awesome awesome weekend. =]

WE GOT A NEW CAR!!!!! =]

i'm sooooo soooo sooo happy! we went into lancaster ford-lincoln-mercury & worked out an amazing deal on financing a used car so we got a 2005 Ford Explorer XLT ActionTracRSC. it's beautiful! it's dark blue w/tan interior, moon-roof, cd player, compass, obd readout, 4-wheel drive, optional 3rd row seating [it seats 7], etc. it drives wonderfully! we took it up to mt carmel to see cory's family & it drove so smoothly & all. we were kind of worried about gas mileage [with it being a big suv & all] but it actually is pretty decent. it has a v6 instead of the usual v8 and since it has the obd readout we watched the mileage we were getting. highway we were getting 24-26mpg [our highest was 50.4 except when coasting] and we got 18-22 city. that's better than our taurus was getting, so we're happy with it. =] the obd readout also tells you system check, like tire pressure, oil pressure, battery charge, outside temp, engine temp, miles until "e", etc. we love the fact that it's so safe for steve & any future kids. it has keyless entry, keyless trunk release, alarms, anti-theft security, puddle lights, & a ton of other neat features. we just generally are really happy with it.

because it was newer [only one previous owner who fell behind with his payments] & only had 56 k miles on it, the original powertrain warranty is still in effect. also, because we're financing, we have to have full-coverage from our insurance, which includes all towing nation-wide & free rental car while the explorer's in the shop, etc. but we got a great deal on that, too, so our insurance isnt going up by much at all compared to what we were paying to insure the car. lancaster lincoln-mercury also has this neat deal where if you buy a car from them you get free inspection, oil changes, towing [within 10miles of lancaster], car washes, & other stuff from them for life. there is absolutely no limit on that or any charges, so for example we'll never have to pay for an inspection of it ever. the dealer was joking about how steve will still be getting free inspections & stuff on it when we give it to him in 17 years.

it's nice knowing if anything goes wrong we're covered & not sol like we've been with our previous cars.

so far we've had one problem, though. sometimes when you play a cd, the right speaker wont play the music. it's kind of on & off. probably a loose wire. but it can be annoying. so we've set up an appointment with the service center & they're fixing it completely free of charge [billing llm]. i just find that really convenient to be able to do that. =]

anywho....on other news, WE GOT THE KEYS FOR OUR NEW HOUSE!!!! =] so it's finally ours & we can move in anytime. we're going to wait until wednesday to start moving, though, because pam, pammy, & matt are visiting us for right now, until tuesday night. =] it's great having them here and we've had such a great week. i'm just really really happy with my life. the only thing that could possibly make it any better is if the car gets sold tonight [we posted it on craigslist for 1200 & a guy is coming look at it tonight...wish me luck that it gets sold!].

here's a couple pics of the explorer:

us with our new car.




with the top hatch open [ignore the stroller].

with the entire hatch open.

how the middle seats fold up.

the middle & back seat [with the one middle seat folded].

the middle seats.

the front seats.

the glass moonroof closed, solid open.

glass & solid closed.

glass lifted, but still closed, solid open.

glass completely open.

a couple more pics [i couldnt get enough :P]


at night with the puddle lights on.

Steve's 1st Fireworks!!!! =]

today kim came & picked us up & we spent the evening at her house. there was supposed to be a big cook-out but for many reasons it was canceled. instead, we hung out at her house, ate spaghetti & cheesy garlic bread, watched the boys while they picked up their new puppy from the breeder [only 12 weeks old & adorable!], and went downtown to see fireworks. it was alot of fun & steve really loved the fireworks!! he was in a trance watching them & kept reaching towards them like he was trying to touch them. =] it was soo cute!! we were going to spend the night at kim's, but really wanted to sleep in our own beds, so we're going back tomorrow for some games & stuff. it was a good day.

oh, and on a side note, we've made up our mind & decided fixing the taurus would be more beneficial in the long run than selling it & paying for a different car. so we've applied for a personal loan through CitiFinancial & although it's still pending, we should get enough to fix the car. It's not my 1st choice, but a personal loan in this case is warranted [we need a car after all & have found no other way to get the money] and better than alternatives such as a payday advance. plus, we chose to get the lowest amount of money that we could, just enough to pay for the transmission work. that way, it'll be easier to pay off & we'll get it paid sooner than a larger loan. hopefully that should process by monday & we'll be able to fix the car next week. hopefully... keep your fingers crossed just in case, though!


anywho, here's tonight's pictures. =]

steve got stuck in the chair. lol. it was so cute, but he got frustrated quick & we had to rescue him. =P

playing at kim's house.


cory on the couch.

cory & steve sleeping on kim's recliner. =]

on our way to the fireworks [we had to wake steve for them].

jj & skyler right before the fireworks.

at the fireworks...i didn't really get any good pics unfortunately. =[

another picture of cory & steve at the fireworks.

kim, jj, & beanie [the new puppy]. he looks huge in this pic, but he's only 12 weeks.


me & steve after we got back to kim's.

swimming in conestoga river = fun.

well we still havent figured out what we're doing about transportation, but we've worked on it a little. we got a bike pump & reinflated the bike tires for cory to bring to work [which he started to do tonight]. we looked into city bus routes & taxi services for places too far to walk. and we've also started looking at used cars for sale & applying at used car dealerships. it'll work out. it's just kind of rough for right now.

as far as hanging out with reed & pammy, well, we didnt do a terrible lot yesterday. for most of the day we hung out inside the apartment, got goodfella's delivered to us [mmm!], watched ncis, & got in a couple naps. it was relaxing for the most part, but unfortunately me & cory didnt stick to our agreement to put off the car problem until reed & pammy left because we spent most of the time talking to dealerships & filling out applications online. =/ but last night we did get out for a little bit to go to the mall. while there, we stopped at a couple wireless stores & browsed for new cell phones [we hate t-mobile -- they haven't gotten our service right even once and we've been there for 7/8 months, and got 7/8 different problems!]. we ended up switching to sprint, which will save us a TON of money on our bills and will give us a MUCH better service then we had. plus, we got palm centros!!! =] they're absolutely awesome & we really love them. our first smart-phones. =P

today, we went to weis & picked up some food [deli food like pre-made salads, soups, drinks, etc], then we went to county-central park & had a great time eating at the picnic table and swimming in the river. the only thing that kind of detracted from the fun was that steve slept through the whole thing! =[ but we still had a ton of fun. =] after that, reed & pammy had to leave [unfortunately! it went wayy too fast] and cory had to go to work, so the night's been the usual night of watching steve & waiting for cory to get home. nothing interesting there. =P

here's the pics:





















note: i wrote this entry last night at midnight then went to bed before posting it [the pictures were taking too long to upload], so that's why i refer to wednesday as "yesterday" & thursday as "today".