This Poor Van

Remember when we bought her? Shiny Rocket was her name.
I really was sad to give up my Camry, but we were having a fourth child and couldn't stick him in the trunk... so we bought our mini-van.

Remember my first car accident? I hit a parked car. We fixed the back end. What goes around comes around I guess. Mr. Man also hit a pole at one point and we fixed the back end yet again.

Remember my second car accident? I hit a deer. Mr. Man replaced the whole front end.

Remember when our engine died? So now it has new insides too.

Last week the battery died. Blew up really... acid leaking out. So she has a new battery too.

I guess the back end was feeling left out again, so ...
I was parked at Costco, minding my own business: shopping and then enjoying their delish hot dogs with The Toddler and our friends. A woman came up to us and asked if either one of us had a Toyota Sienna mini-van. Um, yes... why? (I quickly reviewed where I may have parked.) Anyways, she went on to tell me that someone had just hit this vehicle and driven off and she had his license plate number but that the entire back window was smashed in and the back gate pretty beat up. I lost my appetite and quickly exited to go see if it really was my car. It was. Quick meltdown followed by a hug from my friend and then the realization that my cellphone was also dead... so I borrowed her phone to 1) call the police 2)call Mr. Man to cancel my appointment I wouldn't be making it too, and also fill him in so he could get started with the insurance company 3) call to cancel my sitter ...

The "gentleman" who hit my car had been driving a jeep with a big tire on the back. (It was brand new too- still had the temporary license plate.) He must have just REALLY backed up hard. He did leave a note with his information and DID have insurance, and we had two witnesses, one who left her information and another who stuck around until the police officer came. The police officer was the SAME one who had been there when I hit the deer and commented on whether a deer had hit ME this time. I should mention that he is also good friends with Mr. Man and so he rushed to the scene when he saw our familiar name and number. He really lightened the load, as did my friend who stayed the entire time and took care of The Toddler while I silently freaked out. There was glass all the way up to the dashboard and front seats. The officer took his flashlight to break the rest so that I could "safely" drive the vehicle home to park it in the garage. Now we wait to hear where we are "approved" to take it in to get fixed. Should be good. I'm pretty sure I will be driving this vehicle for the rest of my life. Not much more to replace. Can you believe it?!