We have known for a while now that we would need to replace our SUV. As a family of 5 with 3 members needing car seats for the next several years, we figured a mini van was our only choice. We considered a lot of different options from old VW Vanagons (definitely the coolest option in my opinion) to Toyota Siennas. In the end we settled on a used Honda Odyssey. The Odyssey has been the #1 selling mini van for a long time running now and I believe that they have also been the highest rated in safety. After looking at all of our options it really did seem like a no brainer. Once we decided that we were definitely interested in a Honda it didn’t take long to find one that we liked. We looked at lots on line but in the end we only went to 2 different dealerships before we found the right one. It was the right price and had all of my must have items so we said yes on the spot. They detailed it the next day and picked Michael and the girls from our house after work on Friday night (I was at work) to take them to the dealership to pick it up.
As much as I hate to admit it, it truly is the nicest car I have ever owned. So far the girls seem to approve, Ava especially loves to ride in the new van. I am personally enjoying the automatic sliding doors more than I ever expected and the spaciousness for both the driver and passengers. I didn’t really love the idea at first, the feeling of morphing into the typical soccer mom frightens me. The more I thought about it the more comfortable I became with the idea. Soccer moms aren’t so bad; I like soccer. The truth is I think I like mini vans too.
We have been doing our best to enjoy these last few moments of summer. The girls and I have taken as many impromptu park outing as possible. We spent a day at the beach last week and visited the Olympic sculpture park in downtown Seattle a few weeks back. We’ve been to the petting zoo, the splash pad, had friends over to play a few times and rode bikes in our cul de sac. We have been getting to know many of our neighbors better in the past few weeks as well. We had the family next door to us over for a BBQ this past weekend and then joined them for dinner at their house earlier this week. They are a great family and are close friends with many of the other families on our street. I feel very fortunate to have several great neighbors and look forward to getting to know everyone better. Our next event is a Seahawks game day party with the whole block in a few weeks, and another weeknight dinner, probably next week, with just our next door friends. We’ve even confirmed a camping trip next year to Lake Chelan with a few families. Our new neighborhood really is the prefect place for us with so many great people near by tons of kid friendly things to in the area.
We will have some exciting baby news to share soon. I have my first ultrasound scheduled for Monday, September 15th. They will be checking for a number of different things at the appointment but the most exciting is the sex of the baby. We will of course spread the news as quickly as possible. I was able to hear the heart beat at my mid wife appointment this week and have been feeling a lot more movement at night. This is the point for me when things start to become a little more real because you can finally feel the baby. I’m really looking forward to getting to see him or her at our ultrasound, finding out the sex and deciding on a name. Although this pregnancy is proving to be much more difficult than the first two, I’m doing my best to stay positive and enjoy the little things. After all, this is the last time I will get the pleasure of being pregnant.
We’re hoping to get out and do something fun this weekend since we will all have Sunday and Monday off together for the holiday weekend. We haven’t made any plans but talked about a possible trip to Whidbey and going out for pizza (my current craving). I’m sure the weather will dictate how much fun we have, we’ll see.
