We take a lot of family trips in the Suburban! I know, SUVs are not so popular these days, but our family of 6 who drives on long road trips is very thankful for the space!! I thought I would share the things that we bring along that I think make it possible for us to drive thousands of miles. So here they are in order of what came to my mind first:
1. Igloo full of drinks, and lunch stuff. This should be placed in the car where you can open it as you are driving. You could place it next to one of the kids and deem them the Igloo King or Queen!
2. A box or bag or something full of snacks. Throw in a roll of paper towels, some wet wipes and a knife for extra easy sandwich making.
3. A bag of small sports equipment. When our kids were younger we took a beach ball that we could blow up at each rest stop. We look for a Rest Stop to have one meal a day, either lunch or dinner. Brian and the kids play some active game, this year it was baseball, while I make sandwiches and the best on-the-road meal I can come up with from my igloo and food storage bin. Some of our treasured memories of vacation have even happened at these rest stops!
4. Stop by the library and stock up on books and DVDs. Be sure to pack half of them in hiding and pull them out for the return trip! It works great! (of course you should have a portable or built in DVD player with headphones for each child…but watch videos in moderation or attitudes go bad even faster when the movies are turned off)
5. The Redflix app for your phone. When moral is down we head to the nearest RedBox, aided in locating it from our app, and present a newish movie to watch. We go back and forth on our trips from a movie to two hours of interactive car stuff. We travel hours and hours in the car so the movies help bring a break for everyone.
6. The Hotels.com app for your phone. On our way to Texas we spend one or two nights in a hotel. Having this app helps us find a place to stay while we are driving. Sometimes you really do not know how far you are going to make it in a day so easy hotel reservations are a good thing. We are able to see hotel prices and amenities, as well as ratings. Great tool!
7. Parenting seminar downloaded or CDs (we got ours at the church library). While the kids are watching a movie it is time for Brian and I to talk over life stuff, plan better parenting, be inspired, or listen to a good novel together.
8. A good novel downloaded or on CD (church library once again). Grab a good novel to read aloud as a family as well.
9. A good supply of workbooks from a dollar store. I love Five Below! I can always find good workbooks in the summer time and cheap markers to fill my kids car bags with.
10. The patience and perseverance of Job! No kidding! These long trips are not for the faint of heart, you have to have some gut to push through the family break down moments…because they do come, and sometimes they come BIG.
Hope the tricks we have learned are helpful if you have a road trip coming up. I would love to know any tricks that work well for your family, so I can steal them and glean the benefits! Happy traveling!
I need to add a number 11!
11. Take your husband to WalMart and let him pick a car toy or surprise. This year Brian got Flarp (noise putty), you know what I am talking about right? He said, and I quote “this will be hours of entertainment”, and it was! Brian and I got it out in the car without the kids knowing anything about it and Brian started making the noises. He and I were laughing so hard we both had tears in our eyes. Once the kids figured stuff out they did not stop playing with the two cans we bought till the putty had dried out. Good times! Husbands have great ideas!! Don’t forget to ask them 
