New Car!!

10 years ago on 11-23-05 Charles and I purchased our first vehicle together.  It was a 2006 black Honda Element with just 7 miles on it.  It now has over 146,000 miles and has seen A LOT of memories, but good and bad.  On our first trip to Round Rock the day after we purchased it, Baylor threw up in the back seat.  It was the car both of our kids were born with and it has seen many poopy diapers, breast feeding, tickets, wrecks, drive in movies, outdoor adventures, our first family trip to Lubbock when Cade was 4 weeks old for Grandma Watts' funeral, laughter, late night studying while Charles drove to Baylor games, sitting on the tailgate while kids played in the driveway, and most recently protected me while I drove as fast as I could to see my Dad on the early morning of March 3rd.  It is funny how you do get attached to the material things you are accustomed to in life.  It reminds us of the good and bad times of the last 10 years.  The element was a joy to have, but we have outgrown it in our family.  It was becoming more and more difficult with the suspension to ride long distances in (on Charles and I's back).  The storage space in back did not hold our groceries and the kids would have to straddle groceries.  Trying to transport mats and materials for work to multiple campus' required numerous trips or trading Charles for the truck.  A GREAT vehicle, just not able to do the most basic things becoming more and more needed for our family.  We had been looking at Buick Enclaves for a while (about 6 months now) due to the 3rd row that could be laid down for additional storage.  I also wanted captain chairs for the kids so that Baylor would have a place to ride in the middle, leather if possible, and a pearl or white color on outside.  Now you know why we said we had been looking for a while!  We knew what we wanted and luckily did not have the pressure of having to get anything right away.  This was nice as we could wait for the right deal to come along.  Charles came across this beauty that met all our criteria and was in our price range!!  It is a 2014 model with only 12,000 miles on it.  A lot of things happened in getting this vehicle that led us to know this was the right deal and time.  First, Charles found it on the internet just 2 hours after they received it on the lot and posted its picture, then when I originally went down to look at the car, I met the owner of the dealership named "Lucky".  Lucky looked just like my Dad and we talked for a long time about Baylor University, families, and cars.  He also loved the element and offered us well over KBB for it.  There is no way I could even sell it for the amount they gave me.  Then, when we started discussing the enclave, he helped mark it down much more than I ever expected to be sure with TTL he was well under our price range.  This took off the burden of a large expense and eased my mind about the deal.  This was the first big purchase Charles and I have made without my Dad, and it helped knowing he was by our side.  He always told Charles and I to "sleep on big decisions".  He also told us to "be smart, take risks, and look at the long term".  That is exactly what we did and we feel great about it!  The kids fell in love with the enclave the moment they saw it.  They love the big space they have, more cup holders (ha), and the fact that they have windows they can roll down.  We cannot wait to make all the new memories with "Pearl", our new car!