NY Trip. Sigh.

Well, I was waiting to post because I wanted to show some photos of the start of our trip to New York. We were attempting to take off Friday around 5pm. We loaded up the car with a week's worth of luggage, toys, diapers, etc. and I began to back out of the driveway. For some reason, the car wasn't going to quickly when I hit the gas. I looked down at my DIC (Driver Information Center) and this is what I see...

Steven got out of the truck and came to my side. This is what he saw...

So, he went under the truck to get the spare. He turned the lever that brings down the tire...but no tire came down...it was fully rusted to the undercarriage. We called Cadillac and they suggested that we pull some wire and the spare would release...well, that wire was cut prior to this excursion. So, the spare continued to be of no help in getting us to NY. Meanwhile, Carter and I sat in the car while Steven continued to fight with the tire. We were literally packed into the car, so we were trying to stay in there as long as possible. We certainly didn't think we'd still be in there 3 hours later when I decided to call Progressive Roadside Assistance. Carter was not a happy camper...

45 minutes later, the poindexter from Progressive pulled in my driveway. He couldn't have been more than 17 years old, with about 2 weeks worth of knowledge of cars. After 5 minutes, he realized what we had already told him...the spare was stuck. Thanks for nothing, kid. Now go back home and get to bed...its a school night.

Our next step was to hack at the truck until it released the tire...my cousin ran Steven to my uncle's house to get his metal cutter. We figured it was our last chance to get it, so if we ruined the mechanism holding the spare up, so be it...otherwise it was no good to us at all. Halfway through the procedure, I surrendered. I couldn't stay awake anymore and I was not willing to keep Carter in the car any longer. So, we went inside and decided that the trip could wait until morning.

After a good night's sleep, Steven went outside to cut down the spare tire. After about 20 minutes of sawing, I heard the beautiful sound of rubber bouncing off the pavement...and the angels sang. We gave Carter his breakfast, a handful of Cheerios, a quick bath, and headed out of the house, with a sippy cup for the road! Have you ever seen a sight so lovely??

Its ghetto looking, to say the least...right along side the other 3 chrome rims on the truck, but it got us to New York just fine...

What an adventure we had...before we even got out of the driveway! The drive was fairly easy. Carter watched his Gabba DVD and slept, then woke up and ate, then slept some more, then threw a screaming fit until we pulled a Chinese fire drill. I switched to the driver seat and Steven hopped in the back and watched Toy Story until we arrived safely at Grandma's at 5pm Saturday evening! After that, the weekend was smooth sailing!

All of Carter's birthday supplies arrived yesterday. I assembled the goody boxes and party hats, but that is as far as I got before going to visit family and heading to Bible Study. Today, Carter and I went to Toys R Us with my BFF Kelly. She wanted to buy him a winter coat for his birthday, but wanted me to pick it out and him to try it on since he is close to 12 months, but wears clothes that are much smaller. I ended up picking out a little brown Timberland coat...size: 6 months!! What a peanut! Then, we went to Best Buy so I could get a quote for camera lenses and an external flash for my camera. My fund has agreed to pay for them...let the begging/butt kissing begin! Aunt Kelly bought Carter the new YGG Halloween DVD and kept him occupied while I talked to the Manager and waited for my printout.

Apparently, my diaper bag doubles as "Carter's Bag 'o Fun". A baby shopping in the camera section with a diaper on his head is not something you see every day...but I accomplished what I needed to get done at Best Buy and I am a happy camper! In a couple weeks, I will have my 70-250mm lens, external flash, and Canon carrying case that can handle it all. Success!

As you can see, we have been very busy. Tomorrow should be an easy day, then Friday we will be doing most of the decorating for the party. Saturday, I have to get up bright and early to finish setting up and then drive to Syracuse to pick up the cake. The party starts at 2pm. I am so excited!! Sunday, I am singing in church, then maybe we will go watch football at my dad's house, like we often do. What a stressful week it has been, but so worth it to be happy with the people that we love so dearly!