Cars............

Ahhhh......the Jeep Wagoneer.  AEOT's dream car.  In my mind, it has a tan leather interior, a backseat filled with three car seats, and a "way back" lined with Junie's blanket, suitcases packed for the weekend away, and a bike carrier on the back with 5 bikes (or 5 sets of skis depending on the season).  Bruce Springsteen, Indigo Girls, John Mellencamp, and the Miami Men's Glee Club are all pouring out from the speakers, there is squabbling in the backseat, there's water, diet coke, combos, and dried cherries in the cooler which is on the floor in the middle of the backseat (for easy access by the parental units), and Junie is snoring soundly.  There isn't an ounce of room because I don't pack lightly and kids go through at least 4 outfits a day.  Plus, we have a lot of activites to get to during the long weekend- and those activites all require different clothing, of course. 

Unfortunately for me, the Jeep Wagoneer is no longer made.  So, my search goes out for another version of the perfect car for a growing family.  I have had my Subaru Forrester for a little over 7 years now and love, love, love it.  It's wonderfully reliable, it drives really well in all kinds of weather conditions (very important for this snowbird), and it is perfect for Junie and Spence, B and I.  My future concern is that we'd like to have 3 kids total, and with three carseats and Junie, we need something bigger.  I love the Subaru Outback

but I'm afraid it won't be much bigger than the Forrester is.  In fact, I'm pretty sure it isn't.  We need to look a little more closely, and I'd love to stay with the Subaru brand, but I'm just not sure it'll fit three car seats across the back.

My first choice in the bigger car arena is the Volvo XC70.

I love the station wagon look, I love the safety ratings, I love that it comes in navy, and I love that it's a pretty traditional car.  My biggest downer here?  The price.  By the time I price it out to be exactly how I want it, it's going to be easily over $40,000, and uggggg....that's a lot of money!  Especially to B, who is so not a car person.  I'm also not sure it's much bigger than the Subaru's are; however, I see moms in these cars all the time, so they must be able to fit car seats well!

Another we've been looking at when we see them out and about is the Ford Flex

I like the boxy look, it is definitely roomy enough, B's current car is a Ford and we couldn't be happier with it, etc.  A few things I don't like?  It doesn't come in navy (in fact, the silver is the only color I like), and I don't like the weird white top.  Both are cosmetic issues, but I want to think my car is cute! 

Any of you out there with growing families who love their current car?  I'd love to know what you drive and why you love it!  I'm pretty much open to anything!

Or, if you'd rather just loan me $105,000, I'll take this........

Yum!