A super spontaneous trip to Hawaii! We’ve learned well planned out trips in advance rarely work-out for us. Just last summer we had a Europe trip all planned out passports ready, airfare, hotels, car transport within Europe ALL booked! Only two weeks after booking the trip our older boy Ray gets hospitalized for three days due to a terrible asthma attack. Not just that, I was 4 months pregnant and all over the news all we hear is the terrible outbreak of the Zika virus. We decided to cancel the trip. It was heartbreaking but luckily we had booked most things with refundable benefits, I guess one of the perks of booking in advance.<\/p>\n
So this trip to Hawaii was all the more fun since we barely planned anything and literally bought the ticket less than 24 hours before boarding on our flight. We knew this was our opportunity for a nice break and to make the most of our trip now that we’ve got Ray’s asthma under control and baby JJ is here!<\/p>\n
A two and a half hour car ride from Pocatello to SLC Airport and a six hour and forty-five minute airplane ride later, we made it to Paradise, Honolulu, Hawaii!!! The airplane ride was smooth until about 30 minutes before landing and the boys began to get a little restless. Entertaining the boys on the flight was a challenge. Mostly just Ray he refused to sit in our laps and wanted constant entertainment just as any 18 month old. JJ just wanted to be fed, rocked, and required very little entertainment and so hubby decided to keep JJ (How convenient!).<\/span><\/p>\n Most parents had their children glued to electronics during the flight. These days keeping children off electronics at home is a challenge let alone a cramped up airplane seat for 5+ hours. Between hubby and I we kept the boys fed, changed, rested, and entertained. Although for a short span of the flight (last 30 minutes) we resorted to Delta’s finest television offered for the most part we kept them entertained with engaging activities. To avoid electronics for your toddler during a long flight or road trip I’ve compiled a short list of my top 5 activity must haves before departing a flight. I prefer to avoid the electronics avenue as my kids are still really young.<\/span><\/p>\n Top 5 Travel Activity Must-Haves For Toddlers<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n These are awesome! They come with four different pieces and are mess free. Ray played with his boogie board for at least one hour before he got tired and bored. He scribbled and practiced his ABC’s with me. And another bonus, when the kids are napping hubby and I use it for a quick game of the classic tic-tac-toe.<\/p>\n 2. Any Toy\/Stuffed Animal<\/span><\/p>\n These can keep kids entertained for hours with pretend play. And sometimes fuzzy stuffed animals can even help soothe and your child may catch some snooze time. Works for us with Ray!<\/p>\n 3. Crayola Color Wonder Mess Free Coloring Book<\/span><\/p>\n These are seriously the best! Unlike crayons and markers that are messy and end up on the seat, tray table, clothes, and hands these are MESS FREE. The colors show up on the coloring book only when the provided markers are used (best for travels on road trips too).<\/p>\n 4. Flash cards\/ Kids Brain Quest Cards<\/span><\/p>\n For my 18 month old I just grabbed simple flash cards with ABC’s, numbers, and Pictures on them. We’d hold up a card and practice saying the word that related to the letter, number or picture on the reverse side. Great for learning and time-pass!<\/p>\n 5. Books<\/span><\/p>\n For a child two and under preferably a pop-up book. Pop-up books keep the child engaged as its an element of discovery for the child.<\/span><\/p>\n These 5 items were my saviors through this almost 7 hour flight with my highly energetic boys (both under 2)!<\/p>\n For now I’m off to enjoy some sun, sand, and the ocean!<\/p>\n Stay tuned for more updates from Paradise! 10 days and 2 Islands to cover it’s going to be an epic time!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A super spontaneous trip to Hawaii! We’ve learned well planned out trips in advance rarely work-out for us. Just last summer we had a Europe trip all planned out passports ready, airfare, hotels, car transport within Europe ALL booked! Only two weeks after booking the trip our older boy Ray gets hospitalized for three days […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":142,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[200],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n