New member of the family

In some families pets are members of the family. In our home, vehicles have honorary family member status.

I realized that I forgot to introduce the newest member of the Cameron family who joined us back in August. It is Eric's baby.

Buying a car was NOT on the agenda this summer. But our Land Cruiser (Eric's vehicle) started making a horrible (and very loud) noise as we were driving to Bear Lake in August. Thankfully, we were able to get to our destination and back safely. Eric is a self-taught mechanic (and he is pretty darn good) -- so it didn't take him long to determine that our engine was done.

the broken down Cruiser

We tried the 1 car family thing...I know many of you do it, but I honestly don't know how. I have so many obligations and places to be that I needed the car almost every day. Which meant I was driving Eric to work at 6:45 each morning and picking him up for lunch and taking him back (which we could have stopped) and then picking him up at some random time in the afternoon -- it was anywhere from 3-5 but it was invariably when I was in line at Walmart or at a Dr. appt with a kid or something. It was such a pain.

On top of this inconvenience (which we could have put up with for a little longer) there was the fact that our new house has the steepest driveway I've ever seen. It slants toward the house at an alarmingly steep angle. When parked on the driveway (which I try to avoid doing) it is nearly impossible to open the sliding van door because of the angle you are at. Anyway, we bought the house knowing that it would be a treacherous driveway in winter. I was unsure how my van would ever make it up in snowy or icy conditions...so having two 4-wheel drive vehicles sounded appealing.

So we decided to fix up the land cruiser for me and have Eric get a cheap little something for himself and then we would sell the old van. Sounded like a good plan -- we'll see how it works out. So here was what Eric found for himself:

Eric's new baby -- a really old style Land Cruiser

 

 

My favorite part of this whole story was the reaction of two of my kids as we went to look at this vehicle. Eric & Mason got out to talk to the man (an old farmer) and kick the tires while Sadie & I waited in the car. Sadie said to me, "Mom, it's just a piece of junk!!" My thoughts exactly!!!! Mason, on the other hand, came back to the car all choked up with tears in his eyes, "Mom, it is just like old times!!" He was so thrilled and was begging to get the car. Almost all of Mason's childhood memories surround Eric fixing up an old car (we went through quite a few) or off-roading in old vehicles and he had missed that. Something I will never understand. We struck a bargain (I actually played a role in that by telling the man that no one loved these Land Cruisers like my husband does and that it would become his baby). Knowing that it would go to a loving home, he was willing to come down $1500 to the much lower price that we offered.

 



The car was bought with the understanding that is is going to remain a "Junker" for the foreseeable future. It needed new tires, but that is where the upgrades have stopped. Eric seems content to drive it as is...for now.

He has been pouring his heart and soul (and all his free time) into fixing the original Land Cruiser. Thankfully he actually enjoys this stuff. It has been challenging, but he really likes it -- crazy man. It has taken a lot longer than I imagined. I'm hoping it will be done in the next couple weeks so I can move into the 4 wheel drive vehicle as winter is really gearing up.

Here he is with the engine out of the vehicle

 

 

 

If you have any further interest in this project, or this vehicle -- Eric has taken dozens and dozens of pictures of his new baby (inside & out) and of his engine rebuild project that he would be happy to share with you (like any proud parent). Sadly, I see things from Sadie's point of view -- it is just a piece of junk, but I know that one man's trash is another man's treasure.