Memory Lane...

Last night or I should say early this morning my sister Jennifer and I were taking a walk down memory lane. For as long as I can remember our dad always made sure we knew his side of the family. It was important to him so he made sure it was important to us. Today I am thankful for this. So here is our trip down memory lane. Take this journey with us and enjoy.

Grandma Sutton (Irene)

 Our grandma Sutton was wise beyond her years. I think it was the long life she lived. Since we were small we made many trips to Winfield where she lived and she came here to our house. Many great things I remember about her. When we went to visit her the house I remember the most was 1104 B. Manning. She always made the best home made bread ever. She always made sure we got Burger Station in Winfield (which is still there I might add, and the best burgers ever). We would spend the whole day there. When she would come visit us no matter if it was during the school year or in the summer we would play endless games of scrabble. She would help us, she taught us the game. Now you know why Jennifer and I can play the game so well. She would always take us to McDonald's and buy us a happy meal since there wasn't a burger station in Independence.  I loved loved the wrinkles on her hands and face. I love touching them, it never bothered her. I would just hold her hands and touch her face. I loved it. She always packed in a blue suitcase. Grandma was a writer. We started writing letters to her when we were kids and wrote her letters until she died. She always made sure we had stamps to write her. She was our pen pal and we would wait by the mail for her letters. After she died we got some of the letters we wrote to her back not realizing she had kept them. I bet she laughed a lot. Some of the things we wrote when we were young were so funny. Til this day I have the last letter she ever wrote us. I am sure there are many more memories but this blog will be long enough without me adding all of them.

Delbert Sutton and Gordon Sutton

 Delbert and Gordie were two of grandma's son's. They also lived in Winfield. Blocks from my grandma if I remember right. We also spent many hours there with them as well as them coming to visit us. My uncle Delbert has and still does always call us 6th graders. It makes me laugh because we are married with our own children and he still will say "hey 6th grader". I love it, and it makes me laugh. We spent hours at Delbert's playing with Jarrod and Lacretia, his other son Micah was smaller so we didn't play with him much he was the cutest little baby ever. We would play at the park that was a block or so from their house. One year we took my sister Heather's best friend Bridget and she had blacked out and hit the slide head on. We all laughed, when she came to she didn't think it was funny but she was fine. There as this old man who used to ride on a riding lawn mower and we had heard some bad things about him, don't know if they were true but every time we would see him while we were in Winfield we would run. Silly now that I think about it. If the things about him were true they probably wouldn't have let us out of the house. I remember spending the night at my Uncle Gordie's house one Christmas. We all slept on their living room floor and played I spy in the dark for hours. Its much harder to play in the dark. My Uncle Gordie was a big man and I always remember worrying about him sleeping in my bed. I had a twin bed and there was a spring that would pop out of the bottom when he slept in it. He and Delbert could snore with the best of them. I always heard that my Uncle Gordie could eat and onion like and apple (that must be where my son gets it). I remember one time when Uncle Delbert was visiting, my Aunt Amy was brushing Lacretia's hair and she wouldn't sit still so Amy whacked her on the head with her hairbrush, needless to say she had her undivided attention after that.

Judy Byerley

I don't have many memories of her but the few that I do remember is when we had a 4th of July reunion at her house. Everyone was there and there were lots of food. My most fondest memory was every year until she died on our birthday she would send us a card with two quarters taped inside. She even sent them when I thought most people would think we were to old to be receiving money in our cards. She was one special lady.

Peggy Barber

 
 Oh my Aunt Peggy how I loved her. We come from a long line of cookers. We were taught well how to cook. She had this cafe, and I remember when we spent one Thanksgiving there. She also lived in Winfield. So when we were visiting Grandma we always visited everyone else in the family that lived there. I can't think of any specific memory I just remember her always being there and I loved her.


Vic Sutton

 I don't remember the first time I met my Uncle Vic, I just remember loving him. Like my dad, my uncle Vic also has three daughters. Maybe that is why he took to us. I remember one time Uncle Vic made Jennifer and I these pens. We still have them. I thought we were so special.  I never get tired of seeing him and I love him so much. He always used to ask us if we wanted quarters out of his pockets at family reunions. I don't ever remember actually taking them. I guess I will have to ask him about that.

Uncle Mike and Aunt Kathi

 Where to begin, for some reason the memories I have them are the clearest right now, that is why I waited to do them last.  I remember watching Hoosiers and Field of Dreams for the first time at their house. I remember when we were out their house, and they used to raise these big white dogs and they had about four puppies that were big for puppies and they let Jennifer and I bathe them. We weren't very old I think we got more of a bath then they did. They never made us feel like we were kids. We were never in their way. They never got tired of us. Aunt Kathi always made sure we had something to do. They never felt bothered by us. My uncle Mike was a John Deere man, so nothing made him happier when I married a John Deere man (well he works for John Deere-so its close).
Uncle Mike and Aunt Kathi always was able to get the family together for the Fourth of July. That is when we had the best cooking in the county in one place and great time, lots of laughter. The last one that they had I missed because my daughter had gotten married. But the one before that, Uncle Mike had surprised Aunt Kathi by renewing their wedding vows. So glad I didn't miss that. They are a great example of what love is all about. The two of them together were the perfect match, a great example. I never remember hearing them ever raise their voice. Always kind and loving. I never got tired of hugging them or being around them. I love to hear them both laugh. My uncle Mike was a hard working man. His hands were proof of the hard work he did. He never was a person to waste and hour in a day.
I remember a different house that they had lived in on their farm, while Uncle Mike worked on the other house. I don't remember them being in it long, just that their was work he had to do on the other house. I remember spending lots of time with them. I remember one time we were in Independence and Uncle Mike was driving his truck and Jennifer was in the middle and I was sitting on Aunt Kathi's lap. We had drove through town and I remember seeing a couch in Westco's window and I had said Ewww! I like that couch, and Aunt Kathi had said I wonder why we say Ewww when we see something we like.  I remember laughing about it. That may not be accurate but its how I remember the memory.

I am know there are a hundred more of these memories. I will be posting more soon. Please feel free to tag anyone that may want to read this, for I am not friends with everyone. Please leave comments if you would like to.

I love you all