Car History

When I finished my undergrad degree, my parents gave me the option for my graduation gift of either keeping the car they were letting me use, or they said they could buy me a laptop.  I already had a (crappy) computer and access to computer labs on campus, and couldn't imagine going back to not having a car, so the choice was an easy one.  So it was that in 2003, I became the proud owner of a 1991 Honda Civic (and a bachelor's degree in English!).  It basically looked like this (but with a tiny blue stripe all around it and a sun roof):



And I loved my car.  It was my baby.

When Craig and I got married, he had a car, too, so we towed the Honda and drove his car (and a tiny U-Haul van) across the country.  That drive pretty much finished off his Oldsmobile, and we quickly replaced it with our mini-van, and suddenly the Honda was Craig's car to drive, and I drove the mini-van.  And that worked just great for me, but it was a little rough for Craig.  Because, even though my Honda was a great car, it most certainly did NOT have air conditioning.  Because you don't really NEED A/C in Seattle, where we'd originally bought the car so many years ago!  Not like in Virginia.  Craig never complained about that, but it couldn't have been fun.

But we he managed.

Then, the day after I brought Kendra home from the hospital, Craig's parents called us with an idea.  They were purchasing a new car and would be trading in their old Saturn.  They asked if we would like to switch cars with them, we could keep the Saturn and they would trade in my Honda.

The advantage to this was pretty obvious: the Saturn was a few years newer (a '95 to my '91) and IT HAD AIR CONDITIONING.  There wasn't really any comparison.

Still, it killed me.  I'd just had a new baby and did NOT want to be making hard decisions just yet.  And besides, the Honda was MINE.  IT was my baby!  But now I had two babies to be taking care of and Craig needed something to get him to and from work that preferably wouldn't leave him drenched in sweat.  We said Yes to the trade.

We took the Honda for one last spin.  I no longer drove it very often, and when I slid behind the wheel, I didn't notice that Craig had left it parked in 1st gear (rather than reverse, like I would have done) and I promptly rammed it straight into the parking curb.  Craig looked at me and asked, "Are you sure you're okay with this?"  I nodded, admitted that was just a dumb mistake, not me trying to sabotage things.  And that was the last of my Honda!

The Saturn, I should explain, was a teensy bit of a pain.  It was the most stripped down model that Saturn made: no power locks, no power windows, no power steering.  Nothing.  Only that lovely, cool air conditioning.  But since I hardly ever drove it, that really wasn't my problem.

We worried it wouldn't last long.  Hondas have a reputation for longevity, but I don't know if the same can be said of Saturns.  We told ourselves that if it made it 6 months without any major repairs we would assume that we'd made the best choices.

But it turned out to have been an excellent choice, because that car lasted.  It lasted and lasted.  Occasionally it needed some repairs.  I seem to recall some expensive transmission work while we were in Manassas.  But for the most part, it was extremely forgiving.  The kids, literally, tore it to shreds.  Pieces of the ceiling would hang down.  When we gave rides to the neighborhood children, they were amazed to learn how to "roll down" a window with a crank.  It got so old that Craig's co-workers would tease him about it.  But it still it ran for us.

But finally this year, it was time.  The poor car was leaking oil AND coolant.  We took it to our (much loved) mechanic and he said it needed a new radiator.  And since the company Saturn ceased to exist, it was getting harder to find parts.  We'd had that car for nearly 11 years (easy to keep track of, since it's the same as Kendra's age!)  And we just decided that it. was. time.

Craig had been searching on all the car apps for what he felt would be a good, reliable replacement car and when he found a good one at a price he liked AND had a day off, he jumped on it.

So we no longer have a 1995 Saturn.

We've come full circle and are the proud owners of a 2015 Honda Civic.

Goodbye Saturn, hello Honda!

Craig loves his new car.  He loves having power windows and power steering and power locks.  He loves that it's a bit zippier than his old car.  And it makes me happy to see him so happy.  (And I love driving it when I'm running errands without the kids!)  Life is good

And just because it made me smile, the other day I found an Oldsmobile, just like the one Craig took me out on our first date in, parked next to my huge van.  So I had to snap a picture of it.

It's like they're old, curmudgeonly friends together!

Autumn in Virginia

We've had an unusually rainy fall here, but in between cloudbursts and hurricane warnings, there have been some truly beautiful days, too! 

We signed Ryder up for soccer, but it's been canceled more often than not.  I wish we could get a refund on that, actually...  Even just fifty percent, since that's how many of the games have happened?

Yes, I'm too cheap to order the actual picture.  See Ryder in the front row on the right?

Ryder also had a class field trip.  I didn't go (since they won't let me bring Camille along), but I'm friends with one of the parents (who is also the soccer coach) who went, so I got these great pictures!

Ryder and his buddy Owen

Yay for Skyline Drive!

Who doesn't love a bus full of second-graders?

Also, Ryder is weird.

Colton also had a field trip that I didn't go on (but I'm friends with his teacher, too-- I'm telling you, it pays to be friends with people!).

On the hayride with Joseph and Walter

Also, Craig started building a tree house with the kids.  We were going to put it off for a bit until we had more time and money, but then we realized that we would NEVER have enough time and money, but the kids won't think this is fun and cool for much longer.  So why wait?

The main support beams

Our whole backyard is sloped, so one end of the treehouse is only about five or six feet up, but the other side is ten feet up!

There's Ryder helping Craig

And Kendra!

Colton drew this the following Monday-- I don't think anything could have pleased Craig more!

 And of course, we've been raking leaves...

Oh, how I love this picture!

And this one!

Totally buried!

I love sunlight shining through trees, and I love the view from my kitchen

This picture needs an explanation...  I've been continuing to exercise (clocked over 2,000 minutes on my Nike app!) and last Saturday, Bentley was working out with me, and then all the little kids decided to join us while we did mountain climbers.  They worked up a sweat and peeled off their sleeper pajamas, and then proceeded to exercise in their underwear.  I looked around and thought, "That got weird fast."  Craig got the receipts.

Doing squats.  In our underwear.

Ryder named that red tree "Shockey," I have no idea why.  I normally don't think too much about it, but it sure is lovely right now.  And with that shock of color, I guess it is aptly named as well!

Happy Autumn!

Halloween!

I was talking to another mom the other day and she summed it up perfectly: "When did Halloween become more stressful than Thanksgiving???"  Between trying to figure out costumes for all five kids and buying SO MUCH candy and carving pumpkins (and we only did one this year!) and all the parties...  Halloween wears me out.  My kids had fun and we all had a good time, but I'm relieved that it's over.  But without further ado, here are pictures from all the festivities...

First of all....  the carving!  We couldn't figure out a time when we'd all be together to do it, so Craig missed out.  That meant it was up to me to document it for him!

I like that Kendra put on her witch hat for the occasion!

Oh, Ryder...

Ryder wanted to be a zombie, and then that turned into a zombie cub scout.  Craig did an AWESOME job with his makeup, don't you think?  (My personal favorite is that crater in his forehead.)

Quinn very generously brought vampire teeth to share with Camille!

And Theo tried (unsuccessfully) to use them, too!

I didn't take any pictures at our church party, but this is from the neighborhood party the next day!  (We picked up an extra kid, Bentley's friend from our congregation who lives out in the middle of nowhere, and so enjoys getting to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood!)

They didn't do so well with the mummy wrapping contest, but Bentley did go on to win a container full of candy corns when he guessed within three how many were in it!

Notice here: a) Camille is trying not to cry; b) Ryder is staying in Zombie character (he won "scariest") c) Colton is ALSO very much in character; d) Bentley is supposed to be a bank robber, not anti-fa!

There's Camille running ahead!

Craig was busy running the haunted house and doing Ryder's makeup at our church party, which was held Tuesday night.  I didn't really see him the whole evening.  So I figured he could take kids trick-or-treating for the actual night and I could stay home and give out candy (and, of course, read my book in between doorbell rings), so that was great.

We survived another Halloween-- phew!!!

Philadelphia

Bentley is now 12 which means that he gets to pass the sacrament at church AND he gets a "limited access" pass to the temple!  So Craig and I were excited to finally take him to the temple with us. 

Bentley got a suit for his birthday (thanks, Mom and Dad!).  I told them to look like Boss Baby for this-- I think Ryder's Pikachu tattoo really adds to the look...

My little men

Unfortunately, the temple situation here is a big pain right now.  The DC temple is closed for 2 years for renovations (I heard they're replacing the HVAC and stuff?  and possibly the roof?).  Our next closest temple would be North Carolina, but it was also closed due to a mold problem.  Which means that for now (at least, until the new Richmond temple gets built!!!!!!), our closest temple is five hours away in Philadelphia.

But, of course, that wasn't going to stop Craig from getting us there.  He began scheming, and I filled in the gaps, and before we knew it, we had a pretty workable plan!  It helps, as always, that we have wonderful friends.  In this case, it was the Atkinsons in Manassas who helped make this all a really fun day.  They have three kids the same ages as three of our kids, so we begged them to come along, and not only did they agree to do so, Christina offered to watch all the kids so I could be inside the temple with Bentley.  So that was AWESOME of her.  Still not sure how I can ever repay her for that...

We left the house at 6am that Saturday, picked up the Atkinsons at 8, and DROVE.  Our appointment was for 12:30, but we got there early enough to drive around Philadelphia looking for parking for a bit before finally giving up and just being at the temple early.  Oh, well.  At least by then there was a parking spot in the temple garage!  (Which took me a lot of maneuvering and not a little sweating to get into, but I did it!)

Dwain, Craig, Bentley, Spencer, and I all filed inside.  They could use Dwain's Chinese skills so he got put him to work helping some Chinese members, and Craig helped the rest of us all do baptisms, so that was awesome.  The Philadelphia temple is really pretty, with lots of beautiful murals of the Susquehanna River and TONS of colonial details that feel right at home with history of the city.  So that was all really cool to see.  Apparently Christina took everyone back to the car and let them watch a movie on her phone while she napped.  PERFECT!

After we were done, we had to take pictures!

I like how both Bentley and Spencer are looking down for this shot-- they're buddies!

It was windy and chilly-- can you tell?

This was the best we got.  At least you get the idea!

By this point we were all getting hungry.  I would have been okay just driving to a rest area outside the city (I HATE city driving and Philly was awful for that), but Craig really wanted me to get to experience the Reading Terminal Market, so he finally just dropped Christina and me off with a few of the older kids (with very clear directions that I was to ENJOY IT and NOT STRESS OUT-- he knows me so well!).  He'd pointed me in the direction of MeltKraft, where they serve amazing grilled cheese sandwiches, so I ordered for all of us there.  On the way, we found this pig statue, which thrilled Ryder.

As Craig had promised, the food was delicious, and even better once Craig and Dwain and all the rest of the kids joined us.  Once we were all stuffed it was time to begin the drive home.  Another three hours got us back to Manassas, and that time flew by as Christina and I talked and talked.  I will never run out of stuff to talk about with her!  We'd planned on having dinner at Cafe Rio, but I was still full, so Craig got quesadillas for the kids while I drove past our old house (it looked great-- they've done WAY more with the landscaping than we ever did!) and then we took the Atkinsons home.  Since we'd skipped dinner, Craig and I stopped at the Moo-Thru and I got a milkshake, so that was delightful. 

Not entirely sure why I bothered vacuuming the car BEFORE the trip, except that I really didn't want to force Christina to sit on a bed of goldfish crackers...

We got home at 10pm.  Man, that was a LONG day.  But totally worth it.  I'm so glad we were able to go!  But I'm REALLY hoping that the DC temple will be up and running again by the time Kendra turns 12!