A mere two or three years ago, I couldn’t fathom embracing family vacation ideas centred on road trips. Now, with four kids five and under, I dare say, with a smile, bring it on…

Don’t get me wrong, planes no doubt get you there faster; but then there’s all that luggage (along with kids!) to lug around. And once we’re at our destination, we have to figure out a way to get around anyway. I haven’t yet had the courage (and calm frame of mind) to investigate vehicle hiring options for a family with two kids who are still in child seats needing anchor points, and two others in booster seats.

So, while we save our pennies for that big plane trip, (arg… to pay for six seats on a plane?!), we have embraced road trips for our family vacations.

Recently, we drove into Mercedes Sydney Alexandria, and Mr 5 says, “Which car shall we choose?” Ha! Oh life is good at five, I tell you!

Well, thanks to Mercedes Sydney Alexandria, we had the pleasure of test driving a Mercedes-Benz Valente . It took Mr Ian Watts a good half an hour to go through all the features of the Valente. He was mighty patient and thorough and I am most thankful for it – there’s simply so much packed into the Valente.

The Valente is built for families, and hand to heart, my boys still ask why I had to give the Valente back. This Mama secretly asks that too boys.. (all that swish Mercedes styling; sat-nav, sunroof, alloy wheels, rear tinted windows and day-time running lights).

It also has a 5 star ANCAP safety rating, a must, in my mind, for any vehicle that I put my family in.

Now truth be told, the Valente is big. It has eight full size seats and a generous 730 litre luggage space.

When I first saw it, I couldn’t believe that I was going to drive it. I am five foot nothing. The fact that I can drive this beast, (umm… and reach the pedals?!), is testament to how well they built it. 

I really like how high up the driving position is. I have excellent visibility of my outward surroundings at all times when driving. The front and rear parking sensors, and the optional sat nav and reverse camera made parking much easier. 

The turning circle on this vehicle has to be seen to be believed. It has a turning circle of just 11.8 metres. We were driving on a narrow stretch of road in Surry Hills when we had to do a 3 point turn. The Valente did it effortlessly – in only 3 points – much to my relief because there were other cars around.

There’s loads and loads of extra room. Enough room for four kids (plus two more extra guests in the rear passenger area), all the groceries I could possibly need in one week, (even if I stocked up on boxes of nappies because they were on sale), and still enough room for school bags, soccer gear, swimming tote bag, etc. This Valente is like Mary Poppin’s magical bag that fits everything, and can still be so easily be carried, like any ordinary bag.

We took this Valente  out for a day trip to the Jenolan Caves.  Even with our whole family in the car, and an extra adult, the Valente remained strong and easily climbed it’s way through the Blue Mountains. It also easily gave extra oomph when overtaking on the motor ways.  

I was also super impressed (and still super impressed) by its’ fuel economy. It has an average fuel consumption figure between 7-10L/100km. We drove it around for a week and away on a six hour return trip on the weekend. When I topped up the (diesel) tank before returning the vehicle, the petrol bill came to under $80. This is much, much less than what we regularly pay for petrol for our 7 seater four-wheel drive.

We have had our share of road trips for our family vacations. Our longest being a road trip from Sydney to the Goldcoast, (860kms or about 11 hours). So, I wanted to share a few tricks we have learnt along the way, when travelling on the road with young children.

{ONE} Start early or leave late.  Less traffic aside, if you start early (e,g, 3am) or leave late (e.g. 9pm), chances are the kids are still very sleepy and will sleep through a good chunk of your travelling time on the road. Just make sure the driver is well rested for the drive. 

{TWO} Organise your music playlists / podcasts / audio books.  Make sure there’s enough entertaining stuff to listen to, for everyone in the car. Don’t just have kids stuff ready to go – make sure there’s something in there for the adults too. Mix up songs with some funny podcasts and engaging audio books. I still remember listening to the Harry Potter audio books (once our then twin toddlers nodded off), when we drove to the snow.

{THREE} Nappy pants for any toilet training or freshly graduated toilet trained child. Even if your child only wears nappy pants when he or she sleeps, pop one on for the road trip. There’s nothing more stressful than being on a highway and a child breaking the news that he or she needs to go to the toilet… or worse – has already been. 

{FOUR} Stop and play at playgrounds along the way. Kids need to play, and adults need to stretch. Regular stops to stretch and play makes everyone happy.

{FIVE} Snacks. Stuff to crunch and sip on. Be mindful of the type of drinks to give to kids. So far, we’ve stuck with water in their usual water bottles for drinks. We’ve avoided sticky lolly pops and crumbly snacks. Grapes are wonderful, so are apples… (and some snakes).

{SIX}  Be prepared for emergency clean ups. We’re lucky to not have kids who suffer from travel sickness. However, we have been away on trips where they have caught a bug and “messiness” happened while we were driving. Plastic bags and wet wipes. Always have them, because you never, ever, know.

{SEVEN} Toys & games. Make sure you have a bag, even a small one, of stuff kids can fidget and play with. E.g. crayons and paper pads, small action heroes, sunnies they can put on, stickers, stamps, etc.

{EIGHT} Be realistic about the time it will take to get there. No matter how long I think it will take to get out the door, it always takes longer with kids. Now for road trips, augment that delay a few times over, because road trips are a much more complicated logistic manoeuvre than getting out the door.

{NINE} iPads / DVDs / movies of any kind. I consider this the “when all else has been exhausted” and they are still awake and on the brink of an uprising, option. I won’t deny it, because I wouldn’t leave for a road trip without it.

{TEN} Remember, what holidays with young kids are really about. Expectations set the tone and can make or break holidays. I found it so helpful to be reminded that holidays with young kids, isn’t about the holiday, (because let’s face it, it’s beyond exhausting), it’s about making memories.

Our boys have been fascinated with rocks and bones and fossils for awhile now. This road trip to the Jenolan Caves has just fed their curiosity and wonder about the world around them.

This particular road trip was extra special, because thanks to the eight full sized adult seats, we could comfortably bring Grandpa along on the road trip. Here’s my favourite photo from our family trip to the Jenolan Caves.

It was a candid shot, but captures such a precious memory. That’s Mr 3’s hand in Grandpa’s hand, (while one of the twin 5’s tried to “have a look” too). How lovely that Grandpa could be there with his grandsons when they were lucky enough to score a limestone crystal from our tour guide during our tour of the Imperial caves.

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The post Family Vacation Ideas: Road Trips by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

What does it take to get a family of four kids under four out into the city on a cold Winter’s night? A giant chandelier hanging over crowds of people. The Vivid Sydney Festival is an annual showcase of lights throughout the city of Sydney. The immense light projections transform an otherwise quiet winter’s night into a roaring night’s trade.

There are creative displays of light dotted throughout the city. We only caught a snippet of them as we spent most of our time waiting for our dinner. We did finally get our dinner and found a spot to quickly gobble up our meal.

Some tips for future years:

• The light displays switch on at six o-clock. Plan to get there before six o-clock as parking lots get full very quickly and street parking is near impossible to get.
• Eat dinner before heading out and bring snacks for the walk.
• If you’re going to eat dinner upon arrival in the city, make a reservation or BYO.
• Rug up well as temperatures can drop quickly as the night progresses.

There were brief moments where I could take a quick shot of the beautiful canvas that was the city of Sydney. Our children enjoyed the night; (N&M even saw a huge Batman signal beamed onto a building). We made it through the night. We didn’t lose any of our children in the crowd (or in evelators). We will be back again next year.

N & M: 4 years
E: 1 year, 11 months
K: 6 months

 June 2012

The post About Sydney: Vivid 2012 by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

 
However, what I really adore about the Hairy Maclary series is that the stories aren’t just filled with words that rhyme just for the sake of rhyming. It’s an authentic text. The characters are developed, there is a plot, there is a witty end and all wrapped up with a wonderful sense of  humour.

 
We were lucky enough to recently see Hairy Maclary and Friends, an interactive stage show adaptation of the books.

 
The venue, Sydney Opera House, was exciting enough. However, when the boys saw the characters brought to life on stage, (by actors in very clever costumes), they were speechless.

 
Once they got over their star-struck state, they participated in the singing and actions and before we knew it, we had to say goodbye to our favourite book characters.

Oh well, we can always meet them again in our books.

 N&M: 3 years, 7 months
E: 1 year, 6 months
K: 1 month

The post Book Feature (& Stage Show): Hairy Maclary by Pauline appeared first on Lessons Learnt Journal.

Some things are different: the gigantic corsage that once adorned my chest is replaced with a baby tightly wrapped to me with her sleepy wrap; my date’s responsibilities has extended from one young lady, to a lady and four young children.

The place however remains the same –
it is still filled with many strange and wonderful things.

SKELETONS

INSECTS

DINOSAURS

When N&M entered the dinosaurs exhibit they were taken aback (and a bit frightened) by the sheer size of the dinosaur bones. The dinosaur sounds playing throughout the exhibit also ensured they stayed close by.

They got to touch some dinosaur eggs and also dug up some dinosaur fossils.

DANGEROUS AUSTRALIAN ANIMALS

N, M & E spent a long time around a giant bench / touch screen. Different dangerous Australian animals would suddenly pop up and “bite” you.

KIDSPACE
A wonderful area for under 5’s to touch different artefacts and play.

M spotted some LIVE frogs!

The place remains the same,
it is still filled with many strange and wonderful things,
and since that first dance with the man who would be my husband,
many wonderful things have happened.

N&M: 3 years, 7 months
E: 1 year, 6 months
K: 1 month

This post was shared in the following linky parties:

It’s Playtime
Today at Play
For the Kids Friday
Play Academy

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