Wow, we're like real grown ups!

So, Bryce and I recently celebrated our 6 year wedding anniversary.  It's been a great 6 years, we've traveled to Ireland, Bryce got his Master's Degree, we bought a house, had two kids... but there was something that was missing... something we had yet to experience since we'd gotten married... and that something is A CAR PAYMENT!

We've been driving our "trusty" honda and jetta since before we got married and we agreed to drive them into the ground.  While they are both in working condition, the AC is only about 50% in my car and in case you didn't know, it gets HOT here in the summer.  I couldn't imagine going through another summer with my poor kids sweating in the backseat.  We talked it over and decided if we were going to get something new, we might as well upgrade... so we ended up with a:

We figured that we'd eventually be having more kids, so it didn't make sense to buy a new car, since we'd only have to get a bigger vehicle upon the arrival of baby #3.  I spent a couple of months researching used vans in the area and we decided we'd go to CarMax.  Neither of us really has the personality to negotiate pricing, so I liked their "no haggle" policy.  We also figured out what we could afford as a monthly payment and chose a van based on that.  We ended up with a 2012 Dodge Grand Caravan!  We are so excited.  It's in amazing condition (I mean it's barely a year old!)  It has power doors and lift gate and stow and go seats, which were two of the most important features to us!  We are so pleased and Breckin and Harper love their new car.  Breckin kept saying "it's so pretty" :)  He loves pushing the button to open and close the doors and he also loves that he can see out the window while we're driving.

We had a really good, fast and pain-free experience with the CarMax in Riverside.  John helped me over the phone to find a vehicle from their inventory that fit my criteria (because the one I'd called about had already been sold!)  He found this one at their Burbank location and requested to have it transferred to Riverside.  I told him we were hoping to test drive it on Friday since Bryce had taken the day off, he said if it wasn't going to be there he would personally drive to Burbank and bring it back!  Gabriel took us on our test drive and from that moment to when we drove away with the car was less than 2 hours!  All in all it was a great experience, I would recommend them to anyone!

As for the van, we can't wait to enjoy the extra space and the fully functioning AC among all the other fun features!  We'll probably hit up the drive-in sometime soon and stow the seats, lay a blanket in the back... it sounds so wonderful!  Anyway, we're like "real" adults now with a car payment and everything!

While we're on the subject, anyone in the market for a little commuter or child's first car?  We're looking to sell the Jetta! :)