The Day the Zoo Was a Zoo.

In the winter, the Hogle Zoo offers a free-day once a month.

I took the kids once, a few years ago.  It was miserable, and packed with people.  But you know me, I never learn.  This time, in fact, I decided to share the misery.

I called my sister, parents, and brother; and invited them along!

Parking was non-existent.  I ended up finding a space about three-quarters of a mile away, UP the canyon.

It was standing-room-only at the zoo that day.  Maneuvering the stroller was difficult.

But the kids were able to see some animals.  And the weather was nice.

 When Cohen had the phone, he took a lot of pictures of his feet:

 My Mom was pretty good sport about all of the hiking.

 I don't know what I'll do when Cohen isn't content to chill in the stroller anymore?!

We ended up exiting the Zoo at the upper gate, so that we were closer to our car.  My brother was merciful, and walked with my girls.  I pushed Cohen, in the stroller.  About halfway up the hill, the girls took a detour, and decided to play.  Brian stayed with them.  That left me, to continue pushing the stroller.  By the time I made it to my car I was sweaty and gross.  I figured that two workouts in one day aren't a bad thing.

We ended up going to City Creek.  And we met my Dad for dinner.  The kids played some more, on the dinosaur playground.
It was a total "kid" day.

Nick Grows Up. (A Little Bit).

When Nick bought the Mini Cooper, in 2009 I thought it was a fun car.  For about 1 week.  I didn't like driving it.  It was too low to the ground, and there were too many blind-spots for my taste.

He put a lot of money in to a car that our family outgrew a year after it was purchased.  But I (mostly) bit my tongue, when it came to the modifications of the Mini.  It wasn't all bad.  It got me a vacation to California, when Nick took it to Irvine to have it "tuned" by a specialist.  And Nick spent a lot of quality time with his Dad, working on the Mini.

But about 6 months ago, I really started to loathe that automobile.  My MDX was getting more than it's fair share of wear and tear.  It was racking up the miles, because it was our primary vehicle.  Sometimes we'd take the truck places, but it always costs a small fortune in gas to do that.

And there sat the Mini.  In the 5 years that we owned it Nick only put 30,000 miles on it.

He couldn't drive it in the snow.

He couldn't drive it on family outings.

I wanted it gone.

When I was 21, I sold my Mitsubishi Eclipse to a 17 year old girl.  When she came to test-drive it she couldn't even shift it in to first gear.  Her Dad ended up doing the test-drive.

I was surprised when she said she wanted to buy it.  Considering that she couldn't drive a 5-speed?  She offered me asking price.  Sold.

I was only a partially-stupid 21 year old.  I typed up my own bill of sale, and had it notarized when the deal was done.

I met 17 year old girl, and parents; and a Wells Fargo bank.  It's where she was doing the financing for the car.  It was a Saturday, and they told me that the loan officer didn't work Saturdays.  That the check for my car was in a locked drawer in her desk, and that they'd mail it to the financial institution where my car loan was, to pay it off, first thing Monday.

OK. 

17 year old girl took the car, and I got a ride home with my Mom.  Two weeks later... I received a phone call from 17 year old girl's father.  He said that the transmission had dropped out of the Eclipse, and that the bank had accidentally mailed the check to their house, instead of sending it to my bank.  Essentially, he was threatening to hold the check ransom, until I paid to have the transmission fixed.

Yeah.  Not going to happen.

I paid a lawyer $50 for a consultation, and he told me that: since I had the bill of sale; and since the damage had occurred while in her possession- 17 year old girl, and parents; didn't have a legal leg to stand on.

I wrote a letter to 17 year old, and explained what the lawyer had told me.  17 year old refused to sign for the letter.  So, I hand-delivered it to her house (that was nerve-wracking!).

Still no response.

I sent the same letter to the Wells Fargo; and guess what?!  It got the ball rolling.

The were profusely apologetic.  They cut a new check, and made sure to include extra funds to cover the interest that had accrued.

Even thought the situation worked out in my favor, I vowed to never again sell a car by owner. I wanted to avoid all hassle, and after that I always did a trade-in.

Nick and I had many a "discussion" during the month of February, about what to do with the Mini cooper.  He wanted to sell it on KSL.  I didn't.

He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his brother, Nate; and Dad: and buy an Acura TL from out-of-state; since they were more affordable in other states.

We bought the Mini off of eBay motors.  So, I wasn't scared of doing it again.

But I was dead-set against selling the Mini on our own.

I know I was making Nick crazy.  Like usual.

But I wasn't going to budge, when it came to what to do with the Mini Cooper.

At one point, it seemed that we had reached a stalemate.  But the thought of the Mini continuing to sit in our garage, depreciating in value- daily, and paying the insurance on it.... put me over the edge!  I told Nick to get rid of it.  The end.

As I mentioned, Nick really wanted an Acural TL.  But he test drove a newer body style, and there wasn't enough head-room for him.  I have no idea how he fits in a Mini Cooper, but not an Acura TL?!

Anyway, he ended up driving an Acura TSX (smaller version of the TL), and he fit in it, just fine.  Where's the logic here?!

There were two TSX's at dealerships near our house.  Nick ended up buying one from a surprisingly classy dealership in Roy, UT.

Bye Bye, Mini Cooper:

 Hello, Acura TSX:

I am so pleased to have a car that fits our entire family.  It gets better gas mileage than the mini cooper!  And has the technology package, which is pretty cool.

I asked Nick if he was sad about getting rid of his Mini.  And he surprised me when he said, "No".  He said it's about time he grew up.

Now, if I could just get him to have the same attitude when it comes to his juvenile t-shirts.  Ha!