We took the plunge...

and finally bought ourselves a minivan.  My transformation to a (future) soccer mom is now complete.

The day after we bought it, my parents congratulated us, and then my Dad jokingly told me to go to McDonald's, order 3 orders of large fries, and then dump them all over the back seat and floor of our minivan, as eventually it will look like that.

I'm not sure why I still cringe a little when I tell people that we bought a minivan.  Seriously, it's completely awesome, and brand new and wonderful in every way.  I read that the Honda Odyssey (which we purchased) is often regarded as the Lexus of minivans, and that couldn't be more true - the ride is smooth, the interior is beautiful, roomy, and comfortable, there are compartments and storage areas for just about everything you can think of, and the car is just built for kids with side curtain airbags, automatic sliding doors, built in sunshades, and tons of other great safety features.  Best of all, Joey can actually drive this car (he was too tall to even get behind the wheel in my old car, as the convertible car seat forced the driver's seat so far forward that his tall legs wouldn't fit).  We've already taken one road trip up to South Bend, IN in the minivan, and it honestly seemed like Anna and Margaret were just more comfortable.  Throw in some snacks and a DVD, and voila - a (somewhat) whine-free road trip.

So I'm getting over that minivan stigma quickly, although strangely enough I still find myself behind an infuriating driver of on Odyssey, Sienna, Town and Country, etc. -  driving 10 miles below the speed limit and changing lanes without even looking - and I find myself mumbling under my breath, "Dang minivan driver."  And a few other words that I cannot print in this blog.  Luckily, I really don't care about the "coolness" aspect (or lack thereof) in driving a minivan - I neither measured my hipness based on the car I drive, nor ever could claim to be hip in the first place.  

I really do feel so lucky to be driving a brand new, completely awesome car that is perfect for our girls - and I'm so thankful to Joey for working so hard to enable us to do this.  Our girls are positively giddy about the car.  I made the mistake on the first day we owned the car of letting them crawl around inside (while parked in the driveway) while I was organizing a few things and setting up the car seats, and I think the thrill of not being strapped into car seats got to them, as they now demand to play in the car every day.  Something about pushing the radio buttons, climbing up and down the seats, sitting behind the steering wheel, and walking from the front seat to the back provides for the world's best indoor playground.  I really should never have started that - but hey, it does kill about an hour of time every day.

I need to update you all on a few cool new things they are doing and saying - so I'll work on that today!  Have a great Thursday!