Vacations with Toddlers Aren't Really Vacations...

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Vacations with toddlers aren't really vacations.  


This will end up positive, I promise.  


But back to the start.  Preparing, packing, traveling and then living on vacation is no joke.  Challenging?  Yes.  Worth it....


 For the second year in a row, Jerry and I have traveled to Maine to spend time at his Pepere's lake house.  Along with us come many members of extended family.  The kitchen table is always full of cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents.  Every bed is full and so are the couches.  Shoes don't have a rightful home, but laughs, beer and memories certainly do.

So even though it takes nine plus hours in the car to get there, once you're there it's magic.  Limited internet, surplus of trees, off-road vehicles and lake walks.  Magic.

Even better?  Plenty of 20-somethings, grandparents and teens who don't see my children as much as I do.  To them, most things they do are cute.  To them, having the kids up late is fun.  To them, playing the same game 100 times isn't painful.  My kids felt like the center of twenty people's worlds, which is why they cried when we left.

So travel isn't easy, but family makes it all better.  I actually sat a bit on this vacation.  I even got some girl time.  Heck, if we had stayed for an extra day I may have even fit in a nap.  There's always next year.

Like I said last year,  everyone should go to Maine.  Don't waste time, start driving now (just break it down into two days).  In the car, pack all your things, but also grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles.  Also, bring lots and lots of bug spray.

Summer is alive and well!

A couple things I did this time around that made everything a little better.  What do you do while driving with toddlers?

Toddler Travel Tips:

1.  Order Peapod before you leave and have it delivered the morning after you come back.  Score.
2. Go to the library and get a bunch of books (we got 12).  It's a bunch of moving and organizing, but it saved us a few times.
3.  When they say they have to "go" they really do.  Don't play.
4.  Pack healthy snacks on the road (they are constricted anyways so they won't have a choice).  It will make you feel better when you stop at McDonalds.
5.  Also though, bribery works so there is nothing wrong with having a few gummy bears for "tough moments."


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