Saturday, August 28, 2010

a good weekend

We've had a GREAT weekend so far. Yesterday was Jonah's Half Birthday, so we thawed out part of his leftover birthday cake (we still have the entire white chocolate top tier left... this was the leftover vanilla layer), and had an impromptu pizza/cake dinner with our neighbors.

They live two houses behind us, and have two girls, four and 14 months. Their sweet mommy brought them over to play yesterday and, honestly, it was the best half birthday present Jonah could have gotten. He was so excited he just yelled and yelled, and they were so great playing with him. This is Emma. I wanted a better photo, but every time I tried to get them together, my camera wouldn't snap (curse you D40, curse you), and Emma would take off.


Today we had arranged for Mom to watch Jonah so we could go look at some used vans. And guess what? We got one of THESE!


Yep, a Sienna! I didn't think there was any way we could afford a Sienna, but it's an '07, and we got an awesome deal. And they gave us a better interest rate than we had found on our own and way more for our trade-in than I thought we'd get.


It was a comparable price for an 09 Dodge Caravan with about 30,000 miles or the 07 Sienna with 50,000 miles. Ultimately, we chose Toyota over Dodge, and I'm glad we did. I don't think we could have gotten a better deal. I'm so incredibly thankful. Before we went in, I prayed something like, "God, please help us not be idiots and give us a salesman that isn't a schmuck." I know. I'm an excellent pray-er. But honestly, all joking aside, I really do feel like God was in this. Our salesman, Cosme, was from Ecuador and has only been here for two years. We spoke in Spanish just as much as we did English. He was so wonderful and when we told him about Jonah, he explained that he knew how we felt because he has a son with CP. I really do feel like he got it. We didn't feel pressured and stood our ground about the price we needed, and I'm just really happy with how it all turned out.

Jonah, meet Sienna. Sienna, Jonah.


And our two requirements for the van:

Rear air controls.

And stow n' go seats. (I was too lazy to take the strollers out to show them stowing and going.)


Matt and I currently have to wear jackets in the car because we have to keep the air on full blast for it to reach Jonah, so I'm so happy about rear air conditioning. Now he can be plenty cool enough, and I won't have to shave my legs every other hour. Ladies, you know what I'm talking about. AND the van has a luggage rack, so we can still use our canvas roof top carrier when we travel. The captain seats don't stow, but they roll forward (back to back with the front seats), so we will have SO. MUCH. SPACE. And we need it so badly. It's going to be a dream compared to how we've had to travel in the past.

And to top it all off, now we're JUST THIS COOL.

CAN YOU EVEN HANDLE IT?

30 comments:

Leah Robbins said...

Awesome van! I haven't graduated to one of those yet :) And a big LOL on the shaving comment. Yep, I understand! ;)

Natalie Whisler said...

We just bought a Sienna last week! One week in... we LOVE it. We sucked it up and went for a van because baby #3 is on the way, but even with just our 2 girls in carseats right now the van is SO much better. Congrats!

HandyFamily said...

Welcome to the Sienna club! We have one and love it! Traveling in it is awesome! Enjoy!

Marisa said...

Yeah, mama! Congrats on your shiny new Swagger Wagon--woohoo! And hooray for a good weekend where God's capabilities were so evident...love those circumstances where He shows up in a big way. Enjoy the minivan club and your new space in all it's stow 'n go glory!

Much love,
mis

Denise said...

The Sienna is an awesome choice...especially over a Dodge. My hubby the car guy would give you two thumbs up...the purchase of a Dodge would have left him shaking his head. :) You will love it (I had one up until last week).

Laura A said...

WOO-HOO! You couldn't ask for a better weekend! We have a 2005 Sienna and LOVE it - I'm constantly surprised by how much space there is (especially behind the 3rd seats!)

Hope your Sunday is equally as wonderful!

Love from TX!
Laura

Just Diane said...

Woot!! I have the caravan but would prefer the sienna. That really does make for a good weekend.

Jessica said...

Suh-Weet!! Enjoy your new swagger wagon! =)

Anonymous said...

OH MY WORD!!!!!!! THAT VIDEO JUST MADE MY NIGHT... it is so freicken hilarious!!!!!! Where on earth did you even find/know about that video?!?! AHHHHHHH so funny, thanks :) and i'm so happy you got the vehicle you needed at the right price... WOOT WOOT :) *Megan from WI*

flynnfamily said...

my dream van! It's funny how things change when we have kids!

Jennifer said...

YES! You got the swagger wagon! Was it me who linked you to the video? I remember linking it on some blog...lol

Janel said...

your prayers sound like mine! haha! I actually did LOL and even had to read it to Shaun. You know I'm a die hard SUV girl, but you're kinda making me want a van!

Maryellen said...

Congrats! I love when God does things like this.

Blessings in your new van!

Looking at the photo of Jonah behind the wheel, oh Lord one day before long he'll be actually using the keys ... to head out on his own . . . wow go Jonah !

The Smittys said...

yes! love the new swagger wagon. :)

brightleigh said...

Hey, love your mommy vehicle! Now we can really start planning ya'lls visit! Glad Jonah had a great half birthday--that was some good cake! Love you guys and miss you!

Ellie said...

Congratulations! I know how you feel, having to hope and pray when you go in to buy a car. We just finally bought our new (to us) car 3 weeks ago, because we needed more space too, plus our old car had so many problems. What a relief it is, right? I wanted to tell you that I just this morning read an article about the best used cars to buy, and in the van category the Toyota Sienna was the winner! So it seems like you guys chose right!

Claire said...

What a cool car! And that video is too funny!

Cxx

Unknown said...

woop woop! so glad jonah had a great 18 mo. birthday! and nice swagger wagon y'all scored~ sweet! hope you have a great week!
much love and blessings from ga~ erin

erinand4boys.blogspot.com

Jennifer Edling said...

Oh! I'm so jealous! We've wanted a Sienna for so long! We have a Kia Sedona, and well, let's just say you get what you pay for. Thankfully everything that's broken has been under warranty, but c'mon! :) Your van is such a pretty blue too! I'm so happy for you!

Heidi said...

congrats on the 'new' van! That pic of Matt & Jonah with the van, looks like a Toyota ad..lol So cute.. you should send it in. And be careful, Jonah looks awful comfy in the drivers seat. (I love puns, I'm so cleaver..lol)

Emily said...

Too funny:-). I have a very similar post a few weeks ago on my blog:-). Enjoy!! We are loving ours. We keep rearanging seats... just because we can. My seven year old likes to try out his options.

Angela said...

LOVE that video as we also own Swagger Wagon...LOL! Have you seen some of the other ones from the Sienna Channel? They are "almost" as funny. Does your Sienna not have the climate control where you can sync and unsync the air for front and rear passengers? We have an '04 and keep the rear air on full blast for the kiddos and on low for us. Perhaps we have different trim levels. Enjoy your new ride. I'm sure you will LOVE it just as much as we do.

Angela said...

Ok, I'm a total dufus. I just re-read the part about wearing jackets and I get it now. DOH!!!

Anonymous said...

too funny! of course, i'm out of the loop when it comes to vans (didn't know what a sienna was until i watched the commercial). oh my, FUNNY commercial. i watched it twice. well, now that you've got your 'swagger' on, swag on over here to greenville!!! i can't believe i haven't met that cutie yet!?!?

Jill said...

I am on my second sienna and love everything about it! I've had not problems in the 5 years I've driven one :)

I hope you love it! One thing I will mention is that the temp control in the front only controls the front temp. You have to control the rear temp from the rear control panel (even though you can control the high, low, medium from the front). I hope that makes sense!!!

lainielou said...

I have the same thing in a 2010! Same color too. I doubt you'll need the rooftop carrier with the 3rd row stowed. We just got back from a week's vacation with 2 kids (including bikes) and didn't put a thing on the roof. Congrats!

Shelly Cunningham said...

Having a car to meet your needs is amazing! When we found out it was twins, I was driving an OLD Honda Accord, which I loved, but was NOT going to fit the double stroller & necessary things that twins require. We got a Honda Pilot, and I am IN LOVE!
Happy Driving!

Sandy P said...

Love my 04 Sienna. Congrats!

I'm Erin. said...

Sweet swagger wagon!

Loved the leg shaving remark ;)

Chaukie said...

I read your blog often, but rarely comment. Sorry about the lurker thing! Just have to say that I think you will love your Sienna. We bought a used 04 in 05, just one month after bringing our son home from Korea. Earlier this month we sold it and bought a brand-spankin' new Swagger Wagon. We love our Swagger Wagons!

Oh, and I LOVE that video. My husband and I want to come up with our own version but the bar has been set so high!