The Dark Side

We have turned to the dark side and purchased something I said we'd never own....A MINIVAN!  We were constantly having a car discussion even before we were pregnant with this baby...we wanted a larger vehicle for traveling around Europe...there are sooooo many exciting places that we can drive to but the Mercedes is a tight squeeze with two kids, a dog and luggage.  We debated about buying a used Tahoe or Surburban but even old ones are close to $10,000 and do we really want to be investing money into that old of a vehicle and take it on long distance trips??  I was opposed to a new car because of a 2nd car payment AND mostly the fact that I didn't want THREE kids messing up a new car!  I had found 3 carseats that could fit across the back of the Mercedes and we were ready to make it work!!!!!  Or we also thought we wanted the new Explorer or Durango or something along that size because driving/parking is a nightmare over here with tight, tight spots!  Had we been in the States this conversation would have never taken place...it'd be a no-brainer that we'd go for something big, BUT.... Leevi went to the military car lot to look at an Explorer for us and kept getting drawn back to a Chrysler Minivan...he would not stop talking about it when he got home and wanted me to check it out the next day.  

Once you look at the Explorer and Town & Country side by side there really is NO comparison in terms of space especially since we'll have 3 carseats/boosters for at least the next 2-3 years!!  And the T and C was about 5 grand cheaper!  We took about a week or two to decide...not necessarily if we wanted the minivan but if we wanted a new car in general.  You obviously know our decision! 

The girls are SUPER excited and I'm waiting and waiting for the novelty of all of the buttons they can push to wear off!  :)  This was the sign Hailey made after school on the day we went to pick it up!

It really is the fanciest car we've ever owned....power everything, heated everything, stow-n-go seating, cargo storage in floor, and the media center alone is ridiculous with a 40 GB hard drive!!!!   As of now, Hailey has claimed the back row to herself and has her sunglasses and ipod in the cubbies and we've stowed one of the middle row captain's chairs to add extra room for backpacks, diaper bags etc.  I plan on moving Kai to the back with Hailey once the baby arrives.  And we've already installed custom fit floormats from www.weathertech.com that cover every inch of the floor with lipped edges to catch liquid spills (that is IF I ever allow them to eat in the van)  :)  I also bought a dust buster!  :)  It really is a living room on wheels!!!  We love it and the "ridiculously practical factor" definitely won out over the "cool points factor". 

One quick funny story....I was testing out the remote start one morning and Kailee was already outside waiting on the other side of the van to get in (she couldn't see me).  When I started it with the remote she started screaming because she thought I was getting ready to drive away without her!  :)