Got wheels, will travel

We decided on a make and model: the Ford Freestyle. What? You have never heard of a Ford Freestyle? That's funny- neither had we. Turns out Ford has this little well-kept secret of a crossover with up to 7 seats and the option for captains chairs in the second row. (From 2005-2007 it was called the Freestyle, from 2008 on it's been called the Taurus X- thanks Mark and Mandy for the tip-off!!). Has decent gas mileage too. Once we test drove one, we were sold. But we couldn't find just the right used one to buy. All the ones in our price range had too many miles on them, had a bench instead of captain's chairs or was a rebuilt title (uh-oh). Then Saturday night I did a desperation check on Craigslist of the Portland area. Perfect! A Freestyle in our price range with only 45,000 miles on it and captain's chairs (and no console so getting to the back is easy)! So we immediately moved on it and Monday morning had it in to a Ford dealership for a pre-purchase inspection. It checked out, so I arranged for a babysitter and got a $27 Amtrak ticket to Vancouver WA (across the border from Portland). I took the train down Tuesday afternoon and the used car dealer met me at the station. Uhh- when I got into the Freestyle I was overwhelmed by the yucky smell of a cheap motel. Hmmm. Probably a smoker had this last and then the cleaning attempts made it smell the way it did. But I knew we could get it detailed better and it wasn't a reason not to buy the car. Mentally I had prepared through the purchase point with the dealer, but had failed to think about how I was going to have to drive 3 hrs home! It was long and boring, but we're excited about our new wheels!Here's what Stephen is excited about: when he laid down all the seats, he said "my truck!"

The week in photos

Life goes on without a car. We actually had 2 loaner cars at times this week due to various reasons and super nice friends.We finally cleaned up our new (to us) couch. We got this couch a few weeks ago. Goodbye crappy college furniture. Hello slightly nicer hand-me-downs. Our apartment is getting all grown up! (sniff, sniff) lolOur green thumb neighbor keeps sharing the veggies from her pots in the back. Here are some wicked awesome beans she grew. They are like purple tie-dyed. Ada preferred them raw- wouldn't touch them cooked.Ada got to join Odessa in taking swim lessons after all. There was several openings in the toddler class just before Odessa's. Every morning of the last 2 weeks at breakfast Odessa would say: "Ada, when you get bigger like me, you can take swim lessons". So when I told Ada we had to get her swimsuit on for lessons, she looked at me in amazement for a few seconds, then asked: "I got bigger?" She jumps right into the water and goes under without fear.Odessa has broken the barrier this week on any fear of dunking- here she is mid-dunk which she is now doing constantly without her teacher (sometimes when she is supposed to be doing something else). Kristyn and I went berry picking! We came home with 30# between the 2 of us and I have made a lot of jam. Finding places for all of them was another story. We had pancakes with raspberry sauce this morning and raspberry chipolte BBQ chicken tonight with raspberry dessert. You gotta gorge while the time is right I guess.
The search for the right car goes on.

breakfast anyone?

Well, the car is toast. That's what they said: "toast". And I have to say, this has been a rough couple of days. That car was the first thing I bought when I got home from my mission 5 years ago. I got a loan and I paid it off and I was proud of myself. I wanted a "family" car even though I wasn't even engaged yet- and man, am I glad it has fit 3 car seats in a row along the back. I was glad it was American made, it had leg room for crying out loud. It only had 55,000 miles on it in 2004. Now it has over 160,000. I put 105,000 miles on it in 5 years. It took me on the 120 mile round trip to work and back for over a year. It took us on 2 long trips up and down the Oregon Coast (one of which was our honeymoon). It took us across the North Western states through Yellowstone and the Black Hills and Minnesota to Chicago, then back along the same winding track, through Boise and all the way up to Seattle. It's been camping and on ferries and off-road a few times it probably shouldn't have (naughty car).
I guess I feel like it deserved more than the 30 minutes that was put into diagnosing and condemning it. We even took it to a second garage to get a second opinion. I feel like a member of my family is terminally ill and everyone takes one look at it and says "send it to the morgue, we can't save it." The tow truck didn't even want to unhook it. "you want me to take this thing to the junk yard, lady?" I just looked at him in shock. I had found out about an hour before that my car might be unfixable. Take it to the junk yard? Out of the question. So the car has sat on the street for the last 24 hours while I mourn and we try to figure out our options. Sometimes bad things happen to good cars.

let's hear it for the Ward Family

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a congregation is called a Ward and is determined by geographical boundaries. You show up to church one Sunday and all of a sudden, you are part of the ward "family"- that's why Mormons call each other "Brother" and "Sister", we're all children of the same Heavenly Father. We often take care of each other like family, sometimes in ways family never could.
Yesterday we were returning from a ward campout about 77 miles outside of Seattle, when at about 55 miles still to go, the car died. Stephen coasted to the side of the road. After letting it cool and checking under the hood and trying to start it several times, I whipped out my cell phone. I proceeded to call a number of friends that were still at the campout and would be taveling behind us to Seattle (forgive me for giving these people a shout out). What a relief to see the car of the Titeras when they pulled over ahead of us, then the Andersons showed up behind us and then the Hanleys behind them. It was so amazing to have a whole caravan of rescuers! We had another member of the ward with us and so it took all 3 cars to take the girls, me and and Stanley back to Seattle. Stephen stayed with the car, determined to get it started or after a few hours, tow it. While Stephen waited, the Bores recognized our car and pulled over and helped Stephen get a tow service. The Frasers stopped to see if they could offer help although they had all the seats in their car filled. I can't tell you how nice it was to have so much help when needed.

After I got home, I called the 2 families that had my kids and they each brought them to me. Today at church a member persuaded me to borrow their seldom used second vehicle for the week. I've had numerous offers for rides and errands run. What a relief to not have to stress about things this week! What an amazingly "painless" pain in the neck it was to break down. If we had been coming from Boise 2 weeks ago, it would have been horrible. But I want to say most of these families might have even come out from Seattle to get us if we had called them. (don't worry guys, I have no plans to test that theory out). Thank goodness for family! In Chicago, we had Stephen's older brother Nathan to call the many times we needed bailing out. Sometimes family takes a whole different form.

take a walk

The last 2 weeks I have been trying to get outside and walk a little bit at night. I can't believe the affect on my mood. It's so wonderful to get some fresh air and be alone with my thoughts. I also love exploring all the nooks and grannies of Magnolia, going down streets I always wondered about. I love the views from Magnolia Blvd, looking out to the Puget Sound, the boats and Olympic mountains. I love looking at all the houses I will never be able to afford : ( ok, so I don't LOVE thinking about how we could never buy a house here! Ok, so not all houses on Magnolia look like this . . . .

. . . . . they look more like this, but we still could never afford one!

But I do love the yards with hydrangeas and boxy hedges that make me think of English movies. There aren't screens on the doors or a lot of windows and most houses are open wide- even the front doors! There are very few bugs in Seattle and it shows how trusting neighbors are of each other. I meet dozens of people walking their dogs or just getting some fresh air themselves and everyone is so nice- it's a real community here. Now if one of them would just up and decide to leave their house to a nice couple like us, well- that would be a dream come true! ; ) It's just like I overheard Odessa telling Ada the other day "Ada, someday, all your dreams will come true and mine will too." I guess a little Disney fantasy never hurt anyone, did it?

tired of . . . .

. . . the computer.
I spent all day Monday going through hundreds of photos whittling down to about 200 for the newest Picasa web album (see our photos link at right). It covers 3 months of time.

Right now I am enjoying a new book (alright, I will confess the title: "The Host") and played a little volleyball last night with some very fun girls. MY little girls are putting each other in time out and playing kitty, doggie and Bolt- where they save Penny from the green eyed man. I love that movie. I have a batch of towels that have sat in the apartment's laundry room for 2 days (removed from the dryer by someone, I am sure). The weather is finally taking a turn for the better. Life is . . . . good.

Idaho Reunion of many types

The Hunts had a family reunion this past 4th of July weekend at their cabin in Garden Valley, Idaho. We left after work on Thursday and stayed in a little cabin at Emigrant Springs campground just outside of Pendleton, OR. It was so nice to just have a place to put out our sleeping bags. The next morning we got up and finished the trip to Boise. I got to see my new neice Finley while we spent the afternoon with my family in Boise. She is so sweet! Like a little doll. For those of you who don't know, Ada LOVES her grandpas and cries like a baby when she's around them and can't be with them 24/7. Here she is with my dad.
That evening we drove up to Garden Valley to join Stephen's sister Emily and her family, his father, cousin Nathan and family, and later his twin Chad and his wife Julie. We missed those of the Hunts that couldn't be there for various reasons, but enjoyed spending time together. Here is Ada working the dinner system with her other grandpa. Wouldn't eat more than a bite until she sat on his lap. Oh brother.We ate that night and played Mafia- enhanced by Nathan and Colleen's creative touch. The next morning everyone but Colleen and I and our girls went shooting at the shooting range. We spent time on a nature walk and playing at the cabin. Stephen's mom and Nana joined us. After lunch everyone went canoeing on the Middle Fork of the Payette River. This was something I had been extremely stressed about. I have capsized while canoeing on the South Fork of the Payette River and it's a somewhat swift river that's not very deep (i.e. it has lots of rocky patches). Having 2 toddlers in our boat freaked me out, but we kept upright and even had a lot of fun splashing the other canoers. Our girls used sticks and their hands to help paddle us along. When I would sight a rock to navigate around, I would call out directions "go left!". The girls would pass along the message to Stephen in the back of the canoe "left, left!" they would yell. It was so funny. Due to the wetness of the activity, I don't have any photos, bummer.

That night we all went to the Starlight Mountain Theater's production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Stephen was in Starlight shows for 2 Summers after his mission. I used to go up and watch him in the shows once in a while. The summer he (finally) started falling for me, he sang me the song he'd composed for me (with the help of a co-actor) in the theater parking lot after one of his shows. So I have fond memories of the theater as well. It was their 10 yr reunion and a lot of the actors and actresses of the last 10 years came up for the show and they all performed the last song together. I wish I had pictures of them, but they don't allow photography. The show was great, and Stephen and I decided it was better than the year he was in it. He played one of the 12 brothers.
When we came out of the theater, Crouch fireworks started. Although the show was small, the echoing boom of fireworks on the mountains all around us was incredible. We were all surprised how loud it was and how cool it made the show. Odessa kept shouting out "wow, that's SO AMAZING!!" She couldn't get enough. Hope everyone had a happy 4th.
We came home Sunday so Odessa could start swim lessons Monday morning. She loves them! Good thing, because they are everyday for the next 4 weeks!

Girls, girls

I have to document this so I remember: the other night the girls were acting as sweet as they look here.
They were making cards by cutting up paper, taping pieces back together and scribbling all over it. Then they would run up to me and tell me the "words" written on it. "I love you mom because you play games with me".On the flip side, sometimes they say other, less sweet but funny things. Like when Odessa opened the bathroom door and yelled from her seat on the toilet:
"Mo-OM!"
Me: "Wha-AT?"
Odessa: "It appears we are out of toilet paper!" (Seriously, she said "appears". )
I came to investigate the back-up stock in the bathroom, we were out.
Odessa: "Uh-oh, this is not good."
Stephen likes to tease the girls pretty much from the time he gets home until he kisses them goodnight. At the dinner table the other night he was giving Ada a hard time and she leaned over and yelled in her 2 yr old lisp "yer makin' me cwazy!" Do you think she's heard that before? And then sometimes they are just too cool for words.