SOLO ROAD TRIP

my three littles and i took a road trip a week ago to moab, utah and although it's not a super long drive solo..... i was stuck in the car for 4+ hours with my three girls. things could have gone terribly wrong and luckily they didn't, i thought i would share a few tips and tricks for road trippin' with kids and a few of our very favorite things to do while down in moab!

i think my number one advice would be to plan your drive according to naps, and if your kids are no longer napping an early morning or late night drive would probably be best. for the drive down and for the drive home, i made sure we were on the road just before margo's morning naps which made the drive go a lot smoother.

snacks, snacks, and more snacks.  avoiding anything with lots of crumbs and that would give my girls a sugar rush! we packed lots of movies and had a few coloring books and crayons to keep them entertained. luckily the car ride still put my older girls to sleep as well. we did have to make a bathroom stop and to feed baby because i am still breastfeeding.

and to keep you drivers awake, i made sure to download some podcasts before hitting the road, throwing in my air pods and listened to something other than kid movies and "are we there yet?!" every five minutes. if you're like me and get super drowsy, i also snagged a red bull and for the moments you feel like you are going to lose your mind from the kids in the back seat i used doterra's BALANCE essential oil every chance i got!

we honestly didn't do too many activities because it gets so freaking hot. but there is so much to do down in moab!! getting up early to beat the heat is my biggest advice! our first day there we hiked the Grandstaff Hiking Trail which was beautiful and the girls loved it with all the soft red sand in some areas.

you also NEED to check out Arches National Park, it is absolutely breath taking with some beautiful hikes! there are plenty of kid friendly hikes that you can take your littles on and of course some of the more difficult ones. be sure to bring LOTS of water, wear comfortable tennis shoes, bring sunscreen and of course a backpack or baby carrier of some sort if you've got a babe you're bringing along.

some of the more kid friendly hikes in arches are: Balanced Rock (SUPER, super easy), Double Arch (we had plans to hit this one but didn't get to it, it looked a little more difficult for littles or those who have a harder time with hikes) and of course The Windows. a few years ago, my siblings and i hiked Delicate Arch at sunrise which was so so beautiful. i of course didn't have my kids with me as it is more difficult. another kid friendly hike, that we were dying to do but by the time we got to it, my girls were DONE! is the Sand Dune Arch--- this is the one i know my girls would have loved the very most! We will have to hit it next time!

we also did a lot of shopping on main street, walked across the bridge over the Colorado River and spent the day at Moab's Rec Center swimming.... which by the way is the best kid friendly pool, with both indoor and outdoor pools! my girls had the time of their lives here and was probably the high light of their trip!

and then there were six

about a month ago we picked up our little puppy that we had put a deposit on the first part of may, and life hasn't quite been the same since! welcome to our family little chip. we mostly love him ;) and sometimes we just kinda love him. no no, but really we love him so much! it's so weird to me how much you can love and care for a fur child.

chip is a Great Weimer--- a great dane/weimaraner mix. he's going to be ginormous. he has already gotten A LOT bigger within the last couple weeks since we brought him home. dave and i both wanted family pictures done with chip as a puppy so we can look back in a few months to see just how "small" he used to be! i love love love how these turned out and couldn't help but share basically all of them. i love this family of mine!