And on to the next chapter

I blame Idaho.

That state really has it out for us.

(If you want to hear about our previous run ins with Idaho, click here.)

And so, when Josh spent three days in Idaho for youth conference this week I should have expected there would be repercussions.

Josh arrived home from the youth activity Thursday afternoon and the only car casualty was that a decorative plastic piece had fallen off the side of the car -- annoying, but not a real problem.  

Little did we know Idaho had a plan lying in wait for us.

That evening as we pulled innocently out of the parking lot after attending a wedding thinking all was well, the warning light in Josh's car suddenly pinged and glowed yellow with a message which read, "AWD DISABLED."

Are you kidding?  I don't even know what that really means.  All wheel drive disabled, but the car seems to continue to drive fine?  What wicked devilry is this?

CURSE YOU POTATO STATE!!!

Friday morning we drove the car in to the shop where they guys shook their heads and laughed sadly at us because we have been there so often over the past few months.  We asked if they had a rewards program or if they offered stock options, but alas, they said no to both.  When we told them what the issue was we got a slew of blank stares.  No one had ever heard of that problem before.  Yes, we do like to keep things interesting.

About an hour later we got a call with the diagnosis.  Rear differential something or other is broken (I don't speak car).  The man on the phone said most of the guys at the shop have never seen this before and it's been a great training opportunity for the mechanics so they know how to handle this issue if it ever comes up.  Does that count as some sort of service on our part?

It is a pretty simple repair...unfortunately the part itself is quite expensive.  Expensive enough that Josh asked what would happen if we kept driving the car for a bit while we worked toward the fix.  The guys in the know said it should be ok for a while, the car will just function as a front wheel drive vehicle rather than an all wheel drive vehicle.

Well, at least it's summer so the chances of snow are slim.  That's something.

But then, when we got home from picking up our naughty car and were prepping lunch our counter top roasting/baking oven (which we figured we would use until we repaired our real live oven...thanks to those who have steered us in the right direction for that fix) launched itself off the top of the fridge when the door to that chilly appliance closed too hard.  The roaster flew off the fridge at me while my back was turned and scrambled down my back to the floor.  Maybe I broke its fall.

That's just the kind of year it is at our house.

So, Josh spent some time pounding it back into shape and making sure it can still function. 

Some of the damage from the roaster's tragic leap from the fridge.

Josh fixes the fat, damaged roaster  as best he can.  (Stupid fat roaster!!)

This particular problem I do not blame on our neighboring state to the north.  You can only blame a state for so much before it becomes a bit too ridiculous.

But I flat out refuse to eat potatoes for a while.