Here Comes The Ride!

We made it through the morning of doctor and dentist visits. No signs of cavities in little teeth, although they were concerned at Selah's teeth being so spread and the callouses from how much she sucks her fingers. They are suggesting that we give it a good effort for a few months and then consider a permanent retainer that would inhibit the finger sucking. Unfortunately the retainer is NINE HUNDERED DOLLARS! (((faint))) Our cost would be $300 after insurance. We'll be working on other options first.

So back home we came and during naptime I awaited the delivery of 'the ride' while working on some Sugar Slings. All of the health issues of around here have gotten me a bit behind.



And at around 3:30 it came. It was a gorgeous color they call 'Modern Blue Pearl'. My first thought was that it must be a just a Caravan, because my Grand Caravan is quite noticeably longer. Nope, Grand Caravan it is and the differences between the two vans are night and day.



There's no way I can tell you about all of the features at once. Now I know why they gave me a whole 6 days with it! For today we just decided to take it out for a bit to get to know it. So I wrestled the car seats in and off we went to the post office. Putting the car seats was simple enough. I saw immediately that the swiveling captains seat were fabulous for helping Mom maneuver in the back seat. Jacob even got to sit in the back seat, which he was thrilled about, since I knew I would be able to reach back and buckle/unbuckle him easily. So, in they went and off to adventure...

Unfortunately, I left my camera at my parents house last week so I wasn't able to take photos. The drop off at the post office was quick and easy. I jumped back in the van and threw it in reverse. I was totally surprised to see the touchscreen in front of me suddenly change to show a clear view from the back of the van!!! No one told me about that one! I can't tell you haw many times I've thought of those stories where parents accidentally run over a child. Ugh. Yes, this is a good feature.

On to pick Travis up from the Marta Train station. Oh... his face when I drove up in my Pimpin' Mom-mobile! We headed up to Home Depot but decided we needed to measure some things before loading the van up. Not quite a waste of time, since we priced stuff. And we swung by Hannah and Dennis' apartment to pick up my camera!

We decided to let the kids try out the dual video screens so we popped them down easily and tuned to Serius TV Cartoons. They were mesmerized and Selah wanted so much to try out the wireless headphones. I figured we'd save that, since I wasn't quite sure what they were watching back there. Note to self, grab some DVDs.

This is almost as cool as those old conversion vans everyone raved about! Minus the tacky striping and oddly shaped windows. I much prefer the sleek sophisticated lines of the Dodge Grand Caravan, thank you very much! Travis was enjoying the smooth ride and commented more than once that it drove 'like a dang race car'. That's my southern boy :)

Of course, as an Audio Visual Engineer, he absolutely loved and appreciated all of the dodads and hooplah of the center console. He's always loved pushing buttons and this thing has ways to control everything you could ever want. Does everything but whip your, well, anyway...

We decided to think of a way to try out the table. I don't know why I'm so excited about that dang table. It's really not the most usable thing with how young my kiddos are. I suddenly had an 'Aha!!" moment. What better place than the Varsity!

We've lived a few miles from it for several years now and not gone once! There are good reasons for that, but overall it's an experience. We decided to brave it and have our food ordered from the van and brought to us to enjoy at our little table. So from the comfort of our plush leather seats, Travis made the order.

I must say the tray balanced perfectly on the do or. I wanted to roll down the window in the back doors and have the tray there. Trav wanted it all to himself so I acquiesced It was cold out anyway.

The kids thoroughly enjoyed the novel idea of dinner in the van without seatbelts. I sat in the back with them and it was seriously comfortable. I enjoyed being turned toward them and the table is at the perfect height. If only they were old enough to play poker we could have an amazing road trip!


And there was, of course, plenty of room to eat and play, regardless of it being shorter than my 2006

As is typical in this house, no pictures of me but the ones I take myself. But I have to say I love this one. The reason is that I was really not so sure that this van would be much better than mine, on the basics level. Sure all of the extra options are great but what if you're only interested in the basic? Well, this is a very simple basic feature but something that I have sorely missed in my 2006 Grand Caravan. The Oh Crap Handle is back!!! Yes!! I know I can't be the only woman who relies on this to keep my sanity when my husband drives.

Another favorite for today is how simple the LED touchscreen is to maneuver for a mom with no time to read a 900 page manual to learn now everything works.
So, with full bellies we had shy children ready to get out, even of this fabulous ride.

Through Atlanta we went, home again and ready for more adventuring tomorrow. Maybe we'll see how those headphones sound, or how many backpacks for coop can fit in the stow and go storage...