In Virginia, kids must wait until they are AT LEAST 16 and 3 months before they can get their license, and they must have held their learner’s permit for at least nine months.  They are to complete a classroom portion of driver’s ed and 45 hours of behind the wheel practice (at least 15 of those hours needs to be at night).  After they do this, they take a behind the wheel driver’s ed class.  If they pass that, they receive their temporary license.  WHEW!

And I am behind that.  I want the kids to be responsible drivers and understand that driving is a privilege, not a right.

Roy took Joe to the DMV about a month ago, and Joe got his permit.  He was so excited!  I guess Roy was feeling generous, and he let Joe drive his car. Just down our neighborhood streets.

But, to put this into perspective, Roy LOVES his car.  I mean loves it, like if his car was a woman, he would have left me for it by now. No, I am not upset, though I tease him mercilessly about it.  He works hard. All the cars we have owned in the past have been responsible, reliable family cars.  Nothing sexy, nothing fun.  Roy did his research, and this is actually a very safe car. And it’s hot!

Roy has had his car since August, and he has waxed and washed it more in that time than he has our van, and we have had it for almost 6 years.  If he is driving it, and it rains, he pulls into the garage (which he cleaned out and completely reorganized for his car), runs into the house for his special “car towels,” and dries it.  He LOVES his car, and I love that he loves his car.

So, now you know.

Joe’s 16th birthday is on Sunday.  Our little boy is turning 16; I can’t believe it!

We were sitting down last night, watching our new favorite show (Community. Have you seen it?  If not, check it out!) when Joe comes running down stairs.

He has his most favorite possession with him (of course) his iPod touch, and he sits on the couch playing with it.

A few minutes later, he looks up, “Hey, Dad?”

“Hmm…” Roy is a bit distracted.  Hello, have you seen Community? FUNNY!

“For my birthday, can you take me out for a drive in your car?”

Roy said we would see, which usually means yes.

Joe is happy.

So, we bought the Challenger about a month ago, and I still adore this car.

It is such a sexy car.

Anyways, it has become Roy’s new ‘hobby.’  Roy tends to have rather expensive hobbies.  Mine are magazines, reading, and cross stitching (though I have not worked on my cross stitching in a few months). Not cheap mind you, but Roy’s tend to easily eclipse mine in the money department-oil painting (He made one really nice one of trees in winter and then for some reason painted over it…WHAT?), photography (I did like this one…I was able to actually buy my husband a nice gift, bought him a nice camera with my coaching money), salt water fish tanks (Beautiful to look at, but SO MUCH WORK!) and now it’s his car.

And I have to say for the first time I don’t mind so much that his ‘hobby’ is expensive, cause I love this one.  LOVE this car…

So, he has been looking at car shows in our local area.  We aren’t necessarily looking to enter our car, just to go see what other people have, maybe get some ideas or tips.  Win a raffle….

So, today we got up to go to our first one.  It was only about 15 miles from the house, held at a local high school.

“It’s gonna be funny if we get up there and have the coolest car.” I giggled.

Roy laughed, “I know, right!”

“Are we gonna buy a new car?” Hayden piped in from the back seat.

“No, honey.  HOpefully this place will just have some cool cars, and we can look at them.  Hang out for a little bit.” Roy answered him.

“OH.  Are we gonna race?”  Hayden sounded so hopeful.

I chuckled, “Nope, just gonna look at cars.”

“Oh, well ok.”

So, we pull into the school parking lot.

“Is it the right date?” I asked Roy.

“Yeah.  I’m gonna be mad if they changed the date and didn’t post it.”

So, we drive around back and find the show!

If you count four cars and about five people as a car show.

“Oh boy.  This doesn’t look promising.” I remarked.

“Oh come on!  This is weak!” Roy laughed.

“Cars, Daddy?” Dean asked from the back seat.

“You want to stop?” Roy asked me.

“NO!  We aren’t even entering, and we have the best car here!” I said.

“Yeah, let’s just go.”

So, we left.  First car show visit…total bust.

I have a huge Ford E350.  That one’s my car.  Big green beast I named Godzilla.  It needs new tires here shortly, and I was trying to price them this morning.  Looked at Costco’s website and apparently I would have to call.  So I was curious and decided to see how much tires would cost for Roy’s new car.

Now, we just bought this thing.  It’s a 2009 metallic Black Dodge Challenger SRT-8.  It’s a big, heavy sexy car.  And it’s Roy’s new baby.  He dries it by hand, cleaned out the garage (after living here for almost 8 years I think this is the first time we have routinely parked a car in the garage), and even took stuff that has been sitting in the garage for years to the dump.  Roy even joked with me that my jeans better not have metal brackets on them.  This car is his pride and joy. And I admit it… he looks really sexy driving it.

So, anyways… I am looking at tires for it, just trying to price it and get an idea.

$1300 for four!  WHAT?

“Lordy!” I walked out and said this to Addi.

“What?” Addi asked.

“Do you know how much tires for your Dad’s car cost?” I asked him.

Now, Addi is only 12.  He doesn’t know much about cars yet. “Umm… $50?”

I laughed, “Nope, try again.”

“80?”

“Nope!  Higher.”

“Higher than 80?  That’s a lot of money.  200?”

It’s funny to hear that $80 is a lot of money for a tire, “Higher.  A lot higher”

“Really?  Like maybe 600?”  I shook my head, “800?”  The look on his face was priceless.  He was simply amazed that tires could cost this much.

“Try almost 1300 for four tires!” I said.

“WHAT?  Dad should just go to Ron’s Used Tires!”

I had to laugh. Ron’s Used Tires is a small tire shop located around Virginia that “specializes” in used tires (but carry new ones too).

I couldn’t wait to tell Roy this one.  And I was right about what he would say, 

“Umm… No.  I don’t think so.”  Roy said in reply, quickly! Yep, I knew he would say that.

Yesterday, was a long day!  I got the older boys up and out the door, then set about trying to get Dean moving.  He usually loves to go to the store with me, and he has been telling me he needs a new Ben 10 toy, but for some reason he just wasn’t interested yesterday.  But since we needed milk, I had to get to the store.  Roy was on the phone when we left, so we just crept out of the house.

They are remodeling our local Target, so unfortunately they did not have what we needed.  Looked like we’d be making a trip to Walmart.  Dean was fine with that, and he was actually being really good.  We got the few things that we could at Target (Great sale on school supplies!  Might go back to grab a few more things!), then headed over to Walmart.  While in line at Walmart, Dean found something.

“Mommy, I get this?  I need a new iPhone.” Dean showed me a little plastic phone with Buzz Lightyear on it.  Daddy did take the old iPhone that Dean played with into the ocean in St. Maarten this year - Way to go, Daddy!

“Sure!  You were such a good boy today.  Mommy will buy you that!”

“Yeah!” Dean put it up on the conveyor belt and gave me a hug, “You pretty, Mama!”

So, we paid, and loaded up the car.  As we pulled into the driveway, I saw Roy cleaning up our utility trailer.  We decided to sell it.  We rarely use it, and it just sits in our yard.  Roy worked for an hour or so getting it cleaned up, we had lunch, and then we hit the road - heading up to Northern VA.

See, Carmax puts lockboxes on all their car windows.  Ok, no biggie. BUT their lockbox scratched our new car - biggie. Not the paint, but the actual driver side window.  We dropped the car off the other day to get the new window put in and a few other things cleaned up, and we were heading up north to pick it up. They said it would be ready in the afternoon, but no time was given. Along the way, we picked up Hayden from school, sold the trailer, and still no phone call from Carmax.

“Where did you want to go?” Roy asked me.

“How about Dulles Town Center?”

“Dulles Town Center or Tyson’s?”

“No, we haven’t been to Dulles in awhile, and it’s right next to Carmax.” I answered.

We got to the mall, and headed in.  I, of course, had a destination in mind.  Victoria’s Secret.  Cotton underwear (I hate the word panties for some reason. It actually pained me to type it just then.) on sale 7 for $25.50!  Had to get some!  We looked around and picked up a few things in Borders, which as you probably know is closing most (all?  I’m not sure) of their stores.  Got some great deals on books!

As we are walking around, I pointed out Old Navy to see if anyone wanted to go in. 

“They have jeans on sale for $10, Mom.” Hayden informed me.

“They do? How do you know?” I asked him smiling.

“I know.  That’s their best price of the season!” Hayden was very proud of himself for relaying this information to Roy and I.

I laughed and hugged him.  It always surprises me what he remembers.

We finally got the phone call that the car was ready, so we picked that up, and decided to waste some time (hoping to avoid rush hour traffic) by getting a bite to eat.  We settled on Potbelly - yummy sandwiches! - and we gobbled up our food.

By this time, traffic was still out there, so we just settled in for the ride.  I HATE rush hour traffic!  It seems like all the bad drivers converge on the road at once.  And not only is rush hour traffic sucky, but I got cut off not once, but twice - a HUGE red bus, which Dean loved, and a state trooper.  Roy, of course, wasn’t so lucky and just sailed on ahead of us.

We finally made it home, but not before hitting our local fro-yo joint, Sweet Frog.  Hayden’s school was having a fundraiser there, so, of course, we had to stop and contribute!

Finally!  HOME!  Our new car tucked away safe and sound in the garage, kids done with homework, blissful sleep!

Not so for me, and I hope I didn’t keep Roy awake!  I fell asleep about 10:30, completely wiped out, only to wake up at 1 with that horrible pain on my right side again.

“NO, NO, NO!” I thought to myself. I didn’t want to deal with doctors or the ER again.  It wasn’t as bad this time, and though a few times the sharp pain took my breath away, I was at least able to rest.  I tossed and turned for about 2 hours, and just when I was thinking I might need to get Roy up, it stopped!  Not completely , mind you, but it went from a sharp pain to just a dull ache, and I was finally able to fall back asleep.

And before I knew it, the frogs were whispering in my ear.  That’s my alarm clock. I wake up to “sounds of the rainforest” every morning.

Whew!  Glad I survived the weekend!  Granted our weekends are usually crazy, but this one seemed like it was nonstop for Roy and I. 

This past Friday we drove down to Charlottesville for Doctor’s appointments.  We left the boys at home, so we took Roy’s motorcycle.  And it was a wonderful trip, for me that is.  I obviously don’t do much but hold on and try not to move around too much and disturb Roy; Roy has the hard job.  But I love riding around on his bike with him.  And then it started to rain.  I imagine for some people that is annoying. And again not sure how Roy feels about riding in the rain, but I love it!  As long as it isn’t too chilly, and it isn’t a torrential downpour!  A slight rain feels wonderful!  And the smell!  Ok, sometimes we get stuck behind a smelly car, but every once in awhile you catch a whiff of that fresh rain smell.

So, Roy went to the dermatologist, and he is ok!  Words can’t even express how happy I was, as the idea of something being wrong with my husband is tough for me.  I will say the doctor was a little rough removing a mole though - my poor husband has a lovely hole in his back now!  Of course the real pain came from the chairs in the waiting room!  Not sure who picked them out, but a more uncomfortable chair I have yet to find!  Roy sat down wrong, and I swear he screwed up his back!  He might have to go to a doctor just for going to a doctor.

I went to the OB/GYN and without giving out too many details, I have to go back next month for more tests.  Fun!  Ok, not fun, but I really liked the doctor, and she seemed willing to help me find out what is going on so that we could come up with a plan to provide some relief.  Thank you!  So, even though I don’t like all the poking and prodding (ha ha, I know!), I am happy that perhaps I can get some answers.

Lunch was great!  We went to a little joint called “The Mellow Mushroom.”  I imagine it is popular with the UVa students.  Great pizza, and I am not really a pizza person.  We did a little shopping (mainly window shopping), then rode home.  It was nice to spend the day with my husband, even if we did both have to visit the doctors.

Saturday continued our run of doctor appointments with Roy going in for an eye exam.  His prescription isn’t nearly as strong as mine (and mine is pretty strong!), but it was suggested to him that he get glasses for work and reading.  Ok! But they didn’t have any that stood out there. So we decided to look elsewhere at a later time.

At home we started talking about cars.  Not sure how we got around to that, but after some research we found a car that we both liked.  (Well, Roy loved it; I wasn’t sure, but…) I told him if the payments were under X amount of dollars, I was cool with it, so go get it.

“Chris, I wouldn’t go without you.” He says.

“WHY?!  I told you my bottom line, keep the payments under this amount and I don’t care! I trust you to get a good car.”

“I know, but I wouldn’t do it without you.”

I won’t lie… this bugged me!  While I know he was just implying that he didn’t want to choose a car that I would not be happy with, I know he also hates dealing with paperwork. I didn’t want to drive all the way up to Northern Virginia, but I KNOW my husband wanted this car.  I know he would make some comment in the future if we missed this deal. (Though to be fair to Roy, he wouldn’t hold a grudge; I would just take it that way.)  So, I fussed at him, told him fine! Let’s do it!  Then he ran out to clean the Prius top to bottom, and I called to arrange an appointment and obtain financing.  We were approved quickly, and I scheduled a time for us so that we wouldn’t have to wait to have our Prius appraised.  Roy finished cleaning and I browsed online to find a few more cars I was interested in and off we went.  

We got up to Carmax with little hassle, and to Roy’s credit, he more than gave the cars I was interested in a chance. We browsed the lot and looked at quite a few brands and models that caught our eye. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Jeep, Land Rover, Hummer, SUVs, trucks, cars. We really liked this burnt orange Land Rover, but someone bought it just before we were ready to test drive. There was a white one, but we didn’t want a white car. So we decided to test drive two cars that we really liked and then we would go from there. First up was the Porsche Cayenne (I call it a fake Porsche, and yes I know it is an actual Porsche - but it’s so big). We test drove it, and it was a great car.  Handled wonderfully, turned on a dime (got that from Pretty Woman!), and it looked good (damn good). Full featured and super clean. As far as I was concerned, it was a contender. And then it was on to the next car. Time to drive Roy’s pick-a 2009 Dodge Challenger SRT8.  I didn’t think I would like it, but Roy was drooling on it.  Yes, he was actually drooling as was every other guy on the lot, including the sales people!  The car is hot. But it is more of a sports car, so two door only. But I actually didn’t mind the back seat! The back seat actually has more room than our Prius unless the front row is all the way back. The seats are leather, and so soft and comfortable.  I didn’t particularly care if I drove it. I knew Roy wanted this car, and I loved seeing him happy, but he pushed me to drive it to see if I liked it.  Driving it was fine.  It handled very nicely, I didn’t sit too low (which is good since the front end is long).  I know Roy was sold as soon as he touched the gas pedal, and I wanted him to be happy - he works so hard and rarely asks for anything, even though he makes all the money!  So we glanced over the lot one last (but quick) time, and finally decided… Let’s do it!

Carmax gave us a great offer on our Prius.  This is the third car we have bought from them, and they have always treated us great.  As far as I was concerned, the Challenger was my husband’s!  We did our thing with the paperwork and got out of there about 9 that evening.  We drove to get a bite to eat and then started home.  About halfway there, Roy asked if I wanted to drive home. I did, and we switched.  I got in and drove home and liked the car a little more.  I felt safe. I was confident in the car’s ability. OK… cool!  We got home, and I fell into bed. I was so tired!

We got up early on Sunday.  Roy couldn’t sleep because of his allergies, and I’m just an early riser.  We decided to head back up north to a mall to find Roy some glasses, and I wanted to check out the Michael Kors store (I wish there was one closer).

And this is where I fell in love with our new car.  I usually like to drive, but I didn’t even mind just riding shotgun in this thing!  Roy opened it up a bit on the interstate.  Won’t tell you our speed, but it felt like… well, I don’t know how to describe it!  It didn’t feel like we were going as fast as we were; the acceleration is so smooth.

“Well?  We going to trade it in?” I teased, as we had five days to change our mind.

“Still have four days!” Roy joked back.

“Yeah, not happening.” I told him.

He laughed, “Oh, really?”

“Yeah, I think I love this car.” I told him as I stroked the leather seats.

He commented on this being the nicest car he’s ever owned… and driven. I think he loves it too.

So, we get to the mall.  Roy heads to LensCrafters to order his glasses (awesome looking pair of Ray Bans… very sexy!) and then we head to the toy store.  The kids were being good, so we let them pick out little treats - more lego sets for Addi and Hayden, and Ben 10 toys for Dean.  I know I spoil them, but it is the end of summer… and the older boys got their treats too!  I spoil all the boys, if nothing else!  And then… Michael Kors. To spoil me.  I went in pretty sure of what I was going to get, this beautiful red leather tote and a watch.  I left with something very different.  Well, the bag is actually the same style, but it is a new distressed leather.  Wasn’t sure I liked it on the website and when I first saw it, but the more I looked at it, the more I dug it.  I also got a pair of boots.  High heels, same distressed leather, can’t wait to wear them when the weather gets a little cooler.

And the young lady and young man that helped us out in the store were great!  Answered all my questions, very happy to pull shoes out for me, etc.  They might work on commission, I don’t know, but they provided truly great customer service.

Which leads me to my disappointments…  Dean’s sneakers broke.  Well, not broke, but the velcro was having issues, and since I have already tried to repair them twice, I threw up my hands and decided to just get him a new pair.  We went into Stride Rite.  These shoes are not cheap, or rather I don’t think they are.  Fifty dollars for a pair of little kids shoes isn’t cheap in my book, but Roy and Dean found a pair of Star Wars sneakers.  Fifty five dollars.  Ok, they looked well made at least.  And we could NOT get any help.  We couldn’t even get anyone to acknowledge us.  Sure, it was a weekend, but it wasn’t that crowded!  Finally Roy goes up to the counter, and the young lady looks at a clip board and calls a name.  The customer is there, so she walks right over to him… completely ignoring Roy.  Ok, guess you have to sign in, but we didn’t know that. And no one said to do so.

No one offered a “sign right here sir and we will be right with you.”  Nothing.  Not even a “sign here dude, and wait your turn.”  NOTHING.

So, we still kept on, because Dean seemed to really like the shoes.  Then we noticed another shoe with Boba Fett… Dean’s favorite Star Wars character.  It didn’t look like they were in yet, since it said coming soon next to them.

So I walked to the register, where EVERY single sales associate was standing around trying to ring up their customer.  Really?  One person can’t do it and then just ask who helped?  So, I asked the young lady closest to me.

“Excuse me, can you just tell me when the other Star Wars shoes will come in?”  I was polite.

“I don’t know.” A short, blunt answer.  Ok, seems to me I am a customer, could you MAYBE make an effort to find out?  Maybe even a lame effort? 

The other associate did speak up at that point, but I was already annoyed.  We sat around for 20 minutes, and no, I am not making that up, and nothing.

I went up to remove Roy’s name from the list.

“Not good customer service here.” Was my comment.  No, I wasn’t trying to be a witch, but this was ridiculous.

Again, NOTHING.  Not one word, they looked up at me and then went right back to standing around.  Sorry, but Stride Rite has lost my business from here on out. All it took was a few words to let us know we were recognized, but that’s too difficult.

So we looked around the mall a bit more, and I found a sweater in the window of Express that would have looked great on Roy.  He said he liked it, so in I went to see what I could find.  Now, here at least they attempted to provide some customer service, though it was less than stellar.  They couldn’t find the sweater and couldn’t tell me much, but at least they made an effort.

“Oh well” I shrugged, “We’re two for two here.”

Roy just walked away… no sweater today!  We picked up his glasses, got some lunch, then it was on to Costco to stock up on snacks for school.

I did my thing in Costco, and Roy looked like he was about to collapse from exhaustion, so I tried to hurry up.  We payed, and left.

And then I got to enjoy another ride home in our new car.  Glad the weekend is over… oh wait, school starts on Wednesday… GREAT!