Our New Minivan

For awhile we have known that Richard's car is dying.  It was a 1997 Ford Escort that he used to drive in high school, back when we started dating.  It has a lot of memories and Richard loved it, but it was getting old.  The A/C didn't work which was a safety concern when trying to defrost in the winter or when it rains.  Then it started stalling out and not starting almost every time we drove it.  It was finally at the point where we knew we didn't want to put any more money into it.  

Richard had been researching minivans for several months and we decided to go take a look at one in person that we thought was the kind we wanted.  We weren't going to buy the car until after the summer, so we just looked.  Then that following Saturday we realized that maybe we could work something out with the dealer and that it really was the exact car we wanted.  Richard went in to talk with the dealer and I came up with Miles to sign the papers.  I couldn't believe we were suddenly coming home with a new (for us) car, especially since it was kind of a last minute decision.  We have never bought a car before, so it was a crazy feeling!  

We ended up buying a 2012 Chrysler Town and Country minivan and we LOVE it!  Every time we get inside we always end up talking about all of the different things we love about it.  The base model of the 2012 comes with leather seats, a backup camera, and a DVD player, which was awesome on the two trips to Maryland we already did.  We love how the seats fold into the floor and I'm obsessed with having the power sliding doors.  I swear my errands go faster.  It has been so nice getting Miles in and out while pregnant, and I know it will be much safer when little James comes.  

Richard now drives our 1997 Toyota Avalon to school and I drive the minivan. We feel very lucky to be able to have such a nice van.  And it is still quite amazing to go from having two cars that were 15 years old and only had tape players to a car with a USB ports, Aux-in ports, etc. 

Our beautiful new van

 

Richard was sad to say goodbye