A new (to us) car!

Life in our neck of the woods got a bit hectic and a few things had to be neglected for a couple of weeks.  I apologize for the dead air!  We were a 1 car family for almost 3 weeks - as we debated between fixing up Book's car or getting a new car and then our car was in the auto body shop for almost a week so our schedules were all funky and everyone was scrambling to make it work.  Sadly, our city is not as family-friendly in the public transport department and so being a 1 car family was more of a hardship than I imagine it might be in other cities.  Regardless, the car is fixed!  Woohoo!  I have my Volkswagen back!  I did drive Book's new car for a week...yep, we decided it was more cost effective to buy a new (used) car than to sink money into fixing up his 2000 Civic.  He is now the proud owner of a Mazda5. Let's face it people, they're both family cars and one of the bonuses of the Mazda5 is the optional 3rd row seating which will allow us to join in a carpool for school next year and let us take friends or extra family members out and about with us.  Truthfully, the Mazda5 was always our 2nd choice to the VW when we were initially looking for a new car just before Iris was born.  What did I learn about myself while driving the Mazda5?  I learned:
- I find it nearly impossible to live without my Sirius radio!  I'm completely addicted and converted to satellite radio! Especially because classical music is always my first choice and due to a weak tower, our local classical music station is not reliable throughout the city/area; with my Sirius radio I always have classical.
- The radio, in general, seems to be a very important component of my driving/riding experience.  The Mazda5's stereo set up is not as high quality as the VW and I missed the sound quality and various options of the stereo in the VW while I was driving the Mazda5
- I do not really like driving a tall car.  I feel very strange being up so high.
- The sliding doors of the Mazda5 totally rock!  Those doors make getting the kids in and out so easy and, honestly, it's not that hard in a "regular" car but something about those sliding doors somehow makes the in/out even easier!  Ditto for the individual captain seats the kids sit in in the Mazda5.  Easy-peasy!
Oh, and for an update regarding the accident: the insurance company let us know that they are feeling confident the ruling will be in our favor regarding fault due to our witness and based on the other driver's documented accident history.  We may even get our deductible back!  That would be so great! 
So, I leave you with a pic of Book and his new car (and the salesman who also happens to be our church friend) and a pic of Iris in cute pigtails for the first time!