Van...Suburban...Bus??

A year ago we were having a hard time trying to decide about our vehicle situation. With baby #6 on the way we would no longer fit in our 7 passenger van. We polled everyone on facebook...talked to friends and family...crunched numbers and tried to decide if we wanted a suburban, or an 8 seat mini van, or a bus ;)....ok...not really a bus, but it seemed like this decision involved a much deeper question of "will this be our last baby?"  That was not a decision I have ever felt would have a 100% answer...especially as a 6, 7 or 8 month pregnant lady in the heat of the spring and summer.  So we waited and waited deciding that if all else fails we'll just stick with the van we have now and find another 3 seat bench to put in place of the 2 seat. That's an easy $200 fix, and one we almost did.  

Well, two weeks before Isasc was born here is what our van said:

At that point I was nearly 9 months along and climbing in and out of vans and suburbans trying to decide what we want. Hoping to make a decision before baby comes.  

Well...call it procrastination, really trying to do our homework, or just plain crazy...but it wasn't until Isaac was a week old that we finally decided to spend a few late hours at a dealership buying a vehicle!  It was LATE, and I was a little stressed, but Isaac was so good and we got it all done.  I was very excited, but then as we went to our van to clear everything out I got so very sad to just up and leave our good friend behind.  We took a couple of pictures there in the dark...

 and then because my husband knows me all too well, when he went back a couple of days later, he took another picture for me in the daylight.

 I loved our van!  My favorite feature was those built-in carseats!!  So perfect for us!

 It took us all over Wyoming...too many times to count...and one of our very favorite memories was the 24 hours(spread over 3 days) in the car to Houston, Texas, and then 24 hours (in just 2 days) back.  How many times can a family watch the brand new (at the time) Hannah Montana movie while spending 48 hours in a van!  Good memories!  :)

Well, now we have our new Honda Odyssey!  An 8 seat van!  And what about that having more kids question??  Well...we'll take things as they come, but for now this is what made the most sense for our family!  Notice we dug into our year supply of Cowboy stickers!  The van is now marked and ready to go!  (stuck the kids there to cover up the license plate...they are smiling and even giggling...the sun was just in their eyes!)

 So, we miss the feature of the built in car seats, but we LOVE the new entertainment package.  For a couple of months we even had free satellite radio where we got to listen to the world series and playoff games!  Our first trip was Fall Break to Laramie...each kid has their own headset on and Matt and I were even able to listen to our own music!  No more memorizing the kids movies!  :)

 In the picture above we can't see Isaac's car-seat to the right of Kaylee, so today I had them all pose for a Sunday picture on our way to church!  :) I know it may seem silly to have done this huge long post about a van, but it truly is part of the family!  Just this week Matt took it to get a hitch put on so it's all ready to go for our first camping adventure!  This van will do just what the other one did...take us on many camping trips, visiting Grandmas and Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins, maybe a trip to Disneyland ;) or the kids beg for Houston again.  The kids hop in and out daily to and from school and their many activities.  It becomes a cramped space at times...don't get me wrong!  :)  However...I am very thankful for our van that gives us many opportunities to do such fun things as a family!  Happy Trails!!  :)