Saturday, May 23, 2009

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.

18 comments:

Kristin said...

Ooooh...a brand new van. Mine is getting so old and battered but I still love it.

Sunny said...

LOVE the new car! It may be a mini-van, but it looks really great. Red is my favorite car color.

We will be getting a new minivan or small SUV in October when our current lease is up, I'll need some tips for getting a good deal. :)

Liv said...

Oh, hey what a great looking van! I luv the color!

And I just read hobbitish rambling's post and it is really facinating.

Thanks for sharing!

Carrie27 said...

We have a Town and Country and I LOVE IT! It makes traveling so much easier. Congrats!

Barefoot said...

Congrats on the new van! Very exciting...and love the color!

Unknown said...

oooh very very nice!!! :)
congrats on the new van!!!

Andi said...

Wow. That is a nicer car dealership than I have ever seen...at least the childrens' area.

I am adding that bridge to the list of places I have to visit. Did you get vertigo at all?

Anonymous said...

I love the feeling of getting a new car, congrats on the new van :)

Anonymous said...

Why does DH look like he is gonna vomit in that picuture?

I know, he probably hadn't eaten or slept in two days, right?

christopher said...

Congrats on the new van! Vans are awesome, no loss of "cool factor". :) Especially when it has a CD player and key less entry. Does it have auto-doors as well? Those are the best.

I didn't know they still made viewmasters, those things were the best when I was a kid.

Happy ICLW and thanks for the comments.

JD said...

congrats on the new ride!! sweet!

and i used to teach 8th grade language arts! (reading and writing.) the year after i moved away from texas, they separated the two. i don't know which i would've preferred.

xoxo

Wishing 4 One said...

Congrats on the new car. Looks awesome and I too love that mirror, what a great little gadget.

tomi said...

That is a nice new ride :)

Your first pic is awesome - I can never attempt to cross anything at that height (i wussed out of the tree-top walks when we were on holidays last week).

ICLW

K said...

I so want that Van!!!! I love it!
ICLW

Jenny @ Another Jennifer Speaks said...

oooo new car :D we got a new car. then a year later he wrecked it. =(

Anonymous said...

Congrats on the new minivan! How exciting. I can't wait until we have kids and I can justify getting one...how nerdy is that?

Mrs. Gamgee said...

Yay for a new van! How very exciting! And thank you so much for your kind words. If only we didn't live on opposite ends of the continent I'd love to take you for coffee! :)

GeekByMarriage said...

Omg I love that van. What year is it and ballpark how much? I need a new van asap and that one's perfect!