Here we have the newest Mayhew family member (I am talking about the car, in case that wasn't clear). It is a 2010 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium, charcoal gray, 6-speed manual. It has a sunroof and a 6-disc CD changer (so the girls and I can both have music queued up and ready to go). I am in heaven. I love it. I love driving a stick again (as crazy as that sounds), and the car has plenty of room for the family and all our accoutrement.
Fiona was with me throughout the entire buying process (much of which is quite boring). I took this picture so in seven years - when she is almost ten years old - we can look back and enjoy the fact that I have had the same car ALL that time.
I am just so tickled with how well the car drives. I think its name is going to be Nigel, but I will formally decide after driving to Connecticut for Thanksgiving.
This morning, I sold my Honda minivan to Carmax. It served me very well during the early years of the girls' lives... when the sliding doors were crucial to actually *getting* them into the car; when the back space held two strollers (one single, one double); when car storage was critical in terms of holding the various stuff that mothers schlep (pack and plays, diapers, you name it).
But those days are behind us, and I never really loved the car. I felt very conspicuous in it... like a MINIVAN driver. Plus, it was my first automatic, and I found it very confusing not to reach for the clutch. Plus, it weighed 4500 lbs and was difficult (for me) to stop. Plus, we only have two kids AND much less stuff to drag around now that they're older. Plus...well, let's just say I never really loved the car.
Wait - there IS another plus. I needed to lower my car payment. Dramatically. And how.
So today I returned to land of Subaru. I bought a 2010 Subaru Outback, 6-speed manual. My car lives in South Carolina at the moment, and is being driven to Virginia early next week. In the meantime, I have a loaner (same breed, but an automatic) to get me by.
I am thrilled to have lowered my payments, and I feel less horrible to the environment at the same time. This car has better mileage, and weighs more than a thousand pounds less. Nice.
Yes, I am still alive - but I have morphed into a lame blogger! It's just that I have been crazy busy since mid-August: taking mini trips, studying for three hideous exams that might help me gain entrance into George Mason University, pestering friends to write recommendations for said program, hanging with the family, working as a contractor for Craig's company, being a stay-at-home mom with Fiona on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and so on.
I know I have been a lame blogger, and I promise to be better. As such, I will now post some pictures from our recent trip to Saratoga Springs, NY! I will backdate the post, so that this lame apology stays at the top of the flow. =>
On Columbus Day weekend, the girls and I drove to Saratoga to visit one of my Hartwick roommates, Karey Hall Trimmings, and her wonderful family. She and her husband, John (also a Wick alum) have three kids: Emma is 10, Jack is 7 (almost 8), and Sarah is 5. We had a wonderful, fun-filled weekend full of pumpkins, laughter, and apples. A perfect Fall weekend in New York State!
Karey is an accomplished singer and music teacher, for those who don't know her. She was accepted into Julliard for undergrad, but she had to turn them down. They didn't give her any monetary assistance, and as the oldest child of five, the family couldn't swing the costs involved. Hartwick, on the contrary, gave Karey a free ride. She has since received a Master's in music performance & education from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester. She uses music in her work every day. Karey is a voice teacher with many private students. She has children's music classes for her business, For the Love of Music, and we were lucky enough to attend one while there. She sings with her chuch's youth band (she is the Paul Shaffer of the band). She sings at numerous weddings (and some funerals). She is quite well known in the Saratoga arts community, and she is worth every red cent.
And now for some pictures!
Karey's wonderful music class for children
Crazy roommates!
Karey's son, Jack (7)
Girls at the pumpkin farm! (Sarah, 5.5; Fiona, 2.5; Emma,10; Rory, 4)
Girls in an apple tree! (Emma, Sarah, Rory, Fiona - descending)
While entertaining a neighbor for ten minutes, LOOK at what the girls did. They threw everything they could find - and then went up to their rooms to gather more - and flung it over the living room railing to the entryway a story below. Oh my. They were in hog heaven, squealing with laughter the entire time. I should have known they were up to no good. =>
Then, buzzkill that I am, I made them drag it all back upstairs, bit by bit.
Yesterday was the last pool day of the summer - sigh. Some of us are freckled (Laura), some of us are as white as ever (Rory), and some of us have gained a slight tan (Fiona). We spent nearly every Saturday and Sunday morning there from June through August, and it made the summer extra fun. Friends often joined us, and sometimes we even went twice in one day!
I acknowledge that by D.C. standards, 2009 has been a relatively humidity-free summer. Slightly cold and rainy in June, meek and mild in July - both very rare for these parts. And I have been so happy. In mid-July, I proclaimed this my favorite D.C. summer ever.
But these past few days have been horribly sticky. And to top it off, we have lost power in our house three times during this stretch - last night's episode lasted for 12 hours. The third level of our townhouse was super steamy, and the girls were both sweating like pigs by bedtime.
We tend to make the most of such power outages. We read books by flashlight, wear glow stick bracelets, and make fun shapes on the walls. But the high moisture level inside the house last night sucked the fun out of everything. I was so hot that I could only stand to read one book to the girls - mostly because I couldn't bear having them sit on my body.
By 9:00 pm, the power had been our for seven hours and the house was damp and lifeless. The power roared on with a jolt at 2:00 am (finally). Because we had set our fans to "low" before hitting the (sweaty) hay, the powering up was actually quite startling. But it was also immediately relieving, trust me.
Fiona cried much of the night, sweaty as a hog and unable to rest comfortably, so I kept her home from daycare with me. We had a lovely day, and she took a nice, long, 3-hour nap. =)
Gordie, way back in the day, played defense for the New England/Hartford Whalers. The Whale drafted him when he was 17, and my dad became friends with him soon thereafter (my dad was friends with most guys on the team back then, which was downright magical to my sister and me). Their friendship has continued through Gordie's career: being traded away, retiring, coaching, and now, scouting for Montreal. His playing career was long, and he won the Stanley Cup while a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins back in the early 1990s.
Gordie was in Connecticut this past week, and spent the night with my dad and Patrick. The three of them had a blast. Gordie made my dad make him spaghetti & meatballs, begged him to play the guitar so they could sing together, and the next day, Pat & Gordie shot 9 holes of golf. They tied, 37 each. A great time was has by all!
Here we have the newest Mayhew family member (I am talking about the car, in case that wasn't clear). It is a 2010 Subaru Outback 2.5i Premium, charcoal gray, 6-speed manual. It has a sunroof and a 6-disc CD changer (so the girls and I can both have music queued up and ready to go). I am in heaven. I love it. I love driving a stick again (as crazy as that sounds), and the car has plenty of room for the family and all our accoutrement.
