Traveling with kids

I've gotten lots of emails from you guys before we left Seattle and many more after leaving, all asking the same kind of questions, "Are you guys crazy?"  "How can you travel so much with little kids?" "How do you find places to stay that are good for kids?"  "How do you pack light with kids?"......and on and on and on and on......  I got to thinking about all of that and thought I'd write about our thoughts on traveling with kids, why we do it and then attempt to share what works for us while traveling with little ones.

A while back Brian and I were talking about how fortunate our kids are.  They are so lucky to be living in our cozy house in an amazing neighborhood in one of the coolest cities on the planet.  They will go to great schools and have opportunities to do anything and be anything they dream of.  They are loved a billion times over by Brian and I, not to mention an abundance of adoration heaped on them by grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends.  They live a pretty fantastic life and while we don't want to drop them off at boot camp in the middle of the jungle, we do feel it's important for them to see a little struggle, feel a little struggle, and travel has been a way for us to show them things and teach them things outside of their comfort zone.  We always strive to make our trips fun but there is always uncertainty, fatigue, and moments of anxiety while traveling.  These are the moments where our kids get to see us (hopefully) not panic and as a family figure things out together.  The goal is for them to know that in spite of whatever the adversity is, we will get through it together.

Kohen has been to five continents and has played with children on playgrounds in Chile, shared empenadas with a little girl on Easter Island, shared candy and toys with children in his great grandmothers village in China, played with kids at a preschool in Fiji.....he's asked questions about these people and places and at 4 years has compassion and maturity that leaves me in awe.  Some of that is just Kohen, he is a beautiful soul, but I know travel is part of it too.

As the kids get older we would like to incorporate volunteer work into these trips and make the projects and destinations family decisions.  That kind of trip has a different emotional intensity so we're not in any rush to have them see and feel things they aren't ready for.  Right now, we are taking the opportunities that come our way and the kids have been great travel companions.

So how do we travel with kids?????
-We laugh a lot.  Seriously.  I want the kids to enjoy traveling so I gotta man up and laugh and show them the humor in missing the train or getting lost for the billionth time. Traveling with kids has actually been so good for me because you HAVE to slow down, there's no other way to do it.
-Apartments over hotels.  We usually stay in places longer, the stability is easier for the kids. Apartments allow us to cook some meals, do laundry (which means packing way less clothes), and my favorite part is that we are in the community shopping for food, attempting to actually live in the neighborhood rather than just passing through.  Another plus, the nightly rate has always broken down to be cheaper than the hotel rates.
-I always research kid friendly restaurants, activities, etc. for the places we are going.  It's amazing the cool stuff that is out there.  I'll go out of my way to hit a good restaurant that has a play area for kids if that means Brian and I can linger a little longer over the local beer or wine:)  I also look into things that are geared towards their interests.  Today we went to museum that had a whole wing filled with old German trains.  The kids geeked out for a loooooong time at that place.
-Toys- each boy is now old enough to carry their own backpack with a few items.  I have a secret stash of sticker books and games for emergencies.  Before we leave on any trip I take them to a fabric store where they each pick out a fabric (so far all have had some kind of vehicle on them:) and we buy a small piece.  This is their travel blanket that can be used for warmth, emergency towel, picnic blanket, there are a million helpful uses and it can be tossed at the end if it is trashed.  My goal is to save a piece of each travel blanket and someday make them a big quilt out of them.  I have no idea how to sew or quilt but I'll put that on the "learn someday" list specifically for this project!  They also get a travel notebook.  I mentioned this in an earlier post but I really think this is one of the most helpful things for our kids.  I buy a cheap notebook and fill it with pictures (in order of our itinerary) of the hotels we will stay at, museums we will go to, mountains we will see.....anything that would be recognizeable to them.  I leave a few blank pages after each stop on our journey for them to draw pictures of the things they got to see and do. For Kohen, I have made this edition a bit of a scavenger hunt.  He can see pictures of things, try and find them on our walks and then learn about the places.  He's totally into it and learning a ton.  For last summer's trip I opened up an old pillowcase and painted train tracks and road onto it so the kids could drive their cars on something.  Big hit and super small and lightweight to travel with.
-We also find it helpful to make the kids a big part of the daily planning.  They help plan our activities and are given maps to help us navigate.  If they feel they are a part of all the planning there is less stress and uncertainty for them.
-Travel essential: emergency kit!  That's a whole other blog post though:) and I always bring kids tylenol on the plane with me.  You never know when a fever will hit and spending a ten hour flight with a feverish kid would not be fun.

That's the way we travel....constantly evolving though.  Good times, good food, and like I said a lot of laughter!