Is Vacation Possible with 11 month old twins???

     We were all tired of being couped up in the house and decided it was time to go on vacation.     Was it possible with 5 kids and 3 of them two and younger.   I had survived through the first 11 months of sleepless nights, breastfeeding two babies, changing multiple diapers, bath times and many more challenges that comes with newborns.   And YES you will survive it.    Now it was time to utilize my planning skills and try to put together a family vacation with the 7 of us. 
     It was decided to join the rest of my brother's and go camping at Flathead Lake, Montana.   It was a 12 hour drive taking two vehicles.  One to pull the trailer and one to pull the Hobicat.   The best advice I can give to make it less stressful is to plan everything out ahead of time.   One week before departure date, I did all the shopping and put all the camping gear in the trailer.   Four days before, I prepared meals ahead of time.    Below are some great recipes to freeze ahead of time for camping trips even the twins could eat:

• Homemade Minnestroni Soup   -  1lb sausage, (2) 14 1/2oz cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, (2) 14 1/2oz cans beef broth, 1 can cannelini beans, 1 can red kidney beans, 1 cup thinly sliced carrots, 1 medium yellow summer squash sliced and 1 cup bow tie pasta.   Cook the sausage.   Throw all ingrediants except pasta in a slow cooker on low setting for 8 hours and cover.   45 minutes before it's done throw in pasta.   Serve and top with parmesan cheese.   DELICIOUS EVEN WITH THE KIDS! 
• Baked Beans with Polish sausage - 1 to 2 lbs polish sausage sliced, 1 can kidney beans, 1 can northern beans, 1 can black beans, 1 15oz can tomato sauce, 1 onion sliced, 1/2 cup red wine (drink the rest while making), 2 Tablespoons brown sugar and 2 garlic cloves.   Cook in crock pot for 70 minutes.   YUMMY!
• Other make ahead dishes is chili, breakfast burritoes, lasagna.   

This made the trip much more enjoyable because I knew what was for dinner every night and only had to heat it up.    Two days before the trip everything was packed so I could actually relax before our big travel day.   We split up the twins and put one in each car.   This worked out great because they slept most of the way without having each other to entertain.   We finally arrived and all kids survived the car ride.  

Everyone thought we were crazy to take the twins camping at 11 months.   I agree but with some tools it can be done.  We set up a huge playpen and let them crawl all over in it.   Having the trailer helped because we could open up the back, gate it and let them run around with toys.   It turned out to be easier going camping with all the kids then having them at home.   They were so entertained by the new surroundings and usually ready for bed by 6:30pm.   It left the rest of the evening for us adults to be adults and relax around the campfire.   

In looking back at this trip, it was one of my greatest memories so far with the kids.    All it took was a little planning ahead and a few lists to make it work.   YES, it is possible to do trips with infant twins, a toddler, pre-teen and a teenager and SURVIVE it with a smile.   



Tygh and Cole playing in trailer





Brooklyn age 2





Son Ryan age 10



Play pen outside for twins

Oldest daughter with Tygh age 14