Dumas Trip

In July we made a trek back to Dumas, TX. We lived in Dumas from Oct 2002 til December 2004. While there, we made some great life long friends. Little do you know when you move around often, that you will find people that will stay in your life forever. We may have only been in Dumas for a few years, but the friendships we formed will last a life time! It was great to go back after having been gone 5 years. We moved away when Mason was 6 months old, so thanks to Facebook, everyone at least knew what Mason and Mallory looked like now!!

On the 1st day down, we stopped for lunch in MO, at a favorite place.. SONIC!! Oh how I love Sonic!!! Was a perfect day for a picnic with Sonic


We ended up staying the night in Oklahoma City, do we didn't have to drive the whole trip in one day. We got to OKC around 5pm. We checked into our hotel (that I booked on Priceline.com). And as we were driving to the hotel, I realized that it was the EXACT SAME hotel I had booked back in the summer of 2003 while visiting OKC!!! Was very de ja vu! Was a very nice hotel. We ended up spending out evening at Celebration Station. Thursday night was all you can ride rides for a small fee. We ended up doing that, and the kids definitely got their money's worth. Mason could actually drive one of the go karts by himself, and then ride with someone in the bigger FASTER go carts. They also had water boats that you drove around and shot water at the other boats. We all ended up soaked after we got off that ride


On our way to Dumas on Friday, we took a little scenic drive thru Amarillo, TX and stopped at the hospital that Mason was born at. Does not seem like it was 6 years ago that we were having a sleepover in this hospital

A trip to Dumas wouldn't be complete without a drive by our old house on Floyd Ave. It basically looks the same!!! Lillies were still out front, but the pampas grass had been replaced by something else. If only we could have gotten on the inside :)

Current view

View in 2003

The back yard has an addition of a play set, so there must be a family with little kids living there now. I've heard that there have been at least 2 families living there since we left in 2004. The garden is still there

Current View

View 2003

Saturday we visited the museum in Dumas, and I took about 20 pics of the kids, and this was the best I could do!! there is a tumbleweed in the back if you look closely (couldn't find any 'live' ones as those don't 'fly' til winter :) )

We also got to spend lunch (@ Chica Blancas, my favorite restaurant in Dumas) and the afternoon with Nick and Cindy Beckman. Cindy and I started quilting together and taking classes at the local quilt shop, so I can thank her for getting me involved with quilting. When we first moved to Dumas, Cindy and I were both unemployed. (Nick works at Monsanto, and was transferred down along with Tony and a few other people when the Ulysses plant closed) I didn't really know Cindy when we both lived in Ulysses, but it didn't take us long to become great friends in Dumas. We would go on walks together, she was my shopping buddy in Amarillo, hitting all the malls and craft shows we could find. When I got pregnant, she was helping me with all the things a 'mother' would normally do (but since my mother was 800 miles away and not around on a daily basis, Cindy stepped right in and helped me out). She was even walking with me on a daily basis up to the day I gave birth. And Nick and her were the 1st people to meet Mason in the hospital. They hold special places in our hearts, and I love the fact that we can talk every 6 months and still feel like we haven't missed out on anything. THANKS Beckman's for letting us get your carpet dirty and feeding us supper!!! :) And of course being our friends and hanging out for the day (I only wish I had gotten a picture of all of us :( Guess that will have to wait til the next trip)

We did have alittle excitement in our hotel on Saturday night, July 3rd. I'm a really light sleeper and I couldn't get to sleep. It was about 2am, and I hear some hard knocking on a neighboring door..'Dumas Police. Dumas Police' So of course I go to my peep hole to see 2 officers knocking on the door across the way, WITH their pistols drawn. For a worry wart like me, this is not something you want to see while vacationing with your family at 2am!!! No one came to the door, and the police proceeded down the hallway and got on their two way radios 'Floor 2 is all secure' YIKES!!! What?!?!?!? All secure?!?! The only reason I would think they would have their pistols drawn was because they thought someone was in the building with a gun. Pretty sure my blood pressure was thru the roof at this point in the night. I went to the window, as our room is right above the hotel lobby and looks out to the entry doors to see this....

After I took this photo, a sheriff truck and about 6 other police cars were placed all around the front of the building blocking the entrance road and exit roads. I had a hard time sleeping that night. It wasn't til the morning at breakfast, that we overheard a gentleman, probably in his 50s, who had been with his wife and older kids in the lobby playing a game of cards. They had arrived at the hotel around 11:30pm and decided to play some cards before going to bed. around 1:30am 3 masked men came in the front doors, two carrying pistols and the 3rd carrying a shotgun, took what little money they had at the front desk, then proceeded to tell the 8 or so people playing cards to get on the ground and give them their cash (they didn't want credit cards or ids or anything like that, only cash) The man said he didn't have any cash and tried to give him his wallet, but the men didn't want it. Not sure how much money they got away with, BUT I am certain that those people will forever be changed by that night. To ad insult to injury, the hotel was just built in December 2009, and had yet to install SECURITY CAMERAS in their lobby!!!! Pretty sure those men knew that, cause who robs a HOTEL at 1:30am and expects to get away with a lot of CASH???? And they still have yet to catch the men.


I've often said 'I wish Subway had a drive thru in Boone, or Ames or Des Moines for that matter' We love Subway, but it can be a pain at times, especially when there are sleeping kiddos in the car and you have to go in and order. And it wasn't til we were in Dumas, that I realized I knew I had experienced a drive thru subway before.. however, it was before kids could really enjoy the food. I rarely used a drive thru before I had kids.. always seemed faster to go inside and order it to go.


Speaking of drive thrus, another rarity in Dumas is the Drive Thru Liquor store. Since I'm not a big drinker, I'll drink occasionally, I had forgotten that you can't buy alcohol on Sundays in Dumas (I'm still not sure why the heck you can't in this town, but I thought it was all of TX, but that isn't the case) And with the 4th of July falling on a Sunday this year, guess what happened.. yep, we had forgotten to buy our alcohol BEFORE Sunday. Tony had remembered there was a place on the outskirts of Dumas that had a DRIVE THRU liquor store that was OPEN on Sundays. I'm thinking that this store makes all their profits for the year on Sundays AND especially holidays that fall on Sundays. Cause when we got there, there were 8 cars in front of us, and just as many behind us when we finally got to the window. AND they charge about double of what they should, but then again, people are buying it so why not charge more!!!




While waiting in line, I noticed this sign on the fence.. 1st I've seen this.. I was thinking I'd love to have a sign like that..
Only to notice that it was in fact TRUE!!! Must be some good 'garbage' out there to keep the cats around

Mallory was running a fever on Sunday the 4th, so the day didn't go as I had hoped. Any time she is feverish, I'm on pins and needles hoping and praying that seizures don't follow. We were invited to the Gerber's for supper, but with Mallory feverish, I didn't know if we should go. We did end up going, but you could tell Mallory didn't feel well. The first 2 hours on her medicine she was ok, then that last hour before I could give her another dose of meds, she was cranky and burning up and sad (and I can't say I blame her as I would be too if I was running a 102 temp)

L to R : Chris Gerber, Rena Warren, Tony, Nick Beckman

L to R: Tony, Nick Beckman, Cindy Beckman, Nick ??, Kelly Gerber

The Gerber's have some of the best kids I've ever met. Rylan is 16 and Reghan is 13. Pretty sure when I was 16,and it was a holiday, and a weekend, I would not be found at home entertaining a 6 year old boy and a 2 year old girl!!! And when I was 13 I know I wasn't loving playing with my 7 year old sister!!! The funny thing is, I actually think they wanted to be home....and that Kelly didn't make them stay home for us (at least I hope she didn't) Seriously, these kids are so well behaved,well mannered,polite, nice, cute, that if I knew I could have kids as awesome as them, I'd have 10!!! (ok, maybe not 10, as I'm pretty sure our SMALL three bedroom house wouldn't hold that many :) We just love the Gerber's!!! Such an awesome family to call our friends, and to know that when we visit the area, they welcome us with open arms like we've never left!!

Rylan can attest that Mason doesn't sit still.. one minute he was wanting to play baseball, then basketball, then play on the scooter, then football, then jump on the trampoline, then back to the front to play basketball, to the back to play tennis, on the trampoline, playing baseball, back to front to play on scooter.. seriously, the kid played a 'sport' for 10 minutes and was 'bored' and wanted Rylan to do something different with him. And the whole time, Rylan went along for the ride. I do believe after about 5 hours of that, Rylan told Mason he was tired, but who wouldn't be?!?! I was tired after the 1st 30 minutes of that!!!!Rylan is great at all sports, we only wished he had had some baseball games while we were down there. Pretty sure the 10 year old we last saw play 6 years ago wasn't as good as the 16 year old is today!!!

Reghan has an I touch, and since Mason loves mine, he was having a ball playing all the 'new' games she had on hers.


Reghan even kept some of her toys around from when she was younger, so that when younger kids came over, they would have something to play with. She was so good about entertaining Mallory and Mallory was having a ball with all the 'new' things in Reghan's room!!! I'm sure Reghan is an awesome babysitter, only wish she lived a little closer to watch our kiddos!!!

Course you can't tell in this picture, but Rylan is about 6 ft tall and still growing I'm sure, and Reghan is right behind him!!

L to R: Rylan (16) Mason (6) Reghan (13)

We also got to visit with Rena, a coworker of Tony's while at the Monsanto plant in Dumas. She is such a sweet lady, that you can't help but smile when you are around her. Tony was always giving her a hard time at work, playing practical jokes on her and just being Tony. Even after we have moved back to Iowa, he still calls her at work and pretends to be an upset customer or someone looking for a place to stay. The practical jokes have not stopped. And Rena is always so nice to him. It isn't til Tony says who it is, does she lay off the 'nice'! And to think she still wanted to see us after all Tony has done to her. Was so awesome to see her and for her to meet Mallory and to see Mason not as a 6 month old anymore!!!She is a talented lady. She has a Christian music CD out that I was honored to get a signed copy of. Such a beautiful voice coming from a beautiful lady with an enormous heart!! THANKS Rena for the fellowship and the CD. I only wish Mallory had not been sick so you could have met the 'real' Mallory!!

THANK YOU Gerber's for the great hospitality and being such awesome friends! The food, the beautiful house that the kids got to mess up, and the fellowship will be cherished for a lifetime. Our house is always open if you are ever in the neighborhood :)

When we left town on Monday, we decided to take the scenic route back to Iowa, and drive thru the town we lived in previously to Dumas, Ulysses, KS. Pretty sure maybe .001% of my readers (course my family doesn't count) know where this small town is!! Its out in south west kansas in the middle of NOWHERE!! And I mean nowhere!! Get out a map and look for yourself. They did have 2 grocery stores and a hardware store. We had to drive an hour to Garden City to a Walmart, and 3+ hours to Amarillo, TX to a mall!!! And to think some people live their whole lives there, that will never make much sense to me! Thankfully we only lived there 9 months. Long enough to rent an apartment, buy a house, fix it up, sell it and move!! When driving into Ulysses from the south, this is what it looks like

THAT picture was taken 9 miles out of town!! Yes, NINE MILES!! It looks like it is just over the hill and you will be pulling into town. Another feature of this part of the state, VERY flat!!! And not much to look at along the way

Here is a picture of our 1st house we ever owned. It basically looks the exact same too. I can't find any pictures of the outside of our house in Kansas to compare it to. The backyard has a privacy fence so we couldn't see into the back yard. Wondering if they kept the water pond we had so many issues with?!?!

Ok, I lied.. we didn't really take the scenic route back to Iowa to see our house and our town, we had to come for hot SALSA!! Yes, salsa.. driving about 120 miles out of our way for Salsa. But according to Tony, its the BEST and no one makes anything even close. It wasn't until he was in the store walking around looking for it and asked, that he discovered it came in GALLON jugs now! Needless to say, he walked out of there with 3 gallon jugs, and a couple jars of mild for me (even the mild is too hot for me so he got to claim all the salsa) It's now a couple months later, and I'm not sure if we have one gallon left unopened or not.. pretty sure he doesn't even need chips for it, could just take a spoon and eat it for a meal and be happy!!!

I made Tony turn around when I saw this in the Bank parking lot! I want this car!!!! How fun would that be to drive around!?!?!?






BUT to make it even, we did end up stopping in Great Bend, KS for some BRAUM's ice cream for me. That was a highlight of our trip was getting to have a scoop of Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream on a waffle cone for $1.33 almost every day!!!! Braums has the best ice cream AND cheap too!!! We did have to find some dry ice to keep it frozen for the 8 hours we still had left in the trip. We walked out of there with some half gallons of Peanut Butter Cup and Mason took a liking to the Chocolate so we got some of that for him.. and Tony's favorite is Butter Pecan. I guess we both got to come home with our 'favorites' from the state of Kansas :)

We ended up driving ALL the way home that monday.. we didn't arrive back to Boone til around 2am! Tony drove the whole way. I was about falling asleep at 10pm so I knew there was no way I could drive, and he was insistent that we just keep going! Pretty sure that will never happen again... 16 hours on the road was too much!!!!! I think even he agreed we should have stopped and broke the trip up. It sure did feel good to sleep in our own beds and get up the next day to unpack the van, though. All in all it was a great family vacation. It was the furthest we have gone as a family, and the 1st time Mallory has gone on a family vacation. Hope its not another 5 years before we get back to Dumas though.