5 years ago if you asked me if I'd ever drive a mini-van, I would have told you "no way!" But here I am, the proud driver of one. There is definitely something to the "mom-mobile" thing. I happen to love driving the van. It is hard to switch with Roger and drive his sedan...even for one day.
Why do I love driving our mini van?
There's a lot of space.
We have 3 car seats, a least one stroller (usually more), a complete change of clothes for all five of us, extra diapers, wipes, drinks, toys, baby carriers, a travel potty, etc. And we don't need to unload any of that to go to the grocery store!
In the summer, I buy a case of 100% Juice boxes* and some bottled water* from Sam's Club and leave them in the back. No matter where we go or how long we're gone, there's always a drink to satisfy our thirst after playing! We also keep swimming suits, towels, diapers, shoes, & toys ready for a stop off at any pool or splash pad.
*Before you shake your head about how wasteful bottled water and juice might be, I want you to know that for the most part, we pack reusable drink containers. In the summer, though, we're often gone long enough in the hot weather that we need a refill! It's more economical for us to keep our just-in-case stash than to have to buy a drink from a vending machine or drink stand.
In the winter, we keep our shelf-stable milk in the van along with coats, hats, mittens, blankets, boots, etc. We leave the coats in the car all the time so we always have them.
It takes forever to clean it, but I love being able to have pretty much everything we need while we are out having adventures! It makes the adventures much more fun when you don't have to worry about getting your clothes wet or not having pajamas if you end up staying later than you thought.
So next time you see us out and about, don't look inside our wheels. It's a mess. It's full of all kinds of crazy stuff. It's exactly what works for us, though. We just... live in our van.
I drive the Cs huge Honda Odyssey when I'm out with the triplets. It has all the bells and whistles--heated seats, sun roof, automatic doors. Those perks are great, but I can't get past what a beast it is to drive. And you know me, I'm USED to driving big cars. Remember my parents yellow banana boat???! I'm not sure I'd invest in a van yet, but I can totally see why you love yours. :-)
ReplyDeleteJust a random thought... I too was a big "keeping water in the car" fan until my mom said something about the hot weather and stuff leaching into the water from the plastic bottle. I'm not sure where she got this info, but she's my mom, so I listen. It totally sucks, but I don't keep bottles of water in the car anymore in the summer. :-(