On our drive back from down south a couple weeks ago we started discussing our growing family. On long trips, I chauffeur and Lindsey maintains the peace by being a firefighter, cafeteria, dancer, sleep facilitator, RN, mediator for me, medical transcriptionist, cleaner, pacifier, etc. You get the point. All I have to do is drive (easy part.)
We talked about traveling with a newborn and almost 2 yr old. Lindsey needs to ride in back with the newborn, especially on long trips... but Lakyn can't be in the front seat. hmmm
So the conversation hit a brick wall when I used this hyphenated word..... mini-van.
Lindsey isn't quite ready. I told her she had 4 months. She suggested the new SUV/van GMC Acadia. It gets better gas mileage, but I can't find a used one in my price range (affordability range.) I don't think there is any other option. After a lot of talking she said Honda Odyssey if we must.. lol! Well those babies must be made of Gold for how they are holding their value. I found some Toyota Sienna's, Lindsey is not a believer... yet!
Any suggestions out there? Or, is our reasoning/rationale flawed? I figured growing family, 5 yr plan, and better gas-mileage then we currently get... We like our Trailblazer just fine, I think we just underestimated the size of all the baby gear.
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Jason, Lindsey, Lakyn, Tatum and the dog, Gidget.
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11 comments:
Yea for mini-vans!!! You should totally get one. We have been on multiple trips with Garet's sisters in them and they are WONDERFUL. Especially the DVD player - a life saver! You should read my posts on mini vans. The best part was that they are low enough that Levi can get in and out by himself (which really helps when you have another one in tow).
Better solution: move south! Ha! This way, you will not have such long trips =) No, just kidding, do what you must. Adam wants to get a used Honda civic to suck less gas; or a donkey mule. Not sure which is more appealing. I am sad that ya'll might make the jump to the m-van, but again, do what you must! We'll still like you =)
I am a mini-van fan too -- but Alex is deadset against them! We have a Honda Pilot now, and we have a difficult time fitting a backwards baby seat in the back seat plus two long-legged parents in the front. What else can you do? It's okay with one baby, but what happens when #2 (or 3-4) comes along?
I must confess...I, too, am a fan of the mini-van. :o)
Grandma and Grandpa Fish got a Sienna. It's not half bad, even for a mini-van.
Same dilemma. We have baby #2 already and have danced the fine line between need and want a long time and still own just a Camry for our family car. But then try taking the dog to the kennel or fitting groceries around the double stroller in the trunk (which by the way, we have to pop the front wheels off of to get it in the trunk in the first place). Alas, we are past due for a larger car, but were waiting to see what happened with the adoption stuff to see how much larger. After looking at every 3rd row seating SUv and crossover on the market, we landed with the same conclusion: minivan. Sigh..so the debate is now Odyssey or Sienna. At this point I don't care, I'd just like something before we jump to 12-passenger vans. (Rob is ready to go there now...yikes). Let me know if you find an amazing deal. Those Hondas ain't cheap.
You actually said the word 'mini-van' without giving any kind of warning? Dude, I would react the same way. All I can think of is, "my parents drove a van, and I am nothing near what my parents are!" It somehow makes you feel like you are no longer in the "we're cool and we can drive any car we want category". But we are looking ahead realizing we are going to need to upgrade to a larger size. We are still fighting off the mini-van, and maybe looking for a crossover vehicle. Ford Freestyle (or Taurus X now) is our top choice. To me, a crossover acknowledges you need more space, but don't want to completely lose that 'sporty' edge. Ask me in 10 years--I'll probably be driving a mini-van! :)
Yup, I'm with Kristen on this one: the Taurus X. You get a third row/7 seats if you need them, all the seats fold totally flat for your Home Depot trips and you're spared the indignity of sliding doors (which I acknowledge is what makes m-vans so convenient.)
I've sat in the back row and I actually fit both head and knee-wise, which makes sense b/c they designed it for people up to 6' 2" which is me. Other than the Mercedes CUV which is way out of my price range, I think it's the coolest thing going for CUVs.
The X's don't seem as tall as some of those monster SUVs on the road, yet they're a comfortable height to climb in and out of and are no longer than my mid-size sedan. (Can you tell I work at Ford's ad agency?) Safe too: built on a Volvo car platform so 5 stars in all versions of crash tests, front, side, etc.
Travis
I have 2 words for you...Chevy Uplander. We just got one, and it has been great. It looks like an SUV from the outside, but seats like a minivan on the inside. I was so anti-minivan, but it has been great. I LOVE the DVD player, and the automatic sliding door. So nice, especially after my little Ford Taurus!
We LOVE our 2006 Sienna... tried at first to go for a mini SUV, but lack of leg room in the third seat really ended that and we gave in. We average 25 miles to the gallon, and love having easy fold down seats to have lots of room for baby stuff, not to mention groceries or other stuff. Dan researched this model, so he could tell you even more wonderful things about it...
Hahahaha. Lindsey's reluctant, huh. So is Derek. With our impending #2, I've been trying to convince him to go Sienna as well. My bro and his wife got one last week because their rodeo was mutilated in the AR hailstorm. I think they were planning to go that route before the hailstorm anyways. Derek says we need to go with a new to us camry because of crazy gas prices, but he's not going to be the one hauling the kids around most of the time. There's a couple at our church that have that chevy van/suv hybrid looking thingy and it doesn't look too bad. Don't know what the gas mileage is like, but we're Toyota loyalists, so I'm really pushing for the Sienna. I got him convinced once but then he backslid...probably after we filled up the rodeo for $50. Good luck on Linds (come on, girl...they're not that bad!)
Leigha
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