Browsing through Pinterest, I have seen tons of articles about checklists and secret tricks to have a successful roadtrip with small children. But you know what? I don’t think any of that works. It is great to be prepared, but a lot comes down to your mood and your child’s mood on the day of the trip. It doesn’t matter how many busy bags you have, if your kid if determined to have a meltdown, it’s just going to happen.

It’s almost the end of the #ETHANproject blog challenge and that means summer is almost over. Week 9 of the #ETHANproject – Enjoy the Drive – came at a time when my family and I had a roadtrip planned as part of our family summer vacation. It was actually only supposed to be a 4-5 hour drive between my husband’s family and mine, but at the last minute we added a small 6-7 hour roadtrip detour.

When the roadtrip was planned to be 4-5 hours, we decided to drive after lunch when our daughters normally nap for 1-3 hours. Perfect right? They would be sleeping for the majority of the trip and the time should just fly by. When we added an additional 6-7 hours,  that idea went out the window. We just had to do the best we could and make it to our destination.

We made a few stops and made a crumby mess in the back set of the rental car with all the snacks we had. We had Pandora and our tablet with YouTube. Most importantly, we had positive attitudes. What we did not have was a plan, or even any special toys or busy bags. And we still had what I would consider a successful roadtrip.

Next week is the final week in the #ETHANproject blog challenge and it might be the best challenge yet – Enjoy the Mess! Don’t forget to check out all the other bloggers and how they have dealt with the challenges all summer on Grounded & Surrounded.

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