The Gonzalez Family: April 2008

So when I told the kids to get in the picture they all smiled...I said, "Don't smile, we are sending this picture to Goodyear Tires!"

So last Saturday Leo scored a couple of nights at his sister's condo in St. George last minute...like the night before he finalized the plans. (I had been looking to go with Rachie and the mini-twinnies if she had come out..this part will come into play as the story unfolds). SO, we packed up the family in a hurry and headed down to St. George on Saturday. Our BFF's were also down there staying at the same condos and Leo rushed us all out the door because him and Dan had a tee time at 4ish.

The Tire

After we stopped in Mapleton to grab the Twins we headed on the road in our new car...this was our first trip in it and we were excited to see how the Suburban would hold up. We were on a bit of a time crunch...Leo's tee time....Costco is only open until 6pm there ..checkin time at the condo....and just because we didn't want to be in the car any longer than we had to with 2 little stinkers. We were making pretty good time when all of a sudden we heard a BOOM...the car started shaking and I thought we were seriously going to die. I could feel the adrenaline in my legs and they literally froze. Leo and I both knew that the tire had blown and I was prepping for the car to roll over down the cliff that was on my side.

Thank goodness for a husband who knew what he was doing...he always talks about going "Colombian Style" with his driving skills and is usually a crazy driver, but he was going the speed limit the whole trip (cruise control) and knew what to do.

SIDENOTE:

All I kept thinking was if it were me driving, I probably would've slammed on the brakes and we for sure would've rolled. And then I got to thinking later that night that IF Rachie HAD come down with the mini-twinnies and we had gone to St.George with the kiddies by ourselves, none of us would be here right now.

Leo pulled over to the side of the road and we could not believe the damage. Not only was the tire mutilated, the side of our car was damaged as well. (I am still having issues with my new car being damaged)We had no clue where the jack was or how to use it on this car. So, the kids all got out, sat on a blanket and Leo tried to figure it out. LUCKILY a nice guy pulled over at the bottom of the cliff and hiked up the hill to help us. Leo was having a hard time opening the jack screw and kept blaming it on his bad wrist (note: Snowmobiling Post in February)...the guy was able to open it on the first try....it was cute, we actually had something to laugh about.

So what was supposed to be a QUICK, CHEAP trip turned out to cost us more than we were planning on. But what matters most is that the Gonzo's are SAFE!

We had a great time in St. George and NO Leo didn't make his tee time, and YES I did make it to Costco with 5 minutes to spare...I hate feeling rushed in that store!