Do Crocodiles Actually Cry Big Crocodile Tears?

Vacation! It’s coming soon!

Do you know the last time we went on a real vacation? A real getaway? Me neither.

In a few weeks we are going to pack 900 pounds of stuff into the back of Momma’s truck, and guess what…it is all Ace’s!

Seriously, how can such a little guy require so much stuff? The list of stuff to pack is 3 or 4 pages long!

Anyways, if we manage to successfully drive the overloaded vehicle (at what point are you required to stop at the weigh stations with the semis?) halfway across the country, we are going to be in for some good fun in the sun!

So you are probably imagining a beach somewhere,  South Carolina? Florida? Nope, and nope…Iowa!  Yes, I said it…Iowa!

Seriously! We are driving to Iowa to visit some old friends, and we are staying at one of those hotels that have the indoor water park! I’m excited! (I’m really a 12 year old in a…man I hate to say it…almost 30 year old’s body)

Not only do they have an indoor water park, the hotel is located on a lake for some outdoor water fun as well!

I’m so excited!

Even though all of this puts a big smile on my face there is one thing about the trip that I’m sure will make me cry big crocodile tears…

The gas prices make me cry big crocodile tears!
I think I cried 23.743 gallons after filling up my truck. 🙁

I plan on taking a record number of pictures on our road trip, as long as I remember the camera (and we don’t have to pawn it off to pay for gas to make it all the way home) 😆 .  I should have some good shots to show all of ya’s .

Oh yeah!  If the weather cooperates, Ace will be visiting the zoo for the first time this weekend!  Please don’t rain! 🙂

This summer is going to be sooo much fun! 😀

Momma’s Going To Kill Me

So, I’m pretty sure Momma is going to kill me! Why? Because, I have a weakness for FREE stuff. Especially free stuff with wheels and an engine. 😀

In the past year I have acquired an 87 Chevy Blazer, a 77 Honda motorcycle, and 4 old push mowers that I didn’t pay a penny for. The free “junk” is piling up behind our shed at amazing rates! (If I don’t stop bringing home so called “junk”..I may just be found mangled in the “junk pile” behind our shed. 😆 )

Guess what…none of the free “junk” ran when I got them. (and most of them still don’t…but they will).

My most recent score was a 1970’s something model John Deere 56 riding lawn mower…yes…for FREE! I found it on Craigslist and was all excited! I am tired of push mowing our yard. I knew it didn’t run, but I know that almost anything can be fixed. I was really looking forward to kicking back, with no shirt, catching some rays, with a beer in one hand, and the steering wheel in the other as grass clipping flew all over the place. 😀

So I picked it up and brought it home, but guess what…not only did it not run, but it had no mowing deck. That means no blades. That means it is not mowing crap 🙁

Momma asked, “What the hell are you going to do with it if you can’t mow with it?”

Well, a few weekends ago I managed to get it started and actually move under it’s own power. Amazing huh? While most people would have taken this old worthless pile of junk to the dump for a proper burial, I found a good use.

Dad and Ace Riding On The Mower

Quit snickering at my oh so cool camo hat and good jeans!

Now I just look forward to kicking back, with no shirt, catching some rays, with Ace in one hand, and the steering wheel in the other as we zoom around the backyard dodging the land mines and annoying the neighbors with the rumble of a 6 horsepower engine running beneath our seat!

Screw mowing…let’s just ride!

By the way…I just realized that if I do things right, you can click on the picture and actually comment on the picture alone. Expect all pictures on DadThing to be like this for now on. 😀

Do Kids Affect The Car You Buy?

I’ve always driven a truck except for the past few years. I bought a Ford Ranger 5 or 6 years ago and my wife bought a Ford Taurus. When I took on this last job we switched vehicles…she drove the Ranger and I drove the Taurus.

I have never liked the Taurus, but drove it because I couldn’t drive the Ranger for work. It was too small. I carry tools and luggage on a regular basis and it just wouldn’t fit.

When we had Ace, we traded in the Ranger on a Ford Explorer. The Ranger was not big enough for all three of us. Plus it is not safe to have a car seat in the front seat. And I stuck with the Taurus.

The Taurus finally started to show it’s age. We bought the car with 13,000 miles and it now has 127,000 miles. It was a great car. I never put the first part on it. Just the routine brake pads, tires, and oil changes. Recently the check engine light came on, it didn’t like to start all of the time, and sometimes would almost die when accelerating hard. So we decided that it i time for me to get a new vehicle.

I hate buying a new vehicle. I hate car salesmen. I hate the whole sales approach thing. How hard is it really? I told them what we were looking for, how many miles it needed to have, how old it could be, what we could pay per month, how much we could put down, and how long the loan term could be. All they needed to do was show us the right vehicle.

Sounds simple, right? Wrong! Our salesman found us the “perfect” truck.  I liked it.  He assured us it met all of our criteria. We took the truck on an overnight test drive and I fell in love with it.  We went back the next day and they couldn’t meet all of my criteria.

Finally after many hours of visiting car lots and negotiating with the dealers we found the perfect truck.

Now that we have Ace, we had to consider a few more things. Will a car seat fit? How would the vehicle do in an accident? Would it be safe?

The biggest challenge for us was finding a truck that would fit a car seat. Trucks with big extended cabs or quad cabs tend to be pricey! However after being very persistent we did find the perfect truck that met all of our criteria…

We are the proud owners of a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 SLT 4×4…

2004 Doge Ram 1500 SLT 4×4

2004 Doge Ram 1500 SLT 4×4

Happy birthday to me!

Hostinger