Is is November Yet?

I am so ready for this month to be over already. Just when I think I’ve found a way to manage everything that has been thrown our way this month we get another curve ball.

So far we’ve been furloughed for 3 weeks, I lost my wedding ring, and Kevin’s grandpa passed away. Now the transmission has gone out in the car, our “new” car, the one with barely 50,000 miles on it that has never even had any hint of problems. So here’s the story on that.

We left Thursday to make the drive back to Moses Lake for Grandpa’s funeral. We made a detour to the Zoo, did some Christmas shopping, and stopped at a hotel in Caldwell for the night so the kids could swim.

Total sidenote, Emilie is a complete goof in the water. She likes to float on her stomach, stick her head under the water and wiggle her booty. It is hysterical to watch!

Friday morning we headed up over the Blues, stopped to stretch our legs in Pendleton and switch drivers. We were making excellent time and figured we’d make Moses Lake by lunchtime. We were about 3/4 of the way over the bridge from Oregon to Washington on 395 when suddenly the car just stopped. No noises, no warning, nothing just was no longer in drive. Thankfully we were on the downhill slope of the bridge and were able to coast off the bridge and over to the shoulder. We called roadside assistance and they got to work on a tow truck.

It took the tow truck two hours to get to us from Kennewick (which is only 20 miles north of where we were stuck) because the driver could not figure out where we were at. It seems 395 northbound on the Washington side of the OR/WA border between the river and SR-14 is hard to find (If you can’t tell that statement is dripping with sarcasm and I was less than impressed with the tow truck driver.) Still the kids were absolute champs about the delay and Jack was more than happy to ride up in the tow truck. Kevin and Emilie got to ride in the car on the flatbed if you are wondering how they fit 5 people, two in carseats, on a 3-person bench seat.

They towed the car to the dealership in Pasco where the service department informed us they wouldn’t even be able to look at the car until Tuesday. By this point I was really fighting the urge to rip my hair out. There was not much else to do and by then Kevin’s sister and brother-in-law had made it down from Moses Lake with my in-laws mini van and schlepped us on to our final destination.

Aside from that hiccup the weekend went really well. The service was excellent, the weather couldn’t have been better, and the kids both cooperated (Jack actually curled up on the cemetery lawn with his head on my shoes and fell asleep). The rest of the weekend was enjoyed spending time with family. Jack never stopped running…jumping in the leaves, digging in the dirt, etc. His cousins Caleb & Elena introduced him to the game of ‘Sorry’, which is now his new favorite board game.

Emilie got to play with cousin Allison (at last a girl relative her age) She and Allie are two months apart and despite their college preference differences (WSU is obviously better than UW) they got along pretty well. Both girls can swing until your arms fall off and bounce hard enough down the hall that it sounds like a elephant stampede.

 

Thankfully, when it came time to head home Sunday Kevin’s parents (who are, I should point out, totally AWESOME!) loaned us their truck to get home. As much as we enjoy seeing our family, staying an extra week in Moses Lake after Kevin hasn’t worked in 3 weeks really wasn’t an option.

So, in a nutshell, we are back home safe and sound. Now we just have to figure out what to do about the car….

The dealership in Pasco said they could replace the transmission for a mere $6,400 bucks. Needless to say, we don’t have that kind of change to toss around and I’m not really inclined to replace a transmission that failed after 50,000 miles with another of the same type. I’m pretty unimpressed with Fords all around right now…. Our Toyota has 200,000 miles on it, is 16 years old, runs like a champ, AND has it’s original tranny still. I mean, given my experience I think I’ll go with the Toyota.

For now we are working on getting an opinion from a mechanic we trust a little more before making a final decision, but it’s looking like we’ll just stick it out with our two older vehicles until we’re in a better position to pick up a new car.

In the meantime I’m crossing my fingers, hoping, and praying to wake up to a calendar that says November 1st without anything else going sideways.