Somewhere in South Dakota . . .

We were cruising down the interstate when suddenly we heard a very loud "thud" and felt a very unwelcome shudder throughout our van--enough to awaken Chase, who immediately started crying. My stomach dropped. To me, it felt as if the engine had dropped out the bottom of the car. What was going on with our car? At our very last stop we had had to get a jump because the battery had somehow been sucked completely dry as we filled up the car with gas and used the restroom. I heard Ken say something like, "well, there goes the transmission." I quickly pulled the car over to a stop. Ken told me to push on the gas: nothing. I tried reverse: nothing. The car wouldn't go! It wouldn't drive or reverse. The transmission was totally shot. We quickly learned that we were in the middle of nowhere. The closest town (we had just past) told us that they would just tow us (for only $400) to a town called Mitchell, 60 miles away. Even if we decided to have them tow us, how would the rest of us get there? We were also informed that, since it was the Saturday before Labor Day weekend, the car would not be touched for another 3 days. So: the middle of nowhere, 4 kids, a busted van, Labor Day weekend . . . could it get any more difficult?

We were sitting there contemplating what to do when Ken was able to put the car into reverse and then quickly throw it into gear. We were able to drive 20 miles an hour down the interstate, not one mile faster or slower. It was a very long car ride. We spent much of the time on the shoulder of the interstate, sometimes on the other side of those orange cones marking the lane closed.

Luckily when we got to Mitchel there was a Motel 6 right off of the interstate (any stopping would have meant disaster). Not able to do much that night, we jumped into the freezing pool (which they claimed was heated) and ordered pizza for dinner. We put the kids to bed and tried to figure out a game plan but were too exhausted. The next morning we tried to find a car rental or towing company. Nothing! We thought we had something but then it turned out that the pick up location was an hour and half away. We then decided we needed to go to the local church. We were so blessed that the church was only 1.5 miles away.

We got to church a little late (and sweaty) and were informed by someone sitting in front of us that everyone had born their testimonies and now it was our turn. I offered to go up with Kailyn but she turned me down and then I asked Jordan. She was very excited to go, bearing your testimony to a tiny little branch is much less intimidating than to our ward back home. She bore her testimony for the first time (other than at home for FHE). Hearing my children bear their testimonies is one the the most precious things. She did it all by herself.

We were SOOOOO blessed to meet the most amazing family in Mitchell. They told us to come over for dinner, offered us one of their cars to drive so we could go back to our car to get some stuff, and even offered to take our 2 girls with them while we did it. Seriously, they were such a wonderful couple. She is the type that makes you feel like you are not an inconvenience at all and in fact you were meant to come and in fact you are doing her a service by being there. She told us they had planned on going out of town that weekend but had changed their mind and ended up inviting the missionary couple over and another family in the ward so they had tons of yummy food to share. She told us that she thinks we were meant to come so that she could have her arms full with a little baby again (she had had her little granddaughter come there that summer and was missing her greatly). I am just so thankful they were there to help us because I don't know what we would have done without their help.

We tried to figure out a way to get to our friend's house in Omaha (3 1/2 hours away). We could find nothing! We finally found something in a town called Sioux Falls (about an hour away) for only $800 A DAY!! Our friend Joni had offered to help out anyway she could, even driving up to Sioux Falls to get us. So, after a lot of thought and research, we finally decided the best option was to have Susan (from the family that took pity on us and fed us dinner) drive us to Sioux Falls where we would meet up with Joni.

Sad to see our car go. Although, I think we look more scary than sad in this picture.

All of our stuff outside of a gas station in Sioux Falls waiting for Joni.

Joni was amazing! She loaded up her 5 children, ages 8 and younger, into her 12 passenger cargo van (which they had very recently purchased) and drove 2 1/2 hours one way to come and get us. Can you believe her kindness? We didn't get to their house until about 1am.

The next morning we decided to go car shopping because renting a car to get home was going to be extremely expensive. Well, everywhere we went was closed because it was Labor Day. So frustrating, a whole day wasted. I was so thankful to Joni for helping us out. Not only did she come and pick us up but she also put us up in her home, fed us, and even watched our 3 older kids while we went car shopping. Thank you so much Joni we are indebted to you.

The Healey kids and our kids had a lot of fun together. The Healeys are amazing parents and have the greatest kids.

The whole process was so frustrating. We had never even thought about what we wanted in a new car. We thought we would drive our Caravan for many years to come. I think Ken was tired of all of the car problems we have had over the years (many of them involving me and the kids getting stranded). He insisted we get something that had under 70,000 miles. We both decided we wanted an 8 passenger vehicle (not an announcement). We found 2 vehicles (yes, only 2 vehicles in all of Omaha) that fit our criteria. One was a Honda Odyssey that had obviously had kids and dogs in it. They refused to go down on the price more then a couple hundred dollars. Then we went to a place that was able to track down a Toyota Sienna being sold by a rental company. We decided to go with the Toyota Sienna. I think it was a great choice, although I really questioned it when they told us it only had one set of keys (and a copy can only be made at a dealership), it has a slight shimmy at 73 miles an hour (they said to send them the bill and they would pay for it) and as we were driving it away from the dealership we realized it had no floor mats (we didn't notice before because all of the cars we had driven had them all in the back). We also noticed a few dents/scratches in the door of the car the next morning. We had purchased the car sight unseen and found a few surprises the next morning.

Our new car.

We left the morning after getting our car and drove the 2 more days to get home. Luckily, with no more excitement.

UPDATE
I can't believe we have had this car for 3 weeks. I am starting to really like it. It has taken awhile because I felt forced to buy this car under the gun. I was really sad to see our other van go, it was in excellent condition (other than the transmission) perfect exterior and interior and I had really grown to love it. I am just so glad to be home. As I wrote this story I had to choke back the tears. Just thinking of the generosity of the couple in Mitchell and the Healeys makes me SO thankful. Words really can't express how grateful I am to them both and their extreme generosity and kindness. I really don't know what we would have done without them.

I also forgot to mention what we did with our Dodge Grand Caravan. Because there was no way of towing it or moving it anywhere we had to leave it at the Motel 6 in Mitchell. We donated it a charity called Kars for Kids.