cars Archives - Listen to Lena

Hola Readers! I’m currently sailing off the coast of Cozumel, Mexico… ready to embark on our final day trip before we turn around for home. Our adventure aboard the Royal Caribbean Allure of the Seas has been EPIC! It’s been such a treat spending time with my family, enjoying the splendor of the largest cruise ship in the world, and of course, witnessing how Fisher Price makes family travel a cinch.

Now, before I leave you for the day, I couldn’t let another moment go by without introducing you to the newest member of our family!

(Do not adjust your computer screens. You did NOT stumble upon some car buff’s blog – the following pictures are just me appreciating a fine machine when I see one.)

You may remember that a few years ago, “Scarlett” joined our family – a red MINI Cooper with sassy white bonnet stripes. She was my favourite gal for zipping around in – and I must say, she made parking in downtown Toronto a LOT easier! And, of course you know about Ryder’s fascination with MINI Coopers, encouraged by spending copious amounts of time zipping around with Mommy.

Well, when the time came to trade Scarlett in, I just couldn’t give up the FUN of driving a MINI Cooper. Hey, I’ve become accustomed to taking corners at 50 km/hr… how was I supposed to give that up? Plus, there was no way Ryder would ever forgive us if we didn’t indulge in another one of his favourite cars.

Hence, just before we left for the #FisherPriceonRoyal press trip, we picked up the newest member of our family! Meet our Black MINI Cooper Bakerstreet!

…

So, Ryder has a *slight* addiction to cars.

He plays with them. He takes them to bed at night. He makes highly annoying noises; emulating the roar of an engine, the impact of a collision, and – my personal ticket to hell – the screeching sound of brakes.

Oh, happy day.

At last count, he has over 100 toy cars – a smörgåsbord of Hot Wheels, die cast models, mini Kinder Surprise cars and even a ride-on Fisher-Price Cadillac Escalade (or the “Escalegg” as he refers to it). I don’t even know how he amassed such a collection; most of the cars conveniently disappeared during my massive decluttering session, only to reappear a few days later.

However, if there’s one car that Ryder treasures above all; one car he plays with EVERY single day – it’s his die cast red MINI Cooper. Fashioned to look exactly like my own, it was gifted to him by his Uncle Adam after a trip to San Francisco, and he’s been hooked ever since. At first, he referred to it as “Mommy’s Car”, but now he correctly (lovingly?) addresses the toy as “Red MINI Cooper”.

(Not to be confused with “Blue MINI Cooper”, the car he’s been asking for, and “Green MINI Cooper”, the car he wants mommy to buy. Oh, and “Silver MINI Cooper” which is just on another level. Of course.)

So today, on a day when soccer practice was a little scary, and his little brother was a little annoying, Ryder was feeling particularly low. And after it was apparent that not even Popsicles and pretzels could pull him out of his sour mood, I decided to take him and Reid on a little road trip.

“Where are we going, Mommy?” he asked.
“It’s a surprise,” I replied.

Ten minutes later, we rounded the corner and the MINI Oakville dealership came into view.

“Ta-da!” I exclaimed. “We came to visit MINI Coopers at their home!”

Okay, so you know how parents record their child’s reaction when they are told they’re going to Disney? I wish I had recorded Ryder’s reaction as we pulled into the parking lot. His eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

“MOMMY!” he yelled. “We’re visiting the MINI Coopers? In their home? I’m so happy! I love you MINI Coopers! I’m here to see you!“…

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