I am so excited. We are leaving for a well deserved vacation next month. I can’t wait for warm weather and sandy beaches. Before we get there, there is a long drive. We decided to drive to Florida mostly because we still don’t know if we need to tow a boat, but also because flying with 4 people gets expensive in a hurry, then you add on a rental car and easily we are spending 2,000 just to get where we are going. Even with hotels and the price of gas, along with extra meals, we will be saving money, lots of it. I can buy that cute new swimsuit I have been wanting.
With a long road trip ahead, I have begun making appropriate preparations for our family. Our car isn’t very large (we do have a conversion van, but are opting to take the car and save a lot on fuel), so we are limited in what we will be bringing with us. Thankfully, there is a washer and dryer at the house we are staying at, so I am certain I will be washing a LOT of clothes. We HAVE to bring things to keep the kids occupied.
I have a checklist that I am compiling of things to keep everyone happy(ish) and occupied.
Recently I purchased this game for the kids. I am sure they will love it. It should be fun.
We will bring our DVD players (and the headphones, of course). Several movies, though we make take advantage of Red Box as well. The kids can also use the tablet and since DH updated his phone, we have the old phone to play with…essentially a ipod-like device.
I found some ideas for a travel scavenger hunt and license plate bingo online. I will create my own scavenger hunt lists and share them once I do. I am hoping to create a scavenger hunt in the form of a word find. I think they would enjoy that as well. I also will be giving them a map to follow our progress.
I also found Crayola dry erase crayons and dry erase boards on clearance at Target. I got each kiddo one of each. My plan is to sew a holder with loops for each crayon and a place for the board. I am hopeful that this will allow us to not have paper all over the car and also not have marker on the seats.
Kiddo one, being 8, LOVES to read. So we will definitely be bringing some books. I really need to check into checking out electronic books from the library on the tablet… I also purchased the Magic Tree House Library, with plans to give it to the kiddos for Christmas and completely forgot. I will break out some of the books and we will have family reading time. I think I will also check into books on tape from the library. Hopefully they come in mp3 format.
I also plan on having the kids each keep a journal and record things that happen every day. Plus, with having a camera dedicated to the kiddos, they can take their own photos.
I will be covering the seat with a piece of vinyl I got on clearance at JoAnn’s and am almost done making organizers for the backs of the seats. My Fit only has a pocket on the back of the passenger’s seat. NOT enough storage for the trip we are facing. I will post photos when they are done. I am to my last step, but need to purchase some binding clips before I sew on the binding.
Of course we will have healthy (and probably some not-so-healthy) snacks, water bottles and stops along the way. Even with the prospect of two antsy little people in the car, I am still very much looking forward to a great trip!
C
