5 Helpful Tips in Preparing for Family Travel

With 4th of July weekend coming up and Summer in full swing many families are preparing to leave on vacation. We all know how stressful family vacations can be from the planning,packing, and traveling. To help make the process go a little easier I have a travel expert taking over the blog today to share some tips with you.

A little bio about our guest poster!

Kendra Thornton:Travel advocate,TV spokesperson, PR businesswoman,proud wife and mama of 3. I am a long time travel expert who has been packing my bags and traveling the world since I was 3 months old! I've found my utmost desire in life is right here in my own home. I have taken my excitement for travel and brought it to you with some of my favorite travel tips and tricks. Enjoy!

Photo Credit: kennymatic via Compfight cc

                 

            

  Helpful Tips in Preparing for Family Travel

 
Spending time on a vacation with family is an excellent way to enjoy the summer. As a mom, I have found that being prepared plays a crucial role in preventing hiccups and ensuring an unforgettable trip. Here are some tips that have helped me as I prepare for summer travels.

1. Wonderful Baggage Options
When packing for your next trip, your first packing essential needs to be luggage. There is certainly no shortage of options, but choosing the right design can make or break your trip. Suitcases can be clunky and heavy duffle bags can really damage your shoulders. For carry-on’s try a backpack that will free up your hands. If you’re traveling to Europe or driving to the beach, avoid rolling bags, as wheels don’t fare well with cobblestone, stairs or sand.

2. A Fantastic Place to Visit
I’ve found that having a fantastic place to go when traveling is truly key. Take time and look at a travel guide for the summer to find terrific destinations to visit. These guides highlight wonderful restaurants, attractions in the area and amazing deals. From the 2016 Olympics in Rio to the best 4th of July fireworks displays, an unforgettable trip starts with an amazing destination. Try consulting Gogobot’s Top 25 Summer Destinations to see which locations sound appealing to your family. Then check to see what fellow parents say about the area. Want to combine culture and kid-friendly fun? Florida’s 500th Anniversary is a great time to visit the magical world of Disney! You can even celebrate by having breakfast with Mickey and Mini at one of Orlando’s top hotels.

3. Practice Firework Safety
Even when traveling, firework displays are usually a big attraction for families. With July 4th fast approaching you should make sure you know how to safely practice firework viewing with children. Unlike many shows, fireworks can be seen just as well at a distance. Watching fireworks from a balcony will still allow your child to see them while staying out of harm’s way. Sparklers are also a fun way to celebrate Independence Day. But most people don’t realize that sparklers can reach over 2,000 degrees. That’s hot enough to not only burn little fingers, but melt some metals as well. A great vacation begins with safety.

4. The Right Kind of Sticking
Another tip I’ve learned, quite possibly the hard way, is how important it is to stick to a routine. It can be quite easy to skip a nap or a meal, but children do not adjust to these changes well, particularly in a new environment. I try to do my best to keep things as normal as possible while on vacation in terms of naps, snacks and meals. Not sure how you’re going to fit in that nap? Let the experts help.

5. Searching for Hidden Airline Fees
Booking airplane tickets online is certainly a popular thing to do. There are great deals that may be found at terrific prices. However, keep in mind that there can be fees that are added to increase the final cost of flying. Hidden costs range from baggage charges to fees for seat selection, a real problem for families with small children looking to sit together. To combat this, take time and research various airlines and their potential fees. The cheapest ticket price may not have the best overall value if there are additional charges.

A Magical Day

I've been dying to get this post up and share our day at Disney with you but since we got back things have been pretty crazy. Jayla came down with Bronchitis, hubbs was sick, trying to catch up on laundry, errands, and all the other normal day to day things. Jayla is quite clingy when she gets sick so it's hard to get much done.

We had a wonderful day at Disney. It wasn't too hot and it was an over cast day so we didn't have the sun beating down on us all day.

The first thing we did was meet the Princesses because it was only a 15 minute wait so we took advantage of that. Jayla was so excited to meet them. Normally she is shy and doesn't warm up to people quickly so I was nervous about how well she was going to interact with the Princesses. She went right up to them! You would have thought they were best friends with how she just walked up and started talking with them. She especially loved getting hugs by each one.

Rapunzel was my favorite. She was awesome and really into her character. Just bubbly and full of life. She even danced with Jayla.

   

After we met with the Princesses hubbs and Jayla headed over to get to in line to meet Merida while I went and grabbed fast passes for the Ariel ride. We had to get Merida done right way, Jayla was beyond herself to meet Merida. Merida is talked about quite frequently in our household. It's pretty easy to say that Merida is one of my Jayla's favorites.

We ended up having to wait almost an hour to meet Merida but once you get into the area to meet her they have crayons and coloring pages for the kids to keep them busy while they wait. 

Jayla's reactions to Merida were just priceless!

   

We really got a lot done for only having a day to spend at the Magic Kingdom. The whole month of planning and research really paid off. We got everything on my "to-do" list done except for meeting Belle and a few other characters.The line for Belle was just insane and Jayla was given the choice of meeting the other characters or riding some rides. She choose the rides, even over meeting Tinkerbell. I was shocked by that.

One of the things on my list was the Dumbo ride. Let me tell you, Dumbo pissed us off! There are two Dumbos now, one fast pass, one stand by. We went through the standy by line. We unintentionally  cut in line, it was pretty unorganized. We thought only two people could ride the ride at a time and Jayla wanted Daddy so I got out of line and waited for them.

Once you go through a line, you go into a circus building where you wait to get a pager before you get back into another line. It is air conditioned and a huge play area inside for the kids. 

Our cell phones had shotty reception there so I was having a hard time getting in touch with hubbs. After about 40 minutes I finally got a text from hubbs that he has about another 10 minutes before he gets a buzzer and then about another 40 minutes before he gets back in line. I watched a lot of people leave that ride before the rode it and no one looked happy. 

We didn't like being seperated from each other for so long. I mean we were there as a family to have fun and we weren't having fun at this point. I see a cast member who lets me into the circus tent and there are kids playing everywhere and you really can't keep an eye on your child. I didn't like that all! We wanted out of there so we asked Jayla if she would be upset if we didn't ride Dumbo but go get in line for the tea cups instead. Luckily she was game!!! 

Once we got over the Dumbo hump it was smooth sailing and we had a blast! Jayla did really good and really surprised me at how well she handled all the walking with very little complaining. If you are going to ride Dumbo, get a fast pass so Dumbo doesn't piss you off too.

I held her during the long lines to get her off her feet and before dinner I switched her shoes out which seemed to help because she didn't say her feet hurt anymore.

Leaving the parking lot that evening was quite confusing, we really didn't know where the exit was and no one around to direct you where to go. We finally found our way out and between the gps and the roads we got a little confused and missed our exit. The GPS rerouted us back to Disney and from there we were able to get to our exit and head back to my Grandpa's. Jayla was so wore out that she was passed out before we even got out of the parking lot. I think she passed out once she hit her car seat. Luckily we didn't catch any rain that day until we were leaving the park.

  

     

Easter Sunday

Easter is one of my favorite holidays.It's such a humbling celebration as we think about the amazing sacrifices made for us! It's also filled with candy, family, and good food. It's a bit more of a laid back holiday for our family where we have more of a chance to sit back and just enjoy each other.

This Easter was a bit more hectic then normal as we were trying to prepare to leave for Florida the next day.

Normally, I dye a ton of eggs. Enough for my grandma, mom, mother-in-law, and us all to have some left over. I only did 18 eggs this year. I didn't want to make a huge mess after all the cleaning and packing I did. 

I kept it simple and picked up 3 packets of Kool-Aid to dye our eggs with. I had never dyed eggs using Kool-Aid and was praying that it worked so I didn't have to rush out and get a kit. 

The colors came out pretty! I thought the fruit punch was going to be blue because it's in a blue package, nope, it was red. I guess if I would have actually thought of it most fruit punch is red. Oh well, life goes on and nut-nut didn't care. 

The eggs did smell really good using the Kool-Aid!

 She was serious about them eggs but hated waiting for them to color. She is just like her mama and lacks some patience. 

 I think the eggs turned out pretty good for just using water and a packet of Kool-Aid. The grape Kool-Aid turned the eggs a greyish color but once they dried they had blue speckles all over them. Jayla thought they were eggs from a Robin. I can't wait to try more colors next year!

On Easter morning Jayla was a little too excited to find the eggs and her basket. She had me up a bit earlier then I had planned and a lot of my pictures showed it, they were pretty blurry and out of focus. I'm just not a morning person.

I think she woke up in the middle of the night and scoped out where her basket was because she had no issues finding it!

I didn't do a whole lot of candy this year and gave stuff that she could take on the road with her. I thought it would be mean to give her a basket full of candy and then make her leave it behind for a week. Plus, she really doesn't need all that candy.

    

 Once the hunt at home was over we got ready and headed off to church. She has officially taken over my spot at church. Wedged right between my Grandma and Grandpa. Little seat-jacker! Not sure why she looks so pissed.

Ok, I'm going to trail off a bit here but this is just too funny not to share.

After church Grandma wanted to ride with us to her house so she didn't have to wait on Grandpa to count the money. No biggie, we are all going to her house anyways. Half way up the road she says that she doesn't have keys to get in. Once again, no biggie, I have a key to her house. Once we get there I notice that her car isn't there(Grandpa had the truck)and asked her where it was. She says,"Oh shit!! It's at church!" Yep, Grandma drove to church and completely forgot! Bless it!

Grandma and Grandpa always hide plastic eggs at their house filled with money and Jayla was quite excited to have a little extra money for Florida. 

  

  After we eat Easter dinner we play our traditional game of Dippy. Dippy is actually a Greek tradition but I'm not sure what the actual name of the game is. We have always just called it Dippy and no in the family is actually Greek.From what I have been told my Grandma grew up playing Dippy as a child. You pick an egg and you smash the end of your egg into the end of the person's egg beside you and you go around to each person smashing the end of the eggs. The person who has an end that isn't cracked wins. 
If you look in the carton you can see all the smashed tops. 

 What are some of your Easter traditions? Have you ever played Dippy or something similar?

DIY Disney Shirts With Clean Cut Studio{Giveaway}

With our upcoming adventure to Magic Kingdom I wanted some cute Disney shirts for us to wear.

I was on a budget and a time crunch to get us some shirts. I scoured all over etsy trying to find us some shirts. They were either out of my price range or the turn around time was too long. That is when I came across Courtney's shop, Clean Cut Studio. She sells the cutest vinyl iron decals and had exactly what I was looking for!

From the first message. Courtney was such a doll to work with. She is seriously the sweetest! I had wanted a mom and dad decal for my hubbs and I, but I didn't want them too big. I was already pushing my luck with getting the hubbs to wear a matching Disney shirt. She was happy to customize the decals to my preference. 

I think Courtney may have a little postal fairy hanging out in her back pocket because the decals arrived quickly. I ordered on Saturday morning and they were in my mailbox on Monday morning. They traveled from California to South Carolina in record timing!! 

I was a bit nervous when it came time to put the decals on because the iron and I aren't exactly friends. I seriously don't iron anything.

My mom may or may not still do my ironing for me. 

The decals ironed on like a dream and if I can iron these on and not mess them up then anyone can do this with ease.

I am seriously in love with our shirts and can't wait to rock them out at Magic Kindgom.

 

  Courtney has been so gracious and is going to give one lucky reader a $15 credit to her Etsy shop, Clean Cut Stuido, which will include free shipping! Head over to check out her seriously adorable decals and enter the giveaway! You won't want to miss this giveaway and a chance at working with Courtney! 


a Rafflecopter giveaway

** I was in no way compensated for the review. I purchased the decals with my own money. The opinions in this post are just that, mine, based on my experience** 

Parmesan Potato Wedges

This recipe is one of my favorite ways to prepare potatoes. My picky little eater will not eat potatoes unless they are cooked like this. 
If you have a small family, I would cut the recipe in half.

What you need:
6 medium baking potatoes
1/3 cup butter,melted
1 clove garlic,minced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese or a little more if you like a lot of cheese :)
1 tsp of Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking pan with foil. Cut each potato into wedges and place into a large bowl.

Add the melted butter,garlic,Parmesan cheese,and Italian seasoning to the bowl of potatoes and stir well to the potatoes.

Place the potatoes onto the foil lined baking pan and bake for 30 minutes or until tender. You may have to scoop some of the yummy cheese off the bottom of the bowl and spread on top of the wedges.

Enjoy!