Introducing...Ethel.

Whew! It's been awhile since I posted--things have been pretty busy around the Jones house. Okay, maybe busy isn't the right word because summer break isn't actually "busy", just hectic in its own way. Meaning I have two four-year-olds.  THEY are busy. Busy, busy, busy.

So yeah...I now have a mini-van. Yeah. Alright--it isn't horrible. I do have to say I'm a bit self-conscious driving it, because I can't tell you how many times I have been behind one that is driving slow and possibly used some explicit language--especially if they were driving slowly in the left lane. However, the features are FABULOUS. I mean, seriously fabulous. I am pretty sure they load them down with awesomeness so that people like me will buy them.

Yep. Me driving the van off the lot.

We actually went to the dealership just to begin negotiations and had no intention of purchasing anything that day--but you know how those car dealers are! Kidding...we actually love both our car dealership (Don Jacobs Honda) and our salesperson (Joey Banbel). I'm not just saying that--when you go there, it is a non-haggle situation.  We bought our CR-V there three years ago, and I vowed to never shop anywhere else because the experience was so pleasant compared to previous car purchasing nightmares experiences. When we walked in the door on Tuesday, our guy--Joey--was the one who greeted us, and he actually remembered us from three years ago! I was totally impressed, and we picked up right where we left off. It was great to avoid all that chit-chat nonsense that is the beginning of the purchasing process.  He remembered we had twins and therefore our logistics, so we got started right away. I decided to drive the van first, and it was...a van. I wasn't overly excited but it was nice and roomy.  Before I drove the Pilot, I checked out the leg room situation in the back, because I did NOT want to drive it and fall in love with it if it wasn't even a possibility. In reality, there is honestly as much leg room between the front and middle seats in the Pilot as there is in the Odyssey. I was amazed. So, I drove it. And I loved it. Dearly.  Drove much sportier than the Odyssey, had better pick up (obviously). Just loved it. When we got back to the dealership and sat down to decide, Marty was kind and didn't pressure me in any direction. He was happy with either. Here's what it came down to:  we knew we wanted to get something that we would be keeping for quite awhile. I didn't want to feel guilty six years down the road because we are stuck driving an SUV, needing more room, just because I couldn't suck it up personally and get the van. It made me feel selfish in a way that I didn't like. So--here we are!

Here's what was funny, though.  If you've purchased a car recently, you know that they wait to show you  how to use the features until you're about to drive off the lot. I knew it had the rear DVD player, XM Radio, and Bluetooth. That was about it. When Joey took us out to get acquainted with it before we left, I learned about ALL! THE! FABULOUSNESS!  I had no idea cars were so advanced these days. The CR-V was pretty stripped down, and the Civic is definitely simple. I had never purchased a car that was fain-cee like this! First and foremost, I had no idea that you could play your iPhone music through Bluetooth! I'm used to the little cable connecting the iPod/iPhone to the car. Wireless music? Yeah, that's pretty awesome to me, because of my well-known love of music. Bluetooth calling? Speed-dial radio buttons? Wha?  Connect a computer to the DVD player in the back, stream movies? Play video games? TOO. MUCH. Not to mention the XM radio, which is awesome, the butt-warmers (my first...), cooling compartment to keep things cold while ya drive...the list goes on and on. See? They make vans all nice-like so that people who are skeptical are sucked in. And I was. And I'm happy.

Ethel is her name.  I wanted a nice 50s house-wife name for her, since that's who should be driving a van. I think Ethel sounds like someone who would dutifully drive the van but would secretly rock out to inappropriate rap music when she was alone in the van. You know, like me.

(Quick story:  As Joey was teaching me how to use Bluetooth to play my iPhone music, he was scrolling through my music and this song came on.  The kids were in the car, not to mention that I'm pretty sure he wasn't expecting that music from me. Let me explain--I heard it in my Bootcamp class (pretty sure that was the edited version though), and I like having music from my exercise classes on my iPod so that when I'm running outside, I can hear the same music. Sounds weird but it is motivating to me. Anyway, needless to say I was a bit embarrassed...)

Grand adventures to come in the van...

I have so much more to share...check back this weekend!