Thursday December 14, 2023
OK, so the word on the car is that we need to get a new one. It has some major repairs that need to be done in order to make it drivable, and even then they told us it just wouldn’t be safe for long trips. And we’ve got a ton of driving ahead of us -- too much feel comfortable with driving this old vehicle.
So after going on a run, Betty and I headed out to look at vehicles. We considered a ton of different options, but ultimately we decided to go with another Sequoia. We felt like if we could get one that is in good shape, even if it had some miles on it, we would be able to get a bunch more out of it.
The first one we looked at was right in Orem, and it looked promising: 2013, super clean interior, 180,000 miles on it, and a good price. We took it for a test drive, and it felt great. But we didn’t want to jump at the first one, so we headed up to Salt Lake to look at a couple of others. They were NOT good, so we headed back to the first place to talk.
Betty really loved this first Sequoia that we had seen, but she didn’t want to pull the trigger without having our mechanic look at it. I was also curious about the dealer’s inspection report, but had been told that the dealer might not give it up. So we told the dealer that we wanted to take it to a mechanic, and he said we were welcome to do so, but he also volunteered to give us their inspection report, which was super clean with minimal work -- except that they put a new transmission in it. That’s awesome! Then he had the guy who was the mechanic that did the work on it come and talk to us about it as well. This guy said that he loved the vehicle, and he’d buy it in a second if he could.
We were almost tempted to buy it on the spot, but after talking to Lewis the mechanic again, we decided to give ourselves a night to think about it, and that we would take it to the mechanic in the morning. We don’t want to be pressured into a decision. This is a big one.
So that was a super-fun and relaxing way to spend my birthday day, but thankfully, the night was still free.
For my birthday dinner we went to 7 Brothers in the Riverwoods. They have the most amazing burgers and fries. I didn’t actually get a burger, though. I got a bacon cranberry melt. It was definitely worth the calories. It was so fun to hang out there with Mom and Dad, Annie and Zack, Marybeth and Andy, and Lamon. We haven’t seen them for so long. Siblings are absolutely the best!
Then we came home and had cake. But not just any cake. My sister Annie is a cake wizard, and she made this blueberry cobbler cake that was to die for.
After cake, my aunt Nan and her husband Joel came to visit as well. They are such great friends, and we love them so much. Unfortunately, Betty missed most of their visit because she was so exhausted from the day that she just fell asleep right on the floor in the living room :)
Lights at Riverwoods