Well. It happened. The $1 4Runner put up a good fight, but as of today we had to hand her over to the trade-in gods when, for the second time in 8 years she blew a head gasket. It was a tough decision, but sometimes in life you have to admit that the end of an era has arrived on your doorstep. And respond accordingly. (Head nod to Scott, and his selfless role in us owning this car for the last 11 years.)

Steve and I have purchased 3 cars in the duration of our relationship, and each time he has deferred to the fact that “the wife always gets the new car”. I am proud to say that we were able to set that rule aside and allow Steve to indulge in the great luxury of choosing a replacement for HIS car. I did have to put in my STRONG 2-cents when he tried convincing me that we needed a Honda Element. Um, no. There will be none of that, I don’t care that you can shoot a hose through it from front to back. Trust this.

So, after two long days of the 4 of us test driving, and the kids putting their relentless input on what is a mandatory consideration when purchasing a new car (color and 3rd-row-seat being their indisputable HIGHEST priority), we came home with this:

She is lovely and speedy and plush and super techie and absolutely 100% perfect for Steve. And it’s not an Element. So there.