Goodbye, Molly!

This week we had to say goodbye to our dear friend, Molly. She was our beloved Toyota Corolla. She was with us from the beginning and stayed with us for 8 years. We bought her the summer before we were married. 

Here we are, all together, right after our wedding reception. She didn't get all decked out for the occasion, but she was there supporting us! (Sorry for the quality of the pictures- we didn't have a digital camera until a few years into our marriage.)

She was there for us on the numerous drives between Portland and Seattle while we were engaged and had to visit each other every weekend. Then she made the drive out to Idaho where we attended the last of our college years. 

She hardly gave us any trouble over the years. She did have a few issues, though, including this tire blow-out on the way home from Idaho Falls one evening. 

It wasn't her fault. It was the nail's fault!

She came with us to Oregon after finishing up college in Idaho. She brought home our first-born son from the hospital and gave him a comfy space to travel in safety. 

She continued making the drive between Portland and Seattle for the next few years so we could visit Grandma and Grandpa Culwell. We put quite a few miles on her. 

She put up with wind, snow, rain, and heat. 

 She even made it across the entire country to help us out in New York. She sure was dedicated.

In 2010, she was joined by Eva the Subaru. She wasn't even jealous. 

She provided reliable transportation every day on the drive to and from work. 

She brought home our very first "real" Christmas tree. That was a very important job for her! She was so proud!

She said goodbye to Eva the Subaru with us, and welcomed Olivia the Odyssey with open arms. They made  a great team. Most recently, she made several trips to the hospital so we could visit our little preemie. It's hard to say goodbye to our very first car!

We decided to go ahead and replace Molly before she finally decided to break down in the middle of the road. She probably could have gone a little longer, but it's not really fun to drive an unpredictable car. Her "check engine" light had been on continuously for the past 3 years anyway... Here's our newest family member Hayley the Corolla. We have two reliable vehicles now, which is good. We'll just miss our little Molly. Good bye, girl!