handy for trips around town when you had more people than you had seats.
On this occasion, my Uncle Dean was in town from Washington state. For some reason (I don't know if they were forced into it by my Mom and Aunt or if they had the idea on their own) they decided to take the kids to the Jet Drive-In for ice cream cones. So, they hopped in the front of the pickup and us kids (all SEVEN of us) piled into the bed of the truck. After picking up the cones, we started back toward the house.
An interesting fact about Hugoton is that it was built with a drainage system that includes canals. We loved the canals as kids because they made a great place to skateboard and ride our bikes. Not to mention that when it rained, we had a blast playing in the fast-moving water. Dad's shed was right beside the entrance to the canal (where water would drain from the roads into this system) and it was just a short couple of blocks from the house. On this particular day, that entrance to the canal called my father's name. In a split second, he realized how fun it would be to drive through the canal, up and down the slopes, with his brother and all of us kids in tow. Wow...just like a roller coaster.....with ice cream cones! You can just imagine this mess.
I can't resist throwing in a quote from The Wedding Singer here: "They were cones!" LOL!
______________
We had a little Honda XR75. Actually, Dad still has this little motorcycle and we still enjoy riding it! But we all had little bumps in the road to error-free riding...including the time (probably the same weekend with the ice cream cones above) that Mom and Aunt Janice were sitting on lawn chairs in the yard watching the older kids ride. As they chatted, Casy headed toward them...and kept coming...no slowing down...and coming...still not slowing... And finally, "She's not stopping!" and the two women bailed out of their chairs right before being plowed over because Casy forgot where the brake was!
______________
We used to go to Clark County Lake often with the Suttons. Bill loved to fish. That is the thing I remember most about him along with his trademark sideburns and mustache. On this particular trip, I decided to climb the hill by the campsite. I think I was in the first grade and I remember how hard that hike was and how high it seemed. I got to the top and was thrilled at the view but when I looked down, I froze. This was the first time I realized that I was scared of heights. After trying to coax me down for quite a while, Dad or Bill came up and carried me down. That hill was known in our little circle from then on as "Gina's Mountain" as name by Bill Sutton.
_____________
When Lisa was little, mom and dad couldn't keep track of her. She was a climber (on the roof, top of the swingset, in trees) and an adventurer. When we would go somewhere, we would often lose Lisa. So...they bought a cowbell and put it around her neck on a purple leather strap. I wonder what in the world strangers thought when they saw this stray child running around with a cowbell clanging around her neck! I didn't think it was weird at all. All you had to do was listen for the DONG DONG DONG and you could find her. My folks had some innovative parenting techniques!
LMAO!! I love the ice cream one! I started laughing as soon as you brought up the canal. And GEE thanks for sharing my COW BELL! I still have it by the way. Thought about using it for Emma. hehe!
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