• Travel & Vacation: Mickey Mouse Travel Folders

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    Travel Folders

    When we are planning for a trip I try to compile various pieces of information for that specific trip into one spot.  Anything from Hotel Reservations, Tickets, Events, Schedule, Activities, Coupons, and more.  If it is a trip that we have some time planning it is fun to get folders that coordinate with the theme.  The kids get excited when they see a travel folder being updated.  Whenever I receive a new piece of information for that trip I add it to the folder.  By the time we are ready to head out usually everything is completely ready to go and waiting for us in our folder.

    Sometimes the folders coordinate with the theme of the trip, like the Mickey Mouse folders for our Disney trip, while other times I just get a colorful folder and place it in a spot where I can easily add items to it.  There are a few places we tend to go more regularly so I have a permanent folder for those locations.  As I find fun activities, events, or get discount tickets in that area I add it to the folder.  It makes it easier when we have a last minute trip.  Usually the biggest problem we have is narrowing down which activities we really want to do because there is so many great activities that we enjoy!

    Thankful for an opportunity to travel with the family.  When everything is organized and accessible it is one less thing to have to worry about before leaving the house.  Little preparations ahead of time make packing up more efficient for the whole family.  Plus, it helps ensure that you have all the little items (tickets and paperwork) you need once you arrive at your location.

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    Mickey Mouse!  Whose ready for a Disney trip?!

    The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable.  Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away.  Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories.  It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine.  Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn.  You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!

  • Travel & Vacation: Road Trip Snack Bins

    Brina and Karlie’s Road Trip Snack Bins loaded and ready to go!

    Our family loves traveling and going on  road trips together.  Road trips have always been one of the exciting adventures our girls look forward to every summer.  It is pretty common for us to pack up the suitcases, snacks, and hit the road with the entire family.  We have done several 40 plus hour road trips with the kids and they still look forward to them. We try to make the road trips a fun adventure for them.  No we don’t take them to fancy restaurants, hotels, or amusement parks along the way…..we do this without adding a bunch of extra costs to our family.  We pack picnic lunch / dinner so we can eat on the road.  We bring along snacks, books, games, audio books, little goodies and more.  We used to pack a basket full of snack items for the girls but it never failed that the basket was always out of reach for someone so that’s when we came up with the road trip travel bins for the girls.

    Delicious treats ready to be eaten on our upcoming eighteen hour road trip.

    The kids have LOVED having their individual containers of snacks that they can eat as we drive.  The containers are smaller and snap shut so they can be stored right beside the girls seats in the car so they can always reach them.  Each kid gets their own snacks and they can choose what to eat first, second, and so forth.  The girls enjoy having the nuts with the shells to peel off and the majority of the time those are the first items they munch on.  It is hilarious hearing them in the backseat cracking open a peanut!   We try to give them a mix of sweet and salty items, nothing in the bins need refrigeration.  Our kids don’t eat all of these items on a daily basis but when you are doing a 5, 10, 20 or 40 hour road trip it’s important to keep everyone in good spirits and this is an easy way to help.

    Items that we packed for this road trip:

    • Homemade Apple Chips
    • Snoopy Fruit Gummies
    • Chocolate Covered Cherries
    • Foot Long Fruit
    • Pack of Oreos
    • Mixed Berry Granola Bar
    • Cheese & Dipping Sticks
    • Twizzler Stick
    • Fruit Punch Powdered Drink Mix Package
    • Mint Chocolate Swirl Marshmallows
    • Pink Frosted Animal Crackers
    • Pink & White Heart Shaped Marshmallows
    • Chocolate Covered Raisins
    • Peanut Butter Sandwich Crackers
    • Multiple Flavored and Colored Miniature Marshmallows
    • Sweetarts
    • Box of Nerds
    • Rice Crisps with Chocolate Drizzled
    • Dried Fruit
    • Raspberry Chocolate Covered Pretzels
    • Whole Shelled Peanuts
    • Dried Cranberries
    • White & Pink Flowered Marshmallows
    • Pecans

    It is a lot of fun finding a variety of items to fill the Road Trip Snack Bins.  We fill it after the girls are in bed and stick them on their car seats to find when they get into the van and buckle in for the trip.  It is a special treat and gives us a positive start to the road trip too.

    Brina and Karlie’s snack containers ready to be put into the car!

    When we travel we typically stop only for gas and potty breaks.  We have most of the food, drinks, and snacks we need to eat in the car.  Occasionally, we’ll use a coupon to get a free drink when we fill up with gas but otherwise we try to keep the costs to a minimum which make road trips more affordable and doable.  The girls get to watch DVD’s, listen to audio books and we play games as a special treat.  The trip must be longer than 5 hours for us to get out the DVDs!  Here’s a little more information about the Road Trip Snack Bins and what to pack.

    We picked up the containers at Walmart for a couple of dollars.  The stickers were at Hobby Lobby in the scrapbook section and we used a 40% coupon.  We have used these Road Trip Snack Bins for several road trips with our girls and they have held up well.  Once the trip is over and they have finished eating the items in the bins all you have to do is wash them and store until the next family adventure.  It is a blessing to be able to travel with our family.  We have created many amazing family memories on the road together.