We successfully completed our second road trip with both of our girls in tow. I just wanted to share some easy peasy tips that made our trip so much smoother.

Packing: I am notoriously an over packer. Always. This time I decided to only pack a weeks worth of clothing for our 10 day trip. Our rental home had a washer and dryer and I knew I'd be able to do laundry whenever I needed to. So for packing, I didn't pack for each day that we'd be gone. Of course we packed extra undies and things of that nature - but packing lighter is always better on the road. I also brought along special dolls for the girls. Moana for Olivia and Rapunzel for Ava. I brought Olivia's boppy along (total comfort for her), and a no sew frozen blanket I made. I made sure to buy an extra case of diapers and wipes (thank you extra storage stow aways in the mom wagon) and the basic hygiene necessities. 

Travel Time: This is personal preference of course, but for us - we love driving during the night. I am the car loader (all bags, essentials, and electronics) and I will usually load the car when my entire family is asleep. Justin heads to bed a little early when we travel at night so he's well rested for the road. This allows me to check things off my list and get the car packed without distraction. I usually don't even go to sleep prior to actually getting the kids in the car and leaving. Driving at night means the girls are STILL asleep for most of the car ride. I love this. Justin loves it too because he actually gets to control the radio for a change! 

Easy Access: When traveling, I always keep a backpack stocked outside of my diaper bag. This backpack is filled with underwear, diapers, wipes, seat covers, and a change of clothes. If something happens on the road, I want to get the girls changed or ready to go without taking up a ton of time digging for things. I also made sure to pack their snacks in an easy to reach location, along with their car time activities. This just makes it easier because you aren't digging around a car while driving and it saves you a pull over, so you don't lose drive time.

Entertainment Galore: Because we have a DVD player in my mom wagon - we stock it heavily with the girls' favorite movies. This is great for the day time driving. It gets bored being on the road for hours and hours - the movies help keep the girls entertained when they are getting ancy from being in their carseats. When our car is in park, the front drivers can tune into the movie as well... that rarely happened though, since we were driving! I myself ended up in the third row seat when the ancy was at an all time high! I would give the girls kisses, hold their hands, or tickle them. When we were over the tickles and mom - Justin would crank up the itunes library with all the troll songs and Moana jams possible! Sometimes I'd catch both babies looking at the scenery outside of their windows too. 

SNACKS: I try really hard not to let the kids veg out on food that isn't good for them. For this reason I decided to pack snacks - HEAVILY. I brought along bananas, grapes, craisins, and a few other items. This way, they could get something into their little tummies between meal times. I also made sure the girls had a few water containers and cups for our trip. When we stopped, we made sure to stock up on FIJI waters galore so the girls never had to be thirsty. 

STOPS: This is probably one of the most important parts of road trippin' in my opinion. You may only be X amount of hours from your destination, but with kiddos - you are going to stop more frequently, so give yourself the extra time. I downloaded a truck stop app on my phone during this trip so we could stop at truck stops rather than gas stations. Truck stops have CLEANER bathrooms (at least in my opinion), more variety of snacks for adults, and they are opened 24 hours a day. It was great to let the girls walk around for a bit while Justin fills up on gas and cleans the bugs off of our windshields! Sometimes the stops were unplanned (Ava ironically had to potty almost every time we were about to get on an interstate) but they never delayed us with our arrival times. 

I'm almost positive that pretty much covers it. I LOVE taking road trips with my family and driving from Texas to Florida to Georgia was one for the books this year! 

♥- Leilani

Traveling: A family of four

The last time my family packed our bags for a New York vacation - I was almost 36 weeks pregnant. Now, here we are, with our family of four... packing for a New York vacation less than a year after our last trip. To say I'm excited to spend time with family and have my husband off of work for a full two weeks is an absolute understatement. Granted, it's only been 90 days since Justin was last on leave, but this vacation will definitely be good for us. We get to experience a fall this year (since Northern Texas will not be affording us one) and we get to make some new memories with my in-laws. I think that is what I am most excited for. Olivia will be meeting the bulk of Justin's family for the first time, we will get to do so many autumn activities while we are visiting, and we will also get a break from this 80 degree Southern heat.

I think the weirdest part about prepping for travel is the necessities that are required. I mean, our last trip we didn't need any baby items because Ava was already a full blown toddler and Olivia was still safely in the womb. Packing a highchair, bathtub, and pack + play isn't exactly realistic for this trip. So, when in need - amazon, right? That's exactly what I did. I compiled a list of items that we will need for ourselves, the girls, and little things I don't want to pack (ie, loofas, body wash, etc.) to ship off to New York this week! I absolutely love amazon and the fact that I don't have to stress over that stuff makes this packing process so much easier. It's only Sunday and I started packing our bags for this trip on Friday! 

I think it helps the control freak that I am to start this process early. In my defense, it also saves us a lot of time. I'm almost positive that my husband has a four day weekend due to Columbus day (we don't celebrate this holiday, let alone remember it most of the time), which means if we get all our ducks squared away - it's smooth sailing until it's time for us to head for the airport on Saturday morning. I'm most curious to see how TSA is going to go with all four of us. I hate checking bags which always makes TSA lines super for for my husband. 

My main focus the next couple days is making sure the house is tip top, making sure our luggage is tip top, and allowing myself to R-E-L-A-X for the next couple of weeks. This is my favorite time of year and I plan on making every single second count with my sweet, beautiful family! 

P.S. 

** IF YOU HAVE ANY PACKING TIPS ** comment below or send an email my way. I feel like I always overpack, so if any mamas want to give any input - i would be elated to take some of that knowledge. 

♥- Leilani