The Silver Bullet

That's what I've named my new van. Not very original but it was the perfect, if not obvious name for it. Isn't it awesome? I am so excited!

So I've been driving the same 2-door Toyota for 7 years and it has been so good to me, but getting a baby in and out of a car-seat in a 2-door car was quite challenging. I have bumped Keziah's head more times than I can count getting in and out of that car. So Michael Paul and I had been talking about getting something bigger for a while and I have always wanted to drive a mini-van. Yeah I know I'm weird. Maybe it's just the whole wanting to be the "stereotypical stay-at-home mom" fantasy. But a van certainly seemed more practical than a car and gets much better gas-milage than an SUV.

Of course I know nothing about cars and so this was very much Michael Paul's decision and he is convinced that the Toyota Previa is the best van they ever made. Unfortunately, they stopped making them in '98 (I think). So he's been on the look-out for a low milage one. We weren't planning on buying one just yet, but when this one came up with only 87,000 miles at a great price, he decided he should jump on it. Can I just say I love my hubby! I couldn't be happier. He said he really wanted to pull it into our driveway with a big red bow on it like they do in commercials but he didn't know where to find a bow that big. In any case, it is still a wonderful present! It is so roomy and nice and if it proves to be as reliable as our other Toyotas, (both of our current Toyotas have over 220,000 miles and still run great) we will get at least a good 150,000 more miles out of it.

Keziah seems to love being able to run around in the van. We actually went out and just played inside the van in the driveway yesterday. And I am sure she will appreciate me not bumping her head getting in and out of it!

The only down-side - it's an automatic. I loved driving a stick-shift. They are especially great for driving in mountains and it is much more fun to drive a manual. I will definitely miss that part of my old car. But Michael Paul says finding a van that's not an automatic is pretty impossible, so I shall get over it.

So the Silver Bullet is hopefully the vehicle I will be driving for many years to come. And it is also my hope and prayer that those extra back seats will be filled with more children :o)