I am a mom, and feel that I should only settle for the best for my family.  I researched cribs, high chairs, and other play things for my children when they were born to make sure that I had the safest and most reliable items for them in the house.  In my car I did the same.  I spent over $200 for each car seat to give them the best ride, and the safest place to be if something was to happen.  I drive a Toyota Sequoia because of its safety rating and size.  When I bring it to the shop, or have my husband work on it, I let them know I want Toyota auto parts put on it, and not some aftermarket products.

Let’s face it; I bought a Toyota because of their reputation for safety and endurance.  I don’t like having to buy a new car every two years.  It doesn’t make any sense to waste money like that; especially if a few little kids are going to keep throwing things on the seats, and spilling their drinks.  I’ll take my depreciation once every five years, instead of more often like some women do.  I expect this car to last, and will do what I need to make that happen.

One of the great things about this vehicle is that we like to go on road trips.  We like to do this a lot.  Trips to the beach, mountains, desert, skiing, visiting friends and relatives, are more fun than sitting around the house each weekend.  My Sequoia is built for this, and makes us look good when we go.  I love the fact that we can fit anything in it we need for any such trip.  And we usually do bring more than we need.  Ok, I pack more than should be brought.  I admit it.  That’s what I do.  The best part is that I don’t have to drive on them.

We like to leave on Fridays around 3:00PM.  I work from home mostly, and my husband is able to cut loose fairly early most Fridays.  I usually pack the night before so he can just load up the car, and I can load the babies.  He invested in some really good roof racks a few years ago when we bought this beast, and boy have they come in handy.  We can fit just about anything we need to up top to make room for the kids and me inside.  Mostly he puts his skis and our bikes up there.

Once a month my husband spends time taking care of my Sequoia.  He usually does this early on a Saturday morning.  He changes the oil, checks the belts and tires, and does other guy stuff that he says keeps it running longer and safer.  He is the one who convinced me to only buy Toyota auto parts for this Toyota car.  He is not a big fan of replica parts from some cheap factory.  He says that buying those kind of parts is like watching your favorite basketball team on TV with commercials interrupting every five minutes instead of being at the game in person.  He takes care of me and the children, and I trust him to always do the right thing for us.

It has now been about three weeks since we went on one of our great weekend road trips.  The cost of gas is making them less frequent now.  What we have done is reduce the number of them to make up for the increased cost.  The good part is that we have made them much bigger now to compensate.  Next weekend we are loading up and heading to San Diego.  We have finally decided to take the kids to Sea World.  My husband went over my car this weekend to see that it is ready.  He said it is like new with what he keeps it up with.