Road Trip Ideas for Toddlers

My last post was about our wonderful 4th of July. What I did not mention was that it was 10.5 hour car drive to our wonderful destination. If you are a parent you know traveling with kids, especially long car rides can cause anxiety to rise.

I have always accepted the saying You fail to plan You plan to fail. I decided that I would plan ahead for this road trip.
I made a trip to the the DollarTree and I purchased a toy for the kids for each hour of traveling, minus 3 hours for nap-time.




The toys included:









A Paddle Ball- Boy & Girl both loved this. I had to remind Boy once to not aim at his Sister's head!




Refrigerator Magnets- you can purchase a cheap cookie-sheet and let the kids go to town arranging them on the sheet.




Dry Erase Board On The Go- Only Boy could play with this and it kept him busy for hours. I just gave him a baby wipe to use when he was ready to erase.













Stickers- I placed them on their hands, face, and legs. My kids love stickers!












PipeCleaners- The kids loved figuring out how to take these off! I had fun tying them all up!













Glow Sticks- When it got a little dark the kids found these very interesting and of course Girl found that it felt good on her teething gums.




Ring Pop-Was the desperate hour toy/ candy. The kids sucked on them FOREVER & could not finish.

Things I tried not pictured:
Foil-I would make figurines of animals for the kids. Girl just watched (did not want her to place in mouth) and Boy could hold them.
Crazy Maze -Boy tried to get the ball through the maze. Girl liked the way it rattled.
iPad games-Boy loves Angry Birds and Build a Train
iPad shows- Downloaded Mickey Mouse & Yo Gabba Gabba

These all helped keep the kids busy. Mommy & Daddy were able to talk & enjoy the beautiful car ride.

4 Reasons Why July 4th Rocked

1.We got to experience Portland.

I am not lying when I say it is one of the prettiest places I have EVER visited.

Mr. Wonderful and I could not stop commenting on the beauty that God created in the state of Oregon.

We had our very own personal tour guide too! Our Cousin gave us a nice tour through the beauty.

2. We experienced some great 4th of July food.

There is nothing like a perfectly grilled hot dog & hamburger on the 4th of July and with all the fixings!

I had heard of Jalapeño Poppers but I fell in love with them after we finally met.

Can we say homemade ice-cream!?

Boy can say it now that he has devoured a bowl!

If only eating like this everyday did not kill you.

3. We experienced and had fun with family & their friends.

These people are what we call our Oregon family.

When I married Mr. Wonderful Jesus blessed me also with his A-mazing family.

Since day one my extended In-laws have accepted me with open arms and have given me nothing but LOVE.

Now I get to see my Boy & Girl experience the same thing!

A beautiful & Godly family is just great to witness in this day and age.

4. We experienced 4th of July Fireworks!

It was so fun getting our own personal firework show & right in the backyard!

The fireworks were so loud throughout the neighborhood that it felt like a war zone and car alarms were  going off from the impact.

The kids were amazed and intrigued in the beginning.

Boy eventually got startled and afraid. He held his Daddy tight and would not let go. We both took the kids in for a little break and put JoJo down for bed.

Boy then decided that he was brave enough to go back out to the war zone. He learned from his cousin how to plug his ears. Boy eventually left my lap and even threw some poppers on the porch!

Bonus: I had s'mores 2 nights in a row! With that said this was the best 4th of July EVER!

We felt so grateful that our Cousins contributed so much to a wonderful memory in our memory bank!

Holding Tight

One day these two hands will not be holding onto my legs tight....

One day these two will not need Mommy to watch their every move.

One day these two will not need Mommy to feed their Lil stomachs.

One day these two will not need Mommy to clean their rear ends.

One day these two will not need Mommy to brush their growing teeth.

One day these two will not need Mommy to kiss their boo boos.

One day these two will not need Mommy to secure them in the car.

One day these two will not need Mommy to go to the park.

One day these two will not need Mommy to clean their Lil noses.

One day these two will not need Mommy to help them say their prayers.

One day these two will not need Mommy to put them to bed.

One day these two will not need Mommy to comfort in the middle of the night.

Until this one day comes I will meet these particular needs as best as I can. This particular season can sometimes feel very overwhelming. I would not trade it for anything! I am letting them hold onto my legs tight! I am also tightly holding onto special Kodak moments, like this one and locking it into heart!