Show and Tell-- New Car

This week you're getting a 2-for-1 special...

1. New Show & Tell---New Van
Yesterday we bought a new mini van to replace DH's '99 Explorer. The Explorer had been nickle and dime-ing us lately. Though we weren't planning on buying a new car quite so soon, the deal we found was too good to pass up. We put down LESS $$$ than we did when we purchased the Explorer back in April '99, and we bought the 2009 van for LESS total cost than the Explorer was. We didn't get a lot of gadgets....but the key less entry and CD player are a step up from DH's old car, so he is loving it. And we were able to get $1500 trade in for the stinky, dirty, coffee stained, broken armrest/center console, nasty old Explorer. Hilarious! I thought we'd get $800 at the most.

We had figured long ago our next vehicle would probably be a mini van. Though vans lose a little in the "cool factor," they have many features we love, especially the rear "stowaway" seats for carting large items, 2 rows of rear seats for carting around family/friends when visiting, or more room for Em and our large 100-pound dog. (You should have seen the 2 of them squished into the back of my Honda Civic last summer for our Florida-Ohio trip!)

(I did have two "ouches" when 2 different workers at the dealership asked us if Em was our "only one." Sighs. But overall, it was a positive experience. We literally were in and out with the new van in just under two hours. Wow!)

Pics below are from our time at the car dealership...


DH reading over some paperwork... (A little scruffy...he's been stressed out this week hoping the Explorer wouldn't poop out before we traded it in.)



Em and her Viewmaster


After Em got bored with the toys and coloring I had strategically packed, we found an indoor Kid's Area


Em at the play yard


Good bye, Explorer and Hello Grand Caravan!


Adios!


One of my fav features is the upper mirror---enables the driver and front seat passenger to see all of the rear seats/passengers.


The interior..."durable stain proof seats." Sweet!


View in our driveway today, since it started raining before we left the dealership yesterday.


2. Show and Tell---The Old
This week marks the one year anniversary of Show and Tell, as sponsored every Saturday on Mel's Blog. There was a requested "homework" assignment this week. Mel asked that all Show and Tell participants leave a link to their favorite Show and Tell post from the past year.

A few months ago I was fortunate to run across Mrs. Gamgee's blog at Hobbit-ish Thoughts and Daily Ramblings. I've been a follower ever since. I feel a kindred connection with sweet Mrs. Gamgee due to many similarities within our lives. Back in April, Mrs. Gamgee had a wonderful post about her favorite photo of herself. I loved the photo, her description of her sheer happiness in the photo, and the memories surrounding the photo (and her trip to the Berlin Wall.) Check out her super post HERE.

And as always, you can check out what the rest of the class is bringing this week HERE at Mel's awesome blog.