Five on Friday: Epic Road Trip Part 2: Lessons Learned Thus Far

I don't remember why I first decided to keep sidewalk chalk in the hiking backpack, but I discovered it came in handy when the youngest was all hiked out one day.

The Most Epic of the Family Road Trips Ever Attempted continues into week two! For this week's edition, I'll be sharing some lessons I've learned thus far.

I have learned that:

1. Evidently we still don't have a hammer in the camping supplies bin.

2. I seem to derive a perverse pleasure out of hearing other people's children being fresh. Also, when a kid asked his Mom for some of *her* water on a hike at Arches National Park and she flat out said "No" I might have laughed a little. Because you know there's a backstory to that . . .

On this spot in 2019 a kid asked his Mom for water and she said no and I laughed.

3. Apparently it's been awhile since we've discussed "what to do if you get lost" with the younger kids. (Bringing our total "kids almost lost in National Parks" to two in the past twelve years. Not bad? Or terrible?)

Contrary to appearances, this is *not* when we almost lost a kid.

4. Having the kids call out my first names instead of "Mom"  in crowded places really does work much better in helping them to locate me.

5. The mountains, cliffs and hoodoos (my new favorite word), the flora and fauna we don't see at home,  the Yellowstone paint pots and geysers, the petroglyphs, the sunsets viewed from mountain tops are all breathtaking natural wonders that I hope my kids appreciate and remember forever.

But earlier this week I danced outside of an ice cream parlor with three of my kids and I was reminded of a lesson I seem to learn over and over again: these are the moments that make vacations special and are the memories I hope to keep forever.

Also I may have learned that I just keep getting sappier as I (& my kids) age.