Happy May everyone! The month of May is a really big deal around my home, as it marks the end of tax season for my husband, and the end of him working 10-11 hours a day almost seven days a week. He began 'tax season' at the start of February and went straight through until April 30, only taking two full days off that entire time.
For him, of course it is exhausting. For me, it is equally as tiring, since I'm basically a single mom of two trying to raise the kids, clean the house, do the laundry, buy the groceries, cook the meals, clean the yard (because finally it is spring!) AND work part-time as a substitute teacher. For the kids, they miss their dad fiercely, and my son even began to tell strangers that his father 'lived at work'. He honestly thought Joey slept at work and that was where his home was. Oh dear.
So we are celebrating May this year by taking a much-needed family vacation to reconnect, relax, and make some valuable memories together.
We chose to drive to Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada as that is a place where I used to go as a kid with my family, and I want to recreate some of those amazing adventures with my little ones. Joey has also never been to the island, so this should be a very exciting trip for him as well.
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| Going on an extended road trip with kids can be challenging but certainly not impossible. |
However, driving to and from Vancouver Island from central Alberta is quite the undertaking. It will take us two days of driving to reach the island from our hometown, with us driving approximately 8 hours each day. That is A LOT of driving when you have two young children strapped into car seats with you!
If you are planning on doing a crazy-long road trip like us with young children, here are some strategies you can use to make the drive bearable - and dare we even say it, enjoyable!!
Clean Out Your Vehicle
The best way to start a road trip, in my mind, is to have a clean vehicle for a fresh start to your trip. I realize with two kids in the car, by the end of the trip the interior will be covered in mud, dirt, shrivelled French fries, broken sea shells, dirty stickers, and whatever else the kids will drag in and drop on the floor and seats. |
| Our car is nice and clean (for now)! |
I just really enjoy the first part of the trip when the dashboard is sparkling in the sun (instead of being dusty), the carpets on the floor are free of debris, and the vehicle just smells fresh and clean. I always try to detail my car the day before we leave for maximum freshness!
Take Lots of Toys
To survive this 20+ hour drive, I packed a tote bag bursting with favourite toys and books. My son chose to bring his massive Buzz Lightyear toy, his favourite stuffy, a Paw Patrol book with a steering wheel so he could drive with us, his 'iPad' which is a Mr. Pencil ABC learning toy, and a plethora of books. I guided him to pack the electronic books that read to him, so that I wouldn't have to jam myself in the backseat to read to him. |
| The kids packed some favourite toys and books to last them the duration of the trip. |
My daughter brought two large Elsa barbies, three smaller Disney dolls, her favourite stuffy, her Leap Pad, and a bunch of the electronic books as well. She also chose a few games, like the Tetris Bop It game that I haven't figured out in five years of owning it, and a water shooting game.
Also packed in the tote bag are some Magic Coloring books, the kind where the marker only works on that particular paper. This will keep them busy and also eliminate the danger of having them color all over the car seat and upholstery!
Take Lots of Snacks
Nothing makes a kid happier than eating snacks. They could have just eaten a five-course meal till they felt they were about to explode, and if presented with a foil package of gummies, would still find room to gobble them down. |
| I don't know if the kids are more excited about the trip or the snacks! |
That's why I went to town packing snacks for this road trip. We have bags of chips and popcorn, a carton of cookies, a full package of Goldfish crackers, apples, oranges, yogurts, cheese strings, and the list goes on. My plan is portion them out as we go in order to prevent any car sickness, but hand them out frequently enough to curb any hangry whining.
Prepare for Accidents
With that being said, there probably will be some puking. My kids tend to get car sick when they are feeling hot or tired, so somewhere along the line, I'll be dealing with vomit. (Sorry if this is TMI - this is my reality, people.) |
| Prepared for accidents and upsets in the back seat (hopefully not the front seat!) |
To make sure I'm ready, I packed an extra package of baby wipes, a full container of Lysol wipes, a full roll of paper towel, and some actual towels to help mop up the mess. I also stuffed a few plastic grocery bags into the console for wrapping up soiled clothes and wipes. I EVEN have an extra air freshener in case we end up with an oder problem. This ain't my first rodeo, folks!
My daughter is toilet-trained and a real champ at it, but we will still encourage her to wear a Pull-Up for the long drive in case she has to emergency pee in the middle of nowhere, or while we are on the TransCanada and there's nowhere to pull over. She's not a fan of squatting in the ditch, either!
Take Lots of Breaks
To alleviate the chances of car sickness or potty-related accidents, I have worked several breaks into our road trip itinerary. I usually plan for an hour stop for meals, and at least every two hours I have us pulling into a roadside attraction to walk around and explore. |
| Take advantage of any road side stop or attraction you can find - add that time into your total! |
On top of those planned trips, my husband and I tend to take advantage of pull-outs along the highway. We've been known to pull over to a pit stop area just to have the kids play on the playground for 10-15 minutes before moving on. Sometimes having that brief bout of fresh air can rejuvenate you for a couple more hours on the road.
Use Music and Variety
My kids love to sing, and although their voices might not be what you would call angelic, they have fun and it keeps them entertained for hours! My son has a little karaoke machine in his room, and both my children put on concerts singing their ABCs and Disney songs, using Parker's bed as a stage. They love to perform.Therefore, before leaving on our trip, I'll make sure we have tons of Disney and kids' song downloaded onto my iPhone. They love tunes from "Moana" and "Frozen", and because their mother is a child of the 80s, they like Anne Murray's children's songs too. (Think "Animal Crackers in my Soup".)
However, they also like contemporary music, so we won't be stuck singing "Let It Go" the entire trip. They like indie music, the Tragically Hip, Imagine Dragons, and tons of pop songs, so we'll be set musically for the duration of the road trip.
Play Games
In the past, the kids have been too young to play games while we ventured on our long road trips. This year, though, they are into games like "I Spy" so we will be trying those. I thought about downloading a road trip BINGO game (there's so many cool ones on Pinterest) but that's a bit ahead of their time right now. |
| We are taking some games to play at our hotel, but I would love suggestions for in-car games! |
I would love any suggestions from my readers on games we could play that would be age appropriate for kids under 5!
Cross Your Fingers They Nap!
My final strategy to get us through a 20+ hour road trip is to encourage the kids to sleep. They don't nap at home and left naps behind a long time ago. BUT they do tend to still fall asleep in the car, even if we are only driving for 15 or 20 minutes. My hope is that they will doze for large chunks of time during this voyage. Fingers crossed! |
| These kids are not napping - but hopefully they will on the way to the island! |
We have done 5-6 hour road trips through the mountains before, and those were surprisingly a piece of cake. This upcoming journey is by far the longest amount of time we will spend in a vehicle with both of our children, and I'm not afraid to admit that I'm a little scared. But I'm hoping that with these strategies in place, we will all survive and remain - in my son's words - "a happy family"! I will keep you posted and let you know which strategies worked the best, which were useless, and if we came up with any others that succeeded!
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