Top 18 Travel Tips for Driving with Kids

I recently had a friend post on Facebook looking for advice on driving across country with their three kids when they move later this year. I think I could have written a book! Two years ago we traveled from OK to OR and back again in 10 days and the kids were 10,7,4 and 3. Oh my word, it was fun and we survived! So I compiled a list just for you with my travel tips. They don't involve wrapping up small gifts for each hour you are in the car (this mama doesn't have time for that, but I am totally impressed if you do) and I don't bribe for good behavior, you should be good because it's the right thing to do. Kids today are lucky they have all these fun devices to play on!

• DVD's. Okay this one is a no brainer right? If you don't have one, ask your friends or family if they have one you could borrow, barter or rent. Did you know that you don't have to pack any of your own DVD's? We used Redbox the whole time! You can download their mobile app and plan your gas/food/breaks for places that have them. Wal-Mart's usually do and while I am not a Wal-Mart shopper on the norm, it will suffice when we are traveling!
• A sturdy kid potty. The kind that you use to potty train with. This one is similar to the one I have, but they don't make mine anymore (what? why???). The point is for it to be small and compact without a back, so you can put it in a re-usable shopping bag with wipes, toilet paper, clorox wipes and extra plastic shopping bags. If it doesn't have a back then you can use it too. Middle of nowhere, you better believe I used it! Some of the best stops were in the middle of nowhere doing business in the woods. 
• Extra clothes in zip lock bags for when there is an accident. If its pee or vomit, you don't want that leaking out of a bag you tie up. 
• A positive attitude and a sense of adventure. If you are nervous, they will see right through you. 
• Snacks that your kids normally eat. Some people say to bring lots of candy or treats. The last thing I want in the car is my kid on a sugar high who then gets a tummy ache. No thanks!
• Markers if its summer time. Crayons if its winter. 
• I let them pick new coloring/activities themselves. Sometimes when I pick something for them they aren't as into it as I thought they would be. 
• Are we there yet? Give them the schedule. Very important for my oldest to know where we are going and when we would get there. You can even download a map app for them to look at or print off your own "map" coloring pages.
• Plan rest stops for parks if the weather is nice or Chick-Fil-A for an inside day. A lot of times its more about moving around then it is about eating for the kids. We stopped once outside of Colorado and the sky was so big and blue and beautiful I could have stayed right there forever. Those are the times when memories are made. 
• Wear comfortable clothes (ones that would be okay to sleep in) and shoes that are easy to get on and off. Regan was a big fan of wearing her pajamas all day. Worked for me. She was happy and it really felt like a vacation I think for her. 
• Don't try to fit too many miles into one day. I know that I could travel with just me and the hubs and crank out a ton of miles and be fine...the kids just get cranky, which is no fun for anyone.
• Try and book hotels with pools. Again, this is just so they have a place to move around. It's often hard to sleep after you've been in the car all day. This really wears them out so they (and you) can get some solid sleep. 
• Eat dinner in your hotel if you are just beat and not up for social graces. We found a local pizza shop in a small town in Idaho and had a party in our room one late night. It was great pizza, we didn't care if they ate in bed and everyone was happy. 
• Instead of buying more stuff for them to do in the car you can let them purchase a new game. movie or app for their tablet. They only get paid apps when they get a gift card or something in our house. Let them know ahead of time what their app purchase amount limit is. 
• Bring an inflatable air mattress for the hotel if you have a bunch of kids. I don't think we have ever checked in as 2 adults and 4 kids. Mainly because they will tell us that we need two rooms. I don't think so! Especially when we are just passing through. A couple of good quality air mattresses that fill up on their own (you just plug them in) really serve us well. The kids already have extra blankets and pillows so we just bring a couple up with us. It also helps that the kids can have their own space. Sometimes you don't get good sleep when you share.
• If they have a breakfast buffet in the morning and its been a late night, usually the hubs and our oldest child, will go down and load up as much as they can, bring it up and then go back and do it again. That way we don't miss breakfast because we are still getting kids (or myself) ready and you can have breakfast in bed! Pack up and eat at the same time. No rushing and no forgetting stuff. 
• Keep electronics in one spot and have a reusable checklist for each stop. You could even have an electronics bag that houses all electronics upon pack up. We totally left a tablet at a non-Disney hotel in Anaheim and of course cleaning never found it. At the point we realized it was left, we wouldn't have made it home on time if we had doubled back. 
• A small container for the laundromat with essentials. Use an empty drink mix container to put dryer sheets, detergent pods and quarters in. If you need to use the laundry at the hotel or because someone barfed all over their car seat cover you will be totally prepared to stop, strip and wash. You can also pack lighter and/or arrive home with clean clothes by doing laundry as you go! We stayed in a hotel off of Hwy 1 and grabbed a six pack from a convenience store and hit the laundry mat. Best beers and we were good to go with clean clothes for the rest of the trip.

The boys at the potty break spot.

Can you survive? You betcha. And if all those don't work, take turns driving and sitting in the passenger seat with headphones in. And remember that its not just about the destination, but the journey as well.

On her way to the potty break spot in her pajamas and shoes. It was a breathtaking potty break!

Airstream Progress: Gutting, floors, must haves

We worked tirelessly to get at minimum the floors installed for our first camping trip in our 1978 Argosy Airstream we have affectionately named Three Magee. We took her to the bones and thankfully there wasn't much underbelly damage. The hardest part of gutting for us was taking off the wheel wells! Here are some of the things we did and what we did on our first trip!

Once we had everything out we checked and sealed any leaks. This part is super important, nobody wants to get wet or deal with water damage. We will be testing to see if we got them all soon, more on that later. We purchased a bunch of insulation and decided to go with a higher grade so that we would save on heating and cooling costs and make it easier to maintain a comfortable temperature. Even on a 50-60 degree day it would get really warm in there without the insulation and walls in. We really wanted to be able to go anywhere without temperature limitations. We tucked the insulation in and began cutting the floors using old flooring as cutting guides. We did not place our plywood under the shell (like when it was built). We didn't measure it correctly somewhere and ended up with a one inch gap going across the width of the trailer. We were putting in some serious time on it and well, I guess we only measured once. It was around 2 a.m on the day we were supposed to be leaving so we MacGuyver'd it and made what reminds me of a door way threshold cover. Dale made it nice and smooth so it wouldn't be too bothersome. It sure worked for the first trip, but we will have to go in and fix it.

After we got the floor in we set to getting the electrical hooked back up and getting all of the outlets and wires duct taped to the walls. We made sure that no one would accidentally electrocute themselves and that it would be kid friendly! We assembled a futon at the front for Dale and I to sleep on and pulled 2 of the kids mattresses down from their rooms instead of using air mattresses. We also had a cot that we put on one side. Best purchase ever was a mini-fridge. It was the most convenient thing to have. We put a spare TV on top of the fridge and brought a cable cord. I strung up Christmas lights and had pretty bedding and put some rugs down.

It was super rainy before we got there and during, which means mud. The spot we reserved was a muddy mess and not big enough to put our pergola in front of the door...which I've decided would have made the trip much more pleasant. I brought our outdoor rugs and they helped with the mud control, but it would have made a huge difference if we had had the pergola in front of the door. I was so glad that we brought the TV. It rained just after we finished cooking dinner over the fire on the first night and we snuggled up and watched movies together and listened to the rain. Everyone was so tired from walking all day that they pretty much crashed.

Here are the must haves for the next trip, which we hope to take at the end of summer. Walls up and painted. Bunk beds for the kids. This one is a biggie. Of course when they are at home they want to share beds and have slumber parties. You would have thought we were torturing them this time! I want to leave it open so that they can see out of their bunks towards the TV. I have always wanted it to feel open, and I think this will really help with that. I really want the toilet back in. Just for those early morning trips to the bathroom. A kitchen sink. Okay this one isn't so much a need as a want. I am definitely an outdoor kinda girl, but it would have been so much easier to have done dishes inside and have a nice place to wash my hands for things like contacts or teeth brushing. Curtains or some major window tinting. Changing while laying down or putting a sheet up only cut it because I knew it was only for a few days. I found some neat tutorials on new curtain rods. Now I just have to settle on some fabric!

Now for my wants. At first I didn't really care if we had a shower, but if we are going to put the toilet back in and since we have a practically brand new hot water heater, I say why not. We had originally planned on reconfiguring it to have the bathroom in the middle and the bunks all the way pushed to the back, but snuggle family movies totally trumped that. For me glamping and camping isn't necessarily about removing electronics, for the daytime sure, but at night, I just want some peace and quiet and to be able to relax together. Especially if it's raining! I really want to have cute coordinating bedding for the kids. I also want some pretty light fixtures. We ditched the 70's and I am not looking back! I also want it to have more storage and shelving. There were so many times that I just really wanted a hook or a shelf to put things. We were kind of living out of totes and suitcases. Maybe storage is a need! With the bunks and storage we will have walking space which is at a premium when you are confined to 24 ft!

What worked. The futon worked great. I don't know if it will be the last thing we have there, but it made for a decent nights sleep. There was still plenty of room back there if we decided to put a fresh water tank in behind it like what had been in there originally. I loved the functionality of it and being able to have a couch or a bed. It was also really light weight so moving it was a breeze. We got a great little space heater too. It worked perfectly to heat the whole place, as long as the kids didn't mess with the buttons...which for sure happened. I was happily surprised with how warm it was and the temperatures were in the 40's. I also was so glad we got a mini fridge. It just made it feel more like a little home and it was great to have things like milk for cereal.

We had a pretty good time. I can't wait to get some more done and take her out again.

We stayed at the Silver Dollar City Wilderness Campground. I would totally stay there again. The showers were decent, but hopefully next time I will have my own.

Lots and lots of insulation.

He worked so, so hard!

Bare bones, but a floor and mattresses. 

You can see the standing pools of water! Our pergola was amazing, I just wish it would have been in front of our door. That would have made all the difference. 

Those black pants on Jack are the reason you pack spare clothes no matter what. Let's just say I'm a ninja.

These two were total best buds.

Quick! Selfie time!

I love doing the cave tour.

This is the moment right before the shit hit the fan and we went from having the best day to whine city.

Love this one!

More next time about what to pack and tips for traveling with kids. 

Our Airstream

So in yesterday's post I showed you this sneak peak of our Airstream:

We took that picture on our way down through California on Highway 1. If you have ever driven it you know its stunning, We had stopped on the side of the road for a potty break. While we were at my dad's he gave me a sign from my grandmothers house which has her house and street name on it, "Three Magee". She passed away a few years ago. Her land and houses were like being in your own private redwood forest. I wish my children could have experienced its magic. I photographed it when I went out for her funeral. We named our Airstream "Three Magee" and we're going to hang the sign inside when we get to the decorating part.

The nice thing about getting Three Magee from my dad was...it was free. About the only thing in it we are saving is the water tank, air conditioner and the toilet, which is pretty new. Everything else had been exposed to the damp air of coastal California and Oregon and was a little funky. Here she is before we started demo.

Hello 1978!

We are almost done with taking every thing out. Need a good workout? Gut an Airstream!We need to replace the sub floor with new plywood clean all the vents and windows, replace the screens, take the paint off the outside, reseal it, repaint it or buff it out, put in new flooring, recreate the bathroom, fabricate our own double bunk beds, purchase a new refrigerator, seal and paint the walls and last but certainly not least create a pull out bed for Dale and I. So you know, easy stuff! Whew! I wanted to leave the divider walls out to create a more open space. Our bed will be a pull out that can be a couch during the day. The top bunks I want to be more like cots and fold up to attach to the ceiling so that it feels more open and we can use the lower bunks like seats. The only thing I really want to have in it is a good little refrigerator. I don't care so much about bringing the oven back in. Who wants to do a bunch of baking when you're on an adventure? We are really good at fire cooking and I'm going to have a microwave above the fridge. We also have a plug in single burner. I would rather have an outdoor kitchen and more living space inside the trailer. It is really important for me to be able to take a shower and go to the bathroom there too if we need be. On our first camping trip with the four of them the showers at the campsite were so muggy that we needed a shower after showering. It was gross and had no ventilation. Three Magee has a nice big window in the back!

So there she is. I will post updates as we take stuff out and really make some progress. I hope to have her ready to go by Spring Break. Fall Break would be awesome, but lets get real here! If you have any questions about her feel free to ask!

A little adventure

Last fall we drove from Oklahoma to Oregon to pick up a 1978 Argosy Airstream from my dad. We traveled through Denver, Yellowstone, beautiful Pacific beaches, downtown San Fran at rush hour hauling the airstream and Disneyland. We pushed hard on the way back to just get back in time and stayed extra at Disney so we missed The Grand Canyon. We crammed a lot in, which simply made us hungry for staying in one place and really exploring on our next little adventure. 

We visited Yellowstone and saw Old Faithful while basking in the most beautiful smell of real pine trees. The kids saw the ocean for the first time. My ocean, with cool water on a wonderfully cloudy and foggy day (in true Northern California/Oregon style). My kids got to see part of the not so little town I grew up in just north of the Bay in San Fran. I really missed mom when I was there, something fierce.We went to Disneyland and managed to surprise the kids. It was magical and I can't wait to go back and really spend some time in each place. Now we are busy remodeling our little Airstream to get it ready for our next adventure. 

I will really introduce our Airstream in the next post. Since she really wasn't stay ready we used her as a giant portable bathroom for us in the middle of nowhere. I highly recommend keeping those training potties...it came in so handy! Take lots of snacks but in lots of varieties, have packs of wipes and plastic grocery sacks for trash. Take a cooler so that you can save money on drinks (crystal light and water bottles y'all). Plan out stops and expect to have an accident. Pack your kids extra clothes for the car, some gallon ziplock bags in case they have one. You'll be prepared so you won't get upset and it will be less stressful, oh and some extra towels.

I planned out our Disney trip knowing we only had 2 days at the park. I studied the maps until I knew it nearly by heart. I chose one must do ride for each kid and then we were free to explore the things that were neat and caught our eye. We did do a character lunch at Ariel's Grotto...worth every penny. We also got the photo pass and we will get it every time we go from now on. I have great pictures of ALL of us. The photographers are really great and really do know how to get the best shot wherever you are. It was truly two days of magic!

I could have stayed at Yellowstone for forever. Breathtakingly beautiful. I cannot wait to take our Airstream and have some awesome little adventures with the kids. We stayed at The Yellowstone Hotel. It has been beautifully restored in the lobby and dining areas, and they are working on the rooms. It was a little Shining-esque, but only for Dale and I :). I want to really camp next time. I spotted lots of animals and it was fun looking for them while we drove. 

It was fun and exhausting...worth every second!

Campfire Cowboy Skillet

You're going to have to do a hike to burn this off but it's really yummy and uses up camp leftovers like nobody's business.  I made this for lunch and it was a hit.  Especially with the hubs.

What you need:

Leftover bacon and sausage from breakfast (we had about 6 strips of bacon and 3 patties leftover)
1 lb of ground beef
1/2 onion chopped
1 big can of Bush's Original Baked Beans
Approximately 3 tablespoons of Barbecue sauce
Large cast iron skillet
Hungry Campers

What to do:

Cook the ground beef and onion together in a cast iron skillet on a grate over the fire.  It helps if you have it  not perfectly level so that the grease kind of self drains to one side of the skillet.  While the ground beef and onions are cooking cut the bacon and sausage into bite size pieces.  Once the beef and onion mixture is cooked drain off or use paper towels to remove as much grease as possible.  Add the bacon, sausage, can of beans and barbecue sauce.  Let simmer over fire about 5-10 minutes.  Serve with crackers, chips, corn bread, anything you have on hand.  Enjoy!

Camping 101 with The Jones Family

We went camping with all the kids over Memorial Day weekend.  It was fun and exhaustion all rolled in to 24 hours.  Yes we camped for 24 hours.  So here is our experience summed up into a few lists and some pictures.  Let's start with the awesome stuff.

Awesome:

• Watching the girls faces light up with delight when the butterflies would land on them.
• Playing catch and soccer with Ethan.
• Letting Jack change the shoreline of the lake by throwing in every rock he could get his hands on.
• I skipped a rock for the first time ever.  I know this is lame for some people but apparently you just need a good teacher (thanks honey!) and I had never done it!
• Campfire Smores- they just taste so much better cooked over a campfire, the kids replied "Smores" to my question as to what their favorite part was.
• No technology and not knowing what time it was.  Being completely unplugged for a few days has been really nice.
• Listening to Ellie and all of her scientific terminology, she is wicked smart and blew our minds.
• Going hiking together and watching the kids explore and interact with nature.
• No one getting hurt (I mean this one is pretty awesome).
• Getting to see a really big snake and a tarantula, they were cool and I'm pretty sure Jack would have followed that tarantula anywhere.
• My Campfire Cowboy Skillet lunch- Dale chimed in it was his favorite part.  I'll give you the recipe tomorrow :).
• Teaching the kids about responsibility.  We had them help with set up and clean up for both the camping part and the meals.
• There's no place like home!  Especially hearing the kids say how much they loved camping and loved being back at the house.  One of the best showers I've ever taken.

Oh Crap:

• Forgetting kitchen utensils (like a spatula, can opener and paper towels).  I remembered this on the way out and we borrowed a spatula from the Grandparents.  Thankfully Dale is pretty handy and can open a can with a screwdriver and a mallet.  He also went to town for paper towels so we could have yummy skillet potatoes for breakfast.
• Forgetting to put OFF higher up our shorts.  Ethan's bum, Ellie thighs and my thighs look like they have chicken pox.  Yay for hydrocortisone cream!
• The showers were like being in a sauna so we got clean and sweaty again all within 20 minutes and the person that showered before us left poop in there.  I became a mom with the expectations that I would have to clean up my own kids poop, I get really pissed when I have to clean up other peoples! That part was just straight up nasty.
• Having to say "Where's Jack" every 15 minutes at the campsite.  The difference between ages 2 and 3 is listening skills, really important listening skills.

What we learned:

• A portable kid potty is invaluable and the one of the best investments I ever made.  You can put it in the car or in a folding chair for the big kids (or me in the middle of the night) and not have to walk to the bathrooms.  
• Bring your own toilet paper.  So glad I did!  To quote Ethan "I don't know what that stuff is but it doesn't belong anywhere near my butt!"
• We are going to invest in a shower enclosure to go with our Coleman 5 gallon solar shower.  It would have been a million times easier to just shower outside instead of the sauna/poop shower.  
• You can't have too many activities planned during the day.  There was a little bit of "everyone hasn't had enough sleep/ it's really hot/ we don't really want to do anything but lounge around" between lunch and dinner.  
• Bring a big blanket just to lay outside on.  Jack and Regan both just laid down for a nap when they were ready and it was kind of hot in the tent.
• Don't bring sugary drinks.  It will just make the kids hyper and kind of annoying.  Just water or even a Crystal Light drink would have been enough.

Now we know we can do it.  We definitely want to do it again and we know the kids can totally pass as campers.  Regan listened way more than I thought she was capable of and the big kids were pretty awesome.  Maybe we'll consider it again when our bug bites are gone!

Ethan is pretending to be Spongebob.  Someday he'll want me to hide this one.

The girls didn't care for this guy as much as the boys.

Jack needed a closer look.  

The butterflies kept landing and the girls would have conversations with them.

Oh my how they are growing.

Take my hand Daddy and lets go over here!

Dale is looking for good skipping rocks.

He loves his brother and always looks out for him.  Glove on an all.

Red faced and sweaty!  She fell asleep on me a few minutes later.  This girl will always
pose for a picture.

Jack would walk around knocking all of the chairs over.  Apparently sitting on  the
trash was way more comfortable!

Where's Jack?

You might also like:  Campfire Cowboy Skillet