The New Broberg

Meet the van. This is our car for the summer. A family in our ward is going out of town for the summer and they asked us to baby-sit this car for them: quite generous. Nels and I were so excited we jumped in and took it all the way to the grocery store in North Provo (which is way too far for walking).
We had so much fun filling up our own car full of groceries that we actually went to another store in the same evening. It was practically the most romantic thing that's ever happened to me.
It didn't quite sink in until this morning that this car was our new baby (granted, a big and unfancy baby) and was sticking around for awhile.
To celebrate today, we gave rides to a couple in our ward and picked up Jenn and Lisa for our cousin dinner. It made us feel a little uncomfortable riding around in a large vehicle, just the two of us.
This is our latest family portrait, minus Nels.
On a serious note: living without a car has not been as terrible as most might think, in fact, I'm going to miss it a lot! I think we actually save a lot more trouble than we caused by not having a car. The money factor alone is a good reason to go without. Most of all, I'll just miss doing things the adventurous way and planning tons of details out.
Friday nights are a blast because we have to figure out the best possible way to catch a bus to a certain location with the least amount of walking distance, and fit all of our excitement in a certain time frame because we can't miss our bus to get home. It's really living on the edge. (Maybe I can convince Nels to do it every once in a while, for old time's sake.) I also feel like a have an altered perspective on my definition of "bare necessities".
WARNING! ROBIN SOAPBOX SUBJECT: When we decided to put off having a car, it wasn't a huge deal, but I've talked to people who say things like, "I could never live without a car," "I would never ride the bus," or "I'm too lazy to walk." First of all, you do what you've gotta do. Second, why waste so many resources that come free... like your legs, for instance. Third, you miss most of life by cutting out experiences without any thought. Maybe riding the bus isn't much of a thrill, but it's still an experience (those who have tried it know what I'm talking about). My philosophy is to try a variety of things, be around a variety of people, and have a good attitude about it. Living is fun, especially when you live adventurously. Okay, I'm done.
With all that said, it's been fun, but I'm glad to have a car.
This is just a random car parked in our driveway. It's owned by an old guy that rents out a garage space. I just thought you'd like to see it. It's a VW bug with a crazy hood.
What a beaut.

Gardening

Now that the cold weather is on its way out, I decided to plant my own garden. I am a bit more than excited about it. I've tried growing flowers a couple times, but they have either 1) been mistaken for weeds by family members, 2) been covered by a wheelbarrow full of dirt, or 3) just not grown because of the wrong time, wrong season, or wrong state. Who really knows? So, I cleared a huge 2.5 x 6 ft. area from weeds (and I think some chives from the previous gardeners). As you can see, our neighbor's cat, John Wayne, was feeling lonely. He kept me company the entire time. I weeded around him, but like the heroic dude that his namesake is, John Wayne would wake up from his nap and move over to another part of the lot. There was a lovely, unused lawn not more than a couple feet away with an equal amount of sunlight, but I guess I had to learn how to share.
I kept waiting for him to get up and help, but he was having too much fun watching me dig. I'll keep you updated on the progress, that is if they actually germinate. That will be a miracle in itself. I am planting basil, oregano, cilantro, chives, spinach, and broccoli, and, according to my research, they are the most easily grown herbs and vegetables, so I guess we'll see. Cross your fingers.