R.I.P. Old Reliable!

This weekend I said my last good by's to "old Reliable" aka my 2001 Dodge Caravan.  It was a very bitter sweet thing. Two years ago Grant and I decided we wanted to get out of debt.  I always said that you would know that I was serious about getting out of debt if you saw me driving a mini van! I have always hated mini vans and swore I would never own one! My dad told me about this van that had been wrecked and rebuilt, and the best part was that the seller only wanted $1,500 for it!! This was my opportunity! Grant and I sold our Ford Explorer online,and paid off our remaining balance on the loan. It took over a month from the time we sold the explorer to the time when the van was fixed and ready to purchase. It was a true test of our determination to become debt free, especially since all this ac-cured in the dead of winter. I can remember walking the kids to school when it was below freezing with a foot of snow on the ground.  I would make up my grocery lists and send Grant to the store in his truck. We couldn't go anywhere together as a family. I remember when my nephew got baptized in Pocatello, we had to rent a van so we could attend the baptism.  We even had problems finding a place to rent a car to us because we don't own any credit cards. Pretty messed up if you ask me! I wont even get started on all the crap we took from our friends and family! It was quite the gamble to sell our nice car and buy something we had only seen pictures of online. It was the best feeling in the world to pay cash for a car! When we bought the van the body looked great, but under the hood needed a lot of work. When it was all said and done we figure we put atleast $2,000 into repairs. Even through all the bumps in the road, I still to this day know that we made the right choice. I truly loved that van!! I thought I would drive it forever......... Then one day Grant went to Pocatello to help my dad move out of his work office. He was driving my dads' Nissan Armada, which just so happened to be for sale:) Grant fell in love and long story short, we bought the Armada. Simple amenities like cruise control, or power windows were something we were no longer use to with our van. The Armada has every bell and whistle you could imagine, and we are loving it! We sold the van to a nice young couple from Rexburg and I am happy to see it go to someone who will love it as much as I did!  I still hate mini vans!! but I will forever love my "old reliable"!!