I love searching Craigslist for mini-vans. It is fun. As you can see, we are in no hurry, which is nice because I have done a ton of homework. I never do this much homework and actually feel a little educated in a domain I know nothing about. Not nearly as educated as someone who knows cars, but enough to carry on a decent conversation with the seller.
For instance, we were looking at a car that seemed great, until I did my homework to see that it was coming up on a new timing belt, which also means a new water pump. The seller was trying to sell it saying it was perfect and didn't need anything done. I quickly informed her that in a couple months it would need $1000 worth of work and wished her luck in selling her over-priced car. She didn't believe me, called her mechanic and told me that he honors a coupon and I could get it done for about $800 instead of $1000. Yeah, without the other things that go with a new belt, I thought. I would have never done homework like that in that past. Danny has taught me to educate myself and it is empowering. The internet is such a great tool. It really is AMAZING!! A car dummy like me can even become educated on cars.
We are leaning toward the Sienna 8 seater. If we are going to get a mini-van, we might as well get the extra seat to haul around more kids. Eventually, the more kids I can fit in a car, the more info I can find out about the lives of my kids, right? But seriously, I am purchasing a car for more seating, so might as well get as many seats as I can.
Why Sienna? The 8 seater can be arranged and rearranged making it roomy and practical. Danny likes how the Sienna feels when driving and it seems to outlive the Honda's with fewer major problems.
Cons---doesn't come in leather, which I really don't care about. Danny thinks that leather smells nicer, which is probably true. I have had leather seats that get destroyed with sun. He says I don't take care of my cars which is true. I am sure his leather seats would do much better than mine.
So that's that...we have narrowed our search to the '04 Sienna and newer, 8 seater.
So tonight at work, my co-worker and a parent were talking. Both mini-van drivers; one Sienna and other Odyssey. I told them we wanted a Sienna and they both agreed with the Sienna over Odyssey. Makes me kind of sad for Honda, however, I couldn't argue after hearing their stories. The '99 Sienna of my co-worker has over 300,000 miles and still going strong. Has also carried a U-Haul across country. That is awesome! It is also a '99 and I have a feeling the newer cars can't do that. Why are older things made to last.
Can you believe this is Heidi and not Danny. I can't believe I have this much to say about looking for a car. I can't believe I actually have opinions on a car. What a change. I guess this happens after years of marriage. I mean who does this much research about a car? I have become this way after buying our condo and love it.
In retrospect, it wasn't the best time to buy a condo, and used to really frustrate me. Now, as time has passed, I am able to see some incredible blessings and life-long lessons that I learned.
Patience. You never need to feel rushed. People make you feel rushed or impatient.
Do your Homework. I never fully understood what it meant to really do your homework. The Internet can teach you about anything and everything. Classes, books and friends who are experts in a particular field are at your fingertips.
I can fix things. Like moulding, floors and just about anything if I have the guts to do it and Danny to fix it if I can't.
My dream home. Cozy and small one story with a yard. We were always together which I loved and less to clean and heat. Not kidding, I think our electric bill was about $100/month.
Move Forward. I dwelled for a long time on how much we lost instead of moving forward. We rent it out and it is a nice little place to have. It isn't that big of a deal in the scheme of things. Really quite insignificant in the scheme of things. Sometimes I laugh about what I spend time worrying about. What a waste of my time and energy. I want to do better about that.
A long time ago I had a conversation with my sister-in-law, Lisa. Her husband started a really cool long board company that was successful but not "make a living successful". However, it taught him to run a business and he now has a "make a living successful" contract business. In life, things that don't turn out exactly as planned, but can always teach us incredible things and be really big blessings in our lives. I am so grateful for life and the opportunity I have to learn and grow and become a better person.
Danny's parents came to visit and we had a great time. Their train took 26 hours to get here due to weather. Once they were here, we had a relaxing weekend filled with hanging out and catching up in person. It was rainy, but we managed to have a great time. On Saturday, Scott wanted to go bowling. Scott has a hard time trying new things by himself and wanted me or Danny to help him throw the ball. He doesn't like the learning process of anything and takes it so seriously. Tyler would watch his ball roll as slowly as possible until it got to the pins. He might be the worlds slowest and most concentrated bowler. Afterwards we went to ice-cream. We dropped the kids off at the Saturday night co-op and went to a German restaurant. It was quite hidden in the middle of Concord and was really good! It is so fun to have a date once a week without kids. Sunday we went to Church, went on a bike ride, visited the Bogners and got to hear an amazing conversion story from Dan and headed home for dinner. It was a great day. Grammy brought fun crafts for the boys which Tyler especially loves. He is my child who will sit and craft as long as he can. Monday was a BEAUTIFUL day and we went to Castle Rock to soak in some Vitamin E and enjoy the beautiful outdoors before they headed home for Utah. Great weekend! 
