Travel Tip #1

(Because you know there's going to be about a billion of them, right?)

Prior to leaving on your very long car ride, do NOT believe that you will save any time or effort by taking your children out for a quick fast-food lunch.

You will tell them you don't have time to run back home and change clothes, plus all the clothes are already packed away, and ask them to please eat carefully and not spill their food down the front of their shirts.

And they will listen.

You will remind them to drink their frozen cokes carefully, and not play with the straws, so as not to dribble on their pants.

And they will listen.

When they ask to go outside and play on the play land, you will remind them to avoid mud, grass, or anything that might get their shoes dirty or sticky or nasty.

And they will listen.

Then, they will find a tree frog on the slide, and squeal and make exclamations about how much they love it and how cute it is and grab hold of it. And in its efforts to free itself, the traumatized tree frog will pee all down the front of your 7-yr old's favorite t-shirt.

And you will realize that no matter how well (or sporadically) your children listen to you, your best-laid plans will ALWAYS lose to the ways of the urinary-challenged tree frog.