Family Road Trip Tips

We are back to school today, but I'm still living off the Summer travel high.  We had some really great trips this Summer.  Kevin plans the details of our trips and I work on packing and organizing us along the way.

If you need an INSTANT mood booster, stop at a nice gas station and let everyone pick out a snack or two of their choice.  I don't police this process much other than to remind them it's a great time to get things that they love.

Pay attention to the restaurant signs along the way and if you want something, say something.  I love a good iced coffee.  Kevin prefers the gas station taht has coffee bean grinders to make each individual cup.  So we scouted out the food and drinks we enjoy.

Kevin saw that there was a Wally's gas station just a little out of the way when we were headed to Wisconsin.  He planned for us to surprise the kids with a late night snack (popcorn of all kinds) at Wallys, a hotel nearby and then breakfast at Wally's before getting on the road.  Wally's is the Midwest version of Buc-ees.  It's so nice and clean.  Delicious brisket all day.  Gourmet popcorn and some really fun food, drinks and shopping.

Favorite snacks in our hotel room.

I don't plan as many road trip surprise gifts for the kids anymore.  Now that they are older, they prefer to pick out whatever sounds best to them.  So we plan our trips and keep an eye out for fun places to stop.

Some trips I do a post it note countdown on one of the back windows.  We did this for our road trip to Miami.  Although seeing a count down of 18 hours to get to Miami may not have been encouraging to anyone :)

We also empty any trash out of the van every single time we stop.  That keeps the van clean and mom happy.  It also helps make sure everyone has the space they need.

Make sure everyone packs the correct charging cords and/or has their portable chargers fully charged.

Bring a little car blanket for everyone in case they want to nap.  I use turkish towels and they work perfectly.  Each kid packs one in their backpack and uses it for a pillow or blanket or towel as needed.

Now it's back to school season and the traveling will have to wait a bit :)

Yummiest Pasta Salad

I made the yummiest pasta salad to go with our dinner last week and my whole family loved it.  They were fighting over the leftovers!  It was easy, colorful and the perfect addition to any cook out or tailgate.

I chopped up every veggie I could find at our house into the tiniest bites.

purple onion

carrots

red, orange and yellow sweet peppers

black olives

cucumbers

green onions

cauliflower

broccoli

snap peas

extra sharp cheddar cheese

Add a generous sprinkle of Kinders The Blend seasoning.

Cook our favorite pasta.  A tricolor pasta is always fun for a pasta salad.  Let cool.

Combine pasta and bowl full of veggies.  Stir well.  Then drizzle the whole bowl with Olive Garden Italian dressing.  Stir until well coated.  Refrigerate.  It'll be good for a couple days in the fridge.

This recipe is so great because you can customize it for your likes.

I made it again and left out some of the veggies, used shredded carrots, changed up the pasta and did pepperjack cheese instead of cheddar.  It was just as delicious.

I hope your family enjoys this as much as my family did!

Wisconsin Summer Favorites

We had a great time in Wisconsin in July!  Here are the highlights:

1. We have a favorite spot to get a family photo.  It was closed last Summer so I was thrilled to see the bridge back open this Summer.

2. We ate some meals at this complex.  Something yummy for everyone!  Fletcher and I really enjoyed MACS macaroni and cheese shop.  The portions were big and the mac and cheese was so good.

3. We had a blast making clay art creatures in our down time.

4. A birthday dinner at Hot Rocks.  This restaurant is so fun.  Your side dishes all come out fully cooked and then you cook your meat on the hot rock.  It's fun to cook and eat together.

5. All of the flower combos were beautiful!

6. A jetted jacuzi tub made this guy happy.

7. Arcade + racing + snacks.

8. An afternoon at Ski Hi apple orchard with a flight of apple beer, apple cider donuts and apple cider slushies.  We can't wait to go back in the Fall for some apple picking.  Their petting zoo animals just returned to the farm and were so excited to see people.

9. Kevin and Fletcher were super brave and headed to the zipline course.  They navigated a course through the treetops going platform to platform.  They said it was terrifying and awesome!  Olive, Leo and I went to Paint Your Own Pottery instead of zip lining which was also awesome.

10. Cabana Day!  It was very warm, warmer than usual in July.  We were really thankful for our shaded cabana reservations.  The big kids did the big slides with Kevin.  We lazy rivered.  Ordered fun snacks and played the day away.

11. Camp Social breakfast buffet.  We try to go here once and it never disappoints.  Everythign is so yummy!

12. A little more racing and arcade games.

13. We do a ton of walking all over the resort and big sis was sweet to carry Leo.  He might have also hopped on a luggage rack or two.

14. We ate at Buffalo Phil's where a train delivered all of our food.

15. Kid's club moved to a new location.  It was cool, movies were always playing and there was fresh popcorn.  We loved it!

16. I'm still not over their gorgeous flower beds.

17. The Boat House.  Kevin found us a new restaurant to try on the lake.  It was the best meal we had all week.  Homemade everything and everyone loved their food.

18. If you're ever tempted to plan a trip to Wisconsin, please do!!  It's so much fun!  Comment or message me and I'm happy to give you all the tips.

Have a great weekend!  We're back to school next week.  It's always hard to say goodbye to a really fun Summer.  See you next week :)

Linking up with Momfessionals

Fishing & Shopping

The boys love fishing so much that we have added a fishing expedition to most of our recent trips.  Kevin finds a local fisherman to hire for the day and they provide everything the boys need to fish.  It works out well for all of us.  We drop the boys off at the dock or boat ramp and then we head off to go on our own adventure.

We dropped the boys off at the boat ramp and headed a couple of towns over to Baraboo, Wisconsin.  It's a town we have visited many times.  We have favorite shops, parks and found a few new places to explore.  Leo brought along a book.  We got cheese curds for a snack and had the best day.

Ready for an adventure!  The guys had big hopes of catching big fish on this trip.  They were hoping to get a Sturgeon and a good variety of fish we don't see in Indiana.

Their catches were epic.  I couldn't believe the things they caught with ease.  They loved their fishing guide, too.  They always say their fishing trips are never long enough.

We also snuck away to the outlet mall for some back to school shopping.

Fun for everyone!