Vacation Tidbits :)

     You all know by now that our family included 2 boys, mom, and dad...yay for us!!  When we traveled we used our second-hand Starcraft conversion van. It was an awesome vehicle for cross country travel, well before concerns over gas mileage!! We could put our cooler inside containing juice pouches and drinks, sandwiches, and other snacks. The sandwiches for our family included peanut butter and jelly ALWAYS!! The males in the family had to have their pb and j's. I threw in a couple of bologna or ham sandwiches also. The boys discovered after awhile that the pb sandwiches tended to get soggier than the meat sandwiches so the numbers changed!! 
   The seats reclined so the boys could nap in the car, and my passenger seat swiveled so I could sneak back to check on them or redirect their attention once they woke up. I suppose none of that is as safe as is required today, but it made traveling much more convenient. Now to mention the 'unmentionables' - bathroom issues! We were lucky that every one seemed to have quite large bladder capacities...so we didn't have a lot of stops that didn't include getting gas or seeing sights or picnicking(?).  BUT, we did have a pee bottle...I know, yuck!! ...however, having 3 males traveling...it did help out. Just imagine who had the lovely task of taking this full bottle into the gas station restroom to empty and wash it out...that would be me!! Gross!
    Our travels have given all of us such great memories. Here are a few more of our trips to the national parks:

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park

Mammoth Caves in Kentucky

outside Rocky Mt. National Park

Mt. Rushmore

Cape Cod National Seashore

whale watch off Cape Cod

Joshua Tree

Sleeping Bear Dunes in Michigan

     No matter where you go on your family trips, try to relieve the stress so that you can all have fun and enjoy yourselves!!


Happy Parenting!
D and C

Want to Visit a National Park???

     Family Vacation talk again :)  I hope you're ready!!


Our family loved to travel to our beautiful national parks. They are truly unbelievably beautiful in all different ways. Whether you decide to travel by car or plane, stay in a campsite or lodge, hike or go on tourist excursions----it will be worth your while!!  You'll see people of all ages, including kids. The best part is that you can set up what you want to do each day according to your family's needs. Here are some of our favorites:


Yellowstone National Park

watching Old Faithful

squinting in the bright sun...

Yosemite National Park

Ansel Adams-ish Half Dome

the 3 finkbeiner guys!

Grand Canyon

getting ready for a mule ride

Grand Teton National Park

ready to go camping

Mesa Verde National Park

checking out the Cliff Dwellers

Alcatraz..yup, a national park!!

you can actually lock 'em up!!

Badlands

heading to Sturgis for Bike Week

Sequoia

HUGE trees, beautiful scenery

     We always enjoyed what we saw and what we learned on these great family trips!


I'll be sharing more of our favorite places to go as a family unless you all speak up and tell me not to....I don't want to be the dreaded "want to see our vacation pictures?" person!!


Have fun on vacation!
Happy Parenting!
D and C