Traveling in 2013

Another thing that's changing so fast in our family is the way we travel. Last year:

• I had six children in the car, this year I have two teenagers who drive their own cars 
• I had a full car, this year I have full driveways
• the boot always had a stroller, this year I only walk as far as the baby can walk
• I had a baby in a reverse facing Swedish carseat, a preschooler in a car seat and a school girl in a booster seat, this year that baby is in a carseat, the preschooler has graduated to a booster seat and the school girl sits in any seat but the front!

 Andy's first road trip in a booster seat - demonstrating the need to double check that it's properly positioned - he's not wearing the anti-submarine clip AND the belt isn't through the guide! We fixed that at the first stop! You can see the top of Jessie's head in the back seat, and Isabelle is riding shotgun.

Lachie's first trip forward facing last year. There's a full car but Jessie is too low to see over the back seats!

 Last year roadside stops filled a picnic table nicely.

This year, a whole table seems empty.

I did a return trip to the Central Coast this weekend to take Isabelle for a visit. There were five of us driving down and only four driving back - the car felt empty! Andy and Lachie spend most of their car time chatting and sometimes watching an iPad, mostly listening to children's music on the car stereo. Jessie spent her entire trip curled up in a nest in the very back of the car reading Harry Potter. Isabelle texted.