Visit with Friends

Well, after a brief hiatus from blogging, I'm finally getting around to uploading pictures on to the computer and thought I'd share a few with you, as well as providing some updates on life in the Downer household.

Last weekend, we took a mini-roadtrip up to Northern Virginia to visit some friends--Dan and Kate Bredbenner and their two sweet kiddos, Corban and Eva. We had a great time visiting, catching up, and playing in a park. It's a nice treat to be so close to them!

I realize it's another picture of Brennan swinging, but this kid is a swinging maniac! He absolutely loves the swing and this picture finally captured the joy that he expresses when he gets to swing.

Some closely supervised tire swinging with Eva

The Bredbenners--Dan, Kate, Corban (age 5), and Eva (age 2)

The road trip was made more fun by the fact that we had just bought a new car the day before. Now, the car we traded in was my 1998 Mazda Protege. I bought it back in 2001 and enjoyed my car until recently. The "check engine" light turned on in 2004 and no mechanic was able to definitively tell us what was wrong with it. It continued to run fine, so we weren't worried. About a year ago, it began having problems. And then more problems. Finally, we took it to a Mazda dealer where we faced the unfortunate reality that this car was on its last leg. Repairs would cost WAY more that what it was worth. Let the car shopping begin! We settled on a 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe and love it. There was a slight twinge when we traded in the Mazda, knowing what kind of condition it was in and feeling slightly bad about how much they gave us in the trade in value, but that disappeared after about an hour. Gotta love getting a new car!

John took his vacation to visit his family last month, and I get my vacation this month. Brennan and I leave in a week to head out to Phoenix to visit my parents. I'm excited for vacation, but definitely dreading traveling solo with Brennan on my lap on the plane. Prayers would be appreciated!