I got a couple of the storage cabinets repainted tonight and then spent some time visiting with our neighbor.

 

Julie, the kids and I went to look at a car last night, it was ok, basically a grocery getter, but something that the whole family could fit in if needed, and something to help keep the miles off the Eep. The car was fairly nice for a low budget buggy, but I couldn't get the wife to answer me one way or the other whether we should purchase it or not. If I convince her and tell her "Yes, we are going to buy it" then I am in trouble with her, if anything ever breaks on it and we have to put money into it.

 

Also hidden costs on an extra car. Insurance, maintenance, tires, license etc. Try to figure out if the extra cost offsets the savings on fuel and wear and tear on the vehicle.

 

well, mostly if I was to take the van somewhere with the kids, she wouldn't have a vehicle to drive because she refuses to drive the jeep. Also, it would be nice to get more than 9 mpg on something that on a whim, I decided to drive to my parents, or salina, or to Newton, or Wichita.
To me, the added benefit would be the wife would help pay for parts, tires, insurance, tires, etc. etc.. because it would be considered a family vehicle rather than a toy. My Jeep she considers a toy and even though 75 percent of the wear and tear on it has been for family purposes, it still has to be paid for my me, and the wear and tear on it, has to be paid for by me as well.

 

The up side on a 3rd vehicle is that there are some pretty good deals on used older vehicles (8-10) years old that would get mid 20's or better on mileage. $3-4000 will buy a pretty good car if one isn't picky about make and model.

 

yeah, we originally offered to buy one of mom and dad's buicks, it's a really nice car, but its book value was still at almost 8 grand, which was way more than I want to give for a car that won't get full time use. the care we were looking at was about 3, but had 152k miles on it. it was still a nice vehicle, but had a semi hard life from lots of country road driving.

 

Pick just about any 10+ year old GM sedan with the 3800 series V-6 and enjoy a long engine life with good power and gas mileage

My mom has a 01'ish Pontiac Bonneville and she LOVES it. I drove it and was digging it too, very nice ride. I think it has around 150k miles, perfect condition and they gave 2-3k for it, can't remember exactly

 

1994 Ford F-150 Extended Cab

what you guys think of this? I am not thrilled about the color, but pic makes it look like its in good shape.

 

That year wouldn't have a v6 it would have I6 or v8. Like good pics I don't know how much the extenda cab has.

 

Tow rig maybe?

I don't think it's going to do too gracefully with your wish of more than 9 mpg's though lol

 

I agree with Justin on the fuel economy. You would be lucky to get 15-28 on the highway. Also, your girls will soon outgrow the seats in an extended cab. They are not made for longer trips. I now wish my SD was a crew cab. The truck looks to be in good shape though and 150K is not much if it has been well maintained and cared for.

 

I cannot budge past 16 mpgs with my 4.6L and 2WD. In my 97' the extended cab is definitely not designed for kids or long trips, pretty uncomfortable and not much leg room.

 

Side jobs? We got adopted a puppy this past weekend, and have not had much time other that take her out, and back into the house and then back out etc. She is definitely a lap dog.

 

Got the motor in the three wheeler now. All I really have left on it is to hook up the air box and exhaust silencer and put fluids in it. Probably go back over everything to make sure all the mounts are tight. Just have to take the hubs back to the powdercoater to get them fixed so I can pull it off the jackstands. Should have the maiden startup on the new motor in the next couple.......... nevermind. I ain't saying it, I know my luck with this three wheeler.


Then brakes for the Mustang, and heater core/transfer case leak fixed on the truck.

 

our tree that dropped a large limb back in early April, dropped another limb over the weekend, it wasn't even windy. I think it is just too heavy for the type of wood that it is. I am torn, I am considering cutting the whole tree, or maybe doing a major trimming on it.

I originally considered just letting it continuously trim itself, but now I am more concerned with the neighbors car, as he parks it directly underneath it for shade, and most of the weight of the tree has fallen on our side up to this point which means it will be both off balance in the event of wind, and potentially a problem with limbs falling on that side of the fence as well.

I have considered hooking the winch up to some of the limbs and pulling them down, controlling somewhat where they land, and fall, but am concerned the whole tree may fall.

I have been watering it, in case part of the problem is that it's not getting enough water on its own. This may be a double edged sword. It may be helping the tree to be stronger, but it might also be helping it to grow, which may be helping it to become more and more unstable.

I am torn, I really like that tree, but it may have to go.

It looks like Aug 18-21st I am going down to Wichita to work on my truck with Clint.
This.. I am truly excited about, I have been hoping, since it went down there, that I could find time to go down and work on it. With the new addition to the family, on call, and all the other things going on this summer, it has really been difficult to schedule the time, but finally we found some time!