Swagger Wagon

I feel like we've come full-circle, folks. Twelve years ago, I was a bright-eyed college freshman, heading off into the future with new possibilities and few responsibilities. I also had a sweet, sweet ride: A 1991 Dodge Grand Caravan with no seats in the back, a dent in the side, and a Northern Iowa vanity plate reading "UNIBUS". It was something less than awesome, but it was something.

The second semester of my junior year, I finally traded the "bus" for a 2000 Malibu with 30,000 miles on it. I remember driving 4 hours home from UNI, then getting in the car with Adam 9we were dating at the time), and driving 5 hours to Fargo, ND to pick it up. Since then, the Malibu has been with me through an engagement, graduation, marriage, two moves, three jobs, a child and about 153,000 miles. What a ride.

Now, the time has come to move on...or back, if you will. Adam and I have been looking for a minivan for several months and finally found one with all the features we wanted for a good price in Odebolt, IA. So, we took a little road trip, checked it out, and they delivered it on Wednesday! Guess what we got? A Dodge Grand Caravan.

When I got home from work Wednesday with the pickup,  Ryan ran out to the garage and said, "Mommy! Man take Mommy's car! We got new van!"  He's pretty excited, and so are we!

 Although it's not a Toyata Sienna, I tried to get my "Swagger Wagon" on:

Not sure if Ryan was more excited about the DVD (and 2 sets of headphones):

Or the moon roof (totally unnecessary):

 

We are looking forward to our first road trip this weekend and will love the stow & go and DVD player, among other features. I somehow thought I'd reach 30 before I went back to the minivan, but I'm actually totally excited to be driving a "mom" vehicle because it means I get to be Mom to this guy!