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Challenge: Traveling with Kids

The 4 things you must pack for a sane family vacation

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  1. d10119286563e35779a878c68dde35813b83dbe5.jpgAhh family vacations. I see why my parents never took us on one. It's a lot of work. The packing, the timing, the planning.. Ughhhhhh! Really, the only things you need to pack are...goldfish crackers, sunscreen, a coffee can (to catch the car sick kids puke... or pee) and booze. Our most memorable family vacation occurred 4 years ago. We packed up our camper with our kids, 16, 7, 6, and 5 year old twins. We also decided to take our 6 month old dachshund. We left our home in Pa and decided to spend the night in Va on our way to the outer banks. We stopped for gas before setting up camp. We caught something while pulling out and ended up with a flat tire and a bent axel. We unhooked the camper and left it overnight in the gas station parking lot. After driving around for about an hour, we found a hotel to accommodate 7 people and a dog. Because the next day was Saturday, they weren't able to fix our camper until Monday. So we took all our clothes, snacks and booze out of the camper and decided to head to va beach for two days. I googled hotels and found one about 10 miles away from the beach that had two rooms for rent, we snatched them. When we pulled into the hotel.. I felt like I may have made a bad choice with my online find. But we checked in and were directed to our getaway. We walked in the room and let the dog run around as we explored the place. The carpet was dirtier than the parking lot black top. Then my puppy emerged from under the bed with a pair of black underpants in her mouth. My kids said.. "Hey look, the dog has Mommy's underpants in her mouth." As my husband went to grab them from her, I quickly pointed out that A they weren't mine, and B I thought I might need the "coffee can!" Needless to say we did not stay there. That vacation became known as...the time mommy booked a pay by the hour hotel room for our family.

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