WHY THE JEEP THEME?

Tim thought he and the boys needed a hobby so he bought a 1978 CJ7 Jeep this summer. For those who care to know the specifics, they have already put a Chevy 350 engine in it, new seat covers, and a few other accessories. They have plans for a lift kit, big tires, new paint job, and as much chrome as I say they can afford. Here it is:Here is Josh working on the engine. Can you see his smile?

When Tim brought his Jeep home I noticed right away that it only had 4 seats so I asked “what’s up with that“? The next weekend I had one to. Take a look at the picture below…..rusted out, broken windshield, no seats, it’s in sad shape. I think Tim is getting the better end of this deal. Since it costs quite a bit to fix these things up (and this one needs a LOT of work) we are getting rid of my jeep and it’s going to be turned into a Mud Racer by a friend of ours.
When Amanda wanted to learn how to drive a stick shift, we all piled in the Jeep to go out for her first try at driving a manual. About the time we were 1/3 of the way into the corner I was wishing we had seatbelts. With no power steering it wasn’t turning as quickly or as sharply as she was expecting and we missed the paperbox on the opposite side of the road by a very narrow margin after kicking up a ton of loose gravel in the driveway from spinning out while trying to get it in gear. With ALL the family in one jeep with no seatbelts and a teen driver behind the wheel who had never driven a manual , I was screaming STOP from the back seat while holding on to Nathan and the rollbar and running a hundred scenarios through my mind of what I was going to do if this thing tipped over. The rest of the kids were whooping and hollering with excitement and Tim was trying to gently instruct her over all the commotion. We BARELY made that first corner, but then we were on our way. By the time we got back home she had mastered the manual and now it’s the vehicle of choice when one has to make a quick run to the grocery store.Here are the kids with Tim’s jeep that we are keeping.