The Odyssey!

There once was a time I would have rather, I don't know, poked out my eyeballs rather than have a minivan.
That time has come and gone. The little cities made a minivan no longer a want, but a need. Don't get me wrong, we had a great car before. A large SUV that seated 8; when Greg and I bought it, we thought for sure it would be able to handle all that we asked of it. Technically, it did. The problem came with Jackson. He had to sit in the 3rd row, and to get to it he had to climb over the 2nd row. He also didn't have a lot of space, and those long legs of his were running out of room. Enter my dream. My wish for the past...oh, 3 years. The car I never thought I'd get, the car I'd never thought I'd want, became the car I cried over when Greg surprised me with it in our garage...
The Honda Odyssey.



You heard me right; I cried. Instantly, I saw the ease of venturing out of my house with the little humans, and it brought me to tears. Doors that open by themselves! By. Themselves. Basically, the thing reads my mind. "What, Becki? You said you were tired? Well, here. Just press this little button and you don't even have to open doors. There, there, now. What? The kids are crying? Here, press this button. A DVD will start in a minute...".

It's like the Nasa Space Center up front. It'll take me an intensive Honda course to figure out what its all for (my gosh, it came with a DVD instruction video!). It's the Touring edition, which is the fancy version of the Odyssey. I can control the exact temperature of the driver's side, passenger side, and rear. I have a GPS navigation system, a 6 CD changer, heated leather seats (you know, for when it drops below 80), a premium audio system, a rear backup camera (!!!), parking sensors that beep at me if I get to close, the rear hatch opens and closes with the push of a button, and about 1,000 other things that I'm trying to locate.

And the kids LOVE it! This is the view from Jackson's seat. He has so much more space, and I feel so much more comfortable with him being able to get out if we ever were in an accident. I cannot even begin to tell you how much the layout and the doors have changed my life when it comes to leaving the house. Our SUV was so high off of the ground that I had to always put London in, and sometimes even help Jackson, while holding Brooklyn. Buckling, snapping, pushing Jackson over the seat, etc etc etc in 110 degree heat. Yuck. I hated going out with the kids. Now, getting in the car takes about 2 minutes. Doors open (by themselves!!!!), both kids crawl in, hop up, buckle up, and off we go!

Ah, the DVD player (current featured movie? Tangled). We don't (and won't) use it a lot; I'm a believer of car time being a great time to talk with one another. But it is a great distraction if I need to keep a sleepy child awake until we get home for naps, or if we are on a road trip. Brooklyn can't really enjoy it yet because she is still rear facing, but she is working on the head swivel technique.

Greg and I have spent the last week in a state of disbelief. We can't believe that we actually own this car! It is beautiful, convenient, and believe it or not, affordable! We got a great deal, and we are so happy with it!