Room for Five

One of the many adjustments I had to make when Liam was born was the fact we'd have to give up my beloved Jetta. We had thought all along the pregnancy that three boys would fit in the back seat just fine. It wasn't until Keith actually put in the base and car seat the night before he was born that we discovered it just wasn't going to work out. To fit the car seat in the middle we would have had to push both front seats up as far as they would go. Pretty hard to drive a standard that way. So the car seat was placed behind the front passenger seat. I sit there with my knees against the dashboard. Very cozy. Nathan sits in the middle since Chad is still in a booster and that only fits on the side seat. Let's just say when all three kids are in the car they are wedged in like sardines.

So we set out to find a car that would best suit our needs and budget. After much research (thanks Keith) and test drives we decided that a 2007 Honda CR-V was our top choice. What we didn't realize is that most people LOVE their CR-Vs and there aren't many on the market to chose from. Well, let me clarify...there are lots of 'base' models but we decided that we are old enough to enjoy a few extra luxuries and wanted the middle of the road model. So after about 2 months of searching car lots and websites we found a good possibility...in Victoria. Keith called and it sounded like quite a find. The car is ex-fleet, perfectly maintained, low mileage, and a price that was almost $10K less that the dealership in town here. Hmmmm! We were getting warmer! After much negotiating on the phone the dealership gave their price and we turned them down. It was just a bit more than we wanted to spend and we thought we'd just wait it out for something else to come along. The next day they called back and told us they really wanted our business; brought down the price some more and offered to pick up Keith as a walk-on from the ferry. We decided to go for it. Plans were made, the certified cheque picked up, the ride to the ferry sorted out. The night before Keith was heading out there, the flu hit him with a vengence. Nathan, Chad and I had all already puked out little tummies out the days leading up to Friday and now poor Keith was having his turn. So after a night of bathroom horrors he headed out to the ferry feeling a little green around the gills but okay. The day went well, he got the car, fit in a visit with his sister and headed home. Unfortunately due to horrible weather on the seas the 5pm sailing was cancelled and he had to wait and HOPE he could get on the 7 pm. Low and behold he was one of the last cars on the 7 pm boat and was finally heading home! The crossing was very rough and everyone on board was tossed about. He started to feel pretty crappy again and just wanted to be home as did I! I was anxious to see our new car and felt bad he was having such a long day with no recovery time from his flu. Just around 10:15 or so he pulled up to the house in our shiny new silver CR-V and I sure do like it! I can't wait to take it for a little drive today! We'll be parking it in the garage after today until we sell our current vehicles since insuring three cars is not an option financially. Anyone want to a buy a 2002 VW Jetta (it's loaded and I'll sure miss my heated seats) or a 1999 Jeep with lots of extras?!

And that my friends is the way we got our new wheels.