Tuesday, May 13, 2008

To MiniVan or Not To MiniVan...

Why do minivans scare the living daylights out of people under the age of 30?

So Jeehon moved here a week ago, and we immediately put Lily's and Topher's car seats in her Hyundai Sante Fe. I don't know why we didn't just move Sungu's car seat into the Jeep, cause that might have been easier, but there you have it. Oh wait, Jeehon has a DVD player in her SUV, which I always thought was the extreme in unneccessary car upgrades. How wrong I was. Not only is Lily learning Korean by watching Pororo, the cutest little singing and dancing penguin, but I am too!

Anyhow, with the three car seats dominating the back row, and Jeehon and I up front, and with the double and single stroller in the trunk- there is only enough room left for a gallon of milk and three bags of groceries. If we want to go somewhere with just one other adult, we need to take another car along too. This is the quandry we found ourselves in this morning. We were going to the JC Penny furniture outlet, where they have already cheap furniture with extra discounts. We got a $740 dining room table for $74. And a sweet kitchen table for $35. Look for the purple sticker people- it's an additional 90% off! I digress... So, we packed up the kids and went down to the store- in the Jeep and the Santa Fe. What a waste. If we had a minivan, or an SUV with three rows of seating, we could have just wasted about $10 worth or gas, instead of 20. I was in the Jeep with Chris as I was pondering this outloud, and Chris mentioned that he was just thinking the same thing.

I hate it when we are on the same page like that! (Sometimes.) We briefly mentioned a Suburban, but not only can we not afford that car, we also could not afford to ever fill it up. And what's the point in having a car that your family fits in, but that just sits in your driveway forever? It costs a touch over $60 to fill up the Jeep right now. So I can only imagine that it would cost over $100 to fill up one of those giant SUVs. Ouch.

But a minivan! Not only are those stupid things more fuel efficient than SUVs, but they are also roomier. I wouldn't smack Lily's poor chunky little leg on Topher's car seat base every time I get her in and out of the car (she sits in the middle) if we had a minivan. I would also be able to see my blindspots while changing lanes on the highway if we had a minivan because there wouldn't be so many stroller wheels obstructing my vision. Oh how wonderful and awful you are minivan! I know I am no longer a young spring chick. I am also not trying to win any 'coolest parent' contests. And in general I don't really care what other people think about me (or doI?...) I just don't want to drive a minivan!

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