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Last month we took a road trip to Lake Tahoe to spend a week there with Kyle’s family. We had so much fun – but it was a 9 hour drive to get there! (10 if you count stops along the way, 12 if you count the detours we had to take on the way back.) I’ve always been a fan of road trips, but they get a little different when you add a baby (or two) to the mix! You need to stop for diaper changes and feedings, and just to let the toddler stretch their legs! Plus there’s always some crying and whining involved. I mean, who can blame them? It’s not THAT fun to be stuck in a car that long. Poor little guys. Luckily both of our kids are pretty good travelers. Abe’s been on a handful of 8+ hour road trips (and plane rides — 8+ hours including layovers), a few 5+ hour ones, and a bunch of 1-3 hour ones, and has always done fantastic. Eliza has only been on a few 1-3 hour ones before the trip to Tahoe, and she’s not always the best traveler, so we were a bit nervous going into it. (Her cry is SO LOUD.) But she did awesome. Hallelujah! So today, since I have a bunch of road trips with kids under my belt, I thought I’d share with you a 5 ways to prepare for a road trip, so you don’t feel like you’re going to go crazy 🙂

1 | Make lists.

I am a list maker through and through. I honestly started making lists for this trip like 3 or 4 months in advance. When you’re road tripping with kids, there are SO many extra things you need to remember. Diapers, wipes, sippy cups, bottles, the Ergo, the pack n play, etc. It can be overwhelming! It’s helpful for me to make lists of different categories, such as: clothing, baby supplies, things needed in car during the trip, last minute items to grab, toiletries, etc. That way I can make sure I don’t forget anything!

2 | Check out (or buy) an audio book.

Audio books are all the rage right now, it seems. I’m honestly not a fan of them unless we’re on a road trip. They make time in the car go by so much faster! I always just run to our library and grab one, but you can get one on Audible, too. Our kids are small enough that they don’t really care what we’re playing, so we still listen to regular fiction novels on our trips, but when they get a bit older, we’ll start getting chapter books and classics. I’m really excited for that time, when they can listen and discuss books with us!

3 | Have a snack bucket.

Snacks are wonderful for road trips, I think we can all agree! But they are even better when you have small children. We basically just threw food at our two kids in the car to make them happy. Things like crackers, string cheese, applesauce pouches,  and granola bars (and rice rusks for Eliza) are perfect for the road. Abe may have been covered in food when we pulled in to our vacation home, but it was well worth it that he didn’t whine for more than a few minutes on our trip. It also will help save you money and time in the long run, so you don’t have to stop to get fast food on your way!

4 | Buy a few cheap toys.

Along with snacks, I had a bag full of toys and books that I could whip something new out of for Abe whenever he was getting a little restless. I packed a few favorites, but also picked up a couple of new (cheap) toys so they would have more of an appeal to him, since he’d never played with them before.

5 | Get your oil changed.

Who wants to get stuck in the middle of nowhere with a broken down car? Not me! Getting your oil changed before a trip can give you piece of mind before you leave. Before this last trip we also bought two new tires and had them rotated, again, so we could be worry-free about car problems on our trip. We ordered our tires, had them changed, and had our oil changed at our local Walmart’s Automotive Care Center. Our car has over 75,000 miles on it, so we use Pennzoil® High Mileage Vehicle® motor oil in our car. It helps clean out the sludge and helps to reduce leaks and oil consumption. (And bonus! Right now it’s on Rollback from $39.88 to $35.88 until September 28.) Wondering how you can get your car taken care of? You can find the ACC closest to you here, and you can read more about Pennzoil products here.

I hope you found these tips helpful! A lot of people think that when you have kids you can’t go on trips or do anything fun ever again. That is so not true! It takes a little extra planning, but you can still go on any trips you’d like, and you’ll still have fun! We have been to Seattle, Canada, Yellowstone, Priest Lake, and Lake Tahoe with kids (plus some local camping trips, too) and can’t wait to plan and go on even more.

What tips do you have for preparing for a road trip? Share them below!