Repairing the Trail Blazer....

For three weeks straight, Luke and I traveled to Hillsboro, KS -- a town about 30 minutes away from here.

Each week, we only went there one day, but here's why we went there in the first place....

You see, though the town we live in (Newton, KS) has vehicle service repair shops, Marc has always preferred a particular one in Hillsboro. Though I don't particularly like to drive 30 minutes to have a vehicle serviced, the customer service at this place in Hillsboro is fantastic. Therefore, I'll put up with the drive.

**I'll preface the rest of this blog post by saying that these trips to Hillsboro took place at the end of April and during the first two weeks in May....You know, back when we were having unseasonably COOL weather here in the great state of Kansas.

Week 1 -- I had previously arranged for Luke and myself to hang out at the Good Family's house -- with Olivia and their two kids, Ellie and Esther. I'm glad I did, and I'm also glad the Good Family was willing to be hospitable to us BECAUSE it was cold outside that day. So, Luke and I just merely had to have a "tough" walk in the cold to their house after dropping our car off.

Thanks Olivia for letting us hang out! And sorry, I didn't get any photos from this visit.

So, during this first week's visit, the oil was changed, and the tires were rotated. However, I was told that the rotors and break pads needed to be replaced on the Trail Blazer.

O.K. -- we'll come back next week for that.

Oh, and I forgot -- the battery was also testing low. I said, "Go on ahead and change that. I DO NOT want to be stranded because of that."

Week 2 -- (For the rotor/brake pad replacement) It was forecasted to be warmer; therefore, I decided that after dropping the Trail Blazer off, Luke and I would just walk (with the jogging stroller) to a local park. This time, it was slightly warmer....Luke was in shorts anyways, but please notice the jacket.





After about an hour at the park, the serviceman called. "Uh, I'm sorry, but the rotors we ordered in for your vehicle aren't the right ones. You'll have to come back another time."

**Yep, I was slightly frustrated, but I kept a smile on my face. Their service every single other time we've been there has been fantastic. Plus, we're all human, right? I'm not perfect either.

Week 3 (Third time's a charm, right?) -- This was exactly one week later than the second visit. The weather was still a bit chilly, but the sun was shining. I dressed Luke a little bit warmer yet...Once again, it was nice enough to hang out at the park. Notice the jeans AND jacket on Luke at this point -- yep, it was May in Kansas, and that's how I was dressing Luke (not normal at all).





This park has some "older" equipment. So, Luke got his first try at a Merry-Go-Round. He actually did quite well and held on the entire time.



There was a bridge covering a little brook. It had rained the night before; therefore, there was quite a "stream" of water going. I found it cute to watch Luke discover this bridge and water.



Finally, Luke just sat down on the bridge -- I think he was pondering life or something....



And, this part of the park trip was my favorite. There's a golf course right beside this park. There was a golfer out on this particular day. Luke noticed him, and he walked right up to the fence and watched very intently. Luke's never seen golf, and I think he was a bit intrigued.

The lone golfer is way in the background of this photo.



After about 1 1/2 hours, we headed back. It didn't even seem like that long because Luke did so well. At that point, our vehicle was finished with new rotors and brake pads! YAY!

Here's the funny thing -- Just this morning (May 28), Marc took in our other vehicle to this same repair shop. The oil was changed, but when doing their complete "look-over" of the vehicle, it was discovered that one of the tires was pretty low. They took it off and discovered that there was a large nail in the tire. Therefore, that was repaired as well!!!!!

That should hopefully save Marc a tire change on the interstate :)

Hopefully, we're all good on the vehicle front for awhile.