Too Much Excitement

In addition to the unpredictable weather (it's been raining so much!!), May has been an unusual month for us.

A week and a half ago, we had Thomas' dad as a guest for several days. He was in town to speak at a symposium held last Saturday. It was enjoyable to have him around, even though his schedule was pretty full! We all drove up to the Bountiful temple that Friday to attend a session with Thomas' grandmother and aunt.

Bountiful, UT temple

Pretty color combination in the flower beds outside of the temple

 Although we ended up in a different temple session than they did, we enjoyed the beauty of the temple and ran into some friends unexpectedly, with whom we chatted while waiting to meet up with our relatives. It is funny how small the world can seem sometimes!

Jeff, Bonnie, Thomas, Lisa, & Elma in the front

That evening, after I got some hours in at work, Thomas' dad took us out to dinner at La Dolce Vita, an Italian restaurant down the street that we'd been meaning to try for a while. We enjoyed our pasta and especially our desserts, and the Bradshaw boys reminisced about a ritzy restaurant they had been to once on a late night in Italy.

Bradshaws enjoying chocolate cakes and cheesecake at La Dolce Vita!

On Saturday, Thomas got to attend most of the Expound Symposium, held at the Provo Library. I was able to be there to hear Jeff's presentation and the one right after, but work, Calculus homework, and a trip to the grocery store kept me from the rest of it.

The Provo library

Matthew B. Brown, symposium founder, introducing the symposium

Jeffrey M. Bradshaw (Thomas' dad, of course!)

 We all enjoyed dinner out that evening, too, at Magleby's with other symposium speakers and attendees. I even tried crab legs for the first time, and liked them pretty well. The conversation and company were interesting and thought-provoking, and we left full in body, mind, and spirit!

 

Sunday morning is when things really got crazy, though. Thomas' dad went up to Salt Lake to attend Grandma Bradshaw's ward. Thomas and I, sleeping in for the first time in what felt like forever, experienced a rude awakening by a crash and a knock at our door not long before the alarm was to go off. Well, actually, only the knock woke me. Not the crash. Didn't hear it at all.

Thomas went to answer the door, and came back a few moments later to report that "there'd been an accident." I was pretty groggy, and didn't get up until he told me "our car was probably involved."

WHAT?!

Here's the "CAR-nage" I saw when I looked out the window:

Apparently the 19-year-old driver aroused the suspicions of the passengers in the van driving behind him when he went through the round-about a few blocks away going the wrong direction. They called authorities then, and were the first on the scene after the driver plowed into our parked car. The crash woke all our neighbors, and our upstairs neighbor helped the inebriated driver out of his wrecked car, across the grass, and onto the steps of our four-plex.

I don't really know how 5 cars were involved in the wreck - the driver must have been going ridiculously fast. But I do know he hit our car, which hit the car behind it, which hit the car behind it, which sent the car behind it soaring about 20 feet behind where it had been parked. There's definitely paint from his car on the light-post in the grassy area between the street and the sidewalk, and the cement there is chipped, and some of the asphalt was damaged as well.

My drawing of "BEFORE" - the black to the right of the cars is the driveway.

My drawing of "AFTER" - the grey spot on the grass is the light-post.

Anyway, we watched while they towed his car, our car, and the car that had been behind our car - all of which were declared "totaled" - and they took the driver away on a stretcher. He didn't look too badly hurt, but he did have a gash on his forehead that was bleeding. 

ha- the windshield we replaced in January...

good little car, though- runnin' fine with that many miles on it!

The following couple of days were a little stressful, since my little Honda has been the one car we've been using/sharing. Fortunately, we were able to use Thomas' dad's rental for a little while on Monday before he left. That night, our friends the Childs helped us with a needed ride. Then, on Tuesday, some of our friends in the ward lent us their extra car. We were blessed to be able to get Thomas' Pontiac road-ready by Tuesday afternoon, so our transportation problem has been solved. It was a blessing to have that second car around, really; we had meant to sell it last summer!

We had our special plates for like... 2 months. :o(

All in all, this experience helped us to put some things into perspective. We are so glad that this didn't happen on a weekday, when a school and many drivers on their way to work/school/whatever would have been in the path of this renegade driver. Even though it was an inconvenience (and a shock!) to us, it could have cost much more than money; it could have cost lives. Things have worked out pretty well so far, and hopefully we will hear from the guy's insurance again tomorrow (or sometime soon).

Overall, life is good and we are happy and healthy. I'm halfway through my classes for the term, and Thomas has had several interviews, which will hopefully turn into job offers. We are thankful for the ways in which we see God's hand working in our lives on a daily basis - generally in the small and simple things.

oxox