Updates

Goodness!

So May has been QUITE a month!  Our 18th Anniversary kicked things off, then an awesome backpacking overnight followed by a group camping trip.  Matt bought a new car, the new-to-us kind anyway, on the 13th.  We decided to go over our first budget because the car had such low mileage (only 40k!) and gets amazing gas mileage.  Something like 33-34 MPG. He drives 60 miles a day.  And it has AC.  With the incredible interest rate we got from Redstone, we will only pay back what amounts to less than a single payment more than we borrowed if we take the whole term to repay.  So we were okay with that whole thing financially speaking.  8 years ago this month, we paid cash for his Volvo and financed my Sedona-within 2 weeks of each other.  He needed a better commute car, we thought the Volvo would last a couple years (it was $1500) and we could look at our options then. hahaha!  Had we known it would live 8 more years (and it's still running!) we would have gotten the AC fixed.  It turned 20 this year.

On the 20th, I wrecked Nettlevan and while the insurance company is still out on what to do about the other guy because he contributed to the accident, they totalled out the van on the 27th and gave us a check.

Yesterday, the 29th, we sold Poppy.  To a family with young kids and a do it yourselfer dad who seemed very at ease with her quirks.  I think when the dust settles, I will probably have a good cry about that like I have about the van, but right now the timing could NOT have been better.

Between the insurance check and selling her and pulling some from savings AND the guy selling it coming down a chunk AND agreeing to replace the windshield, we can pay cash for the replacement van, which is another 2006 Kia Sedona.  I took it to Beth yesterday to look over before we agreed to buy it and she said, "Well, of COURSE it is (another Sedona)."  SHE, and I am not sure how I feel about this just yet, is the one who cast the deciding vote to total Nettlevan!  It was at a different repair place and everything, but small towns are so damn nosy.  She knew it was wrecked before the insurance company did.  She said it had so much wear, it wasn't worth putting money into bodywork when the engine might go.  Sad, but likely very true.  :(

The van checked out fine, it's in WAY better shape than poor Nettlevan was.  Everything that was going on with her isn't going on with this one.  And it has new tires-much nicer than I would ever have shelled out for. And over 100k miles less on the engine and has never hauled anything.

I drove it over 2 hours yesterday, never had an issue.  Right after the wreck when we were out running an errand, Matt came to a quick stop and I got so scared!  I was worried I was going to be a wimpy driver, but no.  It's exactly like Nettlevan inside, only much, much cleaner, grey instead of beige, and everything works. The power steering (Matt says it's a HUGE difference, but I did not actually notice it was out on Nettlevan unless I was parallel parking).

The middle seats both flip up, the console table extends back to the middle seats (ours DID until Jake climbed on it and broke the extending part the first WEEK after I bought it).  That timing belt tensioner noise does not happen when I crank it, there's no dent where I backed into the light pole at Judy's after mowing the grass.  The front end noise going over bumps does not happen because no one went airborne jumping some railroad tracks in this van and stretched the subframe bushings. So the front passenger tire isn't always out of alignment, either.  Hands off the wheel at 65 and it stayed straight on the road.  There's no long scrape on the side from where I was really sure I'd fit between 2 fences. The front end is not taped from where someone parked up on a rock curb and ripped the plastic shield thing in half backing off of it.  And...though I feel kind of bad about this being a point in its favor...it's not GOLD.  It's a sparkly glacier blue.

Before we dropped it back off to sign the papers, I set all the radio stations just like in Nettlevan and later I combed through that massive pile of things I had in the van and put what I really need in a paper bag to distribute when I pick her up Wednesday!

It's been a very emotional month and 4 Wednesdays in a row with major life changes. Well, for us anyway. We don't swap vehicles every few years or take on debt lightly. I would have kept that clunky van for years more if she'd lasted.  I feel right getting another one and happy that it should be around a long while yet-paid for and everything.

Endings

Got the news last night, Nettlevan has been declared a total loss.  Matt is going at lunch today to get the check for what's left of her value after the deductible.  Then he's going by after work to get the rest of our stuff out.  I will never see her again, or get to thank her for her years of taking us everywhere. Or say goodbye. I feel SO awful, for the van, for myself, for the other guy involved.  For our budget.

What bad timing and selling Poppy is no longer optional-I don't have any way to haul her now.  So she's leaving us.  Even the pasture-the reason I named our homeschool 'Northfield Academy'-is filling in with trees and disappearing.  If something happens to Kat or Jessie soon, I may just lose it altogether. Jake's graduated, Chan is set to in December. This chapter is closing and it was so beautiful, I don't want to turn the page.

I had intended to do a series of photos of the van over the years, but...I would rather just send my thanks out into the Universe, for 8 years of fun and adventures in all kinds of weather, for hauling around us and our friends and our dogs and our camping gear, for never getting stuck someplace scary, for getting us there and back again without fail thousands of times.  (Yes, I have seen the Bill Nye clip about the 'universe' but if I want to believe being grateful for something is worthwhile, I will.)

We went to the Smokies and Tellico Plains several times, the Outer Banks, Florida 6 times (2 of those were Disney trips!), Savannah twice, St, Louis, D.C, Oklahoma, drove the Blue Ridge Parkway end to end, 17 states, zillions of errands, and 19 camping trips with friends plus many, many family trips.

Thank you, old friend.  I loved it all.

The remnants of the van.  LOOK at all the sporks.  I may have a condition.  CD's for a CD player that stopped working 4 years ago, 2 umbrellas that I SWEAR were not actually IN the van-though I was aware of the beach umbrella.  Tape, Disney pins, the gate card for Fort Wilderness, 2 first aid kits, THREE different bundles of paracord, 7 flashlights, 6 containers of floss...it is a good thing I was forced to see my hoarding issues.  Hopefully I can mend my ways.

It's Not the End of the World...

First, happy/sad news!  Famous has been adopted by a wonderful furever family!

On Friday, we had everyone over for lunch and a dirty Santa gift exchange. 

We opted for a Mexican themed lunch this time, I actually have a huge turkey and all the trimmings but it was agreed that everyone was going to at least one traditional holiday meal, so let's do our own thing for our holiday gathering.  There was so much food, I go overboard all on my own and then everyone comes with drinks and snacks and sides and so on.  We had more desserts than dishes, I made a pumpkin pie dessert bar that never made it out!  We found it today, but no one was hungry.  hahaha!

 

 I did not take pictures of the food or...anything else.  I did snap a couple during the gift game, trying to get everyone in a shot, but there's no way.  See Chan's aqua hair?  We redid it Thursday night so it would be darker, the color fades really fast!

 I won this hat, and I was so excited to get it, despite the fact that I have crocheted about 60 this fall.  Then, Jake saw it and suddenly it was HIS hat.  I did get 5 redbox rental codes out of the deal, but I liked that hat...

These guys are HUGE!  Where did our kids go?

Inde and I get struck by the same thought.  Likely "Gosh, I'm so adorable!"

Gina and her kids stayed over last night (along with scruff dog and rat dog) and we attempted to stay up all night, but crashed sometime around 1.  Matt woke us up at 4:30 and we stumbled around getting ready and headed out the door just after 5 with both girls.  Cody totally denied knowing anything about this crazy plan to get up and see the sun rise, so Jake said he would stay home with him.  Turns out he had an easy run of things, Cody was back asleep before we left and still sacked out when we got back 5 hours later!  hahaha!  Ben had gone home with Alex the night before.

We had a great time, the bonfire was perfect-we kept warm enough in the 20 degree air to stay out and watch the breaking dawn.  Katy had about 20 different kinds of breads and juice, Matt and Gina loaded up on coffee, but that stuff will stunt your growth.  I had 2 glasses of OJ in an attempt to wake up.  And some doughnut holes.  After the sun was up, we all visited for a while and hung out in the toasty living room.  Then it was time to head home!  We stopped by the library on our way through town and by the time we pulled into the yard, I was zonked.

Matt went to bed as soon as Gina headed home with her sleepy crew, I stayed up a little longer, with some delusional but still grand plans to 'do something' before I realized, nothing NEEDED doing.  I crashed hard for a few hours, Matt slept nearly the entire day, over 9 hours.  He's mad at me for letting him sleep.  Gah.  I told him to get a snack and brush his teeth, we are going back to bed.  The kids are sound asleep, it will be interesting to have them up and bushy-tailed tomorrow, maybe we can get in a good hike!  I need to burn off some Mexican food and doughnut holes!

Alex is smaller than Ben, but not THAT much, it's an illusion, he's downhill and further away, here it looks like he's at least a foot shorter than he really is!

Cathy and Lakota came over, which was a nice surprise.  Cathy is heading off next month to do travel nursing and while I am really happy she's going to see some new things and new places, I got all weepy as she left today.  I told Matt he better go hug her again, he may not see her after this!  It hit home, one of 'us' is leaving, she has no long-term plans to come back, either.  We have not seen her much at all this year, but for the past few years we have camped together and had such good memories, I hate that she won't be part of those any more, I miss her already.  : (

We are headed back to bed, who knows what tomorrow brings, for once I have not planned all of our time.  Matt is off until the 2nd, we have to be here the 27th for him to be available to work from home for a few hours to finish out the shipping for the year, if there are any issues that crop up that is.  Other than that-wide open.  Hurrah!