8.17.2011

Childhood Memories

Earlier this summer I saw two little girls running a lemonade stand on their front lawn. I yanked the car over and sent Elijah out to purchase some watered down goodness...and it took me back to my days as a lemonade stand days. 

We were young (no, I can't remember the exact age, but we pulled stunts like this most summers, so I guess the age doesn't much matter), Kari and I. Yes, young, but with the minds of business much beyond our years. We decided one summer to start a club- not just any club- but a club that was cool beyond words:
We had a theme song. 
We had a crudely drawn blueprint for our 2 story clubhouse- WITH OUR CLUB NAME SPELLED IN FLOWERS OUT FRONT- drawn up. 
We had plans for outfits- custom outfits with our super cool club name on them. (I'd tell you the club name, but it must remain top secret, as no other club has used it yet, and we who knows whether we may need to utilize it someday.)
Yes, we were officially ready. We just lacked funds to build our 2 story dream clubhouse. Well, I mean, we had a few dollars, and we had a few 4x4's that we had stolen from her dad's pile that we set out on the grass to start our foundation, but we still needed some windows and carpet. 
First plan of attack? Lemonade stand. 

Except neither of us had any lemonade at our houses.

(We did find some sweet tea bags of her mom's though, and decided that was better.) 

Oh, and our mother's said we could not run a lemonade stand that day.  (dream smashers)

And her mom said we couldn't use her tea. 

(Like we were going to let those things stop us. We had a DREAM.) 

Well, if our mothers were not going to let us run the l lemonade tea stand in our driveways to serve our customers, we would just bring the lemonade tea stand to the customers. 

We snuck the tea (probably a good idea not to ask us how we made this stolen tea...serious), made a pitcher, grabbed a few cups and set off. 


The fact that we were only allowed on the dirt roads about 1/4 mile in each direction of our houses did not deter us. Or the fact that in that radius of which we were allowed to roam there was a total of 5 houses, 2 of which were ours. Or that the remaining 3 houses had people who worked during the day. 

We made it to our last stop, knocked on the door, and a LADY ANSWERED! and SHE BOUGHT OUR TEA!! We giggled the whole way home at our ingenuity, how we had fooled our moms, and how we were on our way to clubhouse heaven. 

Except the neighbor LOVED the tea. So much, in fact, that before we even made it the 1/4 mile home, she called Kari's mom to ask her what it was, because she wanted more. 

Her mom confiscated our profits as punishment for our lying. 

Like that was going to stop us. Fine, it did for a bit. We are THINKERS. Therefore, while we sat in the house, grounded to our yards, we came up with a BETTER idea. 
Who needs a lemonade/tea stand when we can start our own MINI-MALL? whole 'nother story there

Don't fear, Kari and I haven't peaked yet either...  




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32 comments:

Miller Racing Family said...

What a cute post. Isn't it amazing what big dreams we have as a kid. If we could only carry that drive into adulthood.
Hope you have a wonderful day!

Foursons said...

And the beauty of this story? You pulled over and helped another little girl to live her dream of a two-story club house complete with matching outfits. Awesome.

teacher girl said...

Hilarious! :o) Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to hear about the mini-mall!

Bari said...

What a great story! I remember selling lemonade with my sister, set up at the end of our driveway. It's probably best my mom never told us about the cost of the supplies as I'm sure we wouldn't have broken even :)

Nicole said...

lol awesome!!! I love the idea of building a clubhouse and starting your own group! totally brilliant! I think the dreams we have when we're young, show up in some way when we're older at some point. Like maybe you worked in a mall when you were younger? or ran a club in highschool or college? My sister and I were business owners too, lol. We took all the apples from our tree in our backyard and walked around the neighborhood with our wagon and sold apples! We also set up plays in the basement and charged people a quarter to watch! Its funny, I ended up going to school for theatre/media and well...never sold apples but now I sell soaps! :)

Kmama said...

I love this story!! My friends and I used to have Kool-Aid stands and we actually made enough money to go to the movies one time. Such fond memories. LOL

Cool Gal said...

Wouldn't it be fun to relive those childhood memories, if only for a day? Such a wonderful and carefree time.

I remember having lemonade stands, too. One time, my friends and I built a "fort" (couldn't even stand up in it) in my backyard using scraps of wood from surrounding dumpster of homes that were being built. We used a scrap of shag carpet for the floor and hung photos of Shawn Cassidy and Scott Baio on the walls.

Such a cute story (punishment was worth it). Can't wait to hear about the mall! :)

The Stiffs said...

So awesome. I lived out in the country... no cars... no customers. Can't wait to hear what you two dream up next!

"Cookie" said...

The best part..... you bought the girls' lemonade b/c you had so been there. You must have been an absolute handful as a child. WOW!

Anonymous said...

sigh


I so love the country and country girls!

Kaci said...

LOL! Nice Sara! I'm dying to know what was in the delicious tea. =)

Kayla said...

Love that story! And love that you pulled over to buy some so 2 more little girls could live out their dreams!

Barbaloot said...

I never did a lemonade stand---probly cuz I didn't have friends and business savvy as you and Kari:)

Wiz said...

What a great story! I remember dreams and scheming to get there so well!

Mrs. M said...

That is sooooo funny. I'm glad you didn't let a few parental "no's" stop you from going after your dream. :)

KSK said...

Hahaha! I love this story! :)
I always wanted to have a lemonade stand -- but I lived out in the country without traffic... *sigh*
Whenever I have cash, I stop at lemonade stands, though!
I wish you would divulge the club name.. and how you made the tea... :)

Stacyonthecouch said...

I read somewhere long ago .. "Always stop and buy lemonade at a childs lemonade stand .... And also, always dump the cup when you're far enough away" ... Made me laugh. This was a cute story. I tried to sell magic powder with a friend when I was a kid.

Teamarcia said...

Love it! And I NEED to hear about the mini mall. The one thing (ha who am I kidding?) I didn't not squeeze in this summer (yet) is the lemonade stand the kiddos wanted. Guess I'd better get on it before they find an alternative.

Kitchen Belleicious said...

Love this story. I swear it is something like I did when I was younger. Always thinking of my next business venture. I went from lemonade stand to clothing to babysitting club, you name it! Your story telling is hilarious! Needed this this morning

Amy said...

I did that and popcorn.. Yummy.. Have a great weekend..

Mommy Minded said...

lol. needed this today!

Val said...

I heart this post!

Secret Mom Thoughts said...

I love your determination.

Healthy Mom Project said...

Awesome! Definitely an entrepreneur by nature. I once opened a "museum" in my bedroom when I was about six, and charged my family an entry fee to come in and look at my "artefacts" (barbies and my little ponies).

Kristen said...

Love the post. Yup.. we would've been great friends IRL. So- I borrowed a few "things" when necessary. Not kleptomaniac or anything, but determination is a great attribute!
Kristen@www.alittlesomethingforme.com

Brooke said...

What a fun story! I never had the ambition for any kind of sales as a kid :)

Holly said...

I love how you tell stories! What a great memory. :)

Stephanie said...

Love love love. Next time my DD asks to have a lemonade stand I vow to say yes. I will not be a dream smasher:)

Counselormama said...

Ha ha ha! This is so funny because my son woke up one morning and said, 'Today we are going to build a lemonade stand!" Well, we didnt build anything per say, but the kid made some cash!

Richelle said...

I love it! What a great story!

Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too said...

This was a great story!!!

Patricia said...

*LOL* I love this, takes me back to my own lemonade stand days where I sold my dad's comic books for 10 cents each. Only I was "hired" by my brother and his friend because they built the cart so they took most of the profits... did I mention I was naive (stupid) in those days. ;)