So we have done are part for the economy

Beth has her new vehicle, 2007 Ford Freestyle. A few early thoughts on the freestyle.  It rides better than the van and has really good pick up for a small V6.  I am not thrilled with the small spare tire (not a mini but not full size) and only a 14 gallon gas tank.  Wheel base and over all length are closer to the truck than the van so Beth may need a little time to get use to it.  The brakes and steering are a lot like the van's.  The four doors are like a SUV's than the automatic doors on the van so the boys no longer get to push a button to close them.  The third row seating is smaller than the van's and will be harder to get into.  On the up side it will lay flat for extra cargo space.

 I am now bias by owning one but I am not sure why the vehicles did not take off as a crossover minivan/SUV because it sure does fit with our needs.  Beth will have pictures up on Facebook at some point. Thanks again to Marci for all your help.

As for my new toy.  Its a HP mini with a 10 inch screen with an Atom N470 @ 1.83 ghz processor. The keyboard is about 85% of a standard but I like the chic-let keys. The touch pad is more responsive than the one on Beth's laptop but that is not saying much because I really am not good with either of them. So I spent a little more for my own wireless laser mouse  .

 I used Windows 7 download to upgrade the OS from XP and saved from myself from having to get a external DVD player.  Who am I kidding, I was feeling bad for buying a toy for myself and could not justify another purchase when I knew I should be able to do the download.  All told it cost less than an Ipad (including the W7) and it is a lot more functional.

So I hope to be doing more writing now.