I found myself driving by car dealers that weren't on the way home

I have an obsession with the Camaro...My grandfather purchased a 350/350 2bbl Daytona Yellow Camaro in 1970. Grandma lost a bet that she could stay on her diet, she took one lick of a lolly pop while at Lagoon with the family and bam, grandpa came home in a yellow rocket. When I was very young I went in grandpa's garage and saw it there. It was tired, it had been wrecked and fixed multiple times, panels were rusting, someone had tried their hand at fiberglass rust repair. Every time we went to grandpa's house from then on out I would sneak out and look at the car. Someone had taken the air cleaner off and parts lay about under the hood. Sometime in my teens I found the manual in the garage and began placing a couple parts on here and there. small insignificant parts like hooking back up the vacuum hoses, putting the distributor cap back on etc. Mostly just dreaming. I was in high school and I took an advanced automotive class that required rebuilding an engine. It was really nostalgic as my father had taken a night class years before and rebuilt his Mustang 289 in the same shop. My dad did some networking. At that time grandpa's Camaro had been traded to Ross for some work he had done on grandpa's other car. The car was still in the garage and my father bartered and traded some toolboxes from his S-10 truck and acquired the car. My friend Danny helped me tow the car from grandpas house to the school. We fired it up just to see if it would, it fired up and smelled like varnish but it was alive! It spent the next 6 months in the shop as we rebuilt the engine and worked on massaging it back to life. I drove the car for about a year and enjoyed every minute! But the reality was the car had spent too many years rotting. I hadn't had the money to do a full restoration but I began anyway. We tore it all the way down. It is still torn down but the front suspension was all rebuilt, we rebuild the engine and transmission the correct way and it was time for replacing the quarter panels. I purchased a '71 for parts but then got greedy and was going to build both. <> I was working two jobs, going to school, having fun, etc. No money for the car and not much time either. One of the conditions when we got married and we sorted out our debts and assets was the '71 had to go. The guy that got it got a steel! Jen and I married and a couple months later I bought a car without "permission". It was the first real big blow up of our marriage. I came across a rare gem of a 1984 Camaro with CrossFire injection. The engine had been swapped out for a 350 and the car was wicked fast. It was only $100!!! How could I not buy it for that cheap? It was Blue with T-Tops. It needed a lot of work but I drove it for a while and then sold it to my very good friend Jeff who still has it today. I didn't want to let it go but it had to or I was going to have to sleep in it ;)  About six months later I came across a '70 that was in good enough condition it could be a daily driver with a quick engine and trans rebuild. Jen agreed if I sold my truck we could get it. So I sold my favorite truck of all time to satisfy my obsession. I was on a real tight budget but managed to rebuild it for very little investment and had a daily driver. It wasn't perfect but I was driving it. Over the next number of years it got tired and I made small attempts to keep it going but it was in desperate need of a full overhaul. It got parked and when we moved to Washington I made a commitment to make real progress on it. To date it has a new Heidts front suspension and subframe, I have reworked the firewall and am fabricating a lot of parts. I just received the rear suspension and I am making good progress. A couple more years and this will be an amazing machine.

 Over the same years I had another obsession. I wanted to purchase a brand new Camaro like grandpa had done. In 1998 I went to the dealer and we filled out all the paperwork for a silver cloud Z28 with deletes on all the power windows, leather, etc. It would be the closest to a COPO Camaro as you could get. It would be a very rare car(had it actually been purchased) I worked out the payments and the finance guy at the dealer was nice enough to have me call the insurance company first and find out what it would cost to insure a 17yr old with a new z28. I was devastated....It was going to cost $550/month to insure. I couldn't afford anything like that, what a contrast from my $67 for the '79 Olds. That was the last year you could delete options like that. When we got married the dealer I worked for had a black Z28 on the lot. As an employee they were willing to give me an incredible deal. I took Jen for a ride, we had only been married for four days. We loved the car, Jen was concerned that it wasn't a practical car for starting a family....A couple months later her Honda was blowing up, the trans was ready to drop out of it. We needed to trade it in now or we were going to be stuck. We figured if we took it to one of those big tent sales they might not look as hard at the car and we'd get more for trade in. We were right. We looked at a bunch of cars that day. One was a Z28, I called the insurance and it would be 280 a month to insure. Jen said nope! We kept looking and ended up with a car that I actually liked, not loved...a 2000 Pontiac Grand Am. We didn't even call on the insurance because of course it would be cheaper to insure a four door family car right? We got home and found out it was $330/month!!!! In 2001 there were rumors the Camaro was going away, I wrote General Motors and got a reply to my surprise, they said the Camaro wasn't going away and I was glad. I planned on buying it in a couple years when we got things in order. In 2002 their lie became clear, no more Camaro. We looked at a couple left at the dealer but we flat out couldn't afford it at that moment. My dream was gone...Then in 2006 a concept car put the dead muscle car market on notice. The Camaro was a hit, so much so GM scrambled the boys down under and used the Zeta platform to build it. 2010 came around, I went to the dealer and asked to drive one. They basically said piss off...Not a chance...Nope...Buy it first, then drive it??????!!! It didn't matter what dealer I went to. They wouldn't even talk to you until you forked over the cash. To top it off they were adding 10k to the sticker price and people were paying it!! I was too focused on my career and being ready to move at a moments notice so I decided to wait until we moved. When we moved to Washington the Honda Civic we were driving was tired and needed to be replaced. I wanted a Camaro but their was talk of the Z28 coming and I didn't want to buy anything else. We needed a car that was big enough to cart family around when they visited. Unknown to us we were going to need a car big enough for the TWINS!!! We bought a Pontiac G8, they were cheap after the collapse of Pontiac because people were worried there wouldn't be parts or warranty. GM still honored the warranty and Holden still made parts. So we got a steal! The G8 is a zeta platform Holden Commodore VE made in Australia. When Pontiac was drowning they made a last ditch effort to survive by importing the Holdens and slapping a different bumper on them. It is essentially a four door Camaro when you look at the engine and chassis, at least that's how I justified it in my mind. Then the ZL1 came out. It was going to be the Z28 but they changed their mind last minute and kept the name for a future release. I loved the ZL1 but couldn't afford it, especially with the twins being born the year it came out. I found myself driving by chevy dealers that weren't on the way home. I know everything there is to know about the car, option codes, gear ratios, performance specs etc. I would talk to salesman and they would try and blow smoke and I would correct them. I would explain which parts I wanted and they would tell me they didn't have that. I left a lot of dealers annoyed. About a month ago I took Jen and we went to the dealer. We drove two cars a 1LE and a ZL1. The ZL1 is a sick car, as I pushed the go pedal down getting on the freeway I thought this isn't that fast. Then I looked down and saw I was going 120mph!!! The car was incredible, suede leather on everything, Magnetorheological struts, supercharged 580 hp!! I was in love. There was a Blue Ray Metallic ZL1 at another dealer that I wanted. Production with that color was only 176. It would be a collector car in 20 yrs. The reality hit when we worked out the payments. I just couldn't afford a $63k car...I was heartbroken. While I had done better for myself in earning, the world had gotten more expensive around me and I flat out couldn't afford it. The new model 2014 had changes that made the car look terrible, I hate it. The 2013 Camaros were selling fast, the Blue Ray 2SS 1LE that was second on my list sold a couple weeks later. Then I stumbled on a car at a dealer that stood out. The price was better than any I had seen. It was a stripped down race car, as close to the COPO cars of 69. As a 1SS it had no leather, no heads up display, no CD player etc. The only Options it had was the RS and 1LE making it more affordable and the 1LE made it something I would like. The 1LE option got all the goodies from the ZL1 except the magnetic ride and the supercharger. It has lower gears, heavy duty close ration trans, electric power steering, big brakes, big wheels and tires, I mean BIG.  White was the second lowest on my list but when we drove by and I saw it in person it grabbed me. I got out and looked at it and I knew. I got back in the car with Jen and told her to go look. She normally would have said no but she went and checked it out. I asked her what she thought. She said "I'm not saying no" I asked if that was a yes, she said no, she just wasn't saying no...Done, I went in and bought it. The salespeople were nice but didn't have a clue about this car.

 Click on this link to read about the car
http://www.chevroletperformance.com/vehicles/2013-camaro-1le/

Needless to say my dream has come true, I pinch myself everyday. I love this car and someday a grandchild of mine will take the keys and continue the dream.

Thank you Jen, I love you

Thank you Grandpa for the dream

I Preminisced No Return of the Salad Days

Our summer was filled with picnics, playing at the park, visiting family in Utah, enjoying a loud July fourth, surviving mommy's gall bladder surgery, sweeping the porch, screaming every time our parents went outside without us, getting to have Grammie live with us for a whole month, reading books, pulling off couch cushions, climbing endless furniture, drawing with crayons, and visiting Daddy for lunch. Summer days are just about gone. It's officially fall and with that comes the rain and cloud cover. We really don't understand the weather change and we'll have several meltdowns once we realize rainy days means outside will be severely limited. Until then, each time it's sunny, Mommy will get the hare-brained idea to go on a picnic and we don't mind that one bit.

 

 
*mommy's note: Yes, I finally finished Winter angel! I took pictures of my summer two years ago (before babies were on the scene; even remotely thought of as possible in our family) and she was only about halfway done. Next angel up is Autumn angel and what a wonderful time of year to get started on her!

Chillin' with My Twins

This is an older picture saved on my phone. Laith was in tears every time I put the hat on him until in sad frustration of trying to make a little event fun, I slid it on his head backwards. The tears stopped and he ran around the house playing. He looks so much like his daddy working away on cars, the yard, going fishing - any time he wears a ball cap.

About a month ago, I heard a bunch of pushing & shoving and I peered over my desk to see the twins trying to determine whose turn it was on the truck. Somehow they squished themselves both on it and I pushed them around the kitchen in circles. It later ended with Laith pushing Vivienne off, then her pushing him out of the way for her to take a turn in front.  We spun a few more circles much to their delight.

Vivienne loves Sesame Street. I caught her one time laying on her tummy, feet kicking in the air, singing along to the songs. Well, sort of, kind of singing. She lets out a small 'aaahing' noise that she inflects with rhythm and the occasional uptick in loudness. Her all time favorite episode is Build a Better Basket. Little Red Riding Hood comes to the street to get her basket of goodies for grandma and sings a rendition of a Kelly Clarkson song, which Vivienne bounces away to. She's graduated into swinging her arms back and forth, as well as stepping side to side on slower parts of the song. I think we have a future dancer growing up in our living room.

While I was making dinner a couple weeks back, Laith got one of the many kitchen utensils I've handed over to him stuck on the dining table. He loves to pretend to help me while I cook and was at a loss that I couldn't come to help. He quickly figured a way, rolling over his sister's shopping cart, tipping it over with a loud bump, then clambering atop it to grab his ladle. The smile on his face shined with pride at a job well done. My time of having 'high up' has ended.

Not long after this event, I had a strange chest pain accompanied with dizziness. I was pretty sure it was my continuing gall bladder pain yet the pain was weird enough combined with the dizziness to force me to instacare. The doc there didn't like my symptoms and sent me to the ER, worried I could have a blood clot. The ER had the equipment to order up x-rays and ultrasounds, and low and behold, I had gall stones. Exactly what I had tried to tell my family doctor in July but had been waved off as just acid reflux. My pain and dizziness was all from one stone that had decided the party was over and was trying to leave the building. He had gotten stuck and I ended up in emergency surgery as the complications of an infected gall bladder were too scary (the gall bladder lives by your liver, pancreas, stomach, and so on). My mom dropped everything and flew out to stay with me the required four weeks I'd need to recover. It's been two weeks now and I feel much better but I'm still not allowed to lift over 20 pounds. This creates a huge dilemma, as Laith, in the blue corner, weighs in at 29 lbs and Vivienne, in the red corner, weighs in at 26 lbs. It has been hard giving hugs, wiping away the ouchies, trying to read books, without just grabbing those cute babies and whirling them high in the air. Grammie has done a wonderful job and has worked herself into their trust and love. Although it isn't exactly the circumstances I would like, it's been great seeing them get to know their Grammie.

A Week of Firsts

Every day my twins amaze me yet this week has been amazement beyond belief.  This week Vivienne was taking a turn 'riding' the truck when Laith came over and sat behind her. We took a couple laps around the kitchen then a few pictures. Vivienne fell off during the photos. I set her back on behind her brother and stepped back to see two huge grins plastered on two small faces

This week we also pulled out the crayons and the first of many masterpieces adorns our fridge. Laith took long arching sweeps with his crayons. Vivienne gave pointed little jabs with hers. A scene was made when the crayons were put away but the pride on those two faces when I attached their picture to the fridge quickly washed away their tears.

Tonight, while I finished changing Vivienne for the night, Laith grabbed his dirty diaper and held it expectantly. When I stood to clean up dirty day clothes and Vivienne's diaper, he was already to the diaper genie waiting expectantly again, holding his diaper over the pail. His grin of satisfaction after chucking his own dirty diaper into the pail melted my heart. My thank yous weren't loud enough and my smothering of kisses didn't do the job well done justice.

We also started a new bedtime routine of straight to bed when bedtime milk is finished. This is especially hard for me. I sit on the couch with tears in my own eyes as I listen to my babies wail the depths of despair to the world. It's difficult to stay on the couch but somehow I do it. Once the tears are done and the room has gone quiet, I tiptoe in and adjust your blankets and give one last good night kiss. You'll never know this part...not until you're older and one day decide to maybe read Mommy's blog journal...you both are loved more than any two parents could love their twins.

The Fourth, the Box and the Street Vacation

Fourth of July was celebrated with outfits and a mini barbeque. The twins aren't interested in fireworks, don't much like anything freezing cold which includes homemade ice cream, and find the grass to be scary to walk on so badminton was out too. Next year, I'm sure they'll eat too much homemade ice cream, which will wind them up for hours to keep them interested in the pretty booming colors late into the night, and the itchy scariness of grass will have long been forgotten.

 

 

Boxes are interesting for only small windows of time. Until recently, they were great for rubbing your hand along and creating a screeching skin scraping sound. This box has lived a much longer life. Daddy had the great idea of setting Laith inside and pushing him around the couch in fast circles. Vivienne then had her turn. The box became a hat today, great for playing hide-n-seek.

 

With a bad bout of cabin fever, we started hunting for new places to discover and decided on Olympia. We've been here before yet haven't truly checked it out. Plus everything else cool within an hour and a half radius from our home we've done. Our original destination was Priest Point Park. I must've misread the information, as I thought the parking lot went right to the water and the beaches had boardwalk trails we could easily walk along. We braved the dirt trails with the stroller and found the beach to be littered with broken shells. We found the best spot we could, laid down some blankets and had a quick ham & cheese lunch for the twins. You can see the top of the Capitol's cupola here yet the air is thick and causes a lot of 'picture pollution'. Bryan didn't take any pictures on the beach. He was trying to be nice to me, since I was stressing about the broken shelled beach and late lunch.  I was trying to be nice to him, and kept telling him to go ahead and take pictures. We compromised and took no pictures and left the beach. We searched for burger joints for our lunch and decided to try Herfy's. We had sweet potato fries and deep fried battered mushrooms, along with our hamburgers. Next, I knew it was finally time to try and change a couple diapers. The hunt was on for a good location. First we tried the Japanese gardens which did not look inviting whatsoever as it shared the parking lot with the justice center. Next we tried the park across from a really neat building, to find the park now filled with hippys waiting for the next Greyhound bus. By this point, the twins were asleep. We drove around downtown Olympia, found a hidden state park drive, and started searching for a spot to take a picture of a bridge that crosses the freeway. On our search, we came upon Deschutes Way, which is a beautiful drive along Capitol lake and has a beautiful view of the Capitol. We stopped on this road and Bryan set up for pictures while I changed diapers. Next we drove around the Capitol grounds, and found yet another beautiful view of Puget Sound for Bryan to capture. Last, we tried to find what we thought was the Schmidt house, to realize this was a different locale that wasn't labeled on Google maps. On our way home, I noticed a park under the freeway that would allow us to take pictures of the bridge. Woulda, shoulda, coulda turned around, but we'll get that on the next cabin feverish weekend. We also went into the local Cabela's for a looksie, which entailed an argument over how the roundabouts worked and neither one of us was right; at least according to the other person. Inside Cabela's, we were shocked how many liberal thinkers were inside, whining about the stuffed animals on display. Why in the world were they inside Cabela's? Another family commented how they didn't like hunters but were checking out all the hunting gear in the Bargain Cave. Huh?! Our trip home was filled with adventure too. When we joined the I-5 to head back to Vancouver, we saw a unique vehicle. Curiosity got the better of us and Bryan zoomed up for me to read Tesla on the back. Teslas are electric only cars. There is no fuel back up in case you drain your battery. We tandemed the entire way back to Vancouver, the Tesla leading for the first half hour or so, then letting us pass and following us the rest of the way. Just past Kalama, Bryan had enough of the traffic, and suddenly jumped to the far right and zoomed away. The next thing we knew, the Tesla was weaving through traffic to catch up. It's rare to find another driver that shares your same love of vehicles and the road. We parted at the I5-I205 branch and as Bryan lifted his hand to 'sign off', the Tesla zoomed past waving. It was a wonderful way to wind up our street vacation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a Few of My Favorite Things

For many years into the future, when I've forgotten all about these moments, I'll read back through our blog journal and say "That's right, you did do that!"


At birthday time, Laith loved playing with the rings you use to attach toys to baby carriers.  He'd carry them everywhere and used them to place inside the puzzle tray and the singing basket.  He graduated to playing with the old VCR remote and would slide this toy in-n-out of the singing basket, on top of the puzzle tray, under blankets, over the couch, and so on.  During our family vacation, I bought him a sand grabbing toy and his love for sliding the remote changed to the red Cars grabber.

Vivienne isn't attached to a toy...at least not yet.  Her favorite current pastime is to grab one of each and then walk around the house making up sing-songy jabber.  She'll grab one blue lego and one yellow lego, or Laith's blanky and her blanky, or one purple ring and one blue ring, or a red block and a yellow triangle.  It really doesn't matter what, as long as it has a 'pair'.

Whenever I'm using the guest restroom, whether for brushing my hair, applying mascara, cleaning or using the facility, I will hear Laith's feet come boom-boom-boom over, where he stops mid-race in the middle of the hall and gives me a ginormous grin.

Laith loves to mm-mmm while he eats and gets really into it when it's something he absolutely loves, like watermelon.

If the fridge is opened, Laith rushes over to grab out the dressing kept in the bottom shelf.  This is quite a feat, as we have a French door fridge right now.  Vivienne tries but isn't quite tall enough yet.  She loves to push the dishwasher shut every time I open it.  She's OCD about it...to the point I've started rinsing all the dishes and then corral her away from the washer while I load it.

Laith is a stupendous helper.  He helps lift the garbage every time he comes upon a garbage can.  He tries to lift the bag of dirty diapers when I empty the diaper genie.  He will touch the vacuum as I push it around and will carry the broom to me if I set it against a wall.  Last week, while I was dusting, he picked up a plastic teaspoon and walked behind me touching the walls with it.

After an outing, Daddy helped Vivienne out of the car and was walking beside her up the driveway.  She paused to check out the G8's front bumper and as Daddy went to grab her hand to encourage her along, she whipped out the other hand and grabbed a bug off the bumper and promptly stuck it in her mouth.  Ick!!

The quiet mesmerized looks both of you have when the Indian-style song comes on for the number 19 on Sesame Street.

Laith recently learned how to walk backwards.  One time, Daddy started beeping while he did this and now, on occasion, when we "Beep-Beep-Beep-Beep" in high-pitched voices, Laith will back up on command.

How concerned you both are about the other when s/he is crying

Vivienne started shaking her head quite a while back, loving the feel of her hair against her neck.  Daddy started singing "No Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" and shaking his head when she'd do this.  Now when he says those words, she'll smile and shake her head.

All time favorite shows: Sesame Street, A Bug's Life and most recently added to the list, Monsters Inc.  I'm glad we're finally branching out.

Vivienne usually lets out a generous burp after finishing her bedtime milk and one night after a nice big one, Laith let out a giggle.

Shoes are happiness in our home.  I don't have to fight either one of you to get shoes on.  You joyously come over, plop your bum in my lap and lift up your left foot ready to put on shoe number one.

Laith loves to have books read to him.  He'll bring one over to me when I'm working and smiles sweetly as I read it to him.  Then he'll grab it from me about halfway through and walk off.  If I'm not working, he'll sit in my lap and let me tell him a little more of the story to just grab the book, stand up and walk off.  Vivienne also loves to be read to.  She prefers to sit to my side so she can look at the book and turn her head to look at me as I read it.  It's cute watching the wheels in her head turn as she puts my reading the words out of the book together.  My most favorite part of story time is when one twin is in my lap and then the other comes over and smooshes their bum right on top of the other twin.


Vivienne loves to play peek-a-boo in the car.  When I'm sitting shot gun, I'll turn in my chair to look at her and she'll bust out in giggles, eyes alight with laughter.  Laith gets in on the action too, just not quite as exuberant.  He prefers playing peek-a-boo at home.  I'll drape a blanket over him, as though he's a ghost, and say "Where's Laith?  Where did Laith go?"  He'll pull the blanket over his head and give me a huge grin as I shout "There he is!!"  He's even started to wait longer in anticipation of how much more excited I am when he finally reappears.

My most favorite thing?  Vivienne loves to give hugs.  Most times I pick her up, she lays her head on my right shoulder and snugs right in.  I rub her back and tell her how much I love my precious Vivienne.  And Laith will give me kisses when I ask.  He'll pucker up, lips open wide and let me give him a big mwah!

Spring Trickled into Summer

 

These two pictures I took before Laith got his haircut, so timeline-wise, this is before his birthday but after the rain stopped. We were waiting in the car for Dad to bring out the Chinese that would be our dinner and Laith lost it with a complete meltdown.  I let him out of his car seat and climb into the driver's seat.  He immediately pulled himself up to the steering wheel and started looking around with his little hands gripping the wheel tight.  Maybe he'll be a race car driver one day...at least I know Dad would really enjoy that.

Right around the twins' birthday, the sun came out for a long spell in the spring.  We enjoyed the small window of spring sunshine with a tea party.  Since that time, it rained nonstop for three weeks and then we left on vacation for Utah.  One week later it was still raining.  It finally stopped about a week ago.  Now that the rain has stopped, the temps have hit the low-mid 90s.  Not really hot, but the humidity makes it yucky.

We tried to take some family pictures again for a project Bryan's sister was trying to work on but we failed miserably.  The twins absolutely didn't want their picture taken.  Here are the best of the shots.  The rest that I didn't include show flailing arms and blurs.

We also went on a family vacation to Utah in June.  The only pictures we took were a couple on the way there and a couple on the way back.  Oops...we need to get better at remembering to take pictures as my memory bank is getting foggy quickly.

This is the Bridge of the Gods.  On a whim, we decided to cross the river here, instead of the normal I-205 bridge. We've been across this bridge a few times now yet it always gives me the creeps.  It has metal grates that you can see right through to the river below.  I'm always afraid the guard rails will disappear and we'll slide right off.  The Washington side of the river is prettier but a much slower drive as it's just a one lane highway.  We also stopped and got some pictures at Bonneville Dam. Later we learned our whim was a great choice as the interstate was plugged with rush hour traffic which was worsened by road work.

Then last weekend I decided we should finally stain our brick.  We kept the twins in a pack-n-play since we were out front. While staining the last block of brick we heard a large ker-fluffle and then an ear-piercing scream followed by crocodile tears.  We rushed over the 5 steps away we were from the twins to find Laith crying his heart out while Vivienne looked on with innocence.  On Laith's arms were teeth indentations.  Yes, our children had a fight of epic proportions and in the flay, our sweet little Vivienne pulled out the big guns.  Yesterday, Laith gave Vivienne's arm a giant bite.  I guess revenge is sweet even at just a year old.

 

These last couple shots are projects I've been working on.  The first is the back to my jean blanket.  I've finished the entire back but I took a picture of one square and text it to Bryan to make sure what I did had his stamp of approval too.  My points didn't turn out perfect even though I spent eons of time pressing and pinning and measuring.  I'm glad I did though, as without all that effort, the points wouldn't have matched even close.  My first attempt at quilt piecing didn't turn out too horrible.

  

I also decided I needed to be a little more festive and made a patriotic door display. My original goal was to include 'firework bursts' with the pinwheels.  I had repinned a pinterest find from a friend on how to make the firework burst, but I had no luck.  I couldn't get the suckers to stay taped shut as I pulled them around to make a complete circle.  They'd pop apart every time.  After several attempts and massive frustration I completely gave up on the bursts.  But to tell the truth, I actually really like the display with just the pinwheels.