Last summer, my family took a vacation to Colorado. If you can imagine, it was my husband and I and the back of our van was filled with our 7 year old daughter, 5 year old son, 2 year old son and 16 month old son, along with all our luggage, snacks, movies and more. It was a 21 hour drive! My husband and I had made the journey before kids and we remembered how tiring it was. I asked for my dear friends and church to pray for us that our trip would go well. Josh and I talked a few days before the trip. 

        He was intent on making sure we could do this trip. I needed his reassurance as much as he needed mine. We were very anxious about the trip, feeling unsure as to whether or not we could do it. As we talked through the daily plans of the trip, we started to see this trip as an exciting adventure we could share with our children.

        We both understood we would be tired and would do our best to get us to Denver safely. We stopped for dinner and breakfast with 3 stops for gas. The kids were such excellent travelers. They understood we would be riding a LONG time! At 3:00am Deuce and Jennah popped their heads up like baby chicks to see if we were there. I just shook my head no and told them to go back to sleep. Jonah and Jordan slept all night. By the time morning came in Kansas and we only had 6 hours to go, we were confident we could make it!

        My husband, Josh, is a terrific travel planner. He researches the places we go to find out where the best places are. This trip he planned was for us to visit many places, including South Park City which is a creation of a town from the 1800’s with original buildings that had just moved to that site.  St. Elmo was the favorite stop for the kids. It is a mostly abandoned ghost town, but the highlight was getting to feed wild chipmunks! The kids giggled as they held food in their hands for the chipmunks to climb right up to eat. 

        We visited the Continental Divide at Loveland Pass where we were very close to the tops of the snowy mountains. We got to play in the snow and have snow coke slushies. Another stop was at the Mary Murphy mine near St. Elmo. It was an old abandoned Gold mine. We had to hike across a bridge and up the mountain about 3 miles to see it all, but we were so thrilled to experience that first with our kids!!! We stopped in Idaho Springs twice because it is our favorite town out there. Our last big stop was to Dodge City, Kansas where we visited a re-creation of a town. We saw Boot Hill and many relics from the 1800’s. They did a gun fight reenactment at high noon which the kids loved. We ate lunch and got an old time photo.

         When it was time to head home, we had traveled through the day enough to know we did not want to deal with the restless kids anymore than we had to. We decided to drive through the night once more instead of stopping for a hotel. It was a lot easier to drive all night and arrive home at 7:00am than start another driving day at 7:00am. We were so glad to be home! We worked as a team to unload the van that was filled to our necks. The kids played with their new surprises and I rushed off to get the van washed and vacuumed. After we all napped, we felt refreshed and delighted over our grand accomplishment.

        This trip seemed impossible, but once we sat down to discuss our plans for each day, we saw the possibility. We took time to tell the kids each day about how long our trip was going to be. We never heard the kids ask, “Are we there yet?” Now that we have done this, we hope to get to travel out there every year. I knew God had answered our prayers to give us a great trip. How else can you explain the success we had?

         As you begin to think of the summer ahead of you, what challenges or adventures are swirling in your mind like gnats that maybe you should consider more seriously? Are there any childhood memories that you would like to share with your children? Dreaming is one thing, sitting down and making a plan can make those dreams a reality! As overwhelming as a cross country trip can be with four small children, it was very doable because of the planning and our attitudes. 

        We took each day in stride knowing things could change. I encourage you to think of at least one grand adventure you would like to share with your children this summer. Once you have a few ideas, speak to your husband or children and allow them to weigh in with their opinions. It is not very long before the activities of our children dominate their days and even summers, so take advantage of the time you have with them this summer!

        I pray you will take time to look for new adventures to share with your children. I pray you will see ways to break out of the usual routine to travel and take fun trips to different places. I pray you will see traveling as an opportunity to pass on family values and traditions.

Proverbs 16:3  "Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed."

Proverbs 21:5 "The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty."

   Jennifer

About the Author:

Jennifer Warren is a stay at home mom who lives in Pelham. She has been married to her husband for 12 years. She has a college degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education from the University of Montevallo. She has four children, Jennah age 7, Deuce(Joshua II) age 5, Jonah age 3, and Jordan age 2. She writes weekly emails for moms to encourage, support and inspire. She and her husband delight in finding new adventures in travel.