Car Problems

Since I graduated college in 1989, The Husband (then boyfriend) and I have had 7 vehicles. We still have four of them. Having four old vehicles, you might think the problems never stop, but really we have been blessed. The maintenance requires some time, but the problems have been few. Until this past month that is.

The truck we have to pull the boat failed its inspection. They said there is a hole in the muffler, something (I don't remember what) is loose and it needs new tires. So The Husband took it to the dealership. The dealership said it didn't have a hole, nothing was loose and the tires were worn, but would probably be all right for a little longer. The Husband ordered tires from another store and had them put on. When he went out to the truck after the new tires had been put on, they weren't the tires he had ordered. Turns out, you can't get the tires he wanted in the size he asked for, so they replaced them with another kind of tire, but forgot to tell him. So he did a little more research and found that you can get the tires he wanted in a size that is just slightly different than what he asked for. So, they are ordering them now. So, while he had new tires on the truck, he thought he would get the inspection done. Back to the store where he had the inspection done. They put the truck up on the lift and brought him out and showed him the hole and the thing that is loose. So now he has to take it back to the dealership and show them the hole and the loose thing. It took $195 dollars to fill the gas tank on this truck before he started and its almost gone from driving back and forth.

Meanwhile, the car he normally drives to work has had the check engine light on and the air conditioner doesn't work. So, the took that to the dealership. (The same dealership as the truck.) It took almost 2 weeks and $1600 to get it fixed. But on the way just down the street for lunch, it stalled out 3 times. He looked at the engine and all the wires were left exposed and were touching each other so they shorted out. Back to the dealership with it. They covered the wires and sent it home with him. It only took two days for the check engine light to come back on and now the air conditioner works intermittently. This car was made in 1996, so we don't want to put any more money in it.

So, after all that, the motorcycle The Husband has been talking about getting has turned into a NEW CAR!!!! He started doing research as to what would be best and decided on a Honda Fit. They are very popular now because they get good gas mileage and have a good safety rating. He couldn't find one anywhere withing an hour drive to look at. He was struggling with what to do. He doesn't like talking to car salesmen and he thinks he knows all the answers they will give him. He stopped at another store to look at a second choice and the salesman tried to convince him he should get something different. He didn't like that, he knows what he wants. I talked him into going to the Honda dealership and asking about the Fit. The salesman said they had just gotten one in! It hadn't even been thought their shop to get things like power door locks connected, but we could look at it. He came back about a minute later and said it had all ready been sold, but we could still look at it. He brought it out and The Husband got to drive it from one side of the lot to the other where the couple that were buying it were filling out paperwork. It is a very small car, but he fits in it comfortably. The back is plenty big for the boys. And, the cargo area seems to be big enough to fit the cooler for when we do our grocery shopping. We have our name on the list to be the first to check out the next one that comes in which should be September 8. I haven't bought new cars often in my life, so I am very excited!

Well, nothing much has inspired me to blog lately. I lead a boring life.

The Oldest was scratched by a cat about a month ago. It got infected. I didn't know a cat scratch infection was hard to treat. He is responding well and it seems to be going away.

The Youngest is doing well with no teeth. He looks so cute to me. The doctor said the new teeth may take a while to come in.

We had the pastor and his new wife over for dinner last night. They make me feel old. They are both right around 23 years old. To me, he shows wisdom from the "pulpit" (we meet in a bar, so there really isn't a pulpit), but not always in other settings. They both seem humble and willing to learn. We told them about some of the churches we have been to over the years. Thinking back, I am grateful for the last church we attended. It was a good place for us. They let us heal before moving on to this church. This is a new church and they are growing. I think God will have us in more of a leadership role here. I don't think we could have handled leadership again without some time to heal in between.

Back from Surgery

We're back. The Youngest made it through his surgery just fine. The nurse said he was their favorite patient. She said he really did well with the I.V. Dad got him a Nintendo DS while he was waiting to get his medicine. I think the tooth fairy will pay a little less than planned for these teeth. The game seems to be working better than the Tylenol did. He is not complaining about pain and says he wants to try to eat a little. All is well.

More Things Kids Say

The church we go to went Saturday to help college kids move into their dorms. On Friday, while we were deciding whether to go, I asked The Oldest if he want to go. He said yes and gave me 2 reasons. "First to build muscles. And second, if we improve the time line of the students enough, they will have more time to study and may one day find a cure for cancer." Sometimes I just love the way his mind works.

Helping the college students was interesting. I don't remember such a big process of moving into dorms. They had the roads closed, lines for check in at the dorms, people directing traffic, signs everywhere helping with where to go, and dollies available for check out. Maybe it was because I moved into the dorms early because diving practice started early, but I just don't remember all that. I also don't remember having so much stuff with me. There were several church groups there helping. They would find a student unpacking a car and help. There would be 6-10 people following the one student, everyone carrying as much as they could. Sometimes more than that. It was a lot of work.

Afterwards, we had to go to Target. Apparently, after you move into your dorm, you have to go to Target to buy hanger and plastic storage boxes. I don't remember having to do that, either.

What kids say

The boys are at it again saying funny things. Yesterday, The Youngest was bored and said "Mom, what can I do?" And just like my mom always answered me when I asked that question, I told him to clean something. He did and then came back and said "Mom, what can I do that's fun?" I told him I didn't know, but I really needed him to clean his bed. (They both like to store toys in their beds.) He didn't like it, but went to do it. When he came back he said "That was surprisingly satisfying."

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School has been going well. We are getting a lot done every day. Everything except handwriting. It is time to teach The Youngest cursive. I thought I had books to teach from, but I don't. I think what I used before was part of a Language Arts curriculum that we decided we didn't like, so I sold it. I finally got the last math book I needed and thought I was done looking for books this year. I guess I get to go look some more.

Now we really start

Today school really starts. We got the geography presentation done Monday, along with a little grammar and math. Tuesday, the boys had a 4-H day camp and the the geography co-op started. Today we are home all day doing school work. We are starting Spanish online this year. I'm going to try also. The youngest will be learning cursive and then, we are going to try all cursive writing the rest of the year. We also have a real science book to study from. In the past, science has been more of studying what looks interesting and what comes up. I hope it goes well.

My First Try

I've never tried blogging before. I don't know that I will keep up. My goal is to blog more than my husband and my friend M.

We are all home now. The oldest son just got home from a week at camp and the youngest son and I just got back from Aunt C's house. We are starting school today and we are all ready behind. We have Geography Coop starting tomorrow and we are not ready yet. That means the other subjects may not get done today and tomorrow we will be out of the house so the other subjects won't get done then either. That's why I don't like to have a schedule. I don't like being being late!