Traveling with kids is totally doable and can be fun! Just try not to have expectations and know it will be unpredictable. Ha! Did that just make your heart jump?!

Last weekend when my husband walked in from work and all us girls exchanged our welcome hellos with him, I excitedly asked “want to go with the girls to the back bay?!” And he came back with “how about we go to Joshua Tree?” Me: “Sure!!” Wide eyed and excited of course. My only other question was if it would be too hot because we’ve been there in the summer and it’s not pleasant – especially not for someone with active sweat glands.

The girls had never been to Joshua Tree and the last time we went was TEN years ago. Seriously. How did that happen? It’s only a 2 hour drive (without kids).

So here’s the thing, just make sure to pack snacks and water, activities for them to play during the drive, and a change of clothes in case of any potty accidents. With any luck they’ll fall asleep on the drive there.

We were only there as a day trip but would love to go back and camp for the night. The girls had so much fun and even our almost 3 year old turned out to be quite an adventurous climber!

I love when we can get a family photo in because typically it’s one of us behind the lens.

And our little one deciding to scale a rock!

I just love the beauty of this place!

It was a comfortable 80 degrees that day and we had so much fun.

Yes unexpected things happened, but here’s the bottom line. That’s always going to be a given, with or without kids. I was talking to a random stranger a couple days ago and she happened to comment how she hasn’t traveled anywhere short or long distance with her child because it seems too difficult maybe when she’s older.

I get it. There have been plenty of times I’ve had that thought. However, to give our kids the chance to explore and be around unknown and discomfort is good. It’s good for us adults too. And every time I look back, I never regret it. The end result of a treasured memory and experience is always worth so much more than the worry and fear of what if.