If the shoe fits........

We are the new owners of a Chevrolet Suburban! I am so fortunate to be married to someone who loves cars- learning about them, working on them, helping others with them and very dilligent when it comes to finding the cars we have owned. He spends time researching and studying our options long before we even set foot at a dealership. He test drives cars and the car salesman comes to ask me if he drives all test drives like that! One poor gentleman was pale when he got out of the car- I am sure he thought my husband was going to spin the SUV around in the rain checking out the anti-lock brake system! That being said, he found a Chevy Suburban that had been well maintained and gives our family of 6 LOTS of room! We are all so excited and it feels great to "spread out" a bit and fit our groceries AND stroller in the trunk, not to mention safety advantage of driving a rather large vehicle. Sure it will take some more money in gas, but we are sure it is well worth it! It is odd to find a Suburban without DVD players. Our family has never owned a vehicle with this option, but we did not really think much of it when shopping- it was not something we looked for. I will never forget the day Bottle Rocket and Smoke Bomb jumped out of one of the candidate Suburbans and ran frantically to me with headphones in hand shouting and smiling "MOM! Can we PLEASEEEEEEEE buy this car? It has a TV in it and we LOVE it!" It was hilarious! They were so excited and even more excited when Dada announced that they could even play video games in the car! We both quickly explained that the DVD player would be staying in the closed position for city driving. They were surprisingly very receptive and agreed that they enjoyed our family conversations (and brotherly spats!) when in the car. I was relieved and had already asked if it could be detached just in case this turned into an everyday question from the boys! I think many times we as parents want a quick fix and quiet surroundings all at the risk of stiffling our kids questions and conversations which they learn so much from. Besides, isn't that what we signed up for as parents? They are still quite happy that most of their relatives live "down the highway" so they might have a shot at the drive in movie! We took the kids out tonight to watch Green Eggs and Ham in the car- we figured that was minimal reward for all thier patience while car shopping lately! They seemed enthralled with the headphones on. Smoke Bomb had his so loud we could hear his sound, Firecracker was mezmorized and never blinked once. Bottle Rocket was excited, but very concerned about how the video games were going to reach them in the third row! He is also the same one who proclaimed we could not buy the one with DVD players behind the driver and passendger headrests because they would not be able to see it from the back of the car. Smart kid! So now we can fit 8 and give others a ride, too! Let us know when you want a ride!