We Bought A VAN!!!!!

For months now, James and I have been looking online at vans and vehicles to "upgrade" our bandwagon.

The Suburban (All 3 in fact) have served us well and have gotten us through safely (which is pretty impressive in certain cases!!!) But now, with the addition of a 5th band member approaching, and the possibility of sometimes taking along a merch and/or roadie... we need a bigger vehicle.

Just like any business... we have to grow and upgrade as the business grows. :)

We have been thinking we were gonna get a 15 passenger van all along... but tonight... out of nowhere... a CHEVY 12 passenger appeared on the lot at the Car Max down the street that met every other criteria we had (and more). It was so new, they hadn't even posted pics on the online listing.

It's been a bit more difficult finding vans on the lots around here. There are just SO MANY churches, which snatch these vans up like hot cakes! These are the ultimate church-bus. I've ridden on quite a few in my day :)

Sooo.... we ventured to Car Max (after having a few disappointing let-downs earlier in the day on dealership lots). And there she was. Silver - almost the same color as the Burb... with a GIANT DVD screen... only 50,000 miles on her (which we'll double in 6 months), a the right aura about her. :)

She needs very little work - mostly just that third bench put in the back. Most of them come with one, but this one must have been custom ordered NOT to have one. But our great friend, mechanic, anything-car-related extraordinaire, Keith, in Columbia is gonna help fix us up right away!

Here's the "Oh My Goodness!?! Are we really doing this???" look in the car-buying office.


WE DID IT!!!!


And Scott!!! Our new friend who helped us with every step!!! I must say... Car Max (and of course, Scott himself) make the whole car buying thing way less stressful. I hate the "I need to go talk to my manager" skit at dealerships. And I hate haggling. So Car Max is great! They do lots of inspections... there's time to take it back if you don't feel like you got what you thought you were getting... and they are already at the lowest price point they can give. So you can actually talk to your sales representative and not feel like you shouldn't give away too much information in case he can use it against you later...
I loved the Car Max experience! And Lord knows we'll put it to the test right away!


I am so unbelievably happy with this purchase. It's really weird to retire to 'Burb to be our personal vehicle! But it is time. She's starting to show her miles... which isn't a problem at all for our personal use! We can handle the little fixes and repairs that will be necessary when it is just for ourselves. But we wanted to make sure we were proactive so we wouldn't get stuck with having to make a car buying decision in 24 hours... which we've had to do a few too many times already in this life!

So.... WHEW. Wow. I am thrilled and overjoyed. We'll start getting to work on her and she'll be ready for her induction trip.
Nashville ---> Iowa ---> Texas ---> Louisiana ---> back to Tennessee. :)

I haven't actually seen her in the daylight yet. But I'll be sure and get a full size pic of her tomorrow in all her glory!

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAILEY!!! I can't believe my 1st niece is now a teenager. I was 15 when she was born... and now she's 13. CRAZY how time flies!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

How great is it that Valentine's Day fell on a Saturday this year? I hope that everyone did something fun - whether you are with a honey or just pampering yourself, or just binged out on some good ole fashioned chocolate!!!

Us? We left Pennsylvania this morning at 10am. It is currently 10pm and we are only a few hours from Nashville, YAY!!!! We get to spend the night there in our homes :) It worked out perfectly. We drive to Oklahoma tomorrow, so were just passing through on our way there. Just enough time for a quick kiss and hug for Valentine's Day :)

The best thing that happened so far today?
Miguel and I went to Wendy's during one of our stops. I ordered a Frosty and Miguel said "What's a Frosty?"

I said, "Well, it's kind of like a milkshake." Before I could say another word...

The guy behind the counter said "It's NOT a milkshake." And in complete exasperation he said "Here, I'll show you."

He got mine and showed it to Miguel to set me straight. I really think I hurt his feelings by saying a Frosty is similar to a milkshake. That kid takes his job really seriously.

We watched the second season of 30 Rock in the car today and right now we are watching "The Dark Night" I LOVE that movie.

I'm so excited with how the shows have been going lately. It's like there's a renewed energy with everyone since the start of the year. And this first little part of the trip has gone SO well. I haven't had a lot of time to really sit and write, BUT I have had a lot of great inspiration. That just means that when I am able to sit down and work on some stuff - it will be really productive :) Which is always a good thing. I don't do real well with deciding "I'm going to write a song today". I mean, I can... but my best work comes from when the inspiration seems to strike out of nowhere. :)

peace, love, fiddle y'all!

~natalie