5 kids + 15 hours + 1 car equals...

We make a trek down to Arizona at least once a year to visit our extended families.  Every year I try and fit everything I can into the van and plan out ways to survive the trip.  Here's the Grand Plan - I don't always get it ALL done but I try my best.

Road Trip Survival Ideas
· Fill up clean car with gas and clean the house because there's nothing better than coming home to a clean home after a long car trip. 
· Rent books on CD from the library and put on my iPhone.  Since I'm LDS aka Mormon, I also  like to listen to General Conference. 
· Fill balloons with play dough for squishy fun.
· With a cheap $1 picture album, make a Family Photo book so kids can remember names/faces of aunts/uncles/cousins.
· Pipe Cleaner creations
· File folder games
· Board Books for toddlers, bigger books for older kids
· Lacing Cards
· Glow sticks for nighttime
· Divider sheet with sticky Velcro – sticks to car roof perfectly for a sun shade or it can stop the “they’re looking at me!"      
· Bibs for toddlers because they will spill and you don't want to arrive looking like you survived a wreck.
· Dry snacks: raisins, popcorn, crackers, dried fruit, apple chips, cereal, jerky, chocolate chips, cheerios, pretzels, goldfish, marshmallows, m&ms, fortune cookies, mini oreos, ring pops, make fruit loop necklaces, suckers, dried fruit and fruit snacks. 
(KIDS FAVORITES:  Make a smores mix by filling snack size baggies with Teddy grahams, chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.  Make a caramel apple mix by doing dried apples and Kraft caramel bits.  Trail mix with m&ms, pretzels and peanuts.)
· Seatbelt strap pillow for napping toddlers.
· Personalized water bottles with their name and picture on it using packing tape
· Label inside of kids shoes with name and phone number
· “Don’t get lost” necklace (Put emergency contact info on a necklace under toddler's clothes)
· Eye-spy game with TP tube binoculars and duct tape.
· Friendship bracelet kit for my daughter to work on.
· Road Trip pillowcase with handle to carry and a pocket on one side for a book
· Chargers and electronics only after working equal time on Scouting or Faith in God. 
· Rent XBOX game from redbox – I love that my van can do this!  Movie on one side and game on the other side of the screen. 
· Old DVD case turned into a coloring kit (paper on one side, colored pencils on the other)
· Put each outfit in a large ziploc bag with socks and accessories
· Trash bags in a lidded plastic cereal container so trash is contained