End of an era...

On the eve of Silas' third birthday, an era ended at the Aichele household - we said goodbye to the 1990 White Pontiac Grand Am that boasted more than 250,000 miles, had little to no heat, lost it's grill a year ago, was refused to be valet'd at the Broadmoor Resort a month ago, and was considered one of the loudest vehicles in the neighborhood. No longer will the boys hear me come home from a mile away (i'm not joking)... According to Silas, "They took Daddy's race car? That's ok - if it breaks they'll bring it back and Daddy'll fix it..." Here's a photo from last night...



Sheila and I realized that it was simply not possible to fit three child seats in the back of the Grand Am, and if something did happen to the mini-van, Sheila would be stuck. So this weekend, we ended up picking up a little Mazda 5... which, though it doesn't seem like it, is a mini-van as well.

However, it quickly has earned Silas' affection - as we got into Sheila's car this evening, Silas looked at the Madza (referred to as the green machine) and said "I like your car Daddy...you did a good job of picking it out." We went to Target and picked up his birthday gift - scary as it may seem - a bicycle...and of course, to make mama happy, a helmet and elbow pads. I guess she senses that he is his daddy's son and therefore just might crash a few times. Here's a picture of Silas testing the helmet at the store... priceless! (yes, it's still in the package...)