Yesterday was our second-longest planned driving day. We left the hotel in Knoxville at 7:30 am and arrived in Oklahoma City at 9:15 pm CDT. It was a pretty uneventful day. We were slowed by a few construction zones and took a one-hour break to attend church in Nashville. We heard messages about overcoming adversity and being of good cheer. All things helpful for a family on a road trip.
The kids were good about not fighting, and they each earned their dollar for the day. However, during the day I wondered if we should bribe the kids for not being obnoxious, but I realized that the negotiated price for this might break the family budget. I guess that's just part of the circle of life. We're not sure how our parents survived road trips without electronic devices for their kids.
We had some success with a family game we made up yesterday, which the kids have called the Skittles game. We would take turns asking each person a question. If they got it right, they would get a skittle. One bag of skittles lasted us a whole hour! We played the game again last night with Starbursts. The kids might just be looking for any excuse to get candy, but they seem to be having fun. If you have any other fun road trip games we could try, please leave us a comment to give us some more ideas.
The kids were also excited to have their first fast-food meal of the trip -- a "short" stop at Burger King for dinner. We're convinced that gas stations and restaurants on these main highways are not too concerned with quality control since they are not really expecting repeat customers. Unfortunately their service leaves much to be desired. We are already dreading the next required pit stop.
Marshmallow game. Give each of the kids a large marshmallow to eat. Whoever's lasts the longest wins! (Our prize was another marshmallow, but could be anything). Keeps the kids occupied (and quiet) for up to 30 minutes!)
ReplyDelete20 questions
Animal game (like 20 questions, but trying to guess the animal with yes/no questions)