So July started off with the State 4-H Conference. As a new State Council advisor, I was invited to the parent's luncheon and got the opportunity to meet parents and reunite with the new council members. After the luncheon I attended the closing ceremonies (where my big task was to alphabetize the students--I had a list :)) and helped clean up a little bit--I can't wait to attend next year!
That weekend was the 4th of July and we spent the evening of the 3rd hanging out with the Wippermans and I had to get another picture of Kim with her baby bump--this will be our last photo together before she delivers!
On the 4th we, with my parents, attended my sister's college roommate's wedding in eastern Iowa. And Sunday, like all good Sundays, were spent recovering from the festivities....Last week was my last week of statistics! The final was on Thursday and I thought it was kind of easy (but don't tell the instructor), and I pulled off an A! Thursday evening we had houseguests--our friends Kjell and Rachel spent the night as they were passing through from Kansas City to Wisconsin. Friday evening Rick's parents came into town and I cooked a big meal as we prepared for the weekend's events: car buying, corn dog kickoff, and our John Deere tour.
Saturday morning we decided we would go car shopping--I had asked if it was ok for Rick's parents to go with us since Roy leases and gets new cars on a somewhat frequent basis and helped Rick buy his SUV last winter. Also, it turned out that I probably wouldn't qualify (and might not be able to wait) for the Cash for Clunkers bill. So first stop was at the Toyota dealer where I drove the new Prius--didn't like it. I kind of felt like I was waiting to be hit. The visibility wasn't very good and it seemed like there was too much to know to be able to drive it. Four different driving modes and all...
So we headed south to Dewey Ford to check out the 2010 Ford Fusion. An update from the last post, the Fusion entered my top 3 after I heard about their hybrid. Different technology but still with the features I wanted. And Rick said if I ended up wanting the SUV instead of a car, he said we could swap vehicles. Rick used to have a Fusion and really enjoyed the car, but it was leased and he got a really good deal on the Escape. Anyway, we did a little research and found that the hybrid was too much but I could get a Fusion with some decent options (Sync technology, Sirius satellite radio, sunroof, etc) for a decent price. I drove it and loved it! So then we got to the wheeling and dealing, and by we I mean Rick's dad (with a little help from Rick). I was so glad he was there--saved me a bunch on my new car! They took my Jeep as a trade in and we wanted the "Atlantic green" vehicle so we couldn't get it until Monday since they didn't have on on the lot. I was a little leery--I really liked the green on the website but they didn't have any in that color on the lot, so it was a bit of a gamble on the final color, but I left the dealership on Saturday afternoon incredibly overwhelmed but very excited!
After the car dealing, Rick and his folks dropped me off at the State Fair grounds. My sister works for the Iowa State Fair Blue Ribbon Foundation and she is in charge of their big fundraiser, the Corndog Kickoff. Essentially, you pay $60 for a ticket and spend the night eating fair food until you could burst. All you can eat, all you can drink. There are silent auction items as well as a live auction (though all I could afford is the spin-the-wheel-for-$5-and-see-what-you-win) and the event raises hundreds of thousands of dollars. As you can imagine, this event is quite the undertaking and Allyson was very stressed about it! So I was there to volunteer and did a wide variety of jobs and can't wait for next year--I had a lot of fun even though I was working the whole time. One of my jobs was to take pictures of attendees--here's me with my parents! 
Sunday morning Rick informed me that my car was not fun to drive home on Saturday night. We haven't been driving it much since we were told to be careful with her, but we had to drive it on Saturday to get it appraised for a trade in. Anyway, we were headed to Illinois with his parents to go on a Gold Key Tour at John Deere and wanted to pick up the new car on the way home on Monday, so we thought we would drive Jewel down to the dealership and park her there so we wouldn't have to backtrack. Rick and his dad would go gas up the Expedition while Becky and I would drive down to Ankeny in Jewel and they would pick us up. It was a great plan.
Sunday morning Rick informed me that my car was not fun to drive home on Saturday night. We haven't been driving it much since we were told to be careful with her, but we had to drive it on Saturday to get it appraised for a trade in. Anyway, we were headed to Illinois with his parents to go on a Gold Key Tour at John Deere and wanted to pick up the new car on the way home on Monday, so we thought we would drive Jewel down to the dealership and park her there so we wouldn't have to backtrack. Rick and his dad would go gas up the Expedition while Becky and I would drive down to Ankeny in Jewel and they would pick us up. It was a great plan.And then we got on the road. Rick wasn't kidding--Jewel wasn't any fun to drive. The back end seemed shaky and loud, very different than when I drove her the day before, and had it not been her last ride I would have turned around after the first few blocks and parked her again. Becky suggested I just take it slow, so we decided to take the back way down Hwy 69. We chugged along at (or below) 50 MPH, just taking our time. Ankeny is only 20-25 miles from Ames, so I figured even if it was a rough ride, we'd get there. When we got to the north end of Ankeny, someone flagged us down and told us we had lost a lug nut. We pulled over and all of the lug nuts on the rear left tire were loose to the point that I could easily turn them by hand. The missing lug nut was not a missing nut but rather a snapped bolt. I might have freaked out or started crying had I been alone, but Becky calmed me down and we got out the tire changing kit and tightened the nuts. Becky assured me that the deal was in the works, they knew the condition of the car, and all we had to do was to get her to the dealership a few miles away. So we got back on the road, and not a mile later we were flagged down again and told our wheel was wobbling back and forth. We pulled over again and Becky tightened the nuts this time (all were completely loose again) and she must be much stronger than me as we made it the last mile or so with no additional problems and the nuts were tight when we arrived. But the drama was enough for me and I was so glad to park her! I almost literally drove the wheels off of her--the timing of this new car couldn't have been better!
Here is where we said goodbye :( I have to admit, though, she made it easier to say goodbye with that little stunt but also was sweet enough to get us where we were going that one last ride together....it could have been a serious problem had we actually lost the wheel!
More on the John Deere trip to Moline and the new car after a bit!
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