Hoda Kotb is a “Minivan Mom” and she’s loving the ride.
“Breaking news … I drove my minivan!” Hoda announced on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna on Nov. 18. “I got in the Toyota Sienna, which is, BAM — I love it! I got in there, I pushed the buttons … then I went to the grocery store.”
“Did you actually need groceries?” asked TODAY co-host Jenna Bush Hager to which Hoda answered, “No, I didn’t. I wanted somewhere to go.”
Marveling over the car’s features, Hoda explained, “It feels like you are flying in a plane at 35,000 feet … my kids piled in, they want to sit in the way back, go ahead because this is a big old bus.”
Hoda added, “I love my minivan so much.”
So does everyone else, according to Hoda.
“Some of the neighbors are texting me, ‘Hey girl, saw your ride. You picking up the kids next time?’” she said. “Because I couldn’t drive the kids because I had a little car.”
Hoda’s enthusiasm for her new car hasn’t waned since she announced the purchase Nov. 14 on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna.
“Guys! I’m getting a minivan …. I’m so excited,” she said.
Hoda continued, “Let me explain: Me in a minivan is a dream. I’ve wanted it and I haven’t had it and also, I am sometimes a ‘Carpool Mom.’ I can only take three kids because there is no other room — not anymore! … I cannot wait for it.”
Earlier this year, Hoda and her daughters, Haley, 7 and Hope, 5, moved from New York City into a new suburban home, one in which Hoda hoped her daughters would feel comfortable.
“It’s all new — new kids, new school, new things, new everything,” Hoda said in August. “And it’s funny because all I could think of was I want my house for the kids to feel warm and cozy and a place where they want to hang. And that’s it.”
One positive change that comes with their home: separate bedrooms for the girls.
“(Haley and Hope) are so excited to have their own space, a reading chair. They’re excited about a reading chair. They’re excited about having a bean bag and their bed,” said Hoda.
According to Jenna, a minivan fits right into Hoda’s new lifestyle.
“Hoda has moved to the suburbs … you dove right into the ‘burbs: PTA, Tupperware and now a minivan,” Jenna said on Nov. 14.
“The minivan is like, the best of it all,” responded Hoda. “I can’t wait to push the buttons and have the kids climb in, put the sports gear in the back.”