JUST DO IT! (take a trip with your family, that is!)

Something I have wanted to blog about for a while……

No, it’s nothing earth shattering……or even life-changing.

But, I hope it might encourage someone out there in Bloggerland to just take a trip with their family.

I love to travel. And having three kids hasn’t changed that.

(It would be better if someone else would do the packing & un-packing.
Hey! A girl can dream, can’t she????)


So far, with three kids we have gone on three trips

(if you count travel home from Guatemala-& I sure do!).

But, I really enjoy driving more than flying,

except for the fact that you can arrive at your destination so much faster.

I think I like driving cause I can take ALL OUR STUFF. (My wonderful hubby who packs it all can attest that I take a LOT of STUFF. But, at least I don’t still take the baby swing with us to camp, Dave. Or the refrigerator. I’m not kidding. The office size one went with us on a trip once.)

Here are a few of my tips for family travel:

~All the kids have their own stash of toys,
& I keep a few new cheap little things I have picked up to surprise them-
one for each day.

~Last time we went on a trip, I had a small bag we called “crayon/marker prison.” No one was allowed to open “crayon/marker prison” with out permission. Only 5 crayons & two markers were allowed out at a time, & all had to be turned in to be allowed any more. Ahhh….I think I only found two crayons on the floor of the van at the end of the trip!!! Amazing, huh?!?!?

~We still try to stick to a nap schedule in the van,
but we quickly discovered Ruth doesn’t sleep when she can see out the window.
Just like we did for Ana, we had to start making her a “tent” to sleep in.

~Spend 15 minutes a day organizing/cleaning-even if you have been in vehicle all day.


~My biggest tip is: EXPECT THINGS NOT TO GO THE WAY YOU WANT THEM TO!!!!

Then, you won’t be disappointed!

My definition of a “fun” week at camp was:

everyone slept through the night, & no one was sick!



“Camping” for a week with kids.

(I was going to show you a bunch of pics,

but much to my dissapointment,

I can't find them on any of the chips I can locate right now.)

“Camping” is in quotes because tent camping is really a MUCH DIFFERENT experience than what we just finished with. Ha! Ha!! We did that last summer with two kids. I think we will wait to do it again until the babies are about 5 years older than they are right now! Just kidding! We’ll probably try again next summer, so stay tuned!

What are your best travel tips???