See ya later, Swagger Wagon!

Matthew had just woken up after a grueling 1 1/2 work out last night. He looks a little worse for wear! ;)
Shortly after Mary Beth was born, I came out to my car and found the bumper dented in. We decided that it was perfect, since Mary Beth had a dimple on her right cheek as well!


After 8 years and 140,000 miles of hard living, we have finally given our minivan the retirement that it deserves! We were so happy with our minivan 8 years ago! Baby Thomas's and Matthew's car seats fit perfectly. It has seen many wonderful places and carried lots of precious cargo. I felt a little sentimental about saying goodbye to my longest lasting family car, but the thought of having a car that didn't smell like 3 month old Arby's and have dents and chipped paint made the sadness go away quickly!

I have been looking at new cars for over a year while trying to squeeze out every last drop of mileage from our van. My favorite part of our van was the seating: two bucket seats in the middle and a bench in the back. Perfect for carpool. I have been looking for non minivan options with this configuration. Several fit the bill, but I kept coming back to the Traverse. I loved the way it drove and I had all the best features of my van.

Last week, Bryon wanted me one last time to test drive a Tahoe, Suburban, and Traverse in the same day to decide what would be best. We immediately ruled out the Tahoe because of cargo space. I think it would be great for 2 kids, but not so much for three. We are friends with the manager of our local Chevy dealership, and he kindly let me take the Suburban home for two days to live it a while. At first, I thought we had found what we were looking for, but I didn't like driving it in town. It was gigantic, and I am terrible about parking in my correct space with a medium sized car, forget a large car! I pulled up to Walgreens and parked. Bryon looked at me, smiled, and said, "Not even close." I decided I wasn't woman enough for the Burb.

After that test drive, the dealer let me borrow a Traverse for a few days. I hadn't traveled a half a mile when I decided it was the car for me. I was the most comfortable car and I felt the most at ease in it.

So there you have it! If we keep our Traverse as long as the van, Matthew will be graduating from high school in it!