#7QT Seven Reasons to Take An Adventure with Your Kids

We are just back from our third annual Road Trip with Mom. Well, it's been five days but I'm still catching up. Have you taken any adventures with your kids? Here's seven good reasons to try!

Linking up with rockstar mom Kelly!

Time Goes by Too Quickly

Remember Ferris Bueller? Bueller...Bueller...anyone? (I know, I'm dating myself, so I won't even tell you how old I was when I saw that movie for the first time!) "Life comes at you pretty fast. If you don't stop and smell the roses once in awhile you will miss it." 

I may have butchered that quote but taking an adventure causes you to slow down, unplug, and just spend some time with the kids.

There's More to Life than Laundry And Dishes

I borrowed that from my friend, Theresa! Yes, I am still catching up on laundry, cleaning, and reorganizing after our adventure, but for four days I had no cooking or housework.  Working and teaching at home is a never ending to-do list. Even when business and school tasks are complete, there's the housework, yard work, and hungry kids to feed.

On our adventure, for four days none of that had to be done. Sure there was driving and child wrangling, but it was a break from the endless busyness that takes up so much valuable time.

The Kids Are Growing So Quickly

Like the time flying by, the kids are growing by leaps and bounds.  In high school, Hubby and I were in a production of Fiddler on the Roof (He was Tevya, I was third Jewish girl from the right.) All the parents cried during "Sunrise, Sunset."

Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?
I don't remember growing older
When, did, they?
When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he grow to be so tall?
Wasn't it yesterday when they, were, small?

Sunrise, sunset, Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze
Sunrise, sunset, Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

At the time, it seemed ridiculous. It had taken a lifetime to become a teen and days seemed to stretch forever. Now that I am, ahem, official the same age as my mom was, I see how quickly it goes. Blink once and it's eight months later, twice and five years have passed. Get out and have an adventure before they are all grown up and fly away!

Who Needs More Stuff???

We have always valued experiences over tangible gifts. Birthdays have always been celebrated with  family time and gathering with friends, not presents from Mom and Dad. It used to be that each child picked a "birthday trip" for the family to share. However, as the kids have grown, and multiplied, planning a trip for each individual child where all the family is available is near impossible, especially with 3 fall birthdays!

Christmas is pretty simple around here, too. I always enjoy the photos of presents stacked high beneath the tree that circulate the blogosphere each December, but it just isn't our style. Instead we take adventures. Our annual road trip with mom is my big gift to all of them!

Sometimes You Just Need to Be Mom

Raising a family is a monumental task! Homeschooling only ups the ante a hundred fold. There are times the responsibility overwhelms me. It is just SO much!

When running a household and ensuring multiple children are fed, clothed, comforted, AND educated, it is hard to let loose and just be a "fun mom."  I struggle with this because I want to be the kind of mom my kids need and want, I'd love to be one who just sits and plays all day, but  there is just too much to accomplish. My days are packed every second with tasks, if I fall behind, I may never catch up--or at least that's how it feels.

Breaking routine and getting out of the house, gives homeschool moms the chance to remove a whole stack of hats, leave the checklists behind, and just focus on being mom.

There Are Too Many Places We Haven't Seen in This World 

There are so many adventures to be had! We are already planning our next road trip. Originally, the kids almost had me convinced on a 19 hour away destination! Part way through our recent trip, I came to my senses. 

So, while we want to travel across country, I think we will hit some new destinations within the five hours drive vicinity. However, I know we will get there. We started out just taking day adventure trips, and have built up from there. I hope to do a one weeker, in the future, but right now it is nice to dream!

I have always had a dream of owning an RV and taking amazing trips, since I was a kid. Now, my kids share that dream. We would love to do a "roadschooling" extravaganza, take our books and hit the open road. We even have planned out exactly which amenities our RV needs to have for this. Some day, some day!

Even if you don't travel far afield, or even for more than a few hours, there is much to explore related to history, nature, culture, and just plain fun!

Learn to Do Hard Things

It's important for children to see their parents take risks, calculated risks but risks none the less! When I set out with our vans chock full of kids, snacks, and plans, I realize what an awesome undertaking it is. There are definitely bumps along the way. None of our trips are Travel Channel material. We get lost. We sometimes have meltdowns. There are lost souvenirs and destinations that we never find. There's chocolate for lunch and cookies for dinner when the traveling gets tough.  There are mistakes, missteps, and dashed dreams. However, that's what memories are made of!

When we slosh through the traffic, missing road signs, and undoubtedly wrong Google directions, my kids get to see that even adventures have their downsides and that their mom can handle more than she thinks she can.

What adventure would you love to take with your kids?