Road Trips and a Giveaway

Road trip....a word that could cause stress or anxiety in some people. But I LOVE road trips. always have, even as a child.

I love driving.

I love seeing different parts of the country.

It is relaxing to me.

Even with my kids.

I am blessed to have great little travelers but I have also learned a few things along the way to help make our road trips a little easier.

1. Preparation. I talk to the kids and let them know how long we will be in the car. We set goals for how far we will make it without a stop. If someone needs to stop we will but we try to make our goal. It is like a little game for them.

2. Snacks. I rarely buy individually packed snacks. But for our road trips, I buy a variety of individually packaged snacks to keep in the car. The kids are excited about having their own snacks and it prevents us from purchasing snacks at convenience stores along the way. I also keep a little secret stash of suckers, M & M's, and other favorite candies that I throw out every once in a while after a long stretch of driving, as a prize for a game we have played, or because mama needs some sugar!

3. Games. We play the typical road trip games such as keeping track of the different license plates, trying to find all the letters of the alphabet on signs and billboards, and I Spy. The kids will also come up with games along the way, like trying to decide what a certain cloud looks like or creating a silly story that we all build upon. I will sometimes copy maps so they can track our travels on a map. The kids will take along card games, and puzzle books such as word searches, mazes, and dot to dots. You can also check out this website for some other great ideas.

4. Ipods, Leapster/DS, DVD player. There are only so many Wiggles songs or Alvin and the Chipmunks this mama can listen to in a day. I am very thankful for ipods so the kids can listen to their own music without disturbing anyone. The kids do take along their leapsters/DS and I throw in our DVD player. Honestly, they don't use them that often. I love having the DVD player in the car if we need it but I am usually amazed that we don't pull it out. If they ask, I will generally let them watch something but if they don't ask and they are enjoying the trip I don't volunteer it as a choice.

5. Adventures in Odyssey and Jonathon Park. This is by far our favorite activity on a road trip. We love to listen to the stories on Adventures in Odyssey or Jonathon Park CD's. Before any long trip, I will invest in one or two new CD's just to change things up. But it wouldn't matter if we had new ones, my kids will listen to the old stories over and over again. They are mesmerized by them. It isn't just the kids, I love them too!

I have an Adventures in Odyssey CD to giveaway to one of you! Just leave me a comment about how you survive {or avoid} road trips with your kids.

I will draw a winner on Sunday.

* this is a cd as a gift from me to a reader. i am not being paid by focus on the family to talk about or giveaway the cd.