A Little Jaunt to Get a Jeep

It's been a hope to be able to get a vehicle for Brayden ever since he turned 16 and got his license.  But, let's face it - between taxes that were more than we expected, a vacation to Disneyworld, a brand new boat in our driveway, and an unexpected trip to Oahu, it has not been something we had extra money to make happen.  I know Brayden was a bit disappointed, but has been very patient.  Given he spent most of his summer at Camp Harlow, it didn't make a lot of sense anyway for him to just have a vehicle we were paying for sitting int he parking lot.  

However, now that school has started up again, its become a lot more apparent just how much more helpful it would be for us to have an additional vehicle for him to take there and back each day.   Knowing the boat is about to be listed on Craigslist (the plan all along), we finally gave Brayden the okay to start researching Jeeps for sale that fit the criteria for what we were hoping to find.

What do you know, but that kid nailed it.  He found, and was the first query, for a 2007 Jeep Wrangler that has minimal miles and has been babied by the current owner.  (Not only babied, but equipped with all the extra bells and whistle accessories he's throwing in without extra charge).  The cost was below wholesale and considerably less expensive than any other Jeeps we'd looked into.  The only issue, it is in Meridian, Idaho (adjacent to Boise).  

Well, okay, then - I guess that means a family roadtrip. 

Over the course of the week, EVERY contingency needed to make this happen worked itself out.  I was even able to find a Courtyard by Marriott that we had points to use to stay at overnight.  On Friday afternoon, we pulled out at 3pm, and pulled into this hotel at midnight.  Long trip....

I think that may be the shortest stretch of time I've every stayed in a hotel room as we were out before 9:00 to meet up with the seller.

John had been in constant communication with the seller, Darren, and we really have come to respect and appreciate their family and his consideration in making sure Brayden was taken care of with this car.  I suspect if we lived nearby each other, we'd all be friends.  

While we waited for Darren to show John and Brayden all of the cool facets of the vehicle, the wife brought out 4 week old kittens for us to love on a bit....(yes, definitely we could be friends!).

And, then, before you know it, this is the scene.

And this is what we are looking at as John and I are driving in the Denali and our kids are trailing behind us heading home.

What a trip, right?!  I mean that both figuratively and literally...   How did we end up with a kid old enough to be in this place - not to mention two kids both responsible enough to handle an 8 hour road trip on their own? (we are caravaning - so they are behind us the whole time...)   Needless to say, Brayden is one happy kid.  He's shown us a much different level of maturity since school started back up, and the break downs of communication with him have been few and far between compared to even three months ago.  I felt like the whole timing of this Jeep and findng of it was totally God - and I'd suspect just Brayen's place in life is in the hands of God to be ready for this.  It works out nicely that he only has a few more weeks left until the October 6th (six month) date in which he'll be able to have passengers in the car beyond just family members (as mandated by Oregon law).  Lord willing, with an October 17th Homecoming, he'll be able to fully take a date there and back all on his own.  =)