My new ride...

After a lot of tears, heartache, and stress over my RAV4, I finally was able to get my new car yesterday--a 2009 Toyota Corolla. This certainly isn't what I had in mind when I thought about selling my RAV4 back in March and cashing in on the equity that was in it. (Instead I ended up spending about $6,000 in repairs and it was still having problems.) Even though it's not how I thought it would turn out, I am glad to finally have a car, and have it be one that I can rely on. Thanks so much to my dad for getting me through these last couple of weeks, and to my uncle Chuck for helping me get the car! The Corolla is a beauty. Now I need to name him (yes, it is a boy). I'm open for suggestions.

I feel like I need to mention that I loved my RAV4. He was a great car and I loved driving him. He didn’t do anything wrong, just a lot of bad luck happened over the last month. The night before I got my new Corolla, I had a dream that my RAV4 was feeling abandoned and hurt, and I woke up feeling extremely sad. I don’t know why I turn cars into animate objects. It must be some disorder I have. (When I had to leave my first car, the Toyota Corona, in Tennessee, I cried for 6 hours because I felt like I was abandoning it as well). Something to talk to the therapist about I guess…

Things happened so quickly yesterday that I was not able to give Mags (the name I gave it) a proper goodbye. So I wrote the following poem.

Ode to my RAV4

RAV4, RAV4, you will always be
A very special vehicle to me.
You hauled my boat proudly,
You were so strong and sturdy,
And I drove you with such joy and glee.

However, our time together is done.
Yet I will never forget all of the fun.
You are such a great car,
And I know you’ll go far.
And I hope your new driver is a good one.

Heather tagged me...

Heather tagged me to play this little Five, Five, Five, Five, Five game......

1 - Five places that I go to over and over: Space Dynamics Lab, Benson marina, my apartment, church, and bed.
2 - Five people who e-mail me (regularly) : Daela, Ginger, Jen, the program manager I work with, and Jill.
3 - Five favorite places to eat: Cafe Rio, Juniper Takeout, Le Nonne, Outback, and Sizzler (for the salad bar).
4 - Five places I would rather be right now: the Caribbean, Grand Canyon, Jackson/Tetons, Bear Lake, pretty much any vacation spot.
5 - Five TV shows I watch all the time: This one is hard to answer since I don't really regularly watch anything. But my favorite show on tv right now is So You Think You Can Dance.

I guess I'm supposed to tag 5 other people, but I don't know that many with blogs that look at my site. So I tag Daela.

Happy Birthday, Campbelle!

June 5 was my cute little niece's 2nd birthday. The weekend before my family went down to Orem to celebrate her birthday with her. What a party!
Campbelle and I had a great time jumping on the trampoline. We laughed and laughed, until "Aunt Liz" realized how out of shape she was and collapsed.

Jumping on the tramp must have worn her out as well. So it was time to relax in the hammock with Gretchen, Aubree, and Brinnan.
Grandpa enjoyed playing with Beau, while Grandma spent a long time making the perfect birthday cake--Curious George!
Campbelle LOVED her cake. She also loved blowing out the candles. So we had to light them several times and let her blow them out several times. After we ate the cake, she pointed to her stomach and said "Gee "(for George) to let us know that he was in her stomach.

After the cake, it was time to head to the park for a bubble party!

And then finally it was time for the best part of a birthday party--presents! Jen and Steve (Campbelle's mom and dad) helped her open all the gifts, most of which were books. I think she enjoyed opening the gifts just as much as getting them. As soon as she was done opening one, she would put it aside then put her hand up and say, "Boo" (book), expecting that there were more gifts and it would be a book as well. Campbelle loves books and was so excited for each one.

What a great day. You throw a pretty good party, Campbelle! Happy Birthday, and I love you!