Life without a car

This year we decided to sell our car. Insurance, repairs, gas prices, it all adds up SO FAST.

Life with kids without a car requires special gear.

This McClaren stroller is what we have had for J since he was born.
The manufacturer boasts of it's strength by showing it unharmed after being run over by a car.
We've never put it to the test in that way but it's been an awesome stroller.
It has been with us to theme parks, walks around the lake, church, everywhere!
It is super easy to fold away/set up and it is so lightweight, with it's carrying strap it is super easy to throw over the shoulder when getting on the bus or when the kid just wants to get out to walk around.
The only negative really about this stroller is that on grassy/sandy terrain the wheels get stuck a lot. 

The Graco duo-glider double stroller. With baby number two on the way we figured we would need a stroller for two.
I would have loved to get another McClaren but it wasn't in our budget.
This stroller we found for a great price at a local thrift store. It's super easy to fold away set up, even despite how huge it looks. The basket underneath is almost massive enough for another kid.
Over all the steering is pretty good. What I discovered: when approaching a curb you pretty much have to turn around and back up to get a good lift. The doorways were another issue, it's so long that it's really difficult to hold a door and push the stroller at the same time. Because of these factors we rarely actually used this stroller. 

The Schwinn. Nate and I bought this after we had J and wanted a bike trailer.
 As a bike trailer the hook up was actually really weird. The joint was not very flexible so the trailer was always at an odd angle to the bike. As a jogging stroller it was pretty good. The front wheel would get wobbly at higher speeds, so we usually just picked up the front end by pushing down on the handle bar, which is a lot easier with the kids side-by-side versus front-to-back,  but I've noticed that front wheel issue seems to be the case with a lot of jogging strollers.  Surprisingly even with it's large frame I found this stroller would fit through most doorways just fine, and it was easier to push through, though some stores arrange their racks too close for comfort. When the other Graco double-stroller did not work out like we're hoped we ended up using this stroller more often. Fold up is MUCH more complicated so we'd hardly ever bother taking it on longer trips. Sometimes the age different made this stroller a bit more of a bonding experience than the kids were looking for, but that's not all bad, right?

The Chicco backpack. For longer trips on the bike or the bus we fell back on the single stroller or the monkey leash for J, and Sweet P would ride in the back pack. Neat think about this backpack is that it can stand alone when you take it off.

We also found this awesome seat, called the Yepp Maxi, for the back of the bike instead of the awkward bike trailer...

Lynn starts a fire

After getting moved into our new place we walked down to the fair at city center. Utah crowds are tough, they don't get loud and excited the way other crowds do. These performers were actually doing a great job and pulling in a group of watchers. Thus Nate couldn't get much closer with the camera. Lynn got to volunteer to light the jugglers fires and hold the extinguisher in case anything went wrong.

Home Sweet Home

After a full year of search, and a month of living in it, we finally have a house!!! Again...
Granted we still also have a house in Florida, we won't be getting to use it anytime soon...

SO!
We are absolutely in love with our new place!

Perks:

#1. Location! Location! Location!

We are just between Provo Center Street and the Towne Centre Mall. There are all the neat shops, all the free events right down our street and when the Provo Temple is finished, we live 7 blocks from there! Church is two blocks away and Nate's work is also 7 Blocks.


#'s 2. Transportation 3. Savings & 4. Fitness

2.There's a bus stop right on our sidewalk and there's a train outside our front door with a stop around the corner that will take us to Salt Lake or just about anywhere in the nation, thanks to Utah Transit Authority and Amtrac. And we cannot forget to mention how much Jonathan LOVES the trains going by. It's like he and God has this worked out before!  Who needs a car? Which is why we have sold ours!
3.Thank goodness, no more car insurance, maintenance or worrying about ridiculous gas prices! Not to leave out...
4. Now we get all kinds of great exercise walking to and fro or riding our bikes about town! With the two kiddos we are quite a site and we have been saved by angels a few times when the weather caught us unawares, but we are learning our lesson and leaving home more prepared.

#5. Simple. This new life style has also helped us in amazing ways, to recognize who our friends are, to enjoy the simple things! Without our car we have been more apt to invite people to come to our home and enjoy games, movies and food, rather than feeling like we need to go out and spend money on activities that weren't really in our budget anyway. And the people who truly enjoy these simple activities have proven to be truer friends!

#6. Cost. When we were renting we were paying $800 for two bedrooms and smaller living areas! Now we are only paying... DRUM ROLE PLEASE!

$600 (taxes and insurance escrow included!) for 3 BEDROOMS to grow into, a GREAT KITCHEN, enough SPACE FOR 6 people at our table, and a living room with FOOTAGE FOR AN OFFICE setup!














That's a difference of $200 PER BEDROOM! MONEY SAVED!

#7. Condo. Our payment includes the cost of the HOA so we don't have to worry about maintaining the yard, the exterior walls/roof or the parking areas. And we still have a small gardening area! Small's all we need, for the not so avid gardeners we've turned out to be...















Oh, the list goes on but for fear of making everyone completely jealous... I'll keep going!

#8. My beautiful family lives here with me! In these living area walls, complete with chair rails, crown molding and arched walkways, painted what I would call a boring brown, but Nate seems to like it and we haven't saved up to change it yet. There's a berry blue boy's room, set with planes, trains and cars galour! And perhaps very soon... a girl's room? But for now, a pretty pink guest room, complete with private bath and two closets. Then, there's the parents room, bursting with autumn colours of deep purples and bold oranges. So many memories to be made in so little time. How very happy we SHALL be!

Thanks for counting a few of my blessings with me!