ODE TO THE PATHFINDER

A few months ago, we had to regretfully say goodbye to our dearly beloved Nissan Pathfinder. I never knew that parting with a car could bring such emotion. Any emotion, really. But, she had become a faithful and reliable member of the family, being the vehicle to many a memory and life-changing events. Here is a trip down memory lane for all of you who only knew her as the birth mobile:

Shawn receive this sweet ride after his mission and it took him to his first semester at BYU where he met yours truly. No, I was not privy to taking a ride in it yet. Other girls took the front seat, until he finally came to his senses and asked me out. (a year later!)The Pathfinder took us on many a fine outing:


Here we are on a beach in Oregon-that's my head.


This picture was taken when we were driving back to Provo (in the PathFinder) from a biking trip to Moab. It was late, and he was tired, so we talked and talked to stay awake. I realized that night that I was in luuuuuuuuvvvv.

The Nissan saw us through many more significant events. It even got decked out for us(thanks to some helping hands) on our wedding day.



Whenever I saw the Pathfinder pull into the parking lot of our first apartment, my heart skipped a beat. Oh, to newlywed bliss! Then it towed all of our belongings across the country to begin dental school. Once again, the Pathfinder proved to be a loyal car, as it faithfully carried me to work, picked up Shawn from the train station after school, and to all of our many church-related activities.
It's most precious cargo was our first child, and it wouldn't go faster than 10mph when we drove her home from the hospital. So considerate.



Little Rachel leaving the hospital.



Then we left PA after dental school graduation to begin our new life in Washington. The Pathfinder was no longer adequate enough to tow our belongings so Shawn towed it behind our big moving truck.

And then there is the most exciting event which occurred on the corner of State and 4th Ave in Marysville. Little did Shawn know all those years ago that he would be delivering his second child in the back seat of his car. Here is Grandma Colleen with Rachel picking the car up from the birthing site:



We had to say goodbye to the PathFinder because, quite frankly, it was turning into a money sucker and it wasn't worth fixing. During its final days in our possession it decided to give us a little more drama and would just quit running as Shawn would be driving it to work. He knew how to wiggle the battery cables just so to get it to start again, but I didn't. He started taking our van to work, which left me carless. This wasn't so bad because school is within walking distance, but, of course, the week I don't have a car is the week it decides to rain. One morning, out of sheer desperation, I thought "What the hay-I'm taking the car." Not 3/10th of a mile into our trip, it stalls in the middle of the road. That was officially the end of my love. We donated the car to a tech school so some random kids can tinker with it to their hearts content. To them it's just another car they have to fix to pass off their shop requirements, but to us, it will always be so much more. Sniff, sniff.



Dr. Shawn posing with his little girl, 4 years after he brought her into this world.



Mommy and Brooke, remembering the first time I held her in the backseat.