Sunday, June 12, 2011

serendipity

dan & i woke up yesterday and for the first time in ages
~ages~
had no where to be and nothing on the calender.
what an amazing feeling.

i had a lightbulb moment regarding the table
which is officially "under construction".
really excited with what i think we're gonna do.
but we'll talk about that later.


for quite some time now, madison has given her search for her dream car
a varsity effort.
it's not unusual for her to come in our bedroom in the evening 
with her laptop & have dozens to show us.

foot note.
she wisely decided long ago
that campaigning for what is also my dream car
might work to her benefit.
not to mention, dan learned how to drive on his family's black vw bug.

a few weeks ago, dan explained that most of the cars she was looking at online
were probably bought at an auction or were from some joe off the street
& that we wouldn't be going that route.

finding one in our price range, with the amount of mileage we were looking for
in great shape
was proving to be a bit of a challenge.

so yesterday, the day with nothing going on
madison runs into this newly listed vw beetle,
relatively close to our home
that fit all of our criteria.

roadtrip

we ended up at gunther volkswagen
which if you're a vw fan
is a must stop destination.

super cute store inside full of fun volkswagen goodies.
oh & they "gave" us university of georgia
volkswagen long sleeve tees for our purchase too.
it really was a fun place
with glittered peace signs dangling from the vintage cars
& a fantastic pandora station playing too.











to make a relatively short story shorter
we bought it!
only owned by one previous owner
immaculate
spotless service history
and even had a few extra perks
that we were hoping for.










 little bit was just as excited as madi & i!
i think i accidentally deleted it but i had the cutest pic of her
riding the lap around the dealership
sitting in the back of the convertible
with both hands up as if she was riding a roller coaster.
too cute!!




i posted that last image of madi on facebook & a friend reminded me
that years ago i had posted a little edited fun photo of savannah
in the same serendipitous pose!



not that anyone asked, but...
we didn't buy our girls cars when they turned 16
"just because"
but with smk heading off to college in a few weeks
we really needed to go ahead & make the investment.
we're praying that both smk's car and this new one for madi
will last them through college.
it's a sweet selfless daddy
that drives a very non-flashy, simple car
so we can afford to let his girls ( all his girls)  drive something a tad nicer.

i think i may have known a few of those in my lifetime....
~

35 comments:

Katiebee said...

how exciting for madison! i too, had a vw as a young girl~ loved it's bright yellow color and it's cuteness~

Lou said...

Good for you! Love stories like this... Lou x

Micah Jamie said...

Too cute for words! It makes me miss mine. They are the peferct young girl car, and that color is adorable. We've been talking about getting a Jetta to run errands/drive to work bc my Denali's a gas gusseler (sp)...but this has me thinking a convertible Bug is much more practical!! Lol ;)

Kelli said...

ahh.. once, a long time ago, almost seems like it was a dream now, I too had a vw convertible. I lived in Vero Beach, FL, and it was red and adorable. I think that maybe one day I'll have another one, just like this! She is going to have a blast with that car ~ great pictures. They brought back some great memories :o)

Coastal Health and Home said...

Dear Paige,

Oh, my word.

I love it. Especially the powder
blue.

Dan's even smiling. What a guy.

You'll have to borrow it for
Date Night.

Have a beautiful Sunday.

Best,

Coastal Blue Ocean

Jboo said...

Woohoo -- cool car for your cool blue-eyed girl!! Sweet!!


Janet

Judy said...

A couple of years ago I got the notion I "had" to have a VW convertible. I was driving a big SUV and gas prices had just started going up, up, up! So we went to our local VW lot and I found "the one"...white with tan top and interior. But when we saw the price tag, I decided I'd keep the SUV. Going home that day we saw a used one in a local parking lot for sale, we called, we bought, big mistake! Long story short, it was a lemon and we finally unloaded it and bought me a new car. I still would love to have a VW!

Your girls look so cute in their bug!

Judy

P.S. We're out of town but I can't wait to get home get the top you sent me!

Alaina said...

Great car! My very first car was a vintage powder blue Beetle. I loved that car, even though it had no heating or air conditioning and the radio on worked on AM.

a peony princess said...

So fun!! What a pretty color! She must be over the moon. I bet you will have a happy volunteer if the house needs eggs, milk, or whatever. Just an excuse to go for a drive!

Courtney said...

Oh my goodness, Paige!!! That is awesome! I can just see everyone beaming with happiness from ear to ear in every picture! LOVE the blue, too. Dantheman sure is a sweet guy to his girls. I know Madison is head over heels for her new car!

I still remember my first car... my grandparent's lovely brown Oldsmobile with a HUGE bench seat for little old me. Not my most favorite memory! haha! Actually to this day, I've never owned a car with power door locks or power windows...for real.

Debra said...

So cute! I know she is just thrilled. Bet she'll have to share though? With mom and dad! :)

Susan R said...

Paige
I usually let my kids read your posts and look at your photos, but there's no way on earth I'm letting them see this. It'll be over for me.
I keep trying to tell them that parents just don't go around buying there kids cars. Sorry, no malice intended, but they would be all over me if I let them read this post.
My first four cars were VWs. Best cars in the world. We've owned a Carmanghia, a couple of Bugs, a Fast Back, Rabbits, Jettas and two micro busses. I can change the oil, brakes and tires on all of these as well as other stuff. They are easy cars to care for and not too costly to repair.
Great car, great color...good on ya.

3 Peanuts said...

Oh how exciting for Madison. I would LOVE that car myself:) It is darling and adore the color too. Congratulations!!!

Love your..."not that anybody asked" clarification too. Sometimes I feel like I need to explain certain things I do/say or apologize for my bad photos. When really it is a rare person that would probably judge us, no? We only have to answer to God but I find myself occasionally answering to others too.

Amy R. said...

How fun! Now I feel like I need one of those. :)

katie purcell said...

OH MY!!! THE CUTEST BLOG EVER.
THEY ARE ALL ABOUT TO BURST WITH JOY. I MAY HAVE TO DRIVE UP FROM NEWNAN FOR A RIDE.
XXOO

{A*very} Blessed Life said...

What a cute car for Madison! It suits her to a T! Love that color too. I am sure she and Caroline and you too, Paige, have had loads of fun driving it around the block a thousand times. Can I be a Knudson girl too? Love it!
ps
I have been keeping Emily in my prayers while she's on her mission trip! She's gonna love Madison's car when she gets back!

Bravehearted Beauty {formerly LLH Designs} said...

Cutest first car EVER! I taught my girls the "beetle bop" game on our road trip.

Sweet husband. My man drives a 14-yr old car and bought me a brand new fancy car. Sweet husbands we have.

Xoxo,
Linsey

just ask beth said...

Blue Bug..for your BLUE-EYED Baby! she's adorable! so is lil poopsey too!

Anonymous said...

I have a VW bug convertible and it's still going strong with 121,000 miles on it...I have to commute to work in it...poor little thing...It's a trooper! I also just found some tolix type chairs in a local furniture store here in Alabama...who knew? I was looking at the ones from World Market too when I found these...I'm waiting to see what table you come up with!

i like cars.. said...

can i be part of your family????

Katie said...

Her first car!!!! How exciting! She will have so many fun memories in that cute bug!

Unknown said...

So precious!! It looks like that car was made just for her. What a wonderful man Dan is! xoxo

Kelli said...

Whoo hoo...yeah Madison. I love the pictures with her twin/sister...they look so much alike :) Did she get some cute flowers for the dash?

Between You and Me said...

I love her car!!!! And, you are so right...it is a selfless daddy that drives a simpler car so that his girls can drive something a little nicer!!!

Anonymous said...

I have to politely disagree with you. I don't think teenagers should be handed beautiful new cars on silver platters. No matter how cute they are or how much their daddy spoils them.

I think they should have to work for that privilege. My parents always let us drive one of the family cars when we needed one,even if it was the glamorous family minivan. #1) I learned that good things don't come easy and #2) I truly appreciated my first real car when I could afford to pay for it!!!

Cynthia said...

how cute!!! A VW is such a sweet little car and I am so happy for her. It was also my daughters dream car and she did the same thing would show me pics forever on the computer and she found one that was a few years older with very little miles and I got it for her.

Jodi said...

What a cute car, it looks so beachy and fun! What a perfect car for Madison. She will look great zipping around with the top down; and of course Mom will look great driving it too! :)

Take care!
Jodi

christina said...

so happy for madison. we are SO much alike. wink.
xo

Kat said...

Oh how fun! It looks like such a lovely place with all those darling old VWs. Craig and I used to be a VW family, he drove a Jetta and I drove a Passat Wagon before I had the van... I actually cried at the Honda dealership when we traded it in. I felt like I was trading in my cool mom status right along with it. Loved that car!!! Anyhow, Madi is such a sweet and lucky girl. I absolutely love her car, right down to the color. She made the perfect choice and you and Dan are such sweet parents to your girls! kat xo

Privet and Holly said...

Serendipity,
indeed! Love that
her dream came
true....and yours : )
xx Suzanne

Anonymous said...

I had one of those beauties..A 1974 cream with brown stripes on the side..All my husband will tell you is that when he drove my car, and that was very rarely,the faster you went the warmer you were in the car because the heater would blow more heat out..I love the new ones and the colors are great..Madison looks so happy and no worries of staying warm in winter..LOL
Janet

Kim said...

Ok - your daughter is driving my dream car. {Can you say covet??} Let's face it, anything other than my van is a dream car now! :0)

Looks like soooo much fun!

Mrs. Chapman's 2nd Grade Class said...

What a wonderful gift for Madison! Dan truly is the man! I think it's sweet that he takes such good care of all his girls. I remember my first car...it wasn't anything quite so cute, but it sure was a special moment. My sister's first car was a dark blue vw bug and we loved driving that car around town!

Carolyn@Sweet Chaos Home said...

Blue one! No punch backs! Sorry... I couldn't resist :) Visiting from My Sweet Savannah. My dad drove a light blue VW bug when we were kids in the 70s. I loved that car!!

I hope your daughter enjoys it, AND drives carefully in it. I don't think I'll be able to let my boys drive anything smaller than a mack truck. I'm a nervous nellie :)

Yvonne from North Carolina said...

Ok, just one question...were we separated at birth? lol Baby blue VW bug convertible...my dream car since childhood! When I turned 40 I added the baby blue retro Tbird convertible to my favs. L O V E I T !!!! Congrats, Madison!! You look simply divine in your new bug!