Road Trips With Kids – The Essentials

Road trips with kids, it can be fun, it can be long (especially when you’re traveling across the country) but there is one thing you can guarantee that most parents agree on and that’s that it’s stressful…but it doesn’t have to be! In today’s post I am talking all about the essentials needed to make your next road trip a successful, non-stressful one! We just recently went to San Antonio with our kiddos (+ my wonderful mom) which is a 6.5 hour drive and I’m happy to report it was an easy one!

So if we go on a trip with the kids we pretty much choose to drive, with 3 small children all in carseats and all almost at the age where we’re buying a plane ticket for all 3 of them, it’s just not super practical right now! So we choose to road trip with our hybrid caravans wherever we go. I specifically remember our first road trip with kids we drove to San Antonio and let me tell you, I packed everything….LIKE everything y’all! I was stressed, the kids felt it, my poor husband felt it and honestly it went way better than expected. Now that we’ve done it several times we have narrowed down our things to bring, things to do to keep them entertained, things to keep us sane, the list goes on & on…so I wanted to share a few must haves for your next road trip and how these are making ours go smooth! We are actually headed out to Dallas today and will be taking all of these things with us again!

1. Audible-

 So I have talked about it before on my blog & instagram that I honestly don’t enjoy picking up a book and actively reading…like to me that seems like work but you know what doesn’t seem like work…loading the kids in the car super early while they’re still sleeping and downloading an audiobook & binge listening to a book while they snooze away peacefully. Me & my hubby search through the books together before we take off & pick something I know we will both love. It really is a great way for us to connect because we can talk about the book, how we feel about it, our opinions (which I’m sure will be different) ha! It keeps us both enegaged and me off my phone! #helovesthat All you have to do is visit this link, sign up for your free 1-month trial and download the audiobook of your choice on your phone, tablet, android or other MP3 player! Also, check out Goldfarb’s Stanadyne John Deere injection pump in stock if you need one.

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2. T-Rex Tape-

This one may seem a little strange for a road trip but I can’t tell you how many mishaps we have along the way in a roadtrip. Lets say…snapped headphones for instance, yup, this happened and we had a screaming child who couldn’t hear the movie…if we would have had this tape our life road trip would have been sooo much easier. So now we leave it in the car just in case! This strong duct tape is the real deal, it’s got three layers of strength, it’s weather-resistant, kid proof and so strong & durable! I know it can withstand pretty much anything our little hotmess family throws it’s way!

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3. IHOP-

Need I say more? I mean seeing as IHOP is celebrating it’s 59th Anniversary this year I feel like the reason we stop here on our road trips goes without saying! They have continuously been the go-to destination for all day breakfast foods & drinks! #Pancakes are life to my kiddos and I’m definitely not mad at going in again to enjoy 59 cent pancakes, yes, thats right…to celebrate their 59th Anniversary IHOP is serving 59 cent short stacks from 7am-7pm TODAY — July 18th at participating locations nationwide so we will definitely hit that up on our way to Dallas! I mean what better way to make memories with my little pancake junkies that smell of maple syrup the entire drive?! lol!

4. Chops Snack Jerky –

First of all, we are a beef jerky loving family! I love it, my husband loves it and my kids….double love it! Kaige still hasn’t caught on to the fact that it’s jerky and still says “mom can I have some of that beef turkey”…I just dont have the heart to correct him because, well it’s just darn cute! This beef jerky is all natural, USDA choice beef and tastes amazing…we might have fought over the entire bag because all of you parents know…snacks are everything when traveling in the car! Basically I’m still a child when it comes to road trips, I want to eat allllthethings so this jerky didn’t disappoint, and I mean it’s protein so #winning!

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5. Cube-tastic 3×3 Puzzle

I don’t know about y’all but my family is all about friendly competition…like we live for it! Especially me and my husband so this little rubiks cube provided a little friendly game between us because we love to compete and challenge each other! It also provided quiet time for the kiddos when they were getting restless. Greleigh is our little problem solver and loves “mind ” games that make her brain work so sweet little thing kept trying and trying! It promotes problem solving, memory stimulation and Kaige even took his turn which involved turning the cube as fast & as hard as he could! Just working on that hand-eye coordination 😉 Huxx chewed on it but that’s about as far as he got, good thing it’s BPA free & also non-toxic huh? I could tell he just didn’t want to show up his sissy & bubba by finishing it first! HA! It even has an mixed reality and app that can help you play & solve it so I loved that!