Episode #1 Why We Travel: Making Memories Before They’re Grown

Sep 23

They say you only get 18 summers with your kids. And when you stop to think about it, that number feels way too small. That's why my family chooses to travel now before the kids are grown and life pulls us in different directions. Today, I'm sharing the heart behind why we travel so much, the memories we're building along the way, and how we're making the most of these precious years together.

I am so excited to be recording the first episode of this podcast. I've been thinking about starting a podcast for a little while now have been doing lots of planning and the day is finally here to push that record button. Let me set the scene for you. It's late at night. My five kids are all asleep and I am inside my closet, which I'm hoping is giving me some good acoustics and soundproofing since I'm surrounded by clothes.

My husband is on toddler duty since our four year old will still occasionally wake up once or twice at night and need to be put back to bed. She's also in this super fun stage right now where she's insisting on wearing her giant puffy princess dress to bed, which has got to be so uncomfortable, but she insists. So that also may be why she wakes up sometimes. But anyway, I digress. Oh to be a four year old!

Today I'm getting a little personal and talking about why we travel as much as we do and why I started this podcast in the first place. Because let's be honest, traveling with kids isn't easy. It's messy, it's chaotic, it's usually loud, sometimes sticky, and almost always includes things not going according to plan. One of my favorite comedians is Jim Gaffigan, who also has five kids, and he has this really funny joke he tells about traveling as a family where he says, “Hey, you know, we bicker and argue. Why don't we take this on the road? How would you like to not listen to me in a hotel room? Maybe you could spend too much time on your phone in a different state?” Now his delivery is much better than mine, but you get the point. I love how true and real that is because it definitely feels sometimes pointless to go through all that hard work to travel with your kids and show them these new places and experiences when they just end up fighting and complaining. But I'm here to tell you that it is absolutely worth it.

Childhood & What Shaped Me

Now, before I jump into our current family and why we travel, I want to rewind a little bit, give you a little background on how we got here. My husband and I both have different travel experiences before we met. He had the opportunity to travel and go on some fun adventures with his family growing up.

And he even lived in Taiwan for two years speaking Mandarin Chinese when he served a mission for our church as a 19 year old. And spoiler alert, we're actually taking our two oldest to Taiwan very, very soon. And I'll be reporting back on a future podcast episode all about that.

I did some traveling with my family when I was younger, but mostly domestic. I had the opportunity to do a study abroad in college where I lived in Spain for a month and went on to explore a few different cities in Europe with a few of the girls from the group. But one of the biggest life events for me that has shaped my desire to live each moment to the fullest, travel and make memories with my kids now stems from what happened to me as a 13, almost 14 year old. My dear father passed away from cancer and while it was absolutely devastating and still hurts each and every day, I learned from a young age just how precious life is, how quickly things can change in the blink of an eye, and how the only guarantee we have is today. I kind of lovingly call myself a professional memory maker because it has been my mission since my father passed away to truly soak up every moment, make the most of every day, and as my father loved to say, “enjoy the journey”.

Why We Travel With Young Kids

So now fast forwarding to me as a grown 37 year old woman married with five beautiful and rambunctious kiddos and I am still on the same mission to travel, make memories with my kids and my husband and enjoy the journey. Out of the dozens and dozens of family trips that we've taken, I don't remember the fighting or the hard times. I don't remember the tired travel days. Or that time my 21 month old refused to sleep for the entire duration of an 11 hour flight to London. Okay, I do actually kind of remember that one.

But really, I remember the incredible memories that we make. I remember the uninterrupted family time we spend where we don't have sports or gymnastics practice to get to. We weren't scrambling to get homework done before dinner. It was calm time to just be us and soak up our kids. It was time for my kids to try new things outside their comfort zone and cheer each other on. It is a magical time to escape the day to day hustle and bustle and make lifelong memories while our kids are still young.

The truth is our time with our kids is short. There's a quote I once saw that stopped me in my tracks. It said “75% of the time we spend with our kids in our lifetime will be spent by age 12”. What? 75 % of the time we'll ever spend with our kids will be by the time they're 12. My oldest is 12 years old.

I kind of refuse to believe this, but also know deep down that it's true. As kids get older, they spend more time at school, activities, friend's house, and then eventually move out and head off to college or whatever their next step is. And that's great. We want that for them. That's the way it should be. But my mama heart aches when I think about how quickly time is slipping through my fingers. And this is exactly why I have such a passion to travel with my family of seven and make it a priority in our lives, a priority in our budget and our scheduling and in all the things we have to do to make it happen. We travel because we want to make the most of the time we have, not someday, not when it's easier, not when the kids get older and not when we retire. But now people often ask me, okay, so what age is the best age to start traveling with kids? And my answer is now.

Even if your kids are little and won't remember, you will. You'll have the pictures, you'll have the videos, you'll have the memories. We travel to make memories that stick, to create shared experiences that bind us together, and to give our kids a bigger view of the world more than just what's in their backyard. Next, I want to share what our goals are as a family as we take our family trips to hopefully give you some inspiration. And maybe these can help you come up with some goals for your family.

Our Family in Puerto Rico for Christmas 2023

Our Family’s Goals

So our first goal is to create lasting memories together. We do prioritize experiences over things in our family and love gifting our kids with a family trip or an individual trip when possible instead of the latest toy that they'll most likely lose interest in in a couple weeks after their birthday. My second oldest, ⁓ my daughter who's 10, she is really big into gymnastics and cheer. And last year for her birthday, I actually surprised her with a trip to just a one night trip. We flew up to Northern California and we got to go see Simone Biles and the other Olympians in this really cool little post Olympic show that they put on. And it was just the two of us little girls trip. And that was one of her big birthday presents. And she still talks about it today and how cool and amazing that was and asks, “Hey mom, when can we do another experience trip like that?” So it's really fun to look back and have those memories with the kids.

I want my kids to look back and remember more than just the routines. I want them to remember laughing in the car as we sang together, driving up to the high point on Maui, Haleakala and being in a sea of clouds. I want them to remember that first taste of crepes on the streets of Paris or how we made the most of the rain in London while sightseeing.

Our second goal in our family is to build deeper relationships. There's something about getting away from the day to day grind that brings us closer. When we're in a hotel room or out exploring a new place, we connect in ways that we just can't do at home. I have seen two of my kids that normally butt heads, hold hands and skip along the way while heading to the beach.

I've been able to have deep and meaningful conversations with my kids while waiting in lines at amusement parks. My husband and I have had moments of further connection as we just smile and admire together our sweet kids all working together to build a sandcastle and playing games on the beach.

Our third goal is to see as much of the world as we can before they grow up. We have a giant map on our wall with these little magnetic pins marking where we've been. And of course, I'm constantly picking them up and putting them back because my little kids love to pick them off and play with them. But it is so fun to see all the places that we've been. My husband has a different color than I do since we've been to a few different places. We have a color for family trips and then we have a different color for just trips that my husband and I have taken because over the years we have been able to sneak in some incredible No-kid trips to Europe and to the Maldives and some other really fun places. There is so much beauty, culture and wonder out there and I want my kids to experience it all. Kids learn so much by traveling, especially to other countries. They learn to be more flexible, open minded. They're more accepting of others and can understand how other cultures and people live.

Why a Family Travel Podcast?

So why this podcast? Why now?

Well, simply put, because it's the right time and because I don't want to gatekeep all of my tips, tricks, hacks, and things that I wish I knew as a first time new mom traveling with kids. I'm creating this podcast for my younger self, but really I'm creating this for you. I've had so many parents say to me, well, how do you afford to travel with five kids? Isn't it exhausting? Where do you even start? How do you make it all work? And those are all very, very valid questions. I want to show other families that yes, it is possible. You do not have to wait for perfect circumstances.

You don't even have to be rich. You don't have to have it all figured out. You just need a little inspiration, a few helpful tips and the courage to say, let's go. So the Traveling Family Circus is here to give you exactly that. In the coming episodes, we'll talk money saving travel hacks, destination ideas, packing tips, mindset shifts, funny stories and the real behind the scenes chaos of traveling with our big crew.

The Sweetest Moment

Earlier this summer, our family spent nine magical days in Maui while walking around our resort one day. We were heading to dinner. I was holding my little seven year old's hand and I was just enjoying the ambiance, the breeze, the sound of the palm trees in the wind, the beautiful sunset. And my son gave my hand a little squeeze, looked up at me and said, “Mom, thank you so much for taking us on this trip to Hawaii. I've been having the best time.” Oh, be still my heart. I squeezed his little hand back three times, which is our way of saying I love you and said, “buddy, I am so glad we could take this trip. I have been having the best time with you too”. It was a simple moment, but it meant so much to me. And that is the stuff that matters most.

So if you're dreaming of traveling more with your family, but feel overwhelmed, under budgeted, or just unsure where to begin, this podcast is for you because you can do it. You don't have to wait and you really shouldn't wait. Let's make those 18 summers count.

Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. Don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you're always first in line for our next adventure and best family travel tips. Until next time, keep savoring the moments and make memories that last a lifetime.