Full house, the time has finally come...

K&H

My wife has finally approved a minivan! Hot d@mn, I'm so excited!
We have one kid, so she has been pushing to not have one.. But she nannies two little ones still in car seats, ours is in a car seat, we are close (we think) to adding a kiddo to our family through foster adopt, and we have two 14yo exchange students living with us this school year. We NEED a minivan and finally she is begging for one! (As some will know, this has been a LONG time coming)..
So please, can we go over the debate again? What is the best minivan? Do you own or lease? Why? What features are absolutely necessary and which ones are just bonus that you don't really use?

I am so beyond excited! More room coming my way! And maybe, just maybe, I won't feel like the kids are always screaming in my ear at every moment!

Shanny

When my Volvo wagon bit the dust I finally got something bigger. I really didn't need all the room of a minivan - hello? Single mom with one child. But my job did really require something with the 3rd row to save my sanity. I opted for what I call the "mini, minivan" Mazda 5. I am so freaking happy they are not sitting on top of each other anymore! Around here it is definitely between the Honda and Toyota for full size minivans. I've only ever driven the Honda and it is pretty nice. If Nanny younger kids is still in your wife's future I'd def look at car seat issues like latches in the 3rd row, tethers etc.

I'd love to hear more about the exchange student program. It is something I'd like to learn more about.

K&H

Third row car seats info.. Good idea.

We are hosting two students who will go to our public high school. We had done a program in the past where our student went to a local private school, but that was much more difficult as the students were spread out and there wasn't a bus option. I would contact your local high school first and ask if they allow exchange students on F-1 visas and if so what are some of the programs that they go through. We go through a company called Educatius, but it definitely isn't in every town (I don't think they are in most states). There is a small stipend that they pay you each month, but again not every company does.
It has been a mixed bag, but mostly positive. This week is some of the toughest, adjusting to new people and getting used to each other. Once we hit our groove it's pretty great. So far we have had four students, from South Korea, Norway, Germany and France.

You could potentially also start up a program near you, and be the coordinator, which is a paid position, but it might be hard to start up. Don't know anything about that part tho

Zen

I have never owned a minivan but I rented one this summer – biecause I had two exchange students and we were taking everybody to Universal Studios. Our rental was a Toyota Sienna and it was awesome. While I am not ready to be a minivan mom, my must-have would be automatic sliding doors on both the driver's side and the passenger side.

On the subject exchange students, I worked with PAX.. They have students from all over the world. I like hosting from Spain so I can practice my Spanish. PAX still has 75 students to place for this year In the USA. The students go to the public high school in your area and all come with their own medical insurance. You supply room and board and treat them as a member of your family. They have their own funds for spending money.

palegreen

I can't offer much help with the minivan, but I'm really curious about the foreign exchange program you work with. I've always thought about doing it!