In the Club

So...we bought a minivan.


2002 Honda Odyssey. And quite the adventure it was...

This van comes in as the fourth vehicle that Chris and I have purchased in our 4 and a quarter years of marriage. We first bought the Ford Taurus after my Probe died five days before we got married. We traded that in for the Geo Metro from my mom and bought the Mountaineer at the same time. During all of those purchases, we lived in Logan and drove to Salt Lake to buy the cars.

Now we live in Salt Lake. So what do we do this time? We drive to Logan to buy a car. In a snowstorm.


Anybody remember that snowstorm that happened the week between Christmas and New Year's? Yeah, it took us three hours to drive to Logan, a drive that usually takes an hour and a half max. What can I say. It makes a better story? We even had to pull off a time or two because the wiper blades were completely encased in ice and lost all functionality.

This was our first view of the van. There were no camera issues--it's blurry because I was shivering so much when I took the picture. It was cold.


It was a bit of a gamble to buy this particular van. It was pretty dirty, and it had been smoked in. Not the worst that I have ever smelled, but still. In the end, we did buy it anyway. We took it to a detail shop for the full package. They got it super clean and "ozoned" it--ran ozone through all the heating system and vents and such to get the smell out. Thankfully, it worked.

Now we have a lovely van!

Note the green leather interior. That was a pretty big selling point for me. Character.

I confess: I'm not 100% thrilled about being a minivan owner/driver. It kind of makes me feel old. It has come in quite handy, though, this last week. Britta and her two daughters, Emmaline and Lottie, are visiting us from Missouri before they ship out next week to Guam, where Britta's husband Matt is being stationed with the Air Force. Three years is a long time, so we had to get some playtime in before they disappear.


Shout-out to my brother Michael: I saw this sign at the airport when we went to pick up Britta.


Michael was part of the middle school class that created this entire campaign--Turn your Key, Be Idle Free. It made it into Utah State legislation (I think), they won an award from Disney, and they were even featured in People Magazine. I thought it was cool to see his sign at the International Airport.

And here is a picture of me the whole second time I ever drove the van.


We had some serious errands to run on Monday that kept us in the van for a long time. It was very convenient to have one vehicle that fit everyone.


We stopped at IHOP for lunch. That was very convenient, too.



Then we started another long drive home. The van makes for good napping territory, too.


So, driving a minivan isn't all bad. I guess we do get to join the minivan owners' club. We can be like all the other cute little Mormon families in the Salt Lake valley. All we need now is five of those little vinyl stick figures to put in the back window.