We have a '00 Nissan Xterra that we purchased brand new in November of 1999. We have taken this SUV to Clovis, NM numerous times, commuted daily from Thornton to Downtown Denver for several years, then commuted from Broomfield to Longmont for a few years and finally it is losing it's faithful title of being reliable. Mind you, this is 175K later!
My kids and I were invited to lunch with my ex-boss, Jenn, from Home Depot. She lives in Berthoud and is currently attending school at Front Range in Longmont where she is hoping to be EMT certified through their program. So, we decide to meet at TGIF's in Longmont after her class. We have a great lunch, great conversation and lots of laughs.
I decide while I'm up here why not make a pit stop at my best friend Jolene's house for a quick surprise visit? But to my surprise she is not home (which is unlike her) and when I leave, my car starts to run HOT!!! I open all the windows and blast the heater hoping that will help and pull into a nearby King Soopers. I pop the hood and immediately there is smoke. I immediatly check my coolant which is close to being empty. I round up the kids and call Lee to explain my delemna all while I'm circling the aisles desperately searching for coolant. As I'm pouring coolant in, with a Red Robin kid's cup, several people stop to ask if I need any help (I'm shocked that people still do that!). I look like a wreck! My face feels like it's melting off of me, I'm wearing a BLACK tiny tee shirt that I swear is absorbing 100 degree heat, my hair is a mangled mess from flicking it out of my way while I struggle with the coolant and from the wind flopping it around like a wind sock due to ALL the windows being down. BUT my eyelashes are still in tact so being the mascara b@t#h that I am, my spirits are still slightly up (Remember, my heater is still full blast on this beautiful 75 degree day!)
Lee convinces me I'll be fine if I take it slow and keep the heater running. So, I gather everyone back into the car and cautiously drive down 17th to County Rd 1 taking the back roads home because I-25 is undergoing construction, again, from Firestone to the end of Frederick and the shoulders are closed. About a mile and a half south of Hwy 119, my car starts clicking and sputtering like I'm running out of gas. I FREAK out and immediatly pull over. Luckily, about a block up (in the middle of farms and open nothingness), is a State Trooper that has someone pulled over. I get out of my car and walk towards him for help. He doesn't offer me much but directs me to a fire station which I passed about 5 minutes down the road. I get back into my car, flip a U-turn and pull into the fire station. I am immediatly greeted by 5 of the nicest men you will ever meet. They offer the kids soda, show them the fire truck and let them sit in it with a fire coat and hat on. Meanwhile, I am frantically calling roadside assistance and my friend Shannon, whom I am FOREVER indebted to, to make arrangements to have the car towed and for her to come pick me, my two kids, and my neice up from the station. I'm sitting there forcing a smile for the kids so they don't worry. The fire fighters are all outside looking under the hood. I see them come in and out with water and tools. Not even 15 minutes later, they come in and inform me I had a loose clamp and it was causing the coolant to leak and my radiator to overheat. They fix the clamp, flush my radiator, added more coolant and let it run for a few minutes. They call me out and showed me what was wrong, how they fixed it. The clicking stopped, the needle was in the middle instead of at H and I was in tears. I stood there in shock, with no words, only tears. I was so thankful for what they had done.
As I'm gathering my stuff and pulling my neice away from their fridge, the alarm rings and they leave in a hurry. I couldn't even properly thank them! I know this has been a very LONG blog, but I coulnd't go without letting my friends and family know how thankful I am for their kindness and generousity. I wanted to do a little something for their generousity so I called my general manger at Red Robin to see if he would agree to match my money for a gift certificate to send to them. What better way to say thank you then filling their bellies with bottomless steak fries and great burgers?! They wouldn't just match my money, they are footing the entire bill!
I'm still in awe over the extreme kindness shown to me and my kids today.
(Mountain View Fire Protection~9119 E. County Line Rd 1~Longmont, CO 80501)
Little Tommy is so incredibly adorable! He was so comfy in my belly that he slept thru most of the ultrasound. It was such a blessing to get to see him in this type of ultrasound. It's as if you could pick him up and hold him. My sister was awsome enough to get this for us for Christmas (a little early). The above picture is of him sucking his thumb. During the ultrasound, he sucked his thumb, smiled, blinked, squirmed and even snarled at us for moving him around. We were trying to wake him up and get him to move so we could get a full face shot. He didn't cooperate. The picture below is the best we got of his face. We have the entire hour long session on DVD! We were surprised how much he looked like his big brother Andrew. Yes, it was that clear!
The picture above is his little fist against his chin.
The doctor wasn't quick enough with the print button so this is him just after he smiled. His heartbeat was 150 bpm and his estimated weight is 2 lbs 4 oz. I cannot fully describe how amazing and wonderful it was to see him in my belly and with such clarity. I can't wait to meet the little guy!
Picture above was against the Brighton Bulldogs. Picture below was against Northglenn Cowboys.
Madison and Aaliyah were given a headstart for the egg hunt but that didn't discourage Andrew from getting tons of eggs. He looks like he's about to leapfrog over his cousin just to get an egg!
Aaliyah found the last egg up in the tree. Madison was being a good cousin and got it down for her.
Andrew always puts forth his best effort in everything he does. He is such of a perfectionist to the point that he is too hard on himself. He has a book that is being published at school that started out as a free-write project and has taken on a new endeavor. It's called, 'Diary of a Fat Cat', which I would describe as a humorous day in the life of my (slightly obese) cat, Kitty. Other kids in his class have started similar projects such as: Diary of a Closterphobic Ferret and Diary of a Timid Turtle. I've promised him that if he writes more, then I would transfer it onto our computer and have it bound and made into an actual hardcover book. Of course, this has inspired him! Both of my kids are amazing, but I have to say they are quite amazing in completely different way, as are most kids. Andrew is my anal, neat freak, full of integrity. He can't stand being late and sticks to a schedule he has created. For instance, every schoolday he wakes up at exactly 7:10. That gives him enough time to eat a bowl of cereal, get ready for school, watch 20 minutes of cartoons, and leave by 8:10 and not a minute earlier or later. Mind you, he does this every day all by himself. If I tell him I'm going to Target in about an hour, I better not even think about changing my mind or it makes him a nervous wreck! I have learned not to tell Andrew ANYTHING about what is going on that day in case there is a change of plans. 
Madison loves her teacher, Ms. Sammaniego! We are thankful that she has such a great time at school and enjoys learning. We are proud of her for trying her best and not giving up.
