Summer Roadtrips….With Kids!
June 28, 2011
Rachel and I had the fantastic opportunity to be a part of a photography tutorial led by Darryl Bueckert last night. We met and chatted with Darryl and his wife Jodi (who also has a lovely blog, The Simply Inspired Home) at the Canadian Design & Lifestyle Bloggers West meet up a few weeks ago. Darryl generously offered an evening of his time to lead us in a photography tutorial at their home and we were happy to get to join in and get another chance to visit with fellow local bloggers, Michelle of I Dream of Chairs and Rosa of Flutter Flutter. Although I bought my Canon Rebel in January, I’ve found the manual’s techie lingo pretty intimidating and haven’t ventured very far from the automatic settings. After last night, I think I have a much better understanding of how to use my camera to it’s full advantage…just in time to take some great shots of our upcoming family get-away! And I must mention that we got to sample the most scrumptious macarons from a photo shoot Darryl had done with Carly Wintschel of Kitchening With Carly earlier that day…lucky us! Thank you so much to Darryl and Jodi for hosting such an informative and fun evening! Be sure to visit Darryl’s other blog here for a wealth of other technical and blogging advice.
We’re hitting the road on Thursday to spend some time up at my in-laws’ family cabin in the Kootneys. The whole family will be up there and we’re excited for this year’s Canada Day celebrations at the lake. My childhood vacation memories mostly involve road trips, many of which included Volkswagen vans. My dad has a thing for VW’s and we’ve owned many through the years, in several styles, shapes and colours. In fact, my first ride was a 1974 blue and white van lovingly named “Blue” by my friends and I. Blue sure saw his fair share of road trips in his time with me, some a little wilder than others!
These days, road trips are a little bit more family friendly and it pays to have some sort of a plan…especially when heading off on a 7 hour drive with 3 children! Snacks are mandatory and thankfully my kids are now old enough to entertain themselves (and each other) with games and activities. Here are a few fantastic kits and DIY projects I came across that will make life on the road a lot more pleasant, as will an assortment of healthy snacks and neck pillows for nap time.
1. ReadyMade 2. Little Birdie Secrets
1. Lil B Designs 2. Spinkle
Once you’ve reached your destination, it’s always nice to have a place to keep all of those found treasures that the kids will be collecting…we had a funny but smelly incident with a day-old crab claw at our friends’ cabin last summer! To keep things organized (and somewhat sanitary), a treasure sack like this tutorial over at Saltwater Kids is perfect. It will make sorting through and displaying your kids finds so much easier than searching through beach bags and suitcases!
Scrapbooks and photo albums are always a great idea, especially for older kids who can write down their favourite memories and stops along the way. Help your kids get started by collecting maps, ticket stubs and other brochures as you travel.
Do you have any road trips on the agenda for this summer? How do you keep your kids entertained? Happy trails!
