RIP Ford Escape :(

Thursday, October 22nd was supposed to be a great day! Ian had a half day at work, Grace was exactly three months old so I was all prepared to take her "I'm exactly three months old" picture that afternoon and I had an afternoon outing to Target planned with the family!

Jacob had just started coming down with his THIRD cold of the season and at the last minute Ian suggested he stay home with Jacob. I decided to take Grace with me because she was due to nurse at 5 and I was thinking I would be home between 4:30 and 5. Just in case she got hungry a little earlier I wanted her with me. At the last minute, I decided to run to Target by myself to "save time" and leave some room in the cart (infant seats render a shopping cart useless!).

I was finished and headed home around 4:20 leaving me plenty of time to get home and feed Grace. As I was entering Manomet, near Gellar's, I noticed an "anxious" (read tailgating) fella on my bumper eager to get home. As the traffic ahead slowed for someone turning left, I hit my brakes and looked up in my rear view mirror to see anxious fella fiddling with his radio dial. I knew it was coming before he even looked up and braced myself for the impact and anxious fella slammed into me at approximately 40 mph. I was pushed about 6 feet into the guy in front of me who just so happened to have recently celebrated his 78th birthday....poor guy.

To make a long story short, the police came, accident reports were filled out and cops debated whether or not the gigantic pile of baby stuff I emptied from my 08 Escape could have possibly fit in the vehicle. The car was deemed a total loss which was a blessing in disguise. Thankfully I had left Grace home (don't want to even think about what could have happened), nobody was hurt and we were actually in the market for a minivan, but didn't think we could afford one at the time.

My insurance company settled with us so that we were able to pay off my Escape and have a nice $5,000 down payment on our new 2010 Toyota Sienna LE!! We pick it up Saturday and to say I am excited is an understatement! The lesson of this story is never proclaim that you will never ever become a minivan mom. You will eat your words! :)

Road Trip to Nashville

Well, we are home from our long and exhausting journey to Tennessee. As tired as we are when we return home, and as complicated as it is trying to organize a week away from home with an 18 month old and a 2 month old, we all had a good time even though three out of the four of us got sick. Jacob started wheezing on Friday morning a full 7 days after his cough started and after a trip to the doctor's office we were told he has Bronchiolitis (RSV). The next day Grace came down with it and is now sleeping upright in her bouncy seat because she can't breathe when she lies down. I am hoping it passes quickly, but I also have a feeling our time in large crowds of people is over until the Spring thaw. :)

We had a great trip and enjoyed the spiritual uplifting we had at the Berean Tennessee gathering. We saw many familiar faces that we hadn't seen in years and it was nice to socialize with everyone and take in the local sights. We arrived in Nashville late Thursday evening and spent the night there as we were planning a trip to the Nashville Zoo on Friday. The weather cooperated and we had a fabulous time! I was a little skeptical going in because the reviews on Trip Advisor were hit or miss, but Ian and I thought it was a fabulous zoo and Jacob had a blast. I was worried that he would be too timid and not old enough to enjoy it, but Ian took him into the petting zoo and he had a great time. We also took a ride on the carousel and he absolutely loved every minute of that!

On Friday afternoon, we headed to Montgomery Bell State Park where we would spend the next 4 nights. The theme of the Berean gathering was the Cherubim and the many talks surrounding the subject were very enjoyable. We also enjoyed socializing with everyone between and during meals and exploring the State Park in our free time.

On Monday, we attended the outing in the State Park which was a BBQ along the creek. By this time, Jacob had already come down with his cough so we took off a little early and let him take an extra long nap. In the late afternoon, we headed to Jim and Terri Rankin's house about 60 miles away for dinner and goodbye since we were leaving the following morning. We returned to our room and packed up the car. Our alarm went off at 4:3o AM and off we went with the kids still their PJ's and sleeping soundly. We drove all day and made it to Staunton, VA where we had hoped to land that night because we wanted to spend the first part of the next day driving up Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park. The foliage at that elevation was pretty amazing and there were many lookouts, but it was awfully windy and about 20 degrees colder as you neared the top. Towards the last few lookouts, Ian and I took turns getting in and out since it was too cold for the kids.


We drove the rest of that night and stopped in Mystic, CT for the last night on the road and departed the following day following a lazy morning of baths and breakfast. We arrived home around 1 PM and then the laundry began!

I traveled all over the country in our family van as a kid and I was very excited to start road trips with my own family. I am happy Ian is on board and we already have a family trip to Yellowstone in the works. We just have to wait until the kids are a bit older for that one! Lord Willing, we are hoping to attend the Hye gathering in Texas next Summer. I started going to Hye when I was 8 years old (20 years ago!) and had only missed one Summer up until the year I got engaged. Then it was the engagement, the wedding and one kid/pregnancy each Summer after. Hopefully, next Summer we will not have any wild and crazy plans that keep us away again.

Until next time.....