"ALWAYS BRING DUCT TAPE" FAMILY VACATION TIPS w/ MOM

Summary

Episode Summary: "ALWAYS BRING DUCT TAPE" FAMILY VACATION TIPS w/ MOM

Release Date: June 17, 2025
Hosts: Kelly Stumpe and Lizz St. John
Guest: Chris (Mother)

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Introduction to the Episode

In this heartfelt and informative episode, Kelly and Lizz invite their mother, Chris, to share invaluable insights on planning and navigating family vacations. Drawing from Chris's extensive experience as a stay-at-home mom of five and her own adventurous upbringing, the episode offers practical tips, personal anecdotes, and heartfelt advice aimed at helping families create memorable and stress-free vacations.

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Planning a Family Vacation

Selecting the Ideal Time and Destination

Chris emphasizes the importance of choosing a vacation time that aligns with everyone's schedules, especially considering activities like sports for older children. She suggests establishing a consistent vacation week each year to simplify planning and ensure everyone's availability.

Chris (04:35): "Pick a week that's convenient, that works with everybody's sports schedules... make it as simple as possible to get everybody together."

When narrowing down destinations, Chris advises families to consider their interests and preferred activities. Whether it's a water-based getaway like the Lake of the Ozarks or an active adventure, selecting a destination that caters to the family's unique preferences ensures everyone enjoys the trip.

Chris (05:19): "Pick a destination that you want. What do you guys like to do?"

Creating a Flexible Schedule

Chris advocates for a structured yet flexible itinerary. Drawing inspiration from summer camps and dude ranches, she recommends outlining daily activities while allowing room for spontaneity. This balance helps maintain a sense of routine without feeling rigid.

Chris (10:45): "Decide once, decide once. That way... it's not like hard and fast. It's an outline and a starting point."

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Budgeting Tips

Cost-Saving Strategies Without Sacrificing Fun

Budgeting for a family vacation doesn't mean cutting out the fun. Chris shares several strategies to stretch dollars effectively:

• Shared Expenses: Traveling with another family can significantly reduce costs by sharing accommodations and transportation.

  Chris (07:19): "Go to vacation with another family that has kids your age... share the expense."

• Home-Cooked Meals: Limiting dining out to one meal a night and preparing the rest at your accommodation helps save money and offers healthier meal options.

  Chris (07:53): "Maybe pick one night to go out to dinner and the rest you figure out at home or do takeout."

• Utilizing Local Resources: Exploring free or low-cost activities, such as parks and nature walks, ensures plenty of entertainment without breaking the bank.

  Chris (08:00): "Every area has a park, every area has free activities to do."

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Balancing Rest and Activities

Structuring Daily Schedules for Optimal Enjoyment

Balancing active pursuits with adequate rest is crucial for a harmonious family vacation. Chris suggests creating a daily agenda that includes time for morning activities, midday downtime, and evening engagements.

Chris (08:37): "We like to get up and be active, have lunch, have like downtime... ready to ramp it up again for the evening activities."

This structured approach ensures that both children and adults have time to recharge, preventing burnout and maintaining high energy levels throughout the trip.

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Handling Vacation Disasters

Turning Mishaps into Memorable Stories

One of the standout moments of the episode is Chris recounting a challenging family trip to Yosemite National Park. Due to an RV mishap, the family had to navigate unexpected obstacles, including a damaged generator and an unplanned detour through Death Valley without air conditioning.

Chris (13:42): "I didn't get my first choice... So, that being said, we get there and I knew it was going to be tight, but the RV fit going in, but it did not fit going out. So on the way out of the park, we severely damaged the generator and the awning."

Despite these hurdles, Chris highlights the importance of maintaining a positive attitude. By embracing the chaos and finding humor in the situation, the family was able to adapt and create lasting memories.

Chris (22:44): "It's the only thing you can control is your attitude."

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Keeping Kids Entertained During Travel

Practical Travel Hacks for Long Journeys

Keeping children engaged during lengthy car rides or flights can be challenging. Chris shares effective strategies to ensure the kids remain entertained and comfortable:

• Personal Snack Bags: Providing each child with their own stash of snacks eliminates the need for sharing and reduces conflicts.

  Chris (27:31): "I gave everybody their own pack of gum... this is your bag. Eat it at your leisure."

• Individual Activity Packs: Equipping each child with their own set of toys or crafts encourages independent play and creativity.

  Chris (28:24): "You just need to watch a screen the whole time... but save some time for the other stuff too."

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Building Family Traditions

The Evolution of Meaningful Vacation Rituals

Family traditions add a layer of meaning to vacations, making them more memorable. Chris talks about how traditions naturally evolved for her family without force, emphasizing the importance of keeping things simple and enjoyable.

Chris (29:20): "Our trips evolved... they're not forced."

One notable tradition Kelly mentions is their annual meal at the Lake of the Ozarks, centered around enjoying ribs. Such simple, consistent rituals foster a sense of continuity and anticipation for future trips.

Kelly (29:55): "We're having ribs. And it's just a meal and it's nothing crazy."

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Advice for Overwhelmed Moms

Letting Go of Perfection and Embracing the Journey

For moms feeling the pressure to create the "perfect" family vacation, Chris offers reassuring advice:

• Discarding Perfection: Accept that imperfections are inevitable and focus on creating positive memories despite challenges.

  Chris (32:12): "There’s no such thing [as a perfect vacation]. Put that out of your mind."

• Embracing Flexibility: Allowing for unexpected moments and maintaining a flexible mindset can transform potential stressors into enjoyable experiences.

  Chris (37:03): "You'll know your memories of it are gonna be fond if your reactions to the things that go wrong were positive."

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Conclusion and Key Takeaways

The episode wraps up with a reflection on the true essence of family vacations: the moments of togetherness, the ability to adapt, and the creation of lasting memories. Chris underscores the importance of attitude, flexibility, and embracing the unexpected to ensure that every family trip, no matter how chaotic, becomes a cherished story.

Final Words from the Hosts:

Kelly (44:23): "Thank you for listening to the Carpool Podcast with Kelly and Liz. Make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode."

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Notable Quotes

• Chris on Simplifying Planning:
  "Pick a week that's convenient, that works with everybody's sports schedules... make it as simple as possible to get everybody together." ([04:35])

• On Positive Attitude:
  "It's the only thing you can control is your attitude." ([22:44])

• Embracing Imperfections:
  "There’s no such thing [as a perfect vacation]. Put that out of your mind." ([32:12])

• Creating Memories Through Challenges:
  "You'll know your memories of it are gonna be fond if your reactions to the things that go wrong were positive." ([37:03])

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Final Thoughts

"ALWAYS BRING DUCT TAPE" offers a blend of humor, practical advice, and heartfelt stories that resonate with parents navigating the complexities of family vacations. Chris's candid recounting of both triumphant and tumultuous trips serves as a relatable guide, reminding listeners that the true value of a vacation lies in the bonds strengthened and the stories created along the way.

Transcript

[Kelly]

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[Liz]

Your mom.

[Kelly]

Time off starts now. Welcome back to the carpool podcast with Liz and Chris. Kelly is out of town this week, so we have Chris, our mother, filling in for us today. And thank you so much for the last minute.

[Liz]

It's my pleasure.

[Kelly]

You are our most highly requested guest every single time. So it's like a really big gift for us to like have you on the pod.

[Liz]

It's not like you don't know how to reach me.

[Kelly]

Well, mom, every time you come on, it's like our most popular episode, really. You just need to be like a permanent guest because like, honestly, it is so much better when you're on on the podc. But I feel like if you want to know anything about our mom, how she raised five kids, what her life was like before having kids, look, we've covered so much like about you personally, so I Wanted to record a podcast that had, like, a topic. And a topic that you are honestly kind of an expert in is family vacations.

[Liz]

Thank you.

[Kelly]

And I know you don't totally feel like that, but here are her credentials. Stay at home, mom to five children. Five kids in eight years. Like, things were crazy. We traveled a lot when we were young.

[Liz]

We did.

[Kelly]

We went to Canada multiple times, Mexico multiple times. We went to dude ranches in Colorado. We went to the beach. We went to the Lake of the Ozarks all the time. We took RV trips. Like, you covered. We covered a lot of ground. Only thing you never did was Disney.

[Liz]

Yeah, I'm not a. Not a Disney mom.

[Kelly]

We never went to Disney. So that's the only area I would say in family vacations that you have nothing to say about. But I think you're probably a wealth of knowledge in other aspects of it. And you took five kids all over, and to this day, you still plan yearly family vacations. They look different now, but they're kind of iconic. We have your iconic whiteboard. We need to touch on that. And I just, like, want to dive in and get your advice to moms who are like, what the heck is this? Because this is not what I remember a vacation being. Like.

[Liz]

Planning a vacation can be very overwhelming.

[Kelly]

Yeah, I get that. So I want to just dive right in and I'm going to rapid fire this because let's go. This is a tangible takeaway kind of podcast. This is like, get your notebook out. We're taking notes. Right. So let's start at the beginning. What's the very first step you take when planning a family vacation?

[Liz]

You know, everybody, obviously everybody's family is different. I think the first thing you have to do. And I was talking to some of my friends because you did give me advance warning. We were talking about vacations, and I just wanted to get some other takeaways. And I think what's really important when you have kids, and so many kids are, especially if you're a mom with older kids, they're in sports, it's important to pick a week that's convenient, that works with everybody's sports schedules.

[Kelly]

And.

[Liz]

And then if you can pick a week and just lock in that week, like for.

[Kelly]

For life.

[Liz]

For life. Like, basically for the foreseeable future. We are always going on a vacation. The 4th of July, or we're always going on a vacation, XYZ week, whatever. My friend Beth, who has planned vacations for her family for 30 years, goes, we picked a week and we picked a Destination that was easy for all of us to get to. Some could drive, you could fly, whatever. But then nobody had to say, where are we going? How are we getting there? How long are we going to be there? Do I have to take off work? You just know. And I think that's the first thing. Make it as simple as possible to get everybody together.

[Kelly]

And so how would you suggest, like, narrowing down those locations?

[Liz]

I guess it's what you like to do. We wanted to see a lot of different things. So for us, we could go to the lake if I wanted a water experience. So we went to the lake a lot. And there were years we didn't take a vacation, but we went to the lake for a couple weeks, which is.

[Kelly]

Just as much work as going anywhere else.

[Liz]

It is, but it's yes and no. What's nice is you know what to expect. You know what stores are there, you know where the grocery store is. You kind of get a routine. Like everybody kind of knows when we go. It's pizza the first night. And dad and I would always go out to dinner the first night. And then we'd have family time, like sports activities. In the morning, we do the water sports. And then you were just kind of on your own. But, um, I think the main thing is just knowing where you're going and making it comfortable for everybody. Pick a destination that you want. What do you guys like to do?

[Kelly]

Because every family is different. Like, we're not really beach people. Like you said, if we wanted a water experience, we would go to the lake of the Ozarks. Our family, like, our big family, has a house that we all share out there. So we would just like go there. And we're also a very active family, so we're not lay on the beach for eight hours a day. Some people are, and like, that's wonderful they want to do, and that's wonderful. So just like not trying to force. Force yourself to do something that is unnatural to you or to your family.

[Liz]

Right. I agree.

[Kelly]

What is your approach to budgeting for a family trip? Any tips for stretching dollars without cutting fun?

[Liz]

You know, for me, I think the, the fun part is just being together. I like the kind of the summer camp approach or a dude ranch approach to a vacation where you're making a craft that doesn't cost a lot of money. You know, you have time. Maybe you're taking a nature walk or you're on the beach. You're walking, looking for seashells that doesn't cost a lot of money. If it's too expensive to fly. Pick a destination where you can drive, you know, or share the expense. Go to vacation with another family that has kids your age.

[Kelly]

That's an activity right there for the kids to go and just.

[Liz]

Right. Or maybe you have cousins. Like, you're going with some cousins and aunts and uncles and you just pick a place, share the expenses.

[Kelly]

Hit up a grocery store. Don't eat out every meal, pack sandwiches.

[Liz]

And with kids, like, I'd rather drive a nail in my foot than take 10 kids out to dinner at a restaurant. Like, it's awful. Like, you have two families, like even us with five kids going to dinner and saying you want a reservation for seven people. And then maybe you got grandma and grandpa with you, it's 10 and they got somebody else that's 12. Like, it's awful.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

So you maybe pick one night to go out to dinner and the rest you, you figure out at home or do takeout.

[Kelly]

I mean, just in the same way that you. Every area has a park, every area has free activities to do. You just gotta find out what those are. And I mean, it's, it's so corny to say, but like, really on a vacation, it seems like it's not about the destination, it's about the journey. Especially in our, our RV trips.

[Liz]

Right.

[Kelly]

Like, we have so many memories on just the, the craziness and the driving and in between the destinations that that's, that's where it all really is. How do you balance rest and activities on a family trip?

[Liz]

I kind of like, again, I'm a schedule girl. I like this. To me, the schedule makes me relax because I like to get up and we're, we're morning family. So we like to get up, be active, have lunch, have like downtime when, you know, every kid has to take a nap. Our downtime quiet time is usually 1 to 3, 4 o' clock. We're ready to ramp it up again for the evening activities dinner.

[Kelly]

Let's talk about the schedule, because you keep throwing out summer camp schedule. If you have seen our family vacations on Instagram, you know that Chris has a whiteboard that she writes down. This is what the agenda is for the day. And some people have DM'd us saying like that, look, that stresses me out.

[Liz]

I, I can understand that.

[Kelly]

And if it stresses you out, then it's not that. That's okay if it's not for you. But I think it's so important to know, like when she says like 8am pickleball, and then 11am is stretch or whatever. Whatever it is, it's not like hard and fast. Like, it is a. It's an outline and it's a starting point.

[Liz]

Right.

[Kelly]

So let's talk. Let's talk about your schedule. How do you. When are you coming up with the schedule? The day before. Are you coming up with it before we leave for the vacation? How. What are you planning for?

[Liz]

I definitely give myself a framework before we go, Especially if we're going to do it like with the little kids. If we're going to do a craft, I have to have the craft supplies. Like, I got to know what we're going to do. And I really do pull my inspiration from the summer camps and the dude ranches that I went to as a kid and that we have gone to. I love that there's activities for adults and there's activities for kids and there's activities with adults and kids together. A lot of those are game oriented, which I think creates excitement and it's just, it's fun and everybody can come together. I like a craft. I like to exercise. Even if it's just a nature walk. You're looking for seashells or you're playing pickleball, or maybe you guys are doing some water sports, going swimming. Just, I mean, you know, it's endless. It's a bicycle ride.

[Kelly]

It's the decide once theory.

[Liz]

Absolutely, yeah. Decide once, decide once.

[Kelly]

That way. So let's say we know we want to be active in the morning. So today's activity is nature walk. Well, we don't all have to fight over if it's going to be pickleball and did we make the pickleball reservations or is it going to be walk on the beach or whatever it's going to be? It's like, no, today it's a nature walk.

[Liz]

Right.

[Kelly]

It's been decided. If you want to go on the nature walk, go on the nature walk. If you don't want to go on the nature walk, don't go on the nature walk. But then we're not wasting time trying to figure out what we're going to do.

[Liz]

Yes. And we are, we are of a family of cat. You've heard herding cats. Like, if there's too many people trying to decide what to do, nothing happens. So I throw it out there. I'm going to probably do what's on the schedule. Nobody's required to do it. It just gives you a framework for your day. And I do like to. I do like to put in some downtime because everybody needs to get away from everybody. Or maybe somebody wants to go do something on their own. You got four or five hours where we're not getting back together till 5 or 6 o' clock. So make it your own day.

[Kelly]

Make it your own day. What's one family vacation disaster that turned into a funny memory?

[Liz]

Well, we have so many. It's hard to have so many. It's hard to choose just one. In fact, I was talking to Janice. She's been a very dear friend of mine for years. And I'm just saying that for everybody who doesn't know her, she has five kids. We have five kids. We would go on trips and, you know, some invariably, something always goes wrong. And eventually you start talking about what went wrong, and then everybody's laughing, like two years later. And it dawned on us, like, we're not having fun till something goes wrong.

[Kelly]

We're not talking about how it was seamless, a seamless ride down to the lake. We're not talking about how it was a perfect day. The boat.

[Liz]

No. What do you remember and what do you laugh about? The things that go wrong. And then Janice was also saying, you make these events of your life part of your story. And your story is interesting when you're talking about how you reacted to the things that go bad. Like, and it's a great opportunity for parents to teach your kids how to handle adversity with grace, with a positive attitude, to not let it ruin your trip.

[Kelly]

Yeah. Near your day.

[Liz]

Right. So the worst. I'm back to your question. That was a long no, but it's.

[Kelly]

Good because I want to. I want to actually dive into all of that. So let's talk about family disasters.

[Liz]

Probably one of the top family disasters was we were in Yosemite national park and we had an RV that. And I had to book this RV spot like the year before because they sell out so fast. And I have my hand on a button. I have, like, four spots in Yosemite that our RV will fit in because it was a long one and I had to push a button and I missed the first spot. I didn't get. I got my third choice.

[Kelly]

Wow.

[Liz]

So, that being said, we get there and I knew it was going to be tight, but the RV fit going in, but it did not fit going out. So on the way out of the park, we severely damaged the generator and the awning. And this is why you always pack duct tape, people. I don't care where you're going, you pack duct tape.

[Kelly]

Okay? Tangible takeaway. Get your notebooks out, pack Duct tape.

[Liz]

Duct tape. So we had to duct tape the awning to the RV because it was flapping in the wind. And then so as we're leaving Yosemite, we were supposed to go down to Lake Powell, and we were gonna drive from Yosemite to Lake Powell, which is about probably a, I don't know, five, six hour drive. I can't remember at the moment. But we had to make a detour because now we don't have a generator, which means we have air conditioning where dad is driving and I are sitting. But there's no air conditioning in the back of the rv.

[Kelly]

I need to paint the RV picture for everyone before you go any further. Okay, guys, like, we weren't young kids when we're doing this. We're in high school. It's in. We're in one rv. We're seven.

[Liz]

You and Kelly.

[Kelly]

Me and Kelly works. Craig in high school.

[Liz]

Craig was probably in junior high.

[Kelly]

Okay. I say that because we're tall. So we've got seven people. Me, Kelly, and Craig are all six foot, plus Sydney and Grayson. So we've got Kelly and Grayson sleeping in one direction on, like, a pull out couch. Me and Sydney, our feet are at Kelly and Grayson's heads on another pull out couch. Craig's sleeping on a mat in the.

[Liz]

Floor, in the kitchen. In the kitchen. We call it a kitchen.

[Kelly]

It's, you know, the main living area. Craig's on the floor with the dogs. But yeah, or we only brought one dog on that one.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

And you guys are in, like, the master bedroom. So, like, it's. It's close quarters. We're 17 days, guys. It wasn't a cute little, little, little week long thing. It was 17 days. We were living in this RV.

[Liz]

I remember taking a picture, and I will try to find this picture that would be great of what the RV looked like in the morning when we woke up.

[Kelly]

I would love to see it.

[Liz]

It was a complete disaster. And then you got to realize you have to pack all that up and put it all away. And then you got to turn that into, like, a kitchen that you can cook something in.

[Kelly]

Every single stop, something went wrong. Every single stop, something went wrong. Something new went wrong.

[Liz]

This is what I remember telling dad. I'm like, this is what it must have been like. Imagine you're a pioneer and you're a husband and wife with kids, and like, there's no help. Like, nobody's coming. Something goes wrong. And I'm like, this is why these marriages lasted is because they needed each other to Survive.

[Kelly]

Dang.

[Liz]

Literally.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Like, dad needed me to do whatever I had to do, and he had to put his brain around a problem. And sometimes, like, one time, it was probably, like, our 19th disaster, and even Sydney and Grayson were like, well, we'll cook dinner while you guys take care of this problem. And I think I sent the big kids into this RV park. Laundromat to do laundry. Dad and I are trying to solve the problem, and Sydney and Grayson are literally cooking dinner, and they're, like, 8 and 10.

[Kelly]

Okay, let's get back to the Yosemite. Yosemite disaster.

[Liz]

And this was not the big disaster. Yeah. Yeah. So we have no air conditioning. And to get to. There's one place that will fix our rv. We find this out, and it's Las Vegas. I'm like, well, we weren't actually going to stop in Las Vegas. We were going to go to Lake Powell, which is near Las Vegas. But, okay, we're going to make a. A diversion. But to get to Las Vegas, we have to drive through Death Valley. This is June.

[Kelly]

No air conditioning.

[Liz]

No air conditioning.

[Kelly]

Seven people.

[Liz]

Seven people and a dog. And I did have a fan. So we had the fan going. We had the windows open.

[Kelly]

Windows open. Yeah.

[Liz]

And then, like, there was a point where I'm like. So we had. The gps Was not quite as advanced as now, but we did have, like, a gps. And then I also had my roadmap, and I'm like. And we had, like, a third of a tank of gas at this point. And I'm like. And we get, like, nine miles a gallon. I'm like, okay, this. The GPS says this. The roadmap says this. We have got to get gas. So we can't keep following this roadmap because we got to get off and find a place to get gas. And I was getting very, very scared, and dad pulled over so I could. I didn't want to drive too far because we were low on gas.

[Kelly]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Liz]

And there was, like, this pile of, like, I don't know, sand. Literally, we're in the middle of nowhere. You've seen that. You've seen that image with that straight desert highway, and there's nothing.

[Kelly]

That's where we were.

[Liz]

That's where we were. And I'm like, kids, I want you to get out and look around, because you were officially in the middle of nowhere. And I was trying to make light of it for you guys. And inside, I'm panicking. And we ended up going with the paper map, which showed us a town that said it had gas, and it did. And we filled up the tank. Oh, and we had to have diesel.

[Kelly]

Oh, of course.

[Liz]

Of course. So we found that, and then we made our way to Las Vegas. We had. Were those people that you talk about when they're checking in at Caesar's palace who look like ragamuffins and they have a freaking dog with them?

[Kelly]

Well, we had to stay at Caesar's palace because you were trying to find a hotel that was dog friendly. In Caesar's palace. Psa. It is. Shout out. Caesar's Palace. Um, we hadn't showered in four days.

[Liz]

We looked awful.

[Kelly]

We looked awful. I will never forget because I. At that point, you had. I guess we'd gotten. We've gotten multiple hotel rooms, so I think it was, like, maybe just me and Kelly to a room, or maybe it was me, Kelly and Grayson or, like, one other girl. It was paradise. Oh, I know that shower. I was never been so thankful for a shower. It's like I could see the grime in the drain. And it was the most luxurious experience of my entire life.

[Liz]

We'd been making do with camp spigots and warm water in a big spaghetti pot.

[Kelly]

I mean, a literal spigot. And there's, like, maggots in the bottom of it. Like, I can't even.

[Liz]

And her hair was, like, long. I'm like, don't let touch the ground.

[Kelly]

I can't even paint the picture enough. But it was. It was. It was great. And it was really fun. And actually, we weren't supposed to stay in a hotel or in Vegas, but it was so much fun.

[Liz]

It was so fun.

[Kelly]

We had a great time. And we were supposed to go to the Grand Canyon. And you still wanted to do that. So then you guys pivoted, and we're like, we're going to do helicopter ride instead of, like, driving up to it. And that was. That was such a cool experience. My first. I never. I've never been in a helicopter. It was such a cool way to see the Grand Canyon. And it was just like you constantly pivoting to still make it work and, like, ended up being literally what we're talking about.

[Liz]

Right?

[Kelly]

And you're in dad's positive attitudes that. Our dad is the most positive person I know.

[Liz]

Yeah, he really is.

[Kelly]

Like, it's. It's crazy how positive he is. And so anytime something went wrong, it was. It was an opportunity. Yeah, an opportunity to figure something out. An opportunity for. For. For something I don't even know. But I think if you guys would have Been more stressed out or had let us seen that, we. We would have definitely internalized that. And, like, we would have felt right. We would have felt that. But because you guys kept it so light and so positive, we were able to continue to have fun even. Because when we, when you stopped in Death Valley, it was like a mound of rocks. And we, we played and we ran around on these rocks. And looking back, I can imagine you're probably like, in the rv, like, okay, they're fine. They're running on rocks. What the heck are we gonna do?

[Liz]

Like, we can't make a wrong turn. Like, yeah, I mean, we had food and water and there probably was cell service, but I did not want to run out of gas in the middle of the desert because, like, with no air conditioning. Yeah, with no air conditioning, literally. What do you do? So I think the main thing I want people to try to do, if you're looking for real advice, is you have to embrace that things are going to go wrong and you have to find a way to make light of it. And is it easy? No. No, it's not easy. But, you know, my dad always said if you smile or even make yourself chuckle, your brain is registering that as happiness. And eventually your body will and your mind will believe what your body is trying to achieve. So just fake it till you make it, girls. Fake it till you make it. And keep an attitude good. And know that that's gonna make the best story down the road.

[Kelly]

Yeah. The only thing you can't in. In those moments, the only thing you can control is your attitude.

[Liz]

It's the only thing you got.

[Kelly]

It's the only thing you got. Today's episode is brought to you by Clean, Simple Eats. I talk all the time about how much I love Clean Simple Eats. So here would be. Here would be my first order. If I was going to place one, I would do a variety pack of protein powders because they have a lot of flavors and there's something for everyone out there. But I think you have to, like, try the flavors to know which one you're going to like the best. I would also just throw a big bag of Vanill because you know you're going to go through that between smoothies. Add in your oatmeal, add in your pancakes, whatever. Maddie's personal favorite is the mint chocolate cookie. That one's delicious as well. I'm adding it to my Ninja Creamy. And all of their protein powders are grass fed whey protein. And each serving has 20 grams of protein. We all know how important it is to get enough protein in every day and clean simple eats is the most delicious way to do so. And we do have a code. You can visit cleansimpleats.com and use code CARPOOL10 checkout for 10 off your order. That's cleansimpleats.com code CARPOOL10 for 10 off your order link is also in the show Notes Today's episode is brought to you by Caraway. Quick question. When's the last time you replaced your pots and pans? If you're still cooking with the scratched up non stick mystery metal hand me downs, it's time for an upgrade. Let me introduce you to Caraway, the cookware brand everyone is talking about. Their non toxic ceramic coated cookware is not only beautiful with modern colors that actually look good on your stovetop, but it's completely free of harmful chemicals like pfas, PTFE or and pfoa. That means safer meals for your family and less scrubbing for you. And just as a reminder, their iconic cookware set comes with a saute pan, fry pan, dutch oven and saucepan plus lids for all of them, a canvas lid holder and a magnetic pan rack for storage. It's the ultimate kitchen setup and saves you money versus buying the pieces individually. So you can visit CarawayHome.com the Carpool to take an additional 10% off your next purchase. This deal is exclusive for our listeners, so again, that's carawayhome.com thecarpool or use code the carpool at checkout Caraway Non Toxic Cookware Made Modern Today's episode is brought to you by Rocket Money. As much as I want to be a budget spreadsheet girl, I can never keep up with it. I've tried so many times to go create a spreadsheet, fill it all in, and I just never do it. Which is why I'm so happy that I use Rocket Money's premium services. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that finds and cancels unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending and helps you lower your bills so that you can grow your savings. The Rocket Money dashboard gives you a clear view across all of your accounts. So it is cool because you can connect multiple bank accounts, multiple cards, so you can really get a very clear view of where everything is going. And they have it very nicely categorized so you can see how much you're spending on groceries, shopping, etc. Things like that. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to 740 a year when using all of the app's premium features so you can cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Download the Rocket Money app and enter our show. Name the carpool with Kelly and Liz in the survey so they know we sent. Wait. Download Rocket Money app today and tell them you heard about it from the carpool. Okay, looking back, what trips do you think were the most successful and why? Maybe that's kind of what we were just.

[Liz]

Yeah, I'm. I think it's nice when you have a variety of things to do, and there were times when you guys might have been bored, but that the boredom leads to a new level of fun. And it's an uncomfortable transition for kids and adults, this boredom transition. But when you allow yourself to get through that, that's when all the creative fun happens. Like, I would listen to you guys back in the RVs, and you'd be so bored. We'd be on, like, hour eight in the rv, and all of a sudden, everybody'd start giggling again because Craggar had come up with a new game. And everybody's it. And you're. You all were having fun. I don't know.

[Kelly]

Yeah. Is there. Okay, let's. Let's go in a different direction. How did you keep five kids. Well, how'd you keep five kids entertained during long car rides or flights? And do you have any travel hacks?

[Liz]

Travel hacks. Let's see. When we would have to fly on an airplane. I might have even done it on the rv, but maybe not to the same degree as big Ziploc bag. And I gave everybody their own pack of gum. You know, I wasn't big on junk food, as you know, but I'd give you, like, maybe a candy bar, some suckers, Fruit roll up. A fruit roll up. Some Gushers.

[Kelly]

Oh, the gushers.

[Liz]

Some chips or crackers. Cheese and crackers, whatever. But that was your bag. You didn't have to share any of it. When you're one of five, you usually have to share stuff. But I'm like, this is your bag. Eat it at your leisure. But it's your only bag of snacks.

[Kelly]

You want your gushers at 8am you can have them. But three o' clock rolls around, all.

[Liz]

You got left is pretzels, and Grayson doesn't have to share hers with you.

[Kelly]

Yeah, exactly. That's a great hack.

[Liz]

I think it helped. And everybody loved knowing they had their own bag in their backpack.

[Kelly]

It was so fun to have your own. Your own little pantry.

[Liz]

Right. And every kid has their own backpack. You pack the stuff you like to do. The little polly pockets and guys and I don't know what kind of toys they have now. But you know, I know screen time is so easy and you want to use it on a plane, but save some time for the other stuff too. You know, you don't need to watch a screen the whole time.

[Kelly]

No, but you know, half it if you need it. Right. Because sometimes you do.

[Liz]

Right.

[Kelly]

But no, those, those snack bags are like that. That's a tangible. That's tangible. Day to day. What little traditions or routines. Routines made family trips more meaningful. I feel like so many people are trying to figure out what's my family tradition going to be? And I had to start it now. And like, so what do you. Was there anything that you did that you. Any traditions that you started or. Or routines that we did that.

[Liz]

You know, we kind of. Our trips evolved? Like, I didn't start off with the lofty goal of creating amazing family traditions. I think they just evolve when they're. They're not forced and.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

So, yeah, we would. You'd take a vacation. But maybe the tradition is, you know, some. A fun dinner at home or we always have a game night.

[Kelly]

I think a lot of our traditions I'm thinking about our family vacations are kind of revolved around food. And it's like if we're going to the 4th of July, we're going to the Ozarks, we're having ribs.

[Liz]

We're having ribs.

[Kelly]

And like, the ribs is the tradition. And like, that's the big.

[Liz]

That's the big thing.

[Kelly]

And it's just a meal and it's nothing crazy.

[Liz]

Right.

[Kelly]

You know, and you don't have to pack an extra thing. And it's just. It's what we remember and it's what we talk about.

[Liz]

Yeah. Keep it. Don't put pressure on yourselves.

[Kelly]

Just don't put pressure on yourself.

[Liz]

Let the fun happen. And the traditions will evolve.

[Kelly]

Yeah, they'll evolve over time. And if you try and force it, like, your kids might not be interested in that thing. And it's like, I don't. I don't know. I just. I don't think you can force it. And I also think that it. Because you didn't do it one year, that doesn't make it. No, that doesn't not make it a tradition. Like you can start traditions at any time in your life.

[Liz]

Right. I mean, one little hack, I think that is nice is if you are on vacation. Everybody wants that nice vacation photo takes A little bit of planning. So I think you have two schools of thought. Either you get really good at the tripod and the timer and you get your own picture, or you find a photographer in that area. Plan it on a night. Like my friend Beth said, Plan it on a night when you're already going out to dinner. Everybody's already dressed up. You only have to do this one time so everybody has enough patience to last through it. And you know, you're going to. You're getting a picture and dinner.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

And if that takes a little planning. But that is a huge payoff because then you have beautiful memories.

[Kelly]

You gotta capture it.

[Liz]

You have a beautiful memory with a picture. It could be a Christmas card, you know. Check that box in July. Check that box.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

But I think that that's a good. A good way to keep that forefront and moving for your family photos.

[Kelly]

It's so worth it. It's so worth it to just get it done. And it doesn't have to be the big photo shoot. Everyone's in white on the sand. Like, you don't even have to be matching. You know, you just need the family photo.

[Liz]

No, let's keep, let's not. Let's keep it real. Like.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Let's see how everybody was, remember it the way it was. We don't have to have a, A fake memory of how perfect everything is when it's. We all know it's not that way.

[Kelly]

I really need to find some photo. I, I, I can definitely find photos from her from our RV trips, because it was not. It was not glamorous.

[Liz]

No, there were, There were no pretty family photos in those. Oh, my gosh.

[Kelly]

What's your advice for moms who feel overwhelmed at the idea of a perfect family vacation?

[Liz]

Of course you're overwhelmed, because it. There's no such thing. And it's unattainable.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

So put that out of your mind. Just throw that thought in the trash. You're never gonna have a perfect family vacation. And that's not what makes it perfect.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

It's when something goes wrong and you all come together and how you all react to it, that makes a funny story later. Like, do you remember we were with the Simons? It was a. We were just at our farm. It might have been a spring break or something. And we'd taken a little hay wagon ride.

[Kelly]

Oh, yeah.

[Liz]

You know, all of us and the kids. 10 kids and moms and dads. And it's getting dark, so we're headed back and we get stuck in the creek. And, like, Grayson is probably three at that point, and Ava's probably, what, one?

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

And everybody else is, what, like, 10 to. No, 11. Down to. Whatever you. But you guys were young.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

We have to hike in the dark back to. And we start laughing, and we're singing songs, and we had to hike back to the. To the lodge in the middle of the night, and then we had to figure out the next day how to get that thing out of the creek.

[Kelly]

You and Janice kept it. So I have a lot of memories. I. You and Janice traveled without. Because dad and Paul, Janice, husband, worked really long, hard hours, and you and Janice would either start the vacation, and then they would join us later. I have a lot of memories where it's just you and jan and then 10 kids. And we did try and get Janice to come on this podcast because she.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

She's a wealth of knowledge as well, and we need to get her on at some point, but she couldn't come. It's the. The singing. It's the. All right, all right. This. Not the. Everything's perfect. Even though we're walking. No recognize. This is going wrong. But we're gonna. We're gonna power through anyway. It's a positive attitude. I didn't know this was just gonna be a positive attitude. I thought it was a family vacation, but I think that's. I think that's what it boils down to. See, we just went to Arizona with you guys, and I'll be honest, it didn't feel like a vacation for me. It was hard. It was. It was hard. It wasn't relaxing.

[Liz]

Welcome to the world of motherhood.

[Kelly]

Does it get better?

[Liz]

Yes. But it's still. A vacation for a mom is not a vacation for a kid.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Yeah.

[Kelly]

So that's just something I have to accept.

[Liz]

I think you should. I think everybody kind of needs to accept a certain level of. It's not about you. It's about the memories you're creating for your family, and you kind of have to hold it all together.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

But. Yeah. And I highly recommend trips with cousins or friends.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Because then the kids can entertain themselves. And, like, Janice and I would clean out our refrigerators. We'd loosely talk about what food we each had. And when you got two moms cooking, it's just. It's so much easier.

[Kelly]

It's someone for you to hang out with because.

[Liz]

Right. It's an adult for you to hang out with.

[Kelly]

Somebody else for you to help you with the. I'm sorry to say, at the mom chores. I Don't know if you live in a household where you and your husband get to cook together, but that's just not the reality for some of us. So, like, you know, they're doing other things. Someone has to get in the pool with the kids. And that. That's. For me, that's a dad job. Right.

[Liz]

It takes a village to. To put stuff like this on, and the more hands on deck, the better.

[Kelly]

And sometimes it's just about getting out of that. Like, yeah, go getting out of the house.

[Liz]

Right.

[Kelly]

I love that you guys cleaned out. You got. So if we went to the Ozarks, let's say you and Janice would just clean out your fridges and you would bring all that food with you and we would talk.

[Liz]

Like, I got. Do you have a bag of carrots? Yeah, I got a bag of carrots. Okay, well, yeah, let's bring both. We probably need both of those. Like, what else you got? I'm like, well, I got salami and turkey. And she goes, oh, perfect. I got ham. Like, how many loaves of bread do you have? Like. Like, just clean it out. And, you know, we'd make. We did not go out to eat with you guys. It was just too, too hard, honestly.

[Kelly]

Horrible.

[Liz]

But then. And let's talk about Aunt Susie for a minute, because Aunt Susie brings fun. Like, nobody brings fun.

[Kelly]

Like, no one brings fun.

[Liz]

Yeah, she brings. Talk about your attitude. Aunt Susie always has a fun game for the kids. She always has prizes.

[Kelly]

I know.

[Liz]

And she always has, like, a specialty drink for the adults.

[Kelly]

Yeah. And I think that's leaning into your strengths.

[Liz]

Right. You lean into your own individual strength.

[Kelly]

Can feed a village. Susie has the prizes for everyone. Has the fun game. She has the special. She's got the box. She's got the activity box. Like, she's got the decorations. She's got the decorations. Yes. That is what she enjoys that. Like, she has fun doing that. That brings her joy. So, like, what is that thing for you be that person. Right.

[Liz]

Whatever it is, you don't have to be.

[Kelly]

You don't have to be Chris. You don't have to be Susie. You don't have to be Janice. You just have to be you. But, like, whatever it is that you bring to the table, bring it, Bring.

[Liz]

It and bring it. With a good attitude and a lot of patience.

[Kelly]

Good required. Good attitude. Apparently. I'm, like, so inspired and can I.

[Liz]

Just say one more thing?

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

You won't know if your vacation was a success until about a month or two later.

[Kelly]

Okay. And why is that?

[Liz]

Because it's not always fun in the moment.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

It's fun in the memory.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

So just keep that in mind. And if, you know, if you can say something's gone wrong now we know we're gonna have fun. If you just keep that attitude, you'll know your memories of it are gonna be fond. If your reactions to the things that go wrong were positive.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

Because things.

[Kelly]

Wow, that gave me chills.

[Liz]

Will go wrong because I'm.

[Kelly]

I'm with you. I think had. We had different attitudes in the midst of these RV trips that were just so chaotic and hard at times, we'd be like, well, that was. I have bad memories.

[Liz]

Right.

[Kelly]

But I have good memories from it.

[Liz]

I'm glad.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

And leave time open for, like, don't be so scheduled. I sound like I'm a scheduled person, but don't be so scheduled that you can't allow the freedom of something unexpected to come up. Like, remember the RV trip to South Dakota? We'd rented this. I thought it was just a bus of some sort to drive us around.

[Kelly]

We rented this green Volkswagen, old Volkswagen bus, and he took us to Mount Rushmore. It was, like, a way to go see Mount Rushmore. And he took us up all these twists and turns and, like, had some history, and we had a blast doing it.

[Liz]

The bus was named Fiona.

[Kelly]

The bus was named because it was a big, green.

[Liz]

I don't know. I think it was, like, two buses put together or something. It was strange.

[Kelly]

It was. It was huge. It was weird. Had, like, shag carpet. But we had a great time. And then he was telling us about this other thing we had to seen in South Dakota, and so we're like, oh, well, are you available tomorrow? Like, yeah, I am. So we canceled whatever. Whatever other thing you had, and we did that instead of.

[Liz]

And it was so fun, and it was so fun. Oh, we have to show pictures of us with Fiona the Bus.

[Kelly]

Fiona the bus. The driver's name was Kevin.

[Liz]

Kevin.

[Kelly]

Later. Later in the. In the trip, we stop at this.

[Liz]

It was the Custer General Store or something.

[Kelly]

Custard General Store. They have these, like, taxiderm animals. Dad sees this elk, and he's like, we got to get this elk. And now we're all excited. We're like, we're getting this elk. This, like, taxiderm. Elkhead for the farm. We name him Kevin after our Dr. Driver. After our driver. Kevin is proudly hanging at the farm. And, like, it's cute because James, like, notices, and he's like, dear, dear. And I'm like, yep, that's Kevin.

[Liz]

That's Kevin.

[Kelly]

That's Kevin right there. And, like, it's just making. Make it. It's for the plot. Like, anything can be a plot. Anything can be a memory. So just, like, let it be.

[Liz]

Let it be. Yeah, let it be.

[Kelly]

Let it be.

[Liz]

Let it be.

[Kelly]

Wow. I, like, want to go on bring back the RV trip. Bring it back. Let's run it back. Let's do it.

[Liz]

Let's go. Oh, okay. How about a cute. Just a really quick.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

If you guys haven't been making God's eyes, this is just a really cute little summer craft you can do with your kids on vacation.

[Kelly]

Takeaway.

[Liz]

Take some yarn.

[Kelly]

Okay.

[Liz]

The best ones are the tie dyed yarn where they. They change colors.

[Kelly]

Like the ombre.

[Liz]

The ombre ones where it might be like four or five different colors. You get two sticks, you tie them together in a cross, and then you just start weaving the yarn in and out. And then if you have a little tree in your neighborhood or you save it for Christmas ornaments, but then it's just a fun little camp style, easy craft that anybody four and up could do. Maybe even three.

[Kelly]

Look up God's eye craft. Looks like you can also use popsicle sticks.

[Liz]

Oh, yeah, Popsicle sticks.

[Kelly]

But, you know, sticks if you're just, like, in the woods and you don't want to pack anything.

[Liz]

Exactly.

[Kelly]

Look those up, Mom. I'm inspired. I'm ready to go on a vacation. I'm ready for things to go wrong. I, like, want to put my positive attitude to the test. So thank you so much for joining us on today's episode. You gotta come back.

[Liz]

I'm so happy to do it. I just. I love sharing how much I love my family and the things that we've done, and I just want everybody to just be proud of your family and just have fun together and take all the expectation and throw it out the window.

[Kelly]

Absolutely. Well, thank you so much for listening to the carpool podcast and. Oh, wait, we don't win. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Do we have a ditch to the drive through? Hello.

[Liz]

Always.

[Kelly]

Okay, what are you making?

[Liz]

Okay, I'm gonna tell you what I mean. I'm having George and Hattie over tomorrow because they have a swim lesson and Kelly's out of town. So this is what I call chick fil A. My chick fil a chicken.

[Kelly]

Oh, it's really good.

[Liz]

Okay, so. And we did this when we were all gluten free for a short time, but I still make it the same way, so you get Chicken tenders or chicken breasts that you flatten. You literally roll them in. I don't even put milk on them. I just put them in gluten free breadcrumbs, salt them, put them in a 9 by 13 casserole.

[Kelly]

Do you do an egg wash?

[Liz]

No, I don't do any of that.

[Kelly]

Okay.

[Liz]

That's too much trouble.

[Kelly]

Okay.

[Liz]

It's another dish. We're not talking about getting another dish. Totally.

[Kelly]

I'm trying to make it easy.

[Liz]

So you either roll it in breadcrumbs or gluten free breadcrumbs, whatever you want and salt and just salt it. Then in a 9 by 13, you drizzle semi generously olive oil and then put like six or eight little pats of butter. And then you lay the chicken in there, put it in the oven on 350, 375. I turn it after like 10 minutes. Then I turn it again, maybe 12 minutes. Whatever. You're going to turn it about four times.

[Kelly]

Okay.

[Liz]

It's not going to look good until the last couple turns. Okay. And then I, I turn it at shorter intervals as I go till I get it that golden Y color I like. So whatever. Say you're going 12 minutes, then eight minutes, then six minutes, whatever.

[Kelly]

Okay.

[Liz]

That's it. And you can serve it with a bag Caesar salad. You could, you could throw tortillas in there and do a chicken Caesar wrap or get your chick fil a sauce or make your own if you want to be healthy. But that was some watermelon and a salad.

[Kelly]

Gosh. We were just. When we were in Arizona, we had grilled chicken, bag Caesar salad, watermelon, tomatoes, mozzarella.

[Liz]

Oh, yeah.

[Kelly]

And we were like, this is the best summer meal.

[Liz]

It's so good. It's so easy.

[Kelly]

So good. And it's so easy. Yeah, those are, those are excellent. So if you, you know, don't want to do the chicken nuggets or you don't have chicken nuggets, you can just do this just as easily, right?

[Liz]

Absolutely. And if you want to grill your chicken, I would just say get some Italian dressing. Marinate.

[Kelly]

Has no business. You got to flatten it, though.

[Liz]

You do. You gotta flat, you gotta flatten it so that it cooks even. And this was something I learned late in life because it's so much better if you just pound it out. And like, the kids love to do that. I don't know why, but they love to hit it.

[Kelly]

Yeah.

[Liz]

So you give them a little pat and like, here, let help me flatten this chicken. I mean, they think it's hilarious.

[Kelly]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Liz]

But anyway, yeah, either marinate it in Italian dressing for a couple hours or do the breadcrumbs and cook it in the oven, whatever you got. It's delicious.

[Kelly]

Love it. Well, thank you so much for joining us, Mom. And thank you so much for listening to the Carpool Podcast, and we'll talk to you next time.

[Liz]

Bye.

[Kelly]

Thank you for listening to the Carpool Podcast with Kelly and Liz. Is make sure you're subscribed so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed riding with us, tell everybody you know there's room in.

[Liz]

The car for everyone.