TBnJ

About a month ago when I was taking B to the doctor for the fever/cough virus, I managed to break off the handle on the driver's side sliding door on my minivan, a 2000 Toyota Sienna. I grabbed the handle, started trying to get it rolling, and heard a very loud POP. B looked at me and said, "Uh-oh." A noise like that just can't be good, and even an almost five year old knows it. As I held the handle in my hand, I marveled at my Herculean strength. Then I got home and Googled. This is a known problem on Siennas of that age. It's not just me managing to break my car.

I figured out from the web that this was a repair that Daddy-o was capable of doing. The part was $75 with shipping on the net (or $95 at the local dealer). I am sure this part costs less than $10 to manufacture in China. However, the repair estimates from other folks on the web said that the dealer was charging $200-$300 for the installation and part. So Daddy-o got to do it with some "help." He removed the middle row of captain's chairs to facilitate the repair. All three kids are in the van in this picture. J is laying on the back bench behind the door panel that T is leaning against. B thought the insides of the door were "totally awesome."

After the door was fixed (which took less than thirty minutes-- definitely not worth paying the dealer an extra $200), Daddy-o decided to take advantage of the missing seats and vacuum the crumb lined floor of the van. However, Daddy-o has this really rigged. We don't have any wall-to-wall carpeting in our house, so all three kids think vacuuming is a rare and exciting event. They fight over who gets to do it. This is a bit like Tom Sawyer and the fence painting. Daddy-o doesn't like to vacuum all that much, so the fact that he has three kids fighting over who gets to do it works well for him. J got the first turn followed by B. T was busy reading his new Lego magazine while sitting in a carseat on the driveway, but he did get to do some of the final touches on the vacuuming, too.

In addition to fixing the door handle, Daddy-o and B secured up a few wobbly boards on the stairs to the doggie door. Blue Dog and Red Dog had some loud opinions about this. However, the work needed to be done, and the dogs chilled out after a minute or two of the repairs. They were rewarded for their patience with a walk in the park.

Labels: around the house, dogs