Road Trip Planning

Friday we are leaving to Big Bear for the weekend with our family and extended family. My parents have invited us to stay with them and Kristi and the Vander Heides for the weekend. It sounds like a blast and I cannot wait to go. Prior to leaving though I have some planning and smart packing to do. Since James has to work on Friday he will be driving up separately a day later, so it is me and the girls and Kristi who will ride together. It will probably take 2.5 hours of driving time to get there. I need games and snacks and distractions for the girls in the car. Luckily with some research I found some ideas.

Moms Minivan is a website with a ton of ideas to keep kids happy and busy while traveling. I will be using several of the ideas such as a scavenger hunt for Julia. Instead of words listed on a paper there is a checklist with pictures instead. This will work great for her since she does not read, yet. On the Microsoft website I found templates for paper dolls. I will be printing and cutting these out this weekend. One other site I found which, too me is a goldmine, is Storynory. This site has many FREE audible stories and you can even download them and burn them to CD. I will also be doing that this weekend in preparation for our trip. Books on tape or Cd's are awesome and Julia loves them. Serena not so much, yet...no attention span for this. Hopefully, with these new and hidden jewels (I will not be revealing them until they are in need) and snacks our drive will be much more pleasant and I will be able to avoid some tantrums or at least some, "I'm bored." comments.
http://www.momsminivan.com/
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT101439601033.aspx
http://storynory.com/