Unplugging the family is always high on my list. We got rid of our TV 8 years ago, but over the years our home has become filled with different kinds of screens. Say hello to the iPad, the iPhone and my 27-inch iMac. We are a tv-free family who is completely plugged in.

So when I stumbled across Books and Cookies while driving to Santa Monica Beach, I had to stop and check it out. Not knowing what to expect inside, I was blown away by the creativity and energetic vibe that this children’s bookstore emitted.  It’s like a haven for parents who want to get out of the house, yet also want their kids to have an enriching experience. Books take the main stage here, and the fun/cozy furniture invite exploration.

If only every town had a store like this— where reading was cool and the coffee was fresh.

During my 30 minute visit I met the owner, Chudney Ross and we talked briefly about Books and Cookies. I picked her brain about children’s books and she spent some time making up a list of her favorite children’s books for Family Sponge. Check it out here!

Have a favorite children’s bookstore? Share it with us!

When you live three hours from the nation’s oldest city, you kinda have to check it out. So last minute, we packed the truck, loaded the kids and spent the weekend in St. Augustine, Fl. Aside from the horrific heat and humidity, we had a great time exploring the historic fort and the quaint oceanside town chock full of restaurants and beaches galore. We booked our hotel through Priceline Negotiator (my BFF), packed some semi-healthy snacks and had an awesome mini vacation. I think a last minute trip should be on everyone’s summer bucket list! 

St. Augustine trip highlights: 

• Experiencing a canon being fired at Castillo de San Marcos
• Enjoying breakfast at The Bunnery in Old St. Augustine Village (the coffee was incredible)
• Building a “shell castle” on Vilano Beach (the sand at the beach had a higer ratio of shells to sand than I’ve ever seen!)
• Staring out into the Atlantic Ocean at sunset (we grew up on the West coast, so this was a whole new experience)

Breaking routines and heading out on the road is such a freeing thing for me. A year ago I would have cringed at that statment— I was a routine-driven mama. Now that the kids are almost 3 and 5 we really can stretch a day out with lots of activites and skip a nap here and there. Has your experience been the same?

We had plans to take the kids to St. Augustine Beach the first evening we arrived. We got on swimsuits and brought the sand toys, yet when we got to the beach it had dissapeared thanks to high tide. I felt like I was in a Dali painting when we went to walk down the stairs to the beach to only see waves and water at the bottom of the stairs. After a near meltdown, we manage to successful change course and head to the playground, which also had a splash park. Plan B saved the night!

Living in Florida definitely has its perks— and Disney World is high on the list. With the generosity of family and friends, we were able to spend two days at Magic Kingdom and one day at Animal Kingdom.  It was the first vacation we took as a family where we actually felt like we were on vacation.

I wanted to share some things that I learned along the way and hope will help you out if you get the opportunity to take your family to Disney World or Disneyland.

1. BYOF: For some reason, there are rumors going around that you can’t bring food or drinks into the park. Totally wrong! You can bring all the food and drinks you want! We packed two large water bottles and lots of healthy snacks to help sustain us all through the day and in-between meals (almonds, apples, whole-wheat pretzels were big hits).

2. Arrive early. Plan to be at the park at 8:15am, which realistically means more like 8:45 to any family with young kids. The gates open at 9am and you can be one of the very first families in the park. There are no lines for characters, rides and no crowds to maneuver your stroller around. If you wait until 9:30 to walk through the gates, it’s rush-hour down Main Street.

3. Tattoo your phone number on the kids. With the insane amount of people at theme parks, I get a little nervous about losing a kid. You can buy bracelets with your contact information on them for the kids to wear, or you can just take a sharpie and write your phone number around their wrist and save a few bucks.

4. Snag a shaded spot along Main Street for the afternoon parade. Get there at least 15 minutes before if you want to sit curbside and cool off. Ryan stayed with the kids and I ran to the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor and got us all children’s cones with chocolate mouse ears ($2.75 each, which is a steal in Disney World). The portions were HUGE and it was the perfect treat to enjoy while watching the parade.

5. Fast Pass, all the way. For the rides you really want to go on (Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Peter Pan, etc) just get a Fast Pass and save yourself some time and frustration. Fast Pass is free and let’s you shave off 75% of the line wait. When you have little kids, waiting in line is a very stressful job, so save it for the rides that don’t have Fast Passes.

6. Pay attention to days of the week at each theme park. Hit Magic Kingdom on a Sunday, Wednesday or Thursday. Animal Kingdom on a Sunday, Friday or Saturday. Those are the lightest days and will make your trip much more enjoyable. Check out this site for more info on days of the week traffic.

7. Plan your days strategically. Day one is exciting and the kids are full of energy. So take lots of pictures on Day one! Day two will be rough. They will be exhausted, sleep deprived and occasionally collapse in lines. Smiling for pictures is absolutely out of the question. And day three is even worse. If we could go back, we would do Day one at Magic Kingdom. Day two at the hotel pool. Day three at Magic Kingdom, Day four at the pool. And then Day five at Animal Kingdom. (We had a 3-day Florida Resident Park Pass).

8. Autograph book with picture space. Spend the $18 for the autograph/photo book combo and the $6 for the Mickey/princess pen. It’s worth it. Your kids will have fun adding signatures to the book and meeting all the Disney characters. Make sure to take pics at each character signing, because when you get home you can print out the pics and add them to the book. (And if your pen breaks or you lose it while at the park, just head to any store that sells them and show them your receipt. They will gladly replace it.)

9. Entertainment bags for the kids. Make waiting in line a lot easier with travel size tubs of play dough (Clementine Art modeling dough is our fav), coloring books, stickers and when all else fails, the iPhone.

10. Do the Baby Swap. It’s not really advertised, but this is perfect for families with kids that are too young or don’t want to go on a certain ride, yet others want to. For example, some rides our daughter was too short for, while our son was fine. What we would do is my husband and son would tell the Cast Member at the entrance that we wanted a Switch Rider Pass and take it with them on the ride, while I hung out with Clare. Once the ride was over, they would come out and get me. Then Ryan would stay with Clare, and I could ride with Jackson. By getting a “Rider switch pass,” we wouldn’t have to wait in line again.

Disney World with Kids: Our Experience

Here are some pics from our two days at Magic Kingdom. It was a lot of fun and the kids cannot stop talking about it.

Written and photographed by Josh and Jenny Solars of The Happy Family Movement.

It’s unfortunate that the family road trip has gone the way of cassette tapes. Sure, there are still families out there that love to go on road trips, but we seem to be in the minority.

And hey, I understand… it’s not easy traveling in a car for hours on end with little people. But, I’m here to tell you, not only can you make it easier and tolerable, BUT you can make it FUN and ENJOYABLE! It’s totally possible… our family is living proof!

We took off on our first family road trip in the summer of 2009 with our three little kids— Max was 4 1/2, Ava was 2 1/2, and Lia was almost 1. We drove from Kansas City, Missouri to Durango, Colorado. Since then, we’ve road tripped to New Orleans, driven the ENTIRE length of Route 66, road tripped through the Great Smoky Mountains, driven from Kansas City to Washington D.C., and road tripped around Oregon.

Once we took that first trip, we were hooked. And over the years and throughout our many family trips, we’ve discovered some great ways to bring your own fun. Some of these were random moments of brilliance and others we simply stumbled across.

Five Tips for Family Road Trip Fun

1. Make a road trip playlist. If you have an iPod, just create the playlist in iTunes and then put it on your iPod. You can also burn a few CD’s. We recommend upbeat, fun, happy music to get everyone in a good mood. Songs that everyone can sing along to are a great choice too! Either way, don’t leave your road trippin’ tunes up to whatever radio station you can tune into at the moment… come prepared!

2. Get the Fun Finder. Anytime you need to get some fresh air, pull off at a roadside park or rest area and use the Fun Finder to help you decide on a fun family activity. And don’t be afraid to join in with the kids. Family road trips are all about memorable FAMILY experiences and that means YOU need to be involved!

3. Stock up on goodies. Before you leave, head to the Dollar Store or hit up the dollar section at Target. Load up on goodies like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, glow bracelets, plastic dinosaurs, and anything else that catches your eye. Stick all of your goodies in a box or a bag and take it with you on your road trip. Anytime you need some fun, pull over and pull something out of the bag. We’ve been known to bring out our goodies IN the car at times that we couldn’t stop.

4. Actively seek out cheesy gift shops and random quarter machines. You never know what amazingness you’ll find. When we were in the Southwest, we picked up a giant sombrero and used it as a photo prop. When we were in Colorado, we bought stick-on mustaches from a quarter machine. Look for adventure and fun, and you’re sure to find it!

5. Get The Happy Family Movement’s Adventure in a Box: Road Trippin’ kit. The kit comes complete with a manual that walks you through our planning process from beginning to end.  That includes choosing where to go, what to pack (and what to leave behind), how to make the most of each day, and what to do when everything goes south all at once. (Hint: it involves our very best pulled-over-by-the-side-of-the-road-game.) The Road Trippin’ kit also includes activities with detailed instructions. Lots of ‘em. All wrapped up and assigned for specific times of day during a seven-day road trip. The activities build fun right into your family outing.

Josh and Jenny Solar are parents to three kids, Max, Ava, and Lia (and a basset hound named Banana). In addition to being full time photographers, they created The Happy Family Movement in the spring of 2011 to encourage and inspire family togetherness through memorable family experiences and simple ideas for happy family living. The overarching goal of The Happy Family Movement is to rewrite the way our generation views raising kids… to seek out a happy family and find the JOY in parenting all over again.

Join the Discussion

Doesn’t the Solar family make road trips look super doable and so much fun? Share your road trip experience with your little ones in the comments below. Any tips you could share? And don’t forget to check out our Top 12 Things to Bring on a Road Trip and read about this cross country road trip here. Happy road tripping!

A road trip with kids should be fun! My husband and I have done thousands of miles on the open road and just started adding kids into the road trip mix. These 12 items will help keep the fun level high and also help keep sanity along the way. My hope is that you make memories along the drive that your kids will remember and talk about for years to come. Happy driving!

Road trip with children: What to bring

1. Road Trip USA: This travel book has led to countless road trips for my family that we thoroughly enjoyed (including crazy Tinkertown). It has roadtrips going north to south/ east to west across the United States and along two-lane roads. It’s a winner!

2. Contigo Tumblers: Keep drinks on hand with these leak-proof containers. Fill up at restaurants and you are good to go for hours.

3. Adventure in a Box: Road Trippin’: Cover all your bases with this incredible box of goodies from a seasoned road tripping family, the Solars. They created this kit with love and personally experience— your family will love this!

4. Car Hooks: Use these for storing trash, beach bags, purses, kids toys, etc. The bottom of the car easily get covered with junk, so use these to bring your important things to higher ground when on the road.

5. Road Trip Bingo: Add some excitement to the 5-hour drive with Road Trip Bingo from Knock Knock. These cards are made to be punched out, so no losing markers or pieces here!

6. Travel Tray: Save your back from the constant retrieval of dropped crayons and toys with this nifty tray. It can be used for snack time, crafts, reading and everything else in the world. If only they made one for adults.

7. DVD’s: Cars, Curious George, Preschool Prep. Cars is my favorite Disney movie and perfect for a road trip. I must say, sitting in the front and listening to the music isn’t too shabby either. I would also throw in Curious George for a great road trip movie— the music is incredible thanks to Jack Johnson. And if you are feeling like you should add some educational value to the drive, why not do Preschool Prep along the way?

8. Kid’s Camera: We didn’t have this and my son ended up using my camera on many occasions. Part of road trips is capturing moments that you don’t normally see. And kids want to be just like their parents. So rather than chance them dropping your camera, you might want to get one of these.

9. Priceline: I will never travel again without using Priceline’s Name your Own Price, aka: The iPhone negotiator. Once you try it, you will be hooked! You save at least $30 a night on hotels through here. The catch— you don’t know which one you are gonna get. But that’s part of the adventure, right?

10. DVD player: I struggled with this one. I wanted the kids to enjoy the open road and the view from the window, but I was scared that a 7 hour drive would end bad without Curious George. So we broke down and bought a portable DVD player. I opted for this one because it has two screens, yet we only use one. The other screen is our back up for when the first one dies. It can also be used outside the car (has a power cord) and has a large screen. It came in handy a lot on our 2,600 mile road trip— especially when we drove along Route 66 and watched Cars.

11. Trip Advisor: Just pulled into BFE and not sure what to do? Hit up Trip Advisor and I’m sure you’ll find something better than the McDonald’s play area.

12. Geocaching: It’s a must do on a road trip. Gives you countless opportunities to jump out and stretch while you search for the treasure. And takes you to parts of towns that you normally wouldn’t see as a tourist. And all you need is a smart phone and the app! No baggage or accessories needed for this one!

Last June, we did the road trip of our lives. We were moving across country and found the cheapest way to do it was ourselves. So we bought a trailer and packed up our belongings and made a road trip out of it. We were crazy. We were wild. And we sure had fun! We left Los Angeles with our 1 1/2 year-old daughter and 3 year-old son in our F-150 truck and headed towards Tampa, our future home that was over 2,600 miles away.

First stop was Williams, AZ— which reminded me of Radiator Springs in the movie Cars. My parents treated us to a Wild West Train to the Grand Canyon, which was their memorable way of saying good bye to us. We walked the rim and stood in awe of the beauty. This was my fourth time to the Canyon, and the amazement and awe never dulls. If anything, having kids running around the Grand Canyon’s rim just gets my heart rate up.

From there we went to Albuquerque, NM and took a small detour to Tinkertown Museum (which is bizarre, fun and inspiring.) They have a saying “we did all this while you were watching TV,” which is pretty cool in our book (we don’t watch TV either).

After we got our crazy fix, we took off for Oklahoma City and scored on a hotel through Priceline. The view was awesome and the kids enjoyed peering out the window more than watching the hotel room TV. In Oklahoma City, we went to the Cowboy Museum and let the kids play dress up and Ryan looked at some famous paintings from Nicolai Fechin.

We stayed the next night in Little Rock and skipped the town. We were too eager for our next destination: Nashville! We stayed 2 nights in Nashville and went to the Grand Ole Opry House, took a tour of country celebrity homes and ate at restaurants that served alligator and catfish.

Then we headed south to Atlanta to visit some friends, where we rested up, ate like kings and laughed a lot. We even went to Yellow River Game Ranch where the kids got to feed and pet roaming deer and bunnies.

After 10 days on the road, we pulled into our new home in Florida, unpacked the truck and wished we could do it all over again.

Have you done a road trip with kids?

Share some of your favorite trips or memories while out on the road. Interested in being featured on Family Sponge? Feel free to email us your trip pics and stories— we would love to share other family-friendly trips.

I call it the Florida funk.

It has been an exciting time for our family, but it has also been an emotional roller coaster. When I had to trade in my California driver’s license last week for a Florida one, I seriously almost cried. When my dad was diagnosed with lymphoma last month, all I wanted to do was buy our family one-way tickets back to California. I miss my friends. I miss my sister. I miss my parents. I miss good garage sales and amazing finds on Craigslist. I miss our church. I miss our home that we renovated with our bare hands. I miss my neighbors. I miss it all…and some.

That’s what the Florida funk feels like.

There are moments when I break out of the funk and it feels so good. It tends to happen when I make a new friend, have a good laugh with my husband and kids, or discover a new part of town. I love learning about the personalty of a town and embracing it. Last week, we embraced the Florida strawberry heritage and took a drive down the road to Parkesdale Farm Market— a world famous strawberry farm market. Strawberry season is at its peak and I have been wanting to make freezer jam— so we decided to check it out.

I honestly wasn’t aware that this place would have a line wrapped around it— everyone waiting to try the World Famous Strawberry Shortcake. We joined the line and treated ourselves to a little bite of heaven.

There is even a map on the wall filled with pins from people around the world. We added one to Palmdale, CA— our former town that still makes us a little homesick. The majority of the pins were from the snowbirds along the east coast (aka: older folks who migrate down to Florida in the winter to get out of the snow).

There was even a fun photo op— we could dress up as the Royal Strawberry Family and enjoy the ultimate strawberry shortcake. Touristy? Absolutely! But that is part of Florida life: snowbirds and tourists make Florida the top travel destination in the world. So embrace it we did!

So, the next time I am at the supermarket and stumble past the strawberries, I will think back to Parkesdale— a wonderful market that got me out of the Florida funk.

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PS: This post is in conjunction with Design Mom’s Love the Place you Live. She inspired me to share my adventures around town and share them with others. To read about other people’s adventures, check out her blog.

I got married almost 7 years ago. And honestly I don’t feel the seven year itch coming on either. Maybe because my husband and I decided to scratch each other’s backs and fall in love with one another year after year. Love is a choice. And I am so happy I made the choice to get married to my love on an island with 75 of our closest friends and family. We had a barefoot wedding on Ka’anapali Beach– the beautiful island of Maui.

We have a little shelf under our coffee table with some wood drink coasters, a Banksy book and three photo albums from our Maui wedding. My daughter looks in these photo albums frequently. She tells me she wishes she was there and asks, “Why didn’t I get to go?” I remind her it’s best to get married before you have children. I hope that one sticks.

I do look forward to the day that my husband and I can renew our vows in the exact same location with our daughter by our side. My goal is to live my dream wedding all over again for our ten-year anniversary. But we’ll have to see where life takes us. I’m a gypsy like that.

I can’t help but feel lucky, super blessed and honored to have married in Hawaii. I would have never thought that our friends and family would fly from California to be a part of such a special day for us. All I can say is it was absolutely magical. And if you ever have a chance to plan a wedding or renew your wedding vows, I urge you to jump on the destination wedding airplane.

Why I am convinced destination weddings rock

• Your guest list will be small. A wedding is an intimate affair. And it feels really good to know that the people who attend your wedding think it’s worth it to spend money on plane tickets and accommodations to see it all happen.
• All of your guests are on vacation, so they are relaxed, happy and easy guests to please.
• Getting on a plane with your wedding dress feels super cool. They store it in the Captain’s closet.
• It’s one of the best vacations you will ever take and all of your best friends get to be a part of it.

Getting Ready

The Ceremony

Beautiful Guests

Just Maui’d

The Reception

The Honeymoon

Ways we saved money

1. Having a destination wedding. I think when you choose a destination wedding, it cuts your list in half for guests that would normally attend a local wedding. We had 75 guests total. We double checked to make sure our immediate family and those we really cared about would be willing to pay and travel to witness us say our vows in Hawaii. Once everyone we cared about said yes, it was on like Donkey Kong. And the destination wedding obsession began…
2. TheKnot.com. I was obsessed, addicted and obsessed. I was able to plan my entire wedding without hiring a wedding coordinator. I looked at photos for inspiration and looked at real brides who were married on Maui. I was able to find first-hand reviews on real brides’ experiences, locations and vendors. Did I mention that I was obsessed with The Knot?
3. Having the ceremony on the beach. Hawaii beaches are public, so that means free ceremony location. Cha-ching!
4. Inexpensive wedding dress. David’s Bridal dress on sale. Under $250. I’m a simple girl.
5. Free Hair and Make-up. I did my hair myself with the help of my mom. I had a friend do my make-up.
6. No bridal party. This means no bridal party coordination needed and no rehearsal dinner necessary. We invited our guests to join us at the Old Lahaina Luau two nights before the wedding. Most people who travel to Hawaii want to experience a luau anyway. Over half of our guests joined us and paid for their own luau dinner. It sprinkled a warm rain that evening which gave us a beautiful rainbow. Heavenly!
7. Wedding + Honeymoon in one location. Traveling to an exotic destination or foreign city for your wedding ceremony saves you money because you’re already where you want to be for your honeymoon. Some people like to island hop, but we were happy with spending 13 days on Maui.
8. Kept decor simple. When you have a tropical island as your back drop, you don’t need much for decor. I had chairs on the beach (which we moved in to use for the reception too) and an orchid aisle to walk on in the sand.
9. Buffet dinner for reception. I’m a I want to try it all kind of girl. The buffet was less expensive and had a great variety like crab legs and prime rib. Our guests didn’t get stuck with the chicken or fish they thought they wanted over six months ago. We also added lechon (roasted pig) and shave ice to the menu.
10. Set drink menu. I created a drink menu with four beverages to choose from– Something Old: Mai Tai; Something New: Signature drink – Vodka and Passion Fruit; Something Borrowed: Piña Colada; Something Blue: Blue Hawaii. I only bought the ingredients needed to make those drinks (plus soft drinks, beer and wine). We  bought all of our drinks at Costco since you can return any unused bottles. We did not return anything. We were partying like rock stars.

Maui vendors we used

Ceremony Location: Kaanapali Beach, Maui (just north of Lahaina)
Photography: LaShawn Photographic (love his work, not sure if he is still doing photography)
Wedding Officiant: Rev. Valentine “Tino” Rosete
Reception: Royal Lahaina Resort – Royal Beach House, guests were able to walk from the beach straight to our backyard reception
DJ and Sound: Randy “DJ Skinny Guy” Bermudez
Bar Service: Maui Bars Are Us

My Maui wedding memories are priceless. If I could do it all over again, I would do it exactly the same. The only tip I would share is hire your photographer as long as possible. We hired our photographer to take pictures of us getting ready and during the ceremony up until all of the scheduled reception events were over: first dance, bouquet toss, cutting the cake. My husband and I wish we had our photographer stay to capture our friends partying, dancing and jumping in the pool! Yes, more than half of our guests jumped in the swimming pool at our reception location. I jumped in the pool too– in my wedding dress.

I always dreamed of getting married with my toes buried in the sand. I am so thankful I got to enjoy such a simple wedding with my best friend surrounded by people we both love so much. Love is such a wonderful feeling, so dance ’til you fall in love.

Speak your mind…

Would you have a destination wedding? Or do you prefer a wedding somewhere more close to home?

Lake Lietzensee
This lake is five minutes from our place and has two playgrounds and two beer gardens. Drink a beer while the kids tear it up, yeah! There’s no swimming allowed but several other Berlin lakes are swimmer friendly. I took this photo in the summertime when everyone gets their lounge/tan on.

Radkonzept
Bike repair shop which also sells handmade cycles from Patria. Owner Shaun Paul Simmons is an American who speaks excellent German and is amazingly talented with bikes. In the summer, this is a fun hang out spot for cycle enthusiasts.

De Maufel Bistro
Delicious food and drinks mainly from Luxembourg. The best coffee to be found in Berlin! Also delightful quiches, cheeses, wines and salads. I often meet my husband here for lunch as its right near his office.

FinKid
I buy all of my son’s outerwear here. A Finnish brand with superior quality jackets, ski pants, hats and gloves. LOVE!

Paulinchen
Leonhardtstrasse 11
14057 Berlin
Children’s second hand clothing, wagons and furniture. Excellent value and quality.

Flowershop Vogt
Leonhardtstr. 6, 14057 Berlin
030/3238552 ‎
Everyone was sad when Frau Vogt passed away two years ago; but thankfully her flower shop continues to live on. This place is an institution on Leonhardtstrasse! Frau Vogt used to correct my German and taught me new vocabulary related to plants and flowers.

Bonita Perla Jewelry Workshop
Unfortunately my camera battery died as we began to film in front of Bonita Perla – but it’s right next door to the flower store. Here you can hand make your own necklaces, earrings and bracelets. The owner Melanie is lovely, helpful, creative and so kind! This is where I would often find inspiration and make my jewelry on rainy days.

Cafe Manstein
Witzlebenstr. 32
14057 Berlin
This is the cafe I’m at with my son in the video below. A hip spot right off of Lake Lietzensee with a delicious menu!

Weinhandlung Hertz
Herr Hertz knows his wine! I organized two incredible wine tastings at his shop and there’s nothing like sitting with friends on Leonhardtstrasse late into the night. Herr Hertz brings out maps of the regions, wood and different textures and also his partner creates a delicious food menu to accompany the tasting. (note: his English is minimal so it’s better to communicate in German).

Cafe Dollinger
Hard core local hang out right off of Stuttgarterplatz. German speciality menu and good beer selection.

Video Tour
Walk the Berlin streets with me  in ’Day in the Life’ video featuring my street “Leonhardtstrasse” in the heart of Charlottenburg! I filmed this over the past few weeks as autumn transitioned into winter, so first you see fall foliage and then stark, bare trees.

Speak your mind…

Do you have an awesome neighborhood? Share with us why it is so special to you.(We are accepting Neighborhood Tour submissions!)