Why we road trip as a family: Our Kia Sedona spring break adventure!

Call us crazy, but we love to road trip with our family. What’s a better way to make memories than to be crammed in a car for 17 hours together? Find out all of our fun we had in the Kia Sedona!

This post is a collaboration with KIA and Driveshop. All opinions are my own.

Growing up, we traveled quite a bit. Every summer, we would borrow Grandma’s Caravan and hit the road! Since I was an only child when I was younger, I had my whole system down: backpack full of library books (BSC 4 LIFE), Walkman for my mixed tapes and plenty of travel brochures to pour over.

To this day, the minute I find out I’m going on a trip, I request travel magazines from cities we will visit. Yes, I realize the internet is a thing…but there is something about holding a brochure and being able to plan out your trip.

Ricky always laughs and starts a countdown to when my goodies start to arrive in the mail. He knows me too well. While flying would be 100x faster, we will always be a road trip family. Let’s be honest: flying as a family of 6 is a huge expense, too!

We planned our first big family road trip for spring break, since Liam turned 7 months and it would be a bit easier than when he was itty bitty. I mean…as easy as traveling with 4 kids could be.

I was so excited to hear that Kia wanted to collaborate for our trip with a 2017 Sedona. You guys…this.van. I fell in love with it when we tested it 2 years ago and I’ve been dreaming of owning one since. The newer edition has even more amazing perks than the previous one. Someday, we will own a Sedona!

There are so many road trip friendly bells and whistles for the Sedona.

• SUV feel front seat: amazing navigation, plenty of cup holders, SiriusXM radio, bluetooth connection and (wait for it….) a cooler section in the glove box. YUP. My protein shake stayed ice cold for 7 hours.
• Reclining middle row seats. The van has so much leg room, as is, but the recliner seat option is so nice! Maddie was livin’ large with her headphones on and the ability to stretch out!
• TONS of trunk room. We were able to fit a jogging stroller, 2 large suitcases and a cooler in the back.
• DVD player and wireless headphones. Not having to listen to Moana or Coco on repeat was SO amazing. Maddie was able to connect her wired headphones so the other two could use the wireless in the back seat.

The first day, we drove 7 hours to Charleston, West Virginia to get our road trip feet wet with Liam. He did MUCH better than expected. To keep the girls busy, we packed plenty of snacks, favorite movies (Redbox is FAB for road trips since you can exchange them anywhere!) and workbooks. Liam slept quite a bit and I was in charge of the playlist on SiriusXM.

PRO TIP: If your kids are using a tablet, download movies and shows on Netflix/Prime Video to be available without wifi. Each tablet had 2 different options, so we could rotate them between the girls. Also, don’t forget the charging cords!

Our favorite rest stop was in Virginia. It had such beautiful landscaping, plus a little museum with Virginian history–and peanut samples! A nice, unexpected photo opp!

The second day of the road trip, another 8 hours, was a bit more restless. We had exhausted most of our entertainment and the excitement for the beach was real. Luckily, the girls ended up sleeping more than the day before.

A nice boredom breaker is to have the kids search for something. Whenever we travel towards the ocean, I have the kids try to spot the first palm tree. I always announce it hours before we will actually see them to keep the game up a bit longer. #MomHack for sure!

As daunting as a long road trip with kids can be, they truly are exciting. Optimism is key. Hours of random conversations, sporadic rest area stops and sing-a-longs create so many great memories as a family. I made the girls vacation folders where they could journal our trip, plus put brochures in the pockets. Every time we passed through a state, they had to color it in. SO fun!

I’ll be sure to share more about North Myrtle Beach later this week. Have you been?

What’s your go-to road trip music? Do you take long drives with your family?