K1, the driving test, and major lessons on the first day....

Feb 23, 2009: It's official! We have a new driver in the house!



And she came this close to failing her test after doing an outstanding job! She parked at the only spot with a utility pole!!! If she would have hit it, she would have failed!! He asked her why she chose that spot when there were a lot of parking spots open... typical teenage answer "I don't know" LOL!



After she passed the test, we went to the insurance co so they would have her driver license number and got proof of insurance for her car. Then, we went to the license plate agency so we could register her car. Carpool was next(in my car, with me driving lol), then home and she got to put the plate on her car. It was Teen Court night and K3 had Science Olympiad so K1 filled up on gas then went to get K3. I ran back to the house for something I had forgotten and met them at the middle school. Here is a very short video of K1 leaving the middle school and me getting a good chuckle... I guess I should mention that her car, as well as K2's truck, has a manual transmission... it's a bit bumpy at times!




Here she is leaving the house earlier and in traffic on the way to pick up K2 and Teen Court.



K2 was pleasantly surprised when K1 drove up. We went to dinner and proceeded to Teen Court arriving all in one piece. A little note: She can have any or all of her siblings in the car OR one friend/other passenger under the age of 18 but not both, for 6 months.

K1 and K2 were attorneys on the first and second cases of the evening. K3 was a juror for cases 1, 3, and5. K1 and K2 asked to leave after their cases to go to K1 boyfriend's (G) house. After assuring me G's dad was home, I said OK hesitantly, with directions to be home BEFORE 9. Also earlier in the day, we had discussed the "rules". You will go where you say you are going... I am not stupid, I was a teenager and told my parents I was going one place and then went another (sorry mom, but I know you knew...lol) but I have an advantage over my parents... the cell phone. You will call me when you get there, you will call me before you do anything not previously approved (ie run to the corner store for something), you will call me when you leave, you will call me when you get home if I am not there. What I did not exactly specify in specific words was that a text or voice mail was not acceptable for changing plans... this will come into play, of course! Off they go.....

In the basement of the courthouse, there is NO signal, K1 and K2 know this... so I am sitting, waiting for court to be over thinking they are at G's house... Court ends, I walk outside to a voicemail - so I listen... they have gone to K2 friend's (T) house - in the same neighborhood as G, as G was not home. "Don't worry we will be home on time, T has to be home by 8:30" was the message from K2. Then there was a text... we are at walmart... Needless to say, I was not amused in the least.... I called K2 phone and since she didn't answer, left her one heck of a message stating that K1 was doing a great job of trying to lose her car on the first night, going to a different friend's house was NOT approved and definitely going to walmart was NOT approved and they BETTER GET HOME BEFORE I DO! click!!!

Then I call William... he thinks I am over reacting, they are just wrapped up in the excitement of some freedom, etc... I think about it, already having decided she would not be in "trouble" as in losing her driving privileges, but we would go over the rules again specifying that if she did not speak to me personally, she was to take it as a no and go home, not assume she could change her plans... BEEP goes the phone, I put William on hold... It's K1 calling from the corner store by T's house... BAWLING hysterically... "I'm so sorry, I broke the car, the muffler is hanging off" or something VERY close to that.... BEEP goes the phone, its K2.... I ask K1 why K2 is calling me if K1 is on the phone with me.... "oh, she's at walmart, I'll explain when you get here". I answer the beep, K2 sounds so innocent.... I honestly don't even remember one word of what I said to her or what she said to me.... but I get back on the phone with K1, tell her I will be there in a minute. Try to get back on the phone with William to explain what the heck is going on, but we had been disconnected or I hung up, who knows... so I called him back. He is now the angry one LOL! I am almost at the point that I am just laughing... He wants to know what she's done, but I don't know because I hadn't gotten there yet. I pull up, go in the store, hand Kalee the phone and let dad deal with her while I look at the car. The pipe leading into the muffler has come out and the muffler is hanging and on the ground. I peek under the car... it was bungee'd together! OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I asked William if he knew that and he said no, the person who had given us the car had told K1 and William he had fixed it.... William never looked completely under the car... you had to lay on your back to see the bungee. So... T's step dad arrives and "fixes" it so she can drive it to his house around the corner... he did a temporary fix until we can get it fixed correctly... William will be home this weekend to check it out.

So, in K1's words the story goes:

When we got to the neighborhood, K2 asked if I would take her to T's house. I dropped her off then I went to G's house. He wasn't home so I went back to T's house. K1 asked if we could go to walmart, I told her I wasn't comfortable doing that, but she kept bugging me, so I finally said okay, but you have to give me a couple dollars gas money. We went to walmart and hung out. We were talking to a friend and I was telling him what the officer had said about siblings/friends in the car and that's when I realized what I had done (she drove K2 and T to walmart). Then we got your message, so I drove T home, leaving K2 at walmart and that's when the muffler broke.

Now, this all appears very calm to the reader, but you have to understand that K1 is a 17 year old DRAMA QUEEN! You would all be dying laughing if you could hear her talking and telling the whole story! I pretty much told her this was a great lesson in what happens when you are doing something you aren't supposed to be doing.... something will happen... and not always end this nicely! I told her she was not in trouble, but she needed to learn from this and we went over the speaking to me is the only way she can change her plans! I told her this would not be forever, but she needs more experience and guidance before she can just "go". William finally calmed down too.

WHAT A NIGHT!!!!