The Parmers Have Moved: Damsels in Distress

The girls and I went to Anniston on Monday for a funeral and we headed back after the services on Tuesday. We got on the road about 4:00 heading home. All was going fine - the girls had a snack when we hit the road and Brooklyn quickly went to sleep after filling her belly! Bella was enjoying Thumbelina (for the millionth time, it seemed). We got to Wetumpka, AL and I got a little confused as to whether I should take Interstate 65 or Interstate 85. I ended up deciding that I should be on I-85 but had passed the turn, so I drove up the road a little and made a U-turn and once I made the U-turn, I lost all ability to steer my Suburban. I was able to get it out of the road and onto the side of the road (well actually into a turn lane on the right side of the road). I literally could not get the steering wheel to turn! A bit of panic came over me, but I didn't want to show it because then the girls would get upset. So I called Brannon at work and they initially told me he couldn't come to the phone (this was at about 6 pm). I told them that it was an emergency and that I was on the side of the road with our two kids out of town and that he had to come to the phone now! She went and got him to the phone. While I was talking to Brannon and him trying to tell me what to look for under the hood, a man stopped. He didn't stay long (thank goodness - he was a little scary to me). It didn't appear that I had much power steering fluid in the vehicle, so I was getting the girls out of the truck to walk across the street to buy some when another gentleman stopped as well. As he was getting out of his truck a FedEx truck was stopping as well - the FedEx truck went on its way after they saw the other guy (they apparently knew each other). The guy who had stopped happened to be a certified mechanic (WHAT LUCK?). He agreed with the lack of power steering fluid but was concerned because it appeared that the fluid that was in there was black (it is apparently supposed to be red) and burned smelling. I went across the street (with the girls, of course) and bought the power steering fluid. He ended up putting 3 quarts in the truck in an effort to flush out the "bad" fluid. This did no good at all. He then drove my truck across the street into the parking lot of a Marathon gas station. By this point, Brannon and his dad are already on their way to get us, with a tow truck following them! The nice gentleman who stopped was very apologetic that he could not do more, but I was very thankful he stopped to help and we were no longer on the side of the road. The girls and I went to McDonald's (just across from the gas station), got some supper and headed back to the car where we watched Over the Hedge and the girls played in the truck! A cousin of Brannon's works for the Attorney General and he stays in Montgomery during the week, so he came over to sit with us until Brannon and his dad arrived. Danny got there around 7:30 and Brannon and his dad got there around 9:30 with the tow truck! We finally made it home around 11:30 last night. The girls were exhausted and both of them slept all night! The truck is already fixed and is waiting for us to pick it up - is the power steering pump! Here are some pictures of the girls from our adventure last night!