4-25-09 - Well we survived the "crazy" week, and ended up being smack dab in the middle of another one. Ben found a Volkswagen Jetta TDI (Turbo Direct Injection a.k.a Turbo Diesel!!) '98 on eBay for a fraction of the normal price. With both of our cars being on their presumed last legs we decided it would be in our best interest to "upgrade" to something a little newer and more fuel efficent.
Of course if our '94 Geo Prizim ever dies it'll be a miracle, followed by many sad tears. As I tell everyone "We've tried to 'kill' that car, but success in this area has been a tad evasive; it was T-boned in Chicago, used for deer smucking at 60mph, ended up in the ditch at least once, spun in circles on snowy icy roads, survived a handful of student drivers... and replacing the long ago burnt out dome lightbulb would probably cost more than the car is worth." Yep, that would be our rusty trusty "Stella" for you. Poor car.
Anyway.
Back to the Jetta... she was located in Philadelphia and shipping her here was going to cost more than simply flying out and driving her home, besides Ben really wanted to see her first hand before she appeared in our driveway. So we found some cheap flights (Thanks to Thea!!) and planned our "getaway." I personally LOVE flying, (I have enough of my dad in me that I need to travel every now and again or I experience a form of insanity.) Ben however, is the furthest thing from an experienced flier, I believe his last "flying" trip was when he was three. We decided to take Brock along, due to the fact that it would be more difficult to leave him somewhere (it's all about the food) and also because I hadn't seen much of the poor kid the week before and the thought of leaving him somewhere was more than I could bear.
We left Wednesday evening and stayed at Ben's grandparents near Milwaukee for the night, in part so they could see Brock and also because they're a little less than an hour from the airport in Milwaukee making our commute shorter and not as bleary-too-early-in-the-morning-to-really-be-awake-or-thinking-properly-esque.
It was a sweet time of fellowship, laughing, splitting wood and having meaningful conversations about God and raising children, I love having family with whom you can discuss such things, it's so very special. Our time there was too short, even if we did stop there on the way back from PA to pick up the car keys we had inadvertantly left there (we picked up Thea in Plover at work on our way down and had left her car there to pick up on the way back).
Our trip out to Philadelphia was fairly uneventful, (Brock slept on BOTH airplanes!)it was once we arrived that the fun began. The dealership from whom we had purchased the car had given us train instructions to get from the airport on the southside to the dealership on the northside. That was all fine and good until our train broke down in the middle of the tracks, which delayed us significantly as I am sure you can imagine. We (the train) crept into a nearby station and the order of the day was to cram onto the already packed trains coming down the tracks in a few minutes. This would not be as difficult if you were one person, alone, by yourself, without a backpack or two, but we had a baby, a carseat, and two backpacks... granted we had two people to carry the stuff, but finding room for three people and their junk is different than finding room for just one. Anyway, we finally boarded a new, not broken down train and arrived on the north side of Philly... (just in time too, the place we needed to be closed at 7pm and we arrived at 6:30!) did all the legal car-buying-ish stuff and headed back west as soon as possible! We drove the better portion of the night switching off and only stopping for a total of 3 hours. We made it back to Milwaukee by noon the next day, and after an afternoon of chilling with the relatives, arrived home at 9pm on Friday. You just can't beat 2 day trips to Philadelphia and back, especially after a long week of work, travelling is still relaxing, regardless of how much time is spent actually "relaxing."
This week we have what we like to call "a little less crazy, but cool in it's own right." I'm having a jewelry party here at 1pm on Saturday (you all can come if you want!) and I think I'll clean out the sun room (currently doubling as an attic, which is pathetic, since I actually have an attic in my possession) for the occasion as my living room may be a tad tiny due to all the couches, chairs, loveseats and baby paraphenelia contained on it's precious floorspace.
Ben has a few construction/remodel/whatever projects in the works but doesn't have "active" ones where he's gone all day so it's been nice to have him around. He's been out working on the fence that's supposed to be keeping the steers in... they keep escaping and trimming my precious tulips (and the rest of the yard) for me. Stupid beasts.
This is the end.
4-25-09 - Well we survived the "crazy" week, and ended up being smack dab in the middle of another one. Ben found a Volkswagen Jetta TDI (Turbo Direct Injection a.k.a Turbo Diesel!!) '98 on eBay for a fraction of the normal price. With both of our cars being on their presumed last legs we decided it would be in our best interest to "upgrade" to something a little newer and more fuel efficent. 
Of course if our '94 Geo Prizim ever dies it'll be a miracle, followed by many sad tears. As I tell everyone "We've tried to 'kill' that car, but success in this area has been a tad evasive; it was T-boned in Chicago, used for deer smucking at 60mph, ended up in the ditch at least once, spun in circles on snowy icy roads, survived a handful of student drivers... and replacing the long ago burnt out dome lightbulb would probably cost more than the car is worth." Yep, that would be our rusty trusty "Stella" for you. Poor car.
It was a sweet time of fellowship, laughing, splitting wood and having meaningful conversations about God and raising children, I love having family with whom you can discuss such things, it's so very special. Our time there was too short, even if we did stop there on the way back from PA to pick up the car keys we had inadvertantly left there (we picked up Thea in Plover at work on our way down and had left her car there to pick up on the way back).
Our trip out to Philadelphia was fairly uneventful, (Brock slept on BOTH airplanes!)it was once we arrived that the fun began. The dealership from whom we had purchased the car had given us train instructions to get from the airport on the southside to the dealership on the northside. That was all fine and good until our train broke down in the middle of the tracks, which delayed us significantly as I am sure you can imagine. We (the train) crept into a nearby station and the order of the day was to cram onto the already packed trains coming down the tracks in a few minutes. This would not be as difficult if you were one person, alone, by yourself, without a backpack or two, but we had a baby, a carseat, and two backpacks... granted we had two people to carry the stuff, but finding room for three people and their junk is different than finding room for just one. Anyway, we finally boarded a new, not broken down train and arrived on the north side of Philly... (just in time too, the place we needed to be closed at 7pm and we arrived at 6:30!) did all the legal car-buying-ish stuff and headed back west as soon as possible! We drove the better portion of the night switching off and only stopping for a total of 3 hours. We made it back to Milwaukee by noon the next day, and after an afternoon of chilling with the relatives, arrived home at 9pm on Friday. You just can't beat 2 day trips to Philadelphia and back, especially after a long week of work, travelling is still relaxing, regardless of how much time is spent actually "relaxing." 
This week we have what we like to call "a little less crazy, but cool in it's own right." I'm having a jewelry party here at 1pm on Saturday (you all can come if you want!) and I think I'll clean out the sun room (currently doubling as an attic, which is pathetic, since I actually have an attic in my possession) for the occasion as my living room may be a tad tiny due to all the couches, chairs, loveseats and baby paraphenelia contained on it's precious floorspace.
