This week our family loaded up in the car to drive down to South Padre Island for a week-long vacation. I’m so excited to unplug and spend quality time with the boys and my family at the beach. It’s almost a six hour drive from Houston, which means we had to plan ahead to make sure the boys would be entertained!

With my family spread out across Texas (from the valley to north Texas), we don’t think much about hoping in the car for a weekend road trip so the boys can spend time with my parents and their cousins. As the boys have gone through different ages and stages over the years, I have had to expand my tricks for keeping them both from going stir crazy.  I wanted to share some of my recent favorite tips that don’t involve screen time.

For full transparency, I am certainly not above a good movie on a road trip.  In fact, I think it’s the perfect time for one!  But a lot of times your destination (like our drive to SPI) is longer than a movie. Plus, if your kids are like mine, you have to mix it up to keep everyone happily distracted from asking “are we there yet” one more time.  Read on below for how I’ve been keeping the boys entertained on the road, which of course helps keeps us driving parents sane and focused! 😉