fireworks and tow trucks.

Saturday, Ty and I picked up my dad for a QUICK trip to the FireWorks Palace.
The place wasn't super close to our house, but it wasn't too terribly far, either.
It was about 50 minutes away, in a place I'll call Over There, That Way.
Once we got to Over There, That Way and pulled into the parking lot, the boys were in their happy place, and I was trying to make sure they didn't spend too much money (while trying to make sure I picked out the BEST firework.)

That's right...Ty and I had two carts. TWO.

You see that one in Ty's cart? That's mine. Meaning that basically, it will be the best.

It better be anyway, for the amount of money that it cost. I picked it because of the name: Addicted to Loud.

Yeah, baby.

Many dollars later, we packed all the fireworks into the back of my SUV, making sure to keep them all separated, to make sure that we knew who's was who's.

Please note that one of my back seats was also folded down, with fireworks up there too.

So then we got all buckled up and ready to head back home from Over There, That Way. Ty put the key in the ignition, turned it....

And nothing.

Nothing but an annoying ticking sound.

Well crap.

The guys got out and looked under the hood, trying to figure out what was wrong. Ty came back to try it again, and I said, "Should we jump it?" 

"No, it's not the battery...the battery's got a full charge."

After trying a little longer, we determined that this dang car wasn't going to start. 

Well crap, again.

Because we were all the way out in Over There, That Way.

So we called a tow truck, and Ty's dad to come and rescue us.

We transferred all the fireworks out of our car and into his van, still keeping them separated.

We had originally planned to have the Tow Guy take the car to a mechanic out where Ty's parents live, but it was going to be super expensive, considering where we were at. The Tow Guy informed us that his mechanic shop was just a few minutes away, still in Over There, That Way. So we took him up on his offer.

Little did we know, that the mechanic in Over There, That Way was scary.

Really scary.

Nasty-junk-cars-everywhere-scary.

Glad-I-was-with-three-grown-men-scary.

I'll call this place, Billy Bob's Sketchy Backyard Salvage.

The conversation on the drive back to the garage: (especially once we saw a whole group of hillbillies waiting on us to pull up...including two little boys playing with lip gloss...)
Ty: Dad...do you think that we should actually let them work on the car?
Jim: I don't even know if they have the capability to work on this kind of car.
Me: I'm not getting out of this van.
Ty: I'm glad I'm packing today.
Dad: I'm glad you are too.

Ty and Jim got out and dealt with the people. The guys jumped the car, and guess what?
It started.
Hmm...do you recall me suggesting that...like 90 minutes earlier??
Anyway.

The battery did need to be charged. And there was talk of the alternator being bad. We decided it was best for us to just drive it back to our neck of the woods, to get a real mechanic to check it out. So we left...after paying too much money for the little amount of work that Billy Bob's Sketchy Backyard Salvage actually did. We had to transfer the fireworks BACK into our car again....still separated, of course.

The fireworks are now safely in my parents garage (separated).
My car is currently at the shop.
The alternator was not bad. (So good thing we didn't stick with Billy Bob's.)
I forget what Ty said was wrong with it...it all sounded like an order from McDonalds to me.
But apparently it wasn't a huge deal.
And it should be on its way home to me in a couple hours. Just in time for a quick shopping trip tomorrow.

What was initially supposed to be a quick trip out to Over There, That Way for fireworks turned into a LONG afternoon.

But it was an adventure.
To say the least.

xoxo, wife.