Thanks, I will look at conversion vans also. No, the units are still big and heavy and my husband will probably have to lift it but I believe this could be done where we can just pull it out of the vehicle and throw it in the garage between trips. And best of all I started talking about this with my brother and he already has a very nice AC unit sitting in storage that I can buy cheap.
My daily driver is an old beater jeep wrangler which I love and we inherited a honda odyssey for the kid car (which I strongly dislike, too many buttons, sits too low compared to the wrangler). Only having 1 car that the kids can ride in and both of us working has been pretty inconvenient so primarily this will be a car to haul the kids around in. Some versatility would be nice. I'm debating over whether I want a cheap mid-90s vehicle that is easier to repair or spend a lot more on a newer used vehicle with under 30K miles that won't need as many repairs for a while.
I love how easy and cheap it is to repair my jeep but it's not terribly safe and having to call my boss and tell her the car won't start today...is getting old. Also being stranded in the heat or cold with an infant and a toddler is not really fun. But I hate car loans. Still working that out. =)
Thanks for all of the advice though, this has been extremely helpful!