Flashback Friday - Wheels Keep on Turnin' Edition

There's just something freeing about having your own set of wheels.  Sit down, make the wheels turn, and you move!  Pure magic!  Genius.  I wonder who invented the wheel?  Hmmm...

Anyway, I thought it would be fun for me to do a quick little documentary of how I've gotten around over the years thanks to wheels. 

Baby Stroller - I don't remember being pushed around in a stroller.  I imagine the stroller looked something like this:

I'm totally kidding.  It probably looked more like this:

Tricycle - My 4 sisters and I grew up with this sweet ride:

Yes, it was a hand-me-down bike once I got it, but I loved it.  It was an authentic Strawberry Shortcake trike.  I remember having one of my siblings stand on the back step on the trike and I'd pedal as fast as my little legs would go.  Good times.

Bike w/ Training Wheels - (It was this same shade of purple and had a lovely rainbow on it but our bike had black tires.)

All 8 of us kids rode "the rainbow bike" with training wheels.  Of course we didn't all ride the bike at the same time. Over the years, this was the bike that we trained on.

Banana Seat Bike - This was my all time favorite bike:

I would ride this bike back when we lived on Scott Lane.  We had a fun neighborhood to ride around.  Oh, and we weren't required to wear helmets back then.  When I was around 10 years old, I had a little accident on this bike.  I was riding my bike when my shoelace came untied.  The shoelace wrapped around the pedal several times and it tightened my shoe so tight that I couldn't pedal anymore.  So yeah, I fell off my bike and skinned my knee really bad.  No fun.  From that day on, I made sure I double knotted my shoelaces before hopping on my bike.  Problem solved.

1989 Plymouth Reliant K - (ours was white with red interior)  My parents bought this car off of my Aunt Vi. 

This was our family's kid car when I was in high school.  I remember driving this car to school after seminary my senior year.  My brother Michael was a junior then and rode with me.  I also drove this car home after track practice and to my piano lessons at the Arnot Mall. 

1994 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited Edition - (our Jeep was black too and looked just like this one minus the huge tire on top)

There were a few times when I drove the Jeep to high school.  I felt so cool driving this Jeep.  It had alot of bells and whistles and the leather seats were nice too.  Sometimes my dad would have church meetings to attend in our stake and I would volunteer to go with him.  It was fun to chauffeur my dad to his meetings.  He always told me that I was a pretty good navigator.  He'd doze off and rest and would wake up when we arrived at the church building. 

Turquoise Blue Schwinn Bike (a gift from my Grandpa Hallstrom)

My Grandpa Hallstrom made a special trip up to Idaho and surprised me with this bike my freshman year at BYU-Idaho.  I preferred walking around campus, but I did take the bike for a spin a few times.  The bike always seemed too big for me.  I let my roommate borrow my bike for the summer and when I returned, she said she lost the bike.  Oh well. 

1995 Buick Century (Sam bought his first car with his hard earned cash)

Our date-mobile and which later on became our family of 3-mobile.  Sam and I had this car for our first 4 years together.  Brian was 2 1/2 when this car died.  I remember following Sam on the interstate (in our newly bought Honda) up to CarMax.  At one point, Sam's car had black, blue, and purple smoke coming out of the car.  I flashed my lights at him hoping he'd notice what was going on and stop.  But he kept on going.  I started to cry thinking Sam and the car were going to blow up right before my eyes! The car died at a stoplight right at the end of the off ramp.  Sam had to call a tow truck to take the car to CarMax.  What a nightmare!

2004 Honda Accord (this beauty - I lovingly refer to as "Our Cream Puff" is resting in our garage)

This is our sweet car.  I LOVE IT!  It has all the bells and whistles you could ever want.  My favorite features are the 6 CD changer, the music controls on the steering wheel, the heated leather seats, and the sun/moon roof.  Yep.  We spoiled ourselves with this car.  No complaints from me.

2007 Chrysler Town & Country (My 28th birthday present)

After nearly 7 years of marriage, we are finally a 2 vehicle family!  I found this van online one evening.  That same night, we drove over an hour to the dealership to test drive the van.  Twenty minutes after the test drive, we decided to buy the van.  We signed the papers, drove it home, and parked it in our garage that night.  Quick decision, but it was a good one.  I love the van.  This is the biggest set of wheels that I've ever owned. 

(Pictures courtesy of Google Images.)

ANY OF YOU OUT THERE CARE TO SHARE THEIR ALL TIME FAVORITE SET OF WHEELS?!

Whew!  That was tons of work.  It's fun to remember the past.  Stay tuned for next weeks edition of... FLASHBACK FRIDAY!