Chasing Cars and Wabbits

I last left off talking about babysitting Sophia Maria (Mom and Dad's dog).  Things have been nutty in our household so now it seems like that was eons ago.

True to the past trend, I have lots of pictures to share.  I tried to condense them as much as possible so I could give you all the recap of the last few weeks.

We'll start off with the trip to the lake to drop off little miss Smaug (Sophie).  We could tell she was SUPER excited about going home because she whimpered the moment we got in the car, and freaked out when we got close to the lake.

Sophie was so excited she, thought she could drive the car.  I love these shots of the pups. Those little faces!

We finally arrived at the lake and hurriedly checked out the new things happening around there.  It had been several weeks since we visited so there was lots to see.  

I'd like to introduce you all to "Schmidty."  You might remember a post from January where we talked about an old trailer.  When you combine that rusty, but sturdy, trailer with redneck wit, a little engineering, and my family, you get what we call, Schmidty.  Schmidty is basically a portable potty on a trailer.  It hooks up directly with water and the septic tank to make a pretty nice mobile bathroom!  In these photos is it not yet complete, but I'm sure I will have some final pictures for you soon.  

Top Left, Right and Bottom Left:  Schmidty pictures!  For a redneck porta-can, Dad has this thing looking pretty nice!

Bottom Right: Mom, Dad, and Uncle Tony even had work done on the bridge to make it a little wider.

Then, we moved to Uncle Tony's house to check out his new chickens.  They are a pretty exciting addition to the lake environment and made Sophie and Abby go crazy.  Abby sat starring at the chickens for almost a full hour and Sophie managed to rub her face in chicken poop.  Mom did not find that very cute.

Chicken mayhem.

After things settled down, Jordan and Dad got some work done on Schmidty.  Every outhouse should have a real potty and nice linoleum, right?

Various pictures of the Schmidty floor.  I'm so excited to see it when it's done!

Later that week, I met up with Jenn and she gave me a little birthday present!  She gave me a "CorkPops" wine opener!  Basically it is a tiny CO2 cartridge that aids in opening wine.  The cork practically ejects out of the bottle really fast with this thing.  It is a fun and exciting gift that I'm sure we will have fun using!

Thank you for the birthday present Jenn! :o)

The last couple of months Jordan and I have been discussing the idea of getting a new car.  In March, we had the serpentine belt fiasco of 2014 and that became one more thing to add to the list of reasons why we might need a new car.  

Last Saturday Jordan and I decided to do some car shopping.  Well, that little impromptu shopping turned into a buying trip.  We ended up test driving several different vehicles that day and weighed the pros and cons of small/mid size SUVs.  We found a charcoal Saab that both Jordan and I really liked.  It is a V6 with all wheel drive, leather seats, and fancy features like a sun roof.  To be honest, the sun roof didn't appeal to me much, but I have to say, it was a pretty smooth ride.  After several hours of negotiating, we ended up buying it!  Folks, I do NOT spend money very easily, so it was a stressful afternoon for me.  At the end of the day we both walked out of there feeling like we got a pretty fair deal.  They gave us more than KBB value for the Alero, we negotiated for 4 new tires on the Saab, and we came in under our intended budget.  

Here are a few pictures of the new ride.

Top: Profile view of this charcoal beauty.

Bottom Left: Fancy grill

Bottom Right: Interior

Of course, all this meant that I would have to turn in my Alero.  I love that little car and we've been through a lot together.  The Alero, aka "June," was my car through college graduation, living on my own, getting married, and buying a house.  The Alero used to belong to my Dad and somehow that fact always made me feel a little safer in the Alero.  As irrational as that thought may be, I think that's why I was very sad to see it go.  Because the dealer needed a day to put the new tires on the Saab, I had the Alero for an extra night which was nice.  I think Jordan thought I was nuts when I got emotional about a 2001 Alero.  Still, I'm sure the Alero will be a great little car for someone and I hope they'll cherish it like we have!

Top Left: Last night for the Alero parked in our garage!

Top Right: Alero console

Bottom Left and Right: Alero seats warn from so much sitting.  The leather has started to rip in two places.

The timing of the car worked out pretty well because my birthday was just around the corner.  We've been taking Abby on short rides just so we can drive the Saab.  With all the r-i-d-e-s and rabbits in the backyard, Abby has had a pretty exiting week.

We actually have a small nestof wabbits in our back yard behind our shed.  I suppose they are teenage wabbits now because they are super fluffy but big enough to escape on their own.

Abby just couldn't fight her instinct and got herself stuck behind the shed in pursuit of the wabbits.

Pictures of Abby's little hunt.  On the left, she got her self stuck and had to work her way out of it.

This weekend, Abby has a little hunting partner because we have some friends in town to visit!  Our friends, Laura and Clayton brought their dog, Dexter, to visit.  Dexter and I had some good snuggle time, but Abby was a little jealous.  After being around Sophie, I think Abby has picked up on some aggressive behaviors.  Still, they managed to get along okay.

Top Pictures: Dexter and me.

Bottom:  Dexter and Abby tolerating each other with a minimum of a 4 feet between them.

This weekend I am enjoying some flowers Jordan bought me for my birthday!  This is a gorgeous bouquet that has lasted several days and still looks beautiful!  Thursday my work friends made treats for my birthday and Friday, Jenn came out to lunch with Jordan and I.  It was a great birthday and a lovely weekend so far!

Hope you all are having a great week!