In My Swaggerwagon

We have some exciting news to share with everyone out there, and boy is it incredible.  That’s incredible as in, “unbelievable, never in a million years did we think it would happen, pinch me I must be dreaming, wait a minute, who am I again?”

We bought…wait for it – a MINIVAN.  Holy suburbia, batman!  And not just any minivan, no sirree, we bought a genuine swaggerwagon! 

  

And now we can say we have one too!

Here she is, old blue:

We bought it to replace our much-loved Mercury Mariner Hybrid.  And guess what? We LOVE it.  I even overheard my husband bragging about the van.  We can’t believe we resisted for so long because it is THAT AWESOME.  I am not joking.  If you have more than one child you NEED to get one, and here is our list of reasons why.

Top Ten Reasons Why We Love Our Sienna, or, Sorry Mercury Mariner Hybrid, you were the bomb but we’ve moved on:

 Sliding doors.  

Anyone with kids knows what can happen in a parking lot when little ones exit the vehicle with enthusiasm.  No more worrying about dents and dings.

Power Sliding Doors.

Yes, ours only has one, but this is probably the most important feature for a mom trying to wrangle 3 children, a stroller, a diaper bag, an arm full of groceries, etc…you get the picture.

         Lower platform.

My 2 year old can get in all by herself, unlike the Mariner which required a crane (i.e., me) to lift our children into.  Picture my back doing the Carlton.  

 Cargo capacity.

Our SUV was small, but even the largest SUVs can’t compare to the interior space of a minivan.  Hello craigslist china cabinet!

         Trunk space.

I know it doesn’t look like it, but there is a ton of room behind the third row.  I can fit our double stroller, the extra 8^th passenger seat AND an entire load of groceries into the back with room to spare.  The Mariner? Not so much.

         Access.

As in, access to the children.  I can walk through the front row of seats into the back of the van to help buckle up, change diapers, give a hug, etc without getting out of the car. 

Room to spread out.

In the Mariner, all three children were squashed together in the second row.  Now they are separated.  Oh happy day, no more fighting!

         Carpooling.

The Mariner fit 5 (smallish) people.  The Sienna seats 8.  My children love this, especially my social 7 year old.  She can’t wait to bring home friends from school, volunteer me to drive for field trips and…wait a minute, what did I just sign up for?  Kidding, kidding, this is one reason I really wanted to buy a van!  Avery has gone on many playdates but we never return the favor for lack of transportation.  Now it’s time to reach out and drive someone.

         Roadtrips.

Let’s face it.  When  you have 3 children, there is more stuff.  The last time we drove any distance was with 2 children and the car was stuffed to the brim.  Once Charlotte arrived we knew we would need a larger car if we were ever going to leave our home state again.

         We feel like a family.

Ok, this one is completely subjective, but it’s true!  Plus, I feel like I am taking good care of my family by providing a safe, reliable and comfortable means of transportation.  It’s not sexy, but it’s exactly what we need.

Will we miss the old Mariner?  Sure, especially in the fuel department where it got us a cool 34 mpg.  The moonroof and Sirius satellite radio were nice to have, but we still feel like it was a good trade.  What do you think about our new (sweet) ride? Any minivan lovers out there?