~ How We Travel
( This was written as a blog post a in the fall of 2016 just after a trip from Alberta to Texas and back again )
We have just returned from our month long trip to Texas, which went not bad after-all. All my worries and concerns for nothing! We had a great visit with family and friends, and great traveling as well!!
Praise the Lord!!
Not sure how many trips it is now that we have made back and forth from Alberta to Texas, but I know it is several. And by now we actually kind of got a routine going that is most likely the reason things are going more smoothly on the road. And of course with God's great protection over us and His helping me to have a better attitude. Probably that right there is what makes all the difference!
Here I will share how we roll on the road, in case you're planning a trip, and would enjoy hearing how our troop of nine manages a 4 day road trip, keeping our sanity intact!! If we can do it, you can too!!
Packing suit cases:
My rule is no over packing, just a 4 or 5 out-fits; if we need more we will shop second-hand while we are there. Also we told the kids this time that they had to pack in way so that we would only carry in 2 suitcases plus our bathroom bag in to the motels, not the usual 5 or 6. So the big boys packed their travel clothes in one bag, and I packed for the rest of us in one suite-case. Then anything extra we needed went in a big tote container.
The older ones (ages 14 and 12) can now do their own packing, YAY!! Plus my oldest also supervised the packing of our 9 year old too (he just had a Birthday, he is 10 now)!! I was left to help the younger 4 from our 7 yr. old down to our 10 month old Daniel. Oh, our 7, 5, and 3 yr. old packed though!! You should of seen all the things they packed, lots and lots of clothes, play shoes, good shoes, play sandals, dress sandals; lots of little books, and little trinkets and goodies that you just can't possible live 30 days without; and lots of blankets ( it was hard to convince them that we had several already down here). The little ones really over whelmed me this time on packing, I went over their stuff and took out some I clearly knew they would not need, but they still had too many goodies. So my sweet 14 year old decided to help me out, and went in the room with each sister and lovingly dumped out their back-packs and traveling bags, and helped them slim down a bit. He was good!! I finished helping our 3 yr. old son pack, boys are easier!! :)
Loading the van:
Now that all the suite cases, and totes are packed, snack box full and ready, a box full of diapers and baby wipes ( to go conveniently under a van seat ), it is time to load the 15 passenger van with Dad supervising. (That's his role) We have the last seat in the back taken out for more space for our luggage.
Oh and don't forget his tools, and the last item to be loaded is the ice chest with makings for sandwiches.
And we're off!
Our departure date and time was preset, and now the long anticipated day is here. The van was loaded the night before along with car seats and booster seats buckled in place, and double checked. The kids are up early, fed, and dressed, and the older ones take the younger ones out and buckle them. Mom and dad walk around the ones for one more quick check to see if we missed something important; mom grabs a few more items; Dad shuts off water, sets the heat to right temp, locks the doors, and out the door we go.
Hey, forgot the most important thing we always do before the kids go out to the van (as well as each morning when we leave the motel rooms). We all gather in a circle, kneel down, hold hands and pray together. Each one says a prayer (some short, some longer, but all heart felt) for protection and wellbeing on the trip. (My favorite one that one of our dear ones pray is, " help us get to the motel fast and that there is a pool, don't let us get sick, and make sure mom doesn't get mad at me.") Children and prayers, you got to love it!! :) And you know God does too! They touch the heart of God like no one else!
For motion sickness:
The first few trips we made, some of the children got sick a lot along the way. Was not fun! We soon realized that we needed to carry ice-cream pails with lids, lots of paper towels, and febreze! Then someone told us of gravol for motion sickness! YAY for that! This is now our second trip using that, and no one got sick at all!!!!
So we give a gravol tablet to each child a half hour if possible before heading out each morning. (Expect our oldest that doesn't seem to need it)
Traveling with GPS and Getting a motel room:
We have used GPS now in our traveling several times. Very handy. Hubby sets our trip ahead of time, he programs where we will stop for each of the 3 nights on the road, and usually has the first night's room already booked. Then for the following nights just after lunch I start looking on the GPS for motels in the town where we will be stopping for that night.
I start making the calls, looking for motels with either a large family suite, or two adjoining rooms, or if we have no other choice 2 rooms right next to each other. This trip down we did well, the first night while still in Alberta we had to get 2 separate rooms, but next night we got 2 adjoining rooms, and the last night a large family suite complete with a king size bed and whirl-pool! We are finding it harder to find motels with large family suites.
The kids love the GPS so that they can count down the time till the time we arrive at the motel, and they get really excited when they see the flag!! And it is handy for when we get off the road at a gas station, so easy to follow that purple line and annoying voice back on our route again! OH ,if only my mom and dad had that in their travels years ago!!
Breakfast:
The motels we stay in have continental breakfast, which is usually open at 6:00 a.m. So at 6 a.m. the older ones and I are ready to go eat, then when one of the older ones finish they go back to the room and see if one of the younger ones are now up and ready to eat, or takes Daddy's place in the room with little ones, and he comes and eats. Some motels have really good breakfast complete with scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and waffles. So we eat well. And have everyone fed and ready to hit the road by 7 or 7:30 a.m.
Lunch on the road:
We mostly just do sandwiches which I make up as we travel. I call for one of the boys to grab our lunch stuff out of the ice-chest in the back of the van. Then I start making up the sandwiches, and pass them back to the children. Then for myself and hubby. Once we are all done, back to the ice-chest go the meat and cheese, ect..
Plus we have loaded snack box between the front seats so I can easily get out and pass snacks. Also plenty of water bottles. Having a bunch of snacks already bought and ready, makes for no need for begging for goodies at gas stations cause we already got everything, and cheaper too.
Gas and bathroom stops:
The only stops we make during the day are for gas and bathrooms. Usually just the times we stop for gas is all we need for bathroom stops too, but occasional we make quick stops at rest areas as well for bathrooms.
Here I should note that our 4 youngest ones (yes even our 7 year old) wear diapers on the road. So at bathroom stops I take the girls and baby with me to ladies bathroom, our oldest is in charge of our 3 year old son and they head off to the men's bathroom, while Daddy gets gas. Everyone goes potty and diapers changed if needed. (The diapers are a major time saver I tell you, if it wasn't for the diapers we would have to stop much more often for potty breaks)
Supper:
For our evening meal we either eat in a restaurant after we have gotten our room for the night. Or we call in pizza delivery to our room. Either way is very wonderful after a long day on the road! Since we make our day time stops to a minimum, we make good time and can stop fairly early in the evenings, anywhere from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. That way no one is too worn out, although even by then little ones are going a bit crazy!
Some trips we have planned certain sightseeing stops (like Yellow Stone National Park, Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monuments, The Red Woods in California) and so then our traveling was different those times, but we haven't done that in a while.
~ Here I should share a thing we have just started for our restaurant outings which has helped a lot. We have selected each of our older sons to be in charge of one of the younger ones to help them get seated and get their food if it's buffet style. They know who they are in charge of, and works pretty smooth. For example Clayton is in charge of Anna, so he holds her hand going in to the restaurant, helps her dish her food, and get seated, then he gets his food. They all do that. Leaving the restaurant each boy again holds younger siblings hand, helps them in the van, and buckles them up. (Same procedure goes for getting them out too) Together daddy and I are both in charge of baby and overseeing everything.
Pools:
We always try to make sure we get a motel with a pool, and if it has a slide even better! It gives the children something to look forward too during the day while on the road, and gives them a way to burn energy off before bed time. And a way for mom and dad to relax, especially in the hot tub!
We don't do the typical swim wear stuff, so if you're like me you may cringe at the mere mention of public pools and hot-tubs since most swim attire unfortunately isn't exactly family friendly. But we have done very well, there hardly ever has been anyone else swimming. And very often we have the whole pool room to ourselves!! For this I praise the Lord! I have made it matter of earnest prayer before we start our travels that if we do get a motel with a pool that it be family friendly.
I normally would not have my family in public swim area at all, but when traveling getting to play in a pool at the end of the days makes our days more doable, and it means so much to the kids. God cares about these little things!! I am a firm believer that nothing is to big that God cannot handle nor to small that he does not care!!
Well I believe that pretty much is our traveling tips is a nut shell.
Hope you find this helpful in your traveling or an entertaining read at the least!!
Here is one final tip.
~ If you travel, don't stress, just take it all to the Lord in prayer! He is with you where ever you go, our ever present Help, Protector, and Guide!
We have just returned from our month long trip to Texas, which went not bad after-all. All my worries and concerns for nothing! We had a great visit with family and friends, and great traveling as well!!
Praise the Lord!!
Not sure how many trips it is now that we have made back and forth from Alberta to Texas, but I know it is several. And by now we actually kind of got a routine going that is most likely the reason things are going more smoothly on the road. And of course with God's great protection over us and His helping me to have a better attitude. Probably that right there is what makes all the difference!
Here I will share how we roll on the road, in case you're planning a trip, and would enjoy hearing how our troop of nine manages a 4 day road trip, keeping our sanity intact!! If we can do it, you can too!!
Packing suit cases:
My rule is no over packing, just a 4 or 5 out-fits; if we need more we will shop second-hand while we are there. Also we told the kids this time that they had to pack in way so that we would only carry in 2 suitcases plus our bathroom bag in to the motels, not the usual 5 or 6. So the big boys packed their travel clothes in one bag, and I packed for the rest of us in one suite-case. Then anything extra we needed went in a big tote container.
The older ones (ages 14 and 12) can now do their own packing, YAY!! Plus my oldest also supervised the packing of our 9 year old too (he just had a Birthday, he is 10 now)!! I was left to help the younger 4 from our 7 yr. old down to our 10 month old Daniel. Oh, our 7, 5, and 3 yr. old packed though!! You should of seen all the things they packed, lots and lots of clothes, play shoes, good shoes, play sandals, dress sandals; lots of little books, and little trinkets and goodies that you just can't possible live 30 days without; and lots of blankets ( it was hard to convince them that we had several already down here). The little ones really over whelmed me this time on packing, I went over their stuff and took out some I clearly knew they would not need, but they still had too many goodies. So my sweet 14 year old decided to help me out, and went in the room with each sister and lovingly dumped out their back-packs and traveling bags, and helped them slim down a bit. He was good!! I finished helping our 3 yr. old son pack, boys are easier!! :)
Loading the van:
Now that all the suite cases, and totes are packed, snack box full and ready, a box full of diapers and baby wipes ( to go conveniently under a van seat ), it is time to load the 15 passenger van with Dad supervising. (That's his role) We have the last seat in the back taken out for more space for our luggage.
Oh and don't forget his tools, and the last item to be loaded is the ice chest with makings for sandwiches.
And we're off!
Our departure date and time was preset, and now the long anticipated day is here. The van was loaded the night before along with car seats and booster seats buckled in place, and double checked. The kids are up early, fed, and dressed, and the older ones take the younger ones out and buckle them. Mom and dad walk around the ones for one more quick check to see if we missed something important; mom grabs a few more items; Dad shuts off water, sets the heat to right temp, locks the doors, and out the door we go.
Hey, forgot the most important thing we always do before the kids go out to the van (as well as each morning when we leave the motel rooms). We all gather in a circle, kneel down, hold hands and pray together. Each one says a prayer (some short, some longer, but all heart felt) for protection and wellbeing on the trip. (My favorite one that one of our dear ones pray is, " help us get to the motel fast and that there is a pool, don't let us get sick, and make sure mom doesn't get mad at me.") Children and prayers, you got to love it!! :) And you know God does too! They touch the heart of God like no one else!
For motion sickness:
The first few trips we made, some of the children got sick a lot along the way. Was not fun! We soon realized that we needed to carry ice-cream pails with lids, lots of paper towels, and febreze! Then someone told us of gravol for motion sickness! YAY for that! This is now our second trip using that, and no one got sick at all!!!!
So we give a gravol tablet to each child a half hour if possible before heading out each morning. (Expect our oldest that doesn't seem to need it)
Traveling with GPS and Getting a motel room:
We have used GPS now in our traveling several times. Very handy. Hubby sets our trip ahead of time, he programs where we will stop for each of the 3 nights on the road, and usually has the first night's room already booked. Then for the following nights just after lunch I start looking on the GPS for motels in the town where we will be stopping for that night.
I start making the calls, looking for motels with either a large family suite, or two adjoining rooms, or if we have no other choice 2 rooms right next to each other. This trip down we did well, the first night while still in Alberta we had to get 2 separate rooms, but next night we got 2 adjoining rooms, and the last night a large family suite complete with a king size bed and whirl-pool! We are finding it harder to find motels with large family suites.
The kids love the GPS so that they can count down the time till the time we arrive at the motel, and they get really excited when they see the flag!! And it is handy for when we get off the road at a gas station, so easy to follow that purple line and annoying voice back on our route again! OH ,if only my mom and dad had that in their travels years ago!!
Breakfast:
The motels we stay in have continental breakfast, which is usually open at 6:00 a.m. So at 6 a.m. the older ones and I are ready to go eat, then when one of the older ones finish they go back to the room and see if one of the younger ones are now up and ready to eat, or takes Daddy's place in the room with little ones, and he comes and eats. Some motels have really good breakfast complete with scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, and waffles. So we eat well. And have everyone fed and ready to hit the road by 7 or 7:30 a.m.
Lunch on the road:
We mostly just do sandwiches which I make up as we travel. I call for one of the boys to grab our lunch stuff out of the ice-chest in the back of the van. Then I start making up the sandwiches, and pass them back to the children. Then for myself and hubby. Once we are all done, back to the ice-chest go the meat and cheese, ect..
Plus we have loaded snack box between the front seats so I can easily get out and pass snacks. Also plenty of water bottles. Having a bunch of snacks already bought and ready, makes for no need for begging for goodies at gas stations cause we already got everything, and cheaper too.
Gas and bathroom stops:
The only stops we make during the day are for gas and bathrooms. Usually just the times we stop for gas is all we need for bathroom stops too, but occasional we make quick stops at rest areas as well for bathrooms.
Here I should note that our 4 youngest ones (yes even our 7 year old) wear diapers on the road. So at bathroom stops I take the girls and baby with me to ladies bathroom, our oldest is in charge of our 3 year old son and they head off to the men's bathroom, while Daddy gets gas. Everyone goes potty and diapers changed if needed. (The diapers are a major time saver I tell you, if it wasn't for the diapers we would have to stop much more often for potty breaks)
Supper:
For our evening meal we either eat in a restaurant after we have gotten our room for the night. Or we call in pizza delivery to our room. Either way is very wonderful after a long day on the road! Since we make our day time stops to a minimum, we make good time and can stop fairly early in the evenings, anywhere from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. That way no one is too worn out, although even by then little ones are going a bit crazy!
Some trips we have planned certain sightseeing stops (like Yellow Stone National Park, Grand Canyon, Mt. Rushmore and Crazy Horse Monuments, The Red Woods in California) and so then our traveling was different those times, but we haven't done that in a while.
~ Here I should share a thing we have just started for our restaurant outings which has helped a lot. We have selected each of our older sons to be in charge of one of the younger ones to help them get seated and get their food if it's buffet style. They know who they are in charge of, and works pretty smooth. For example Clayton is in charge of Anna, so he holds her hand going in to the restaurant, helps her dish her food, and get seated, then he gets his food. They all do that. Leaving the restaurant each boy again holds younger siblings hand, helps them in the van, and buckles them up. (Same procedure goes for getting them out too) Together daddy and I are both in charge of baby and overseeing everything.
Pools:
We always try to make sure we get a motel with a pool, and if it has a slide even better! It gives the children something to look forward too during the day while on the road, and gives them a way to burn energy off before bed time. And a way for mom and dad to relax, especially in the hot tub!
We don't do the typical swim wear stuff, so if you're like me you may cringe at the mere mention of public pools and hot-tubs since most swim attire unfortunately isn't exactly family friendly. But we have done very well, there hardly ever has been anyone else swimming. And very often we have the whole pool room to ourselves!! For this I praise the Lord! I have made it matter of earnest prayer before we start our travels that if we do get a motel with a pool that it be family friendly.
I normally would not have my family in public swim area at all, but when traveling getting to play in a pool at the end of the days makes our days more doable, and it means so much to the kids. God cares about these little things!! I am a firm believer that nothing is to big that God cannot handle nor to small that he does not care!!
Well I believe that pretty much is our traveling tips is a nut shell.
Hope you find this helpful in your traveling or an entertaining read at the least!!
Here is one final tip.
~ If you travel, don't stress, just take it all to the Lord in prayer! He is with you where ever you go, our ever present Help, Protector, and Guide!