ode to an off road vehicle

If I wrote poetry (I don't) then I would certainly write a poem called 'ode to an off road vehicle' in honor of this little toy.  

It entered our home Christmas Day 2007, a gift for our just-turned-2 year old Julianna.  Neither Matt nor I ever imagined it would still be around 5 1/2 years later... or that our children would cover so many miles on those little plastic wheels.

I can't remember when we started calling it the 'off road vehicle' but it was surely after Isaac became primary driver.  Isaac could handle this car better than many adults handle theirs.  He could parallel park with precision, tucking it right between a rocky outcropping and a line of bushes.  He rode over and under and around everything, usually choosing the road less traveled.  He would fly down a ramp and skid around a corner, ending his breathless ride 3 centimeters from my big toe.... then look up, grin, and do it again. 

On a walk late last week the off road vehicle experienced catastrophic damage (Matt called it "complete failure of the front axle").  It had to be walked home and.... tragically, two days later we made the final call to place it near the trash bins. 

So the end of an era for this treasured toy.  I couldn't let it go without a few final photos.

The outdoor toy fleet is down a member.  But no worries, Isaac is eager to conquer biking with no training wheels.  But I am sad that the other two little boys spent far too few hours on this little treasure before it rode it's final ride.