A "Mini" Surprise

Ok, so you know how sometimes you don't really plan things, and they just happen? Well...hubby and I were driving home from someplace on Sunday and happen to drive by the BMW dealer. We saw this adorable little Mini Cooper.We'd never really given much thought to getting a Mini, especially considering we already have a Smart car...but our friends Shirley and Ed recently got a Mini and love it. A Mini has a bit more room than our Smart, which is strictly for 2 people only. The Mini has four seats, and although it probably wouldn't be comfortable for a cross-country trip for four people, they could certainly fit for short jaunts here and there. It would also be more comfortable for driving around with a pup or two than the Smart car is....so....we stopped and took a look at it.

On Monday we took it for a test drive.

We already have 4 cars in our family of 5, which sounds like plenty, but with all 5 of us driving now, it also means that there are times when all 5 of us are going in different directions. All of the kids are working now, Bear is still working full time at the salon, and both AJ and Pickle have part time summer jobs. Hubby has been going on job interviews, and I've got my therapy visits to do with Kona, gold parties, etc. We are a pretty busy family...

The test drive went great. We liked that it had all of the bells and whistles on it, it has the upgraded leather package, the upgraded stero system, the heated seats, double moonroof, 6 disc CD player, etc...and we also liked that it is a manual 6 speed. All of our other cars are automatic, and Hubby and I both enjoy driving a stick..We came home to think about it....and we flat out lied to the kids and told them that we weren't getting itThen we bought it. Simple as that. We had "Lowjack" installed on it, and a couple of other small things taken care of, and we picked it up this evening...all without the kids having a clue. It was a LOT of fun keeping the secret from them, and surprising them once everyone was home this evening.

Big thanks to Val for helping us pull off the surprise by letting us keep the car in her garage for a while, and even BIGGER thanks to my Mom and Dad for helping us do this for the kids!