New Car

I thought once the semester was over, life would get calmer, but we've been incredibly busy! Unfortunately it mostly revolves around preparing for Paul's departure, my new class lecture preparation (I'm teaching a different course in July), & the day-to-day care of Alec & the dogs. Nothing exciting there, but we did get a new car. Let me set the stage with our first car-buying experience (everyone's entitled to one mistake, right?)

It's October 2006 & we're still waiting for Paul's visa, so he flew out for 2 weeks to help me move my things from my parents' home in Vegas to Colorado. While in Colorado we wanted to find a car together BEFORE he left (mistake #1). We'd decided on a Subaru-dependable, great in the snow, etc. But, after test driving one decided it wasn't for us...the problem was we had no back-up choice (mistake #2). So, we got talked into a 2002 Nissan Maxima. A car we didn't want and paid more than we wanted (mistakes 3 & 4). As such, this time I refused to be blindsighted.

After doing our research, we decided on a CR-V. We wanted something the dogs could fit in (though Jordan says I can't say the trunk...that's what it is, right?), something with good gas mileage & 4-wheel drive. (It has a small engine (2.4 L) with over drive, so the mountains won't be fun, but it's mostly for in-town usage and the gas mileage was more important).

Plenty of room for the dogs

We knew how much we wanted to put down and our monthly payments. We looked online and found it right away. They had a 2008 CR-V-it's used, but with only 2,500 miles on it, so it makes the warranty good for 7 years, instead of 3 (since the engine's been 'broken in'). So, Wednesday we go to the Honda dealership and the guy wanted $500 more down and $99 more a month than I want to pay. The only problem? My husband test drove the car and LOVED it. The salesman got it down to $59 more a month than I wanted to pay, so Paul was ready to take the deal. I made him walk out.


Friday morning I get a phone call and he'd reduced the monthly payments to only $25 above what I wanted to pay. So, Saturday morning we check it out again, try the car seat & Paul is completely in love. I still say no. Eventually he knocks it down to $10 above what we wanted to pay monthly. Still not good enough. We say we'll come back if we can't find a better deal elsewhere (it is Memorial Day weekend-loads of sales & promotions going on, plus I had a list of other CR-Vs for sale in Vegas) and the salesman knocks the $500 off the down payment. Paul's about ready to deck me, so I finally agree...pretty happy about it all in the end. It reminded me of haggling in Egypt, it was such a rush!!

Plenty of room for a second car seat and a booster seat. Car rides start out slow...

Then get exciting when the wind blows in our face.

We love driving it and Alec's enjoying the view from a higher perspective. We had also saved enough (since he lowered the down payment) so Paul could get his MacBook. I was going to surprise him with it as his graduation gift, but he could use it before then, so it seemed silly to wait. My head's still reeling from all the money we spent on one day...that or the people at the Blood Drive took too much out of me yesterday...

Weddings, weddings, weddings, weddings!

Well, it's wedding season in our family. Several of my cousins live here in Vegas, so we see each other regularly and there are now 4 engagements in the family.

First was my cousin Colin getting engaged to Sarah. Colin has seemed so relaxed since he and Sarah have become official-they're like an old married couple already. They're having a long engagement-the wedding's not until March of next year! My friend Sabrena & I are making the cake & Alec will be the ring-bearer! Here's Sarah trying on the Hunter family veil:

After that it was my cousin, Ross. He proposed to Jordan outside the Bellagio hotel with roses and both sets of parents watching and he hasn't stopped smiling since. Jordan makes Ross so much more happy and outgoing than I can ever remember seeing him. They'll be married on the 31st...little over a week now!

Then came my sister Kari. Ben proposed to her in a hotel courtyard in California. She thought he'd dropped something and was on the floor trying to help him find it. They live out of each other's pockets-Ben's over before most people wake up and he's still here when we go to bed. He's always willing to help with anything, I think they'll be very happy!

I'm very involved in Kari's wedding. Sabrena's still trying to figure out how we'll manage Kari's 10-layer cake, but it will happen, I've begun bridal shower preparations, and on Monday; grandma, mom, Alec & I went with her to Saint George, Utah to find a modest wedding dress. I think she chose the fifth dress she tried on. She looked fabulous in all of them-little cutie's a size 0 now!! Now, if the dress were the only thing a bride needs it would have been a very quick shopping trip, but we still needed shoes and other girly things...

Alec really enjoyed crawling on the carpeted platforms meant for the brides to stand on. He did so great getting in and out of the car all day in the 100 degree weather (I was prepared with enough juice, string cheese and grapes), but he got tired at the end:

The most recent proposal was my cousin Derek to Kristen. He invited all of us along and proposed on her birthday with a kite. It was really fun to watch, they just kept hugging each other! The story behind the 'ROCK' on the kite is that on Valentine's Day he made her a turtle tank and had written that phrase on her card. She thought it was a hint and he was proposing, so she tore the tank apart looking for a ring (the turtles survived). Needless to say, she was ready for the proposal!

I'm really enjoying having all these wedding plans going on and remembering what it was like when it was my own! I love being married and I think with the companions they've chosen, my cousins and siblings will enjoy it also. I'm getting so sentimental as I get older.

First Haircut

Alec has been sporting a mullet...that's right, a red-neck, disgusting, 'business in the front, party in the back' mullet. With not much hair on top, I was biding my time in giving him his first haircut. But, when my cousin Danny stopped by on his visit from Texas, we decided to chop it off. Danny did the honors with a pair of scissors, then I used Paul's hair trimmer to even it all out. He actually didn't do too bad. Like any red-blooded one year old he hates holding still, so it took about 4 different sessions to even it all out, but the result was worth it!

Not much hair on top.

The 'before' picture-notice the mullet is primarily on the left side of his head.

The 'after' shot