There is just something women love about their minivans!

Our beloved truck behind our bus at Niagra, New York

For years and years and years, my husband has wanted a minivan. And, not just any minivan would do.  Dennis has had his heart set on a Honda Odyssey. So, when he decided he wanted to trade his Corvette in on an Odyssey in 2004, I was less than enthusiastic. Who in their right mind would trade a Corvette for a minivan? I guess Dennis was starting to realize his fatherly instinct. But, I soon convinced him we did not need a minivan. Somehow we decided to trade the Corvette in for a GMC Sierra 2500 HD special order truck. At the time it made perfect sense. But, little did I know that someday Dennis would still get his Odyssey.

Our Sierra has taken us many places. It has been to Silver Creek, Nebraska on three seperate occassions. It took us to the Presidential Inauguration in 2005. In 2006 it hauled a diesel engine to Reno, Nevada for Dennis' parents. They even took it off-road in the mountains and dessert. Dennis towed the truck to New Orleans in 2007 to assist with the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. In 2008, we towed the truck behind the bus to Georgia for my sister's wedding. And, in 2009, we towed the truck to Massachusetts for a family reunion. Yes, we have made a lot of memories with the truck. It has also brought three of our daughters home from the hospital. The truck would have brought Julie home, but it was in Reno!

I was content without a minivan. Dennis had nearly resigned himself to the fact that a van was more of a want than a need. We were truck and car people. Then, one day in the summer of 2009, a little surprise presented herself. . . we found out I was pregnant with daughter number four. Suddenly it was clear that we could not all fit in our Honda Accord. And, it would be a tight squeeze to get two adults and four car seats bearing children into the truck. So, Dennis began his search for a van. Ironically, it was me who found our Odyssey. . . on FaceBook, nonetheless!

A Back-to-School Tradition: A picture with the Odyssey

Our Honda Odyssey joined the family on Dennis' birthday in 2009. We soon found ourselves wondering how we lived without the van. With my pregnancy, and complications brought on by the H1N1 virus, I seldom drove the van until late November. But, whoever was watching my girls would drive the van. The Odyssey became a "community" vehicle.

The first long trip for our van was to Nebraska for my grandmother's nintieth birthday. The trip was rather unventful for the Odyssey until a deer jumped out in front of us near the Indiana-Illinois line. We assumed that the damage was minimal since the van was still drivable, but nearly $5000 in repairs later, we know now that the damage was substantial.  It was substantial enough to keep the van out of commission for quite a while!

We realized how much we missed the Odyssey when it was gone for two weeks for repairs. We have never had to use the truck as our primary vehicle since Stephenie was born. And, let me tell you that it is a real pain to climb in and out of a TALL truck to buckle in four little girls! Even more so if you are vertically challenged, like I am!

But, all is now well. The van is back home. The girls have all hugged their beloved Odyssey. I have danced my happy dance. And, Dennis has his vehicle back, er . . . uhm. . . did I mention that Dennis is now a pick up truck man?