Cash For Clunkers Worked for Us!

This was another action packed week. All of our hard work from last week calling around and visiting MANY Ford dealerships paid off, because we were one of the lucky ones who were able to take delivery of a new vehicle using the cash for clunkers program. In addition to that, we also spent a ton of time having fun outdoor and visiting with friends.

On Monday, we finished up our vehicle search and found the perfect vehicle close to home. It was even better than the one we had tagged previously, and was expected to be in earlier. We were not initially as concerned with a few days, but as the week progressed, we learned that could have made all the difference! I received my welcome packet of information and samples from PUR today, and we have been enjoying cold filtered water, and we can also add flavoring to it. We also went to Maybury in the evening for a ride and a run. Both kids demonstrated their climbing abilities today. Soren is becoming a real master of the stairs.
Keira climbed on this large structure at Maybury today, and then got "stuck".
Ryan was there to help her out.

Keira also got a quick ride in.

Tuesday was a really fun and busy day. I took Keira and Soren out to Island Lake to the Spring Mill Pond area for cub scout lake days. Families were invited, so there was a nice crew of friends from church. The Spring Mill Pond area is different from where I did the race and from where I train in open water, and it is great for children. It is clean and stays shallow pretty far out, so the kids can wade around in a large area. Keira wore her life vest so she was free to play in the water with her friends, Elise and Haley, from her nursery class. Soren warmed up a bit to the idea, and did let me put his feet in the water.

Haley, Elise, and Keira. Yes, I was the paranoid mom who had their child in the coast guard approved life jacket, but Keira didn't complain and I could relax somewhat around the water.




That evening, I returned to Island Lake to go swimming with Cristina, but shortly after we arrived at Trout Lake, as storm blew through. While we were debating on swimming or bailing, we saw a few bolts of lightning, and that solved our problem. Had Ryan not had plans to ride in the evening as well, I probably could have waited it out, because it was fairly localized. Ryan was able to go on his ride without any issues because the storm completely missed the Novi/Northville area where he rode.

Wednesday was the big day! Our Escape was in, and would be ready to pick up in the evening. I was able to meet up with Valerie, Katie, and Luke at the mall during the day. It was fun for Keira to play with her friend Katie. I also got a few shots of Soren for his 10 month birthday.


Luke and Soren

Keira and Katie

The dealerships had been so crazy busy all week, we were asked to wait until 6 to come in. We fortunately had all of our Cash for Clunkers paperwork ready to go. After spending an insane amount of time at the dealership this evening, Ryan was able to bring it home. I must admit it was pretty sad to say goodbye to the Sport Trac, especially knowing that it was going to be destroyed. It had been a great vehicle and provided a ton of utility to us. At least if we can't have it anymore, no one can! We took the new escape for a quick spin as a family, put the kids to bed, and then wasted no time putting on the roof rack from the Sport Trac.

Goodbye Sport Trac! Maybe your box or doors will live on!
Ryan and Keira with the NEW Escape!
Keira and Soren are all belted in and ready for their first ride.

Thursday was a really fun day for Keira. Today was the last day of story times at the library for the summer. Soren really enjoyed the music time this week.




After the story time, we went to Linda's school for a special presentation. Pebbles, the clown, came and did a really nice presentation. She started off in regular clothes and explained to the children that she was a mom, just like other moms, and then explained how all of her makeup and costumes went together to make her look like a clown. Keira was still really nervous, but I think it really helped her comfort level. Keira was very excited to get a sleeping beauty tattoo, flower stencil, and balloon bracelet.




We took the new Escape to Maybury tonight for the first time so Ryan could get a ride in while I ran.

On Friday, we could not believe that the government was already needing to suspend the Cash for Clunkers program. I felt so fortunate that everything had worked out for us, with our vehicle coming in on time and getting everything taken care of. I am not a fan of government spending, but I was not about to let a program like this go to waste. I am just really glad that we did not wait on this deal. Having two car payments for the next few months won't be fun, but it is better than losing out on the rebate money. The rest of the day was yet another action packed day, and really messed up Soren's napping schedule. Here is a really sweet picture of Keira being a good mommy.We met up with Linda at the mall for some shopping before going to Lizzie's birthday party in the afternoon. Keira had a great time playing with the water and pools. Soren did OK too out in the sun. Lizzie, Little Ava, and Keira, are in one of the pools.
Soren just took it all in. He didn't get wet at all.
Keira didn't get the slip n slide, but preferred this slide into a small splash pool instead.
Lizzie is posing with her cake.
Keira got pink EVERYWHERE! Too bad it didn't come out so well.


After the party, I had hoped to put both kids down for a nap and go riding, but that didn't work out so well. Neither went to sleep, and it is a bit tricky for me to put my bike on the new truck, so Ryan ended up dropping me off at Maybury to ride and taking Keira and Soren on errands to prepare for his upcoming bike tour. After the ride, we grabbed some dinner, and got the kids to bed pretty late. This did work out a bit to our advantage, because little Soren actually slept for 7 hours straight, and I happened to actually be sleeping as well for them! He woke up to eat at 12:30am, just after I had gone to bed, and then slept until 7:30am!

On Saturday, Ryan rode with the Wolverines, and averaged 19.9mph for his 60 mile bike ride! Impressive, but Ryan wished they could have gotten the extra tenth to be at 20mph. Soren slept literally all morning, so we didn't have a special Saturday morning adventure this weekend. I did get a decent run in once Ryan got home, running 6.5miles all under 9min/mile, which is a good pace for my long slow run of the week. After getting cleaned up, we headed out to Ann Arbor to see a longtime friend, Liz, who was in town for the weekend and having a barbeque. Ryan was her first climbing partner at Planet Rock before we got married, and Liz has gone with us and met up with us at the Red River Gorge (in KY) for climbing trips. We had a fun time catching up with her and her family. We spent a while out there, and my mom actually beat us to our house. She spent the day driving my dad to the start of the 7 day West Shoreline Tour, which Ryan will be joining next week for the 3 day version. Keira and Liz look so cute together!


On Sunday, we all headed to church. My mom came with us and helped with Soren so Ryan could attend his meetings while I got my Primary duties done. Afterwards, we went to dinner at Kris and Linda's for a great dinner and dessert. It was a beautiful evening, so we spent time playing out in the yard. Keira was so funny. We offered her a banana, and she said, "I don't want a banana. Bananas are for Monkeys". She is really cute these days.



This next week will likely shape up to be an even bigger week! Ryan will leave on Wednesday for the West Shoreline Tour with David and Kent, and meet up with my dad. My mom will be staying with us this week, and on Thursday we head up to northern Michigan to spend 2 days at the Great Wolf Lodge and see the sites before picking up the guys to bring them home.