Well, we are finally going to head out to Bear Lake. We are super excited. The kids have packed several bags over the last few weeks. (It makes it hard to pack a real bag when you have to search the house for clothes stuffed into every possible backpack or purse) Here are some DO's and DONT's I have learned about packing up my family for a big road trip:
1. Don't do laundry on the same day you pack the bags. I don't know why, but this just DOESN'T work for me! The laundry ends up all over the place and by the time I get it done the day is over without anything being finished.
2. Don't let kids pick out their own clothes. My kids can find the UGLIEST clothes in the bottom of their drawers and INSIST on packing them. (I am not sure why the ugly clothes remain in the drawers, but after I pretend to pack them, I put them right back in the drawer so that I can tell them no the next time they try to wear them)
3. Do plan at least and extra half hour after YOU think your done for your spouse to load the car up with stuff that they didn't tell you they wanted to bring, so you didn't pack.
4. Don't leave the dishwasher full of dirty dishes (It doesn't smell good when you get home)
5. Don't use crayons in the car. Lets just say that my car's carpet is very colorful in a "melted wax" kind of way.
6. Don't be fooled.....there is no such thing as a "leak proof" sippy cup.
7. Do rest assured, it doesn't matter how much stuff we try to bring, there IS a way to fit it in the van. The kids might not be able to put their feet down and the diapers might be so far under that the baby has to sit in his "mess" for 9 hours, but it is worth it to be able to bring all the comforts of home!
8. Do blog before you are finished packing. It makes for an interesting morning of kids yelling, not getting out the door before noon, and a messy house to return to, but it is worth it to satisfy your fellow bloggers when you will be out of the loop for a week!
9 comments:
Hope you guys have fun! We'll try to remember to feed your fish this time.
Have a great trip. I see the Bryan got the day off. Great.
That is sooo true. My kids always pick the absolute worst outfits to pack on trips and so I have started choosing for them. I keep putting them back into the drawer,too!!
We had to switch to colored pencils for the same reason, and I keep thinking "this time the sippy cups will work."
And thankyou for blogging before you left. You know I was worried about that!
Madison just started picking out her own clothes and no matter how I put all the cute outfits together on the top, she digs for the ones I am not fond of.
Hope you have fun in Utah.
So, wondering minds want to know...what time did you actually leave the house? Before noon??? (hehe)
HAHAHA, they didn't leave until 6:00 PM!!!
I have actually learned all these things slowly. We take like 12 road trips a year so I have had plenty of time to figure it out. Now I have it to an exact science. One other tip that helps me is after the kids go to bed at night get everything packed and in the car. Then you can leave first thing in the morning.
I must admit that we use to blame our leaving late on the kids, but now there's just Mom and me and we still leave hours after our planned departure time. It must of been Mom the whole time.
Have fun at Bear Lake. I've been there a couple of times with scouts, and it's beautiful there. It would be nice just to go and enjoy the lake instead of watching out for scouts. Try to take time to enjoy.
Brenda, you are so funny. I loved this post, it cracked me up. Hope you are having fun!
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