How we do it- a quick guide to road trips

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Let me say that taking our family on a road trip is not an "easy" experience
Packing a pile of life saving medical supplies and homecooked foods while traveling for hours in the car with 4 little ones; one who gets car sick;  the same one who has diabetes, one who is allergic to soy and a 1 year old that has the patient of a.... well one year old. 

 but if I were to not do things in life simply because they weren't easy, well I pretty much would do nothing

Road trips take a lot of planning and prep, we cannot just stop by McDonalds or taco Bell, without at least 2 of our 4 kids have some type of medical attack..... so we avoid that

I plan each meal we have and each snack the kids will be eating during our travels.  And if we are gone for the long weekend, I plan every single meal and snack for our entire stay.

I put each days food in a ziploc with the menu written on

Then I put their meals in these for ease while in the car or at a park

I plan out each outfit for each day for the kids by previewing the weather for the destination we will be going

I do not have room to over pack, nor do I want to.

We always back lysol and paper towels because vomit and diarrhea seem to accompany road trips

I plan our day in the car like a day at home,: time for breakfast, then coloring, then a snack, then a movie, then lunch, then quite time/nap time in the car, then electronics (refurbished i-pods).  It makes the day not so dredful (except for the Driver Brett) and it gives them something to look forward too.

I always put a toilet in the car, because it is a million times quicker than a gas station

I want our kids to be able to see places and people and family.  I want them to know what the beach is like, chase fireflies, and get muddy next to a river.  I want them to know their aunts and uncles and great grandmas and lets be honest hardly anyone ever comes here and there is certainly no beach in Colorado.

We stay with people to reduce costs.
We don't eat out much, but allow for it as part of the fun.

Don't get me wrong, I am a total crazy lady the week before we leave on a trip. I'm sure my husband totally loves it hates it.

I do have the kids help a lot!  They love packing for a road trips and my constant reminders of
"if I don't have help we can't go" probably get a bit naggy (working on that)

And you know I can't leave with a messy house, so you know what I'm doing at 10pm the night before while everyone is asleep.... yep being the crazy cleaning lady

Yep, I am sure you can all tell I am a type A all the way.

But then we get to enjoy stuff like this and it makes it so worth it!

We loved our trip to Durango, Colorado

You should try it too!