RAV4

We got a new (used) car! It's a 2006 Toyota Rav4 with 78k miles on it. And it is bright, bright red.

RAV4 means "Recreation Active Vehicle with 4 wheel drive."  That suits us perfectly!

My nephew Asher needed a good commuting car, and I sold him my Camry(which I loved) so he
 could drive to college.  Well, within a week the darn car was totaled! :(

My poor nephew!!!  Someone hit him hard and he cracked the windshield with
is head and wrapped his torso around the steering wheel. :(  :(  :(
 And he's the one who was ticketed. :(

But-- he is OK and I think a little excited since now he can use the insurance moneyto buy the car
of his dreams! No more cool college kid driving an old iris colored auntie's car named Butter Bunz.  :) 
I think he's looking for a truck.

Anyhow...

I LOVE the new car- it is an SUV but gets 27 mpg and it has optional third row seats that fold down.
 We could have 5 kids and be fine!  (Or 5 cats that can be safely seat belted in.)

This isn't actually our car, but I don't have a photo of it.  It looks exactly the same though.

I hope it lasts us 20 years!  Unless another niece or nephew needs a good car for a good deal, that is :)

...I'd like to document for my future self that we paid cash for this $14k car!  I am so proud of us.  That's a lot of stinkin' money. 

The P.E.

For the past four months Todd has been studying for the PE exam.  It is an eight hour hard core
crazy exam.  He has to take it to become a Professional Engineer, which can happen after working
 for four years as an Engineer In Training.  (He became an EIT upon passing the Fundamentals of
 Engineering exam- another eight hour test you can take before graduating from college.)

This test is very important in most engineers' careers, as it allows them to approve and supervise
projects like bridge or building construction, street maintenance projects, storm drain
construction, etc.  

However, I want my husband back!

I try to stay out of his way since he has serious eight to ten hour study sessions and practice
exams on a regular basis (seriously!)  But I'm running out of things I've wanted to do alone. 
Like blog about the PE exam :)

The test is a week from Saturday, and Todd won't be the only one overjoyed that he's put it
behind him!

Let's hope he passes and he doesn't have to

do this all over next year!

I just have to document that Todd is so SMART!!!  He just amazes me with his self discipline and
commitment to school, work, and everything else he does.  I feel so lucky to be married to him.

I sure love that man! :)

This is one of many study books.  It is a hair shy of
three inches thick and it weighs a ton!

Notice the clock.  8:18 pm.This is how we spend our romantic
Friday and Saturday nights.  And come to think of it we spend
most other nights like this too.

Here are most of his study materials.

My smart babe!

Shifting

I was invited to a book-release party a couple weeks ago for a new

book called Shifting.  The book is awesome!  Paranormal teen isn't typically a

 book I'd choose to read, but I literally could not put Shifting down!

Highly recommended for anyone. :)

The beautiful author, Bethany Wiggins:

Author and full time mommy of four!

(I know, she's amazing :)

Signing autographs:

A few of her local fans:

Pittsburgh!

I have finally found time to blog about my latest trip to Pittsburgh. 

It was a great trip!  I stayed with Carlee and Brett and took a photoshop/photography

 class while I was there.  And the class was awesome!

It rained on us, but I didn't care-- it was just fun to be away and relax.  Car and

 I got facials, went to a movie, ate delecious Thai food, etc. and it was great.

Everything is cooler in Pittsburgh.  Look at this cathedral!

The sunrise on my flight home.


We took about 40 pictures of ourselves got a good laugh at most of them.  I guess we haven't changed much since tenth grade. :)

The Dirty Dash

This was the funnest six miles I've ever run!  And it wasn't easy...  We had to jump

over walls, climb over huge hay bales, climb jungle-gyms, run through endless tires,

crawl through big tubes, wade through swamps, make our way over slippery balance

beams, rope swing, slip-n-slide, etc. etc. etc.  And we did all those things in MUD! 

And the grand finale?  Three pools of four feet deep mud to jump into!  I'll let the

 pictures do the rest of the talking. :)

Myself, some co-workers, and Natalie pre-race:
  We think we are so clever.  (We really are ;)   Preparing for our flight through the mud
  Scaling walls (that's Nat)   Scaling jungle-gyms (Abbie, Brooke, Caitlyn, Kim, and Teri)
  The top of the slip-n-slide

Half way down the slide (yes that is my bum- shows how crazy it was somersaulting down the slide)   The pits at the finish line:
  Natalie is nuts (and brave)
  See the strain in my neck?  My whole body was that tense anticipating the impact:
  And she's submerged!      But we survived!  Yay!  (And it was cold, tee hee)
Nat and I crossed the finish line again when everyone else caught up.  Notice the legs at the bottom right of the photo:    And those legs belong to the mud-monster Caitlyn!!  Ha ha!
   
We're wild women!