Baby's New Ride

Much to Cliff's dismay, the carseat simply would not work in his Ford Ranger. We quite literally explored every option and just couldn't make it work. There was no safe way to secure the seat and therefore, the Ranger had to go. We spent weeks looking at options of vehicles. We needed something that would fit our growing family (including an often wet and muddy hunting dog), something that had 4-wheel drive and the capability to tow a trailer, and yet something with good gas mileage since we drive so far to work. All that criteria, plus it needed to fit within our budget. After much research, a lot of test driving, and a significant amount of thought and discussion, we landed on a gently used 2006 Saturn Vue. It's not "the truck", but it's no car either. It is a compact SUV, with the capability to tow, 4 wheel drive, heated seats and a sunroof (which was important to Cliff), and most importantly, seats five adults plus a dog! We took the Vue to the Beaver Valley Steak Fry on Sunday and it had plenty of clearance to make it down the rutted and bumpy driveway through the woods. Cliff and I sat in front and his parents and uncle sat in the back. Drake happily sat in the very back on his very own rubber-backed matt that should protect the upholstery from swamp muck. It also sits just a bit lower than the tailgate of the Ranger, so it's a little easier for Drake to get in and out of. ...and... the owners manual has an entire chapter on child safety seats and the safest way to secure them in the vehicle. So, baby's got a new ride. Oh, and we like it too.