The end of an era

Well, my husband and I have come to a turning point, and things will never be the same again. (Dramatic pause here.)

Yesterday, I bought a minivan. Yes, after a decade of being a 1 car family (except for a year right at the beginning of our marriage), and 18 months of squishing our 3 kids, baby seat, and booster seat into the back of our '97 Toyota Corolla, we broke down and did it. We are practically giddy with excitement, except for the part about actually spending money. Here she is:

We didn't tell the boys where we were going last night after I picked them up from swimming, which is why they are not wearing more. When we got to our destination, we told them that someone in our ward had bid on a car at the auction and we were picking it up. This was technically true, thanks to our friend, Randy, who did the bidding on my behalf. When I drove out in the minivan and parked next to the Corolla, Scott looked at it longingly and said, "Mom, we should buy this car."

"Well, someone already bought it," I told him. I paused. "IT WAS ME!!!!" Behold, the gleeful ones:

This morning as I lay in bed at 6:15 am, not wanting to get up yet, I heard Ethan open up the door from the laundry room into the garage and turn on the light. (Our garage light beeps when you turn it on; I don't have superhero ears.) I wondered aloud what he was doing out there. Michael got up to check it out and came back with this photo of Ethan and his selected homework location.

This car has so many features that I'm thrilled about. Nothing fancy, mind you. But who wouldn't appreciate power locks, an adjustable steering wheel, power windows, cruise control, a CD player, and a back seat that folds right into the floor?