More Room Needed

My mom and dad purchased a Suburban almost 9 years ago.  The main reason behind the purchase was a family vacation to Yellowstone.  Taylei was the only grandchild and the whole family would be able to see all the sights together.  There are now 16 (maybe almost 17) members of the family and there is no way we can all cram together - well maybe we would but with seat belt laws and the amount of space a car seat takes it just isn't going to happen.

In the years that have followed, the Suburban (its official name) has served other purposes -- mainly as a tool for shopping.  The shopping trips usually consisted of me, my mom, Diane but we are missing the main reason for all of the Saturdays spent "up north" - Granny.  She loved and lived for a trip to the mall or store.  In November, when I took her to Provo to get her hearing aids, she hadn't been to a store shopping since her heart attack.  This was almost four weeks previous.  I offered to take her to the mall, to Costco, to Walmart etc. but she said she didn't need a thing.  This is when I realized how unhealthy she really was.  It really has been hard to have a reason to go shopping without her.  This was the first trip we have made since her death - but man, we did it right.  The unwritten rule seems to be that the shopping trip isn't over until the Suburban is full.  By full I mean, you can't fit one more thing in the vehicle.  The most perfect example of utilizing all space is the playground in my back yard.

This playground was purchased at Costco.  It was loaded into the Suburban.  My mom was shopping with Granny and Diane when she found it.  Playgrounds were pretty hard to come by at that time.  My mom is amazing and a believer that all things can be done with faith.  She purchased the playground and the wonderful Costco employees got it loaded.  It did come in boxes but they were NOT small boxes.

Well, on Saturday my mom and I left early to shop the Macey's case lot sale.  I had a pretty desperate need to restock a few items which we had used during our January "Not shopping for the whole month" spell.  Cabela's was also having a great sale on some chairs I have been coveting for over 9 months.  We ended up with 8 chairs plus our case lot items and some other miscellaneous purchases from Cabelas.  By this time the only spot left for my mom to sit was right next to me.  We should have headed home at this point but we hadn't made it to Costco.  Andy had requested some salsa that is only available there - plus if I purchased it I might be in a little less trouble for not quite being home on time.  We went in to purchase the salsa and some frozen chicken.  We came out of Costco with $600 salsa and chicken (which includes a few more items that weren't on the original list).      

I had to take some pictures so everyone could see just how much the Suburban can hold.  We are technically missing a few items from the front seat.  When I ran inside to get the camera my mom didn't think she could leave the car empty handed.  

I always cuss the Suburban when I drive it.  The steering is horrible.  Windows and doors only function with proper love and affection.  The heating only works on occasion - this tends to only be a LARGE problem when you are driving in a snow storm and have to have some form of air blowing so the windshield doesn't freeze up and it is already 20 below outside.  But, it sure can hold a thing or 600 and there are only really two drawbacks to this -- you spend more money and you have to unload the items and put them away.  I'm sure I'll cuss the suburban for years to come but in the end it does serve a wonderful purpose.