"Vacation - a period of travel and relaxation where                                                                                                                                                               you take twice the clothes and half the money you need."

You've all heard the phrase, "I need a vacation from my vacation", right? Well if you are like me, you're probably only getting one this year, so let's look at a few suggestions to make this Summer vacation as relaxing and stress-free as possible!

1. Flexible Planning 

Does that sound like an oxymoron? If you try to plan and schedule every minute of your time away, you will only end up feeling stressed and like a total failure. Trying to schedule rest stops in a car filled with kid size bladders will leave everyone feeling grumpy. So if someone needs the bathroom fifteen minutes after the last stop, roll with it. Plan the things that are easy to plan. Routine car maintenance, like oil changes, new wiper blades, and tune ups can be scheduled in advance, travel documents, pet accommodations. Choose your vacation battles!

2. Snacks

Whether you're driving long distances, or just taking day trips, pack a wide range of snacks to stave off complaints of hunger. Look for nutrient dense options such as nuts, fresh fruit and veggies. Bring a small cooler for items like cheese sticks and small water bottles, or juice boxes - in the "heat" of the moment, $4 for a bottled water seems like a small price to pay, but it adds up quick! And I generally don't spring for expensive, single serve items packaged for convenience such as squeezable apple sauce pouches and pre-packaged containers of crackers or pretzels, but on vacation, they can be a life and wallet saver, compared to gas station impulse buys, or $16 chicken nuggets at the zoo! 

3. Destination Preparation

Think ahead about your family's needs at the destination. Travelling to a big city? How will you get around the city with your crew in tow? Do you need a stroller or a carseat? A backpack style carrier for a baby? How will you heat bottles or prepare baby food? Are you headed someplace rural? Will you have cell phone service to run your GPS along the way - this one happened to me last year, and I ended up VERY lost, and with zero cell service to call my dad for help! Will there be a grocery store to pick up extra diapers? Thinking ahead about all the extra factors will help eliminate a crisis, like discovering your big double stroller will not fit onto the subway or running out of diapers when the closest store is an hour away.

4. Health and Safety

New places can bring new or unexpected risks. Discuss safety plans with your children. If you'll be at a crowded amusement park or water park, where there's potential for separation - consider a temporary tattoo with your personal contact information. You can order custom tattoos on Etsy or print your own following the instructions in thenerdwife's blog, here. Talk about what safety concerns the area might bring, such as being in a large urban environment, or an isolated rural area. Bring along plenty of water and sunscreen on adventures.

Since we're talking health and safety, I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up bedbugs. Bedbugs are very visible to the naked eye - they're about the size of a watermelon seed, but they're great at hiding, so you have to know where to look for them. If you'd like to know how to perform a thorough bedbug check in a hotel room, please click here for a short video put together by The University of Maine. 

If you're worried about what will happen to your lawn while you're away, or if you've returned from vacation to brown spots or weeds, give WeedPro a call, or click below for a free quote, and let us put together a program to restore your lawn!