Ode to the Hand Me Down.

Whoever said Hand Me Down's suck wasn't living on one income. There really isn't a feeling like having to pass up the shiny, new and prohibitively expensive toys at the store, only to come home to a truckload of just as good toys free for the taking with my smiling bro behind the wheel (he's just happy to get rid of them).

The last shipment included the best toy if you are looking for shrieks of giddiness from Ana while awake, and loud in-her-sleep proclamations of "car!" in the middle of the night.

That's right. It's the ubiquitous Little Tykes plastic car. These things must last forever. Because it has lasted through my brother's 3 kids and still has plenty of vroom left.

Here's Ana, lounging in her favorite outdoor patio furniture piece. As you can see, it was taken when it was still warm. Probably around labor day, the last warm day of the summer.