Are we there yet?

After spending almost 2 weeks at my parents house in California which was lots of fun, the kids LOVED every second of it we were finally headed home. We missed Steve and were excited to be seeing him soon. I packed up the car and kids and we were on the road by 9:00 AM. We were driving along snacking on popcorn and listening to primary songs per Kate's request when all of a sudden my car stopped accelerating. I lost all power I had just enough momentum to get us onto the shoulder of the highway. I looked around me and this is what I saw...


I knew my options were limited. I checked my oil it was a little low but nothing crazy. My engine temp was normal and nothing seemed obviously wrong. I called my brother who is a mechanic for suggestions. He said sounds like you ran out of gas. My gauge said I had a little over a quarter tank left. He said maybe my gas gauge got stuck and try getting some gas. I of course do not have triple AAA so it was up to me to figure it out. I called the closest tow company and they said they would bring me 2 gallons of gas for the low price of $52.00 and they could have someone out to me in about 45 minutes. It was a very long 45 minutes my kids were looking at me like I was crazy.

Kate kept telling me "come on mom, lets just go home" The guy finally arrived and put the gas in to my tank. I crossed my fingers and attempted to start up the car. No luck, nothing happened. Now what? Now I had to get my car towed to the closest auto shop that was open on Sunday and had a mechanic on duty. That would be a place in victorville and that would cost me $138.00. One problem Mr. Tow Man couldn't fit me and ALL my kids in the passenger seat of his tow truck so I would need to get someone to come pick us up and take us to the auto shop. Several hours later my kids and I were eating McDonald's in the local Walmart of Vicorville. It was a frightening experience. I tell ya it was white trash at it's finest. I got a call from the mechanic with some of the best news I have ever heard. My car was up and running and it only cost me $45.00. Yeah!!! I was so happy me and the kids wouldn't have to spend the night in Vicorville. I put all three kids in my double stroller and ran as fast as I could back to the auto shop. By 3:30 we were back on the wide open road. My kids are awesome and did pretty good considering the circumstances. We finally arrived home at 6:30 PM and found this sitting on the counter...

We were all so happy to see Steve especially me. I missed him SO much