Summer 2009 in Photos

As we reach the end of summer, the weather turns cooler and the kids head back at school, it seems like a good time to reflect on the summer that we had. So I present to you the Routan Summer photo montage. A collection of some of our favorite trips and events that was the summer of 2009!

At the soccer fields (what a surprise!)

Belle is packed and ready to roll!

Down the Jersey Shore

Maggie & Ken's Wedding (unfortunately the bride and groom were too busy to pose for a photo)

Somewhere in central PA.

Lake Geneva in WI. Complete with dancing kid!

Canoe trip in Central Ohio

MUCH MORE TO COME!

P.S. - Leave us a comment and let us know about your summer adventures in the Routan.

Guest Blogger #1 – The Dad

Over the last few months you’ve heard from Meg about driving the new Routan. Well, we are a family of four and sometime the rest of us get to enjoy the van as well. As we move into the fall and school begins, Meg’s high school soccer coaching gig has shifted into high gear (Go Lady Warriors!) so she has turned over the writing responsibilities to some “guest bloggers.” Don’t worry, it’s only temporary. Enjoy.

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As mentioned above, I do get to enjoy driving the Routan…sometimes. Often, achieving this enviable feat is a product of a cunning ploy.

You’ve read about my ride in an earlier blog – the “no-frills economy car.” I love my car, but……

• It’s small
• It rattles
• It is zippy, but not powerful
• Only two and a half speakers work
• You can hear the road and wind as if it were a convertible with the top down

Now, understand that I drive a short distance to and from work on quiet non-highway roads, so this car is perfect. But sometimes it’s nice to drive something nice, smooth and fast, but getting the keys can be a sneaky proposition.

In the evening or on the weekend, I’ll take any trip.

• Need a book picked up at the library? – “I’m on it.”
• What? - That package needs to go to the post office? – “Be back in ten minutes.”
• The cardboard and paper need to go to the recycling center? – Score! (complete with Tiger Woods fist pump)
• Fresh basil from the grocery store? “See you…” Darn! It’s growing in the garden. “Fine (ho hum), I’ll just go pick some.”
  

But I think my favorite activity in the Routan is the Sunday Front Seat Racing Challenge!

To say that Meg and I can be a bit competitive (in a good, fun-loving way, of course) may be the understatement of the week. In the case of the Sunday Front Seat Racing Challenge, we are racing to be in the car, literally.

Our daughters invented the game one Sunday morning after church. The why and the how are lost now to history, but the game remains. The rules are simple; any time the family is traveling in the car on a Sunday, Meg and I must race to be the first one in their seat with the door closed. The other doors of the car (i.e. the sliding doors the girls get in) must also be closed prior to your own door being shut. (There used to be a seatbelt buckling element to it, but that took away from the excitement of slamming the door in victory.)

Sound simple? Yes, but it’s the implicit “rules” and the sabotage attempts by the girls that make it interesting. First, there is no running to get to the car. Speed walking is allowed, but running (for the adults) is out. Locking the doors using the key fob has happened and is not illegal, but considered poor sportsmanship - unless both players have a key fob (which we do not), and that kind of shenanigans would most likely only lead to a ruined electrical system anyway.

As a competitor you must always be aware you are playing. If you come out of the store and are carrying the bags, then those bags must end up in the trunk before you can race to your seat. If the other person has nothing, you’d better think fast and make sure there is something else they have to do.

Sabotage by one or both girls is allowed. I have yet to understand their motivations for sabotage, but have found their efforts mostly directed at me. Generally, Libby is on my side and Laine is Meg’s side, but their loyalties lie only in their own amusement. Both kids getting in the same door is a popular block tactic, or even just one getting in the car eexxttrraa sllooooow works nicely. And of course, even though they are able, they never close their own door.

As I mentioned above, I am often the target of the sabotage and most Sundays I lost “the race” three quarters of the time during the day. That was before the Routan.

Now, on Sunday mornings I’m the first one dressed and ready to go (though that is a minor victory since we are generally 5 minutes late for church every week – that’s just our “on-time”; at least we are consistent!) This ensures that I have the keys to the Routan and legal control of the game. It also gives me the first win of the day while the girls and I wait for Meg to finish getting ready. The girls’ hair may not be brushed, but they are in the car and can verify that I won.

Post-church, as we walk out and head for the Routan parked in its usual spot (someone is so nice to leave us a great space along the sidewalk even though we are late), the excitement builds ~ the first real race of the day!

It used to be the girls would pick a side of the car and once it was unlocked, open it with a never-ending pull, climb in as if their knees do not bend, and wait for the door to be closed.

Now, with the push of a button the sliding door on my side of the car opens from 10, 15, heck, 20 feet away and the girls (who have yet to realize that running ahead is helping me win) jump right in. I push the button again, and the door closes long before I even reach the car. Now it is a fair fight, between just me and my lady fair, but one which I’ve already rigged.

Upon arrival at church, after dropping the family off at the front door, I back the Routan (using the sweet rear view camera) into the parking space so the driver’s side door is closer to me when we come back out an hour later. This small maneuver saves me precious steps and seconds leading to more victories for me…many more victories for me, in fact!

Not to say that Meg does not fight back; she has been known to detain me at the rear of the van for a quick smooch, then rush around to her door. She does win a number of those, but really I think that I am the true victor even then. I’ll take the kiss every time even if it is planted primarily as a distraction technique. Call me distracted.

In the larger picture of Cleveland sports, this fall at least we will have one winner on Sundays…ME!