End Of An Era

For the past 3 years, I have been in the middle of what some might call a mid-life crisis. I was enjoying life in the fast lanes in my Infiniti G35 Coupe. We got this car the summer after my injury when Tiffy had received a promotion at work. It was a totally frivolous move on our part as this car was never meant to be a "family" car. At that point, it was just the two of us and we both were intrigued by the possibility of owning a sports car.

And not just any sports car, I mean let's face it. This is a killer ride. The car is unbelievable to drive on the open road. It comes with all of the performance (280 horses, not counting the one in the background) you would want in a 2 door coupe with the ammenities (heated/power seats, premium Bose sound, comfortable interior) of a luxury car. Tiffy really put it best when she said that the car begs to be driven at 80 mph. I hate to see anyone or thing beg, so I was more than willing to oblige.

But alas, things change. Fast forward 3 years and we are no longer living in the city. We now reside at Rancho Duttonero in the lovely Blugrass Region of Kentucky. We are blessed with the addition of Sir Hugh to our family. This along with frequent precipitation (some frozen) pointed to the decision to join the common folk by having a vehicle with 4 doors. Now I know what you are thinking, "Doesn't Tiffy drive a land yacht?" The answer would be yes. Her Ascender is 7 passenger, which is large enough to double as a landing strip in a pinch. But it was another aspect of Tiffy's ride that I was envious of recently.

You see, not only was the G35 missing 2 doors, it also lacked a very important letter from its name...an X. If you are not familiar with Infiniti, an X after any model name means ALL WHEEL DRIVE. It was this crucial omision that ultimately led to the demise of the Coupe.

About 2 weeks ago, I got caught at school in the G35 during snowy weather. Now as anyone who has ever driven a rear-wheel drive vehicle can tell you, if it isn't a big truck, you are in trouble in the snow. This is especially true if that vehicle is a 2 ton "hockey puck" (that phrase was coined in reference to the car by my buddy Kyle who aided in the Great Duttonian Exodus from NoVA by driving the G behind a moving truck through snowy WV a year ago.) I was needless to say out of luck. I attempted to drive home but found that I was doing more lateral movement than forward progress. To put it simply, I was "fishtailing" so bad that other cars backed off so they would not be taken down with me. Fortunately, I was able to wait long enough that a salt truck drove by. I was able to fall in behind him and follow him most of the way home. That little incident was the proverbial nail in the coffin for the sports car. I was sad but by no means shocked. We had been talking about making a move for some time. With Sam in the mix now, it was time to ignore the intrigue of being sporty.... meaning endgame for the Coupe. Enter the G35x Sedan.

If you know me, you know I had been researching cars as soon as the first mention of a change. I checked out the Chrysler 300, the Audi A4, Nissan Maxima, etc. I feel more than confident in our choice to stay with Infiniti. This is the redesigned G35x sedan.Complete with 306 horses and all of the comfort to which we've grown accustomed. It even comes with a Bluetooth option to use along with a mobile phone (Tiffy's favorite part.) It's all there. All-Wheel-Drive for me, 4 doors for Tiffy, & and carseat for Sam (which was purchased right after leaving the dealer.)

Doctor Me (Someone Please!) & The Women

This weekend, Rancho Duttonero was descended upon by the majority of the matriarchy of Tiffy's family. Her mother, grandmother, and two of her aunts, came for a visit to see the house and area we now occupy. It was the first time that 3 of them (Grandma Bonnie, Aunt Pam, and Aunt Nancy) had visited us since the great Duttonian Exodus from NoVA.

Needless to say, there was fun, food (Tiffy made chicken tortilla soup), far-fetched tales, and for Sam, a great deal of freedom. Afterall, he was now in a house with 4 grandmas who just ooohed and aaahed as he put on quite a show. The kid was "on" with all of his ABCs and even his 123s. He was dancing and grinning.

Notice that he has borrowed Aunt Pam's shoes for this particular part of the show. But don't be alarmed, the 9 o'clock show was completely different from the 7:30 show.

Sam was living it up with all of the attention and who could blame him. He was glad to see everyone and knew they were glad to see him. In this pic, he is spending some time with Great Grandma Bonnie.

It was a treat to get to visit with everyone. With the weather outside (snow) and the atmosphere inside, it made for quite the warm, comfy little evening. The ladies sat around and chatted for most of the night until Sir Hugh of Dutton was ready to go to bed. Everyone sort of followed suit.

Sam's New "Do"

This year for the Super Bowl....uh, I mean "the big game", we invited some friends over to watch the game and devour some football food. Mmmm....barbecue! Anyway, Tiffy thought that it would be fun to give Sammy a stylin' new mohawk just for kicks. The following pics tell the tale. We began the evening with a nice tall spike.

I suppose that it is plain to see that Sam doesn't mind posing for the camera. But with hair like this, you should expect some paparazzi.

Of course, we have to have a profile shot to really appreciate the look of this awesome hair. We used to give baby Sam a similar hairstyle because at one point, he didn't have much hair.

After the game was over and the crowd had subsided we see the aftermath of the night and the effect of bedhead on a mohawk. We also see that it did not affect Sam's ability to watch Playhouse Disney. Wiggles, Higglys, & Einsteins...OH MY!