The end of May, we have the opportunity to go to Beijing, China. My husband Paul, myself and our 3 oldest children ages 14, 12 and 10 will be going for a little over 2 weeks. We are going to Beijing because my parents live there and it is really the trip of a lifetime. It is not a vacation destination that I would have ever considered before they moved there last year. But as long as we have somewhere to stay free and personal tour guides we figured we had better go!
We are only taking the bigger kids for a few reasons. The cost being the biggest. Also, considering most people only have 1 child, the logistics of travel and space available for a large family are just NOT available. We would have to rent 2 vehicles or even a bus to get around and the safety issues are concerning with many small children. We decided to leave the 4 smaller children home with my brother and sister in law.
Our older kids will miss the last week or so of school. I have had to arrange for them to take any tests ahead of time and turn in projects early. Thankfully this has gone smoothly so far and the teachers have been understanding and excited for the kids.
Deciding to leave 1/2 my family home has been hard for me. This is going to be such a cool experience I want us all to share it together, but imagining my 20 month old on a plane for 20 hours is all I have to think about when deciding she would be happier with cousins! Plus, we will be able to move quicker and see more things without the “hassle” of small kids.
Finally, back to the cost. There are 9 of us. The cost of passports, plane tickets, immunizations etc. could really be just completely outrageous. Plane tickets alone would have been almost $15,000. I could barely even type that out let alone actually pay that!
Stay tuned every few days, as I take you through the mistakes and successes we have made planning for this trip!
Have you ever left kids home and taken other kids on a trip??
Part comedian, part Dad, part athlete. He will boss around your children while they play ball.
Just as angelic as she looks, this girl could easily raise a Village by herself, and all the children would grow up to be President.
Self proclaimed, she would be a webkinz dog. Because, "they're cute, and puppies are too. And they're sweet and they always get along with other puppies."
This mini-Martha Stewart can handle ANY craft you send her way. She isn't all bows and rainbows, she's got karate kid moves!
Not "Pick-Me-Up" like caffeine, she wants you to pick her up! AND NOW!
Anything that can be destroyed WILL be destroyed!
Practically Perfect in Every Way for now! Nicknamed "The Panda" she is rolly polly and lives by the motto, "the little one, is KING!"
The resident Labradoodle, Miller got his name because Mom won and got to name the baby! Need something chewed up? He'll take care of it. Especially if it's expensive..
My mom is a French teacher and for the past couple of years, she has been taking her students on trips to France/Canada. Her requirement are simple: 7th grade & had taken French. Of course, all four of her kids took French 😉
For those exact reasons, we are taking our 4 oldest kids to Disney World and leaving our 22 month old home. We leave in 5 weeks! We decided that it is the most opportune time to go while our 4 big kids (9,8,5,5) will still enjoy it and all of its magic. Also, diaper changes, nap times, parent swapping, etc would take time and fun away from the trip. We are traveling by car and making a roadtrip out of the vacation to save a big of money. I have decided that the baby can go with a cousin when he reaches a better age. At that point, we can fly!
You are definitely doing the right thing!!
I’m so excited that you and your family get the to go to china. We have been over there twice in the past 9 years. We have adopted both of our girls over there. I wouldn’t get any immunizations for the trip. As long as your kids are current on the shots they will be just fine. We didn’t get any shots for our trips and we where just fine. Do bring american medicine for if you do get sick, colds, headaches, etc. Water is bad so don’t drink it or and ice in drinks, fruit at resturants. Bring something for you stomach’s if by change you do drink it. It is amazing. My husband has family over there too, which was a life savor. Have a fantastic time. And yes your young children will have much more fun here then in china.
Brilliant advice
I recently just got back from a trip to Mexico and I took 2 of my 4 children. Leaving the two behind was hard but they had school and could not miss. I missed them terribly but we were only gone for a week and they were here with their grandmother. We will however in the next 10 weeks be returning and I will be bringing all 4 hopefully with help from mom and a co worker. We have a home there which cuts the costs way down as far as hotels/cars etc. Hope you guys have a wonderful trip it definitely will be a trip of a lifetime.
I don’t think I could handle even one kid on a trip. I lost my husband in Switzerland when we changed trains. He left his suit bag on the train we just got off and went back for it. Before he could get back off the train pulled out of the station. He freaked and told the conductor what happened and fortunately for us almost all the Swiss all speak English and the conductor immediately radioed back to the station that I was at telling them to look for me and tell me to stay there and that my husband would be getting off at their next stop and getting on the the next train back to me. After a couple of hours we were reunited and both in tears. I was scared to death and didn’t know what I was going to, but luck was on our side that day. It taught me a lesson, to not let anyone out of your sight, even a grown man. I hope you have a safe and fun trip and keep everyone close.
Oh, my goodness. I always stick to that rule, while traveling with my hubby. Even when he suggests he go somewhere real quick I tell him not w/o me.
You are doing the right thing. My husband offered to go back to Germany this summer. We are both German. Our 3 year is in the middle of his “TERRIBLE THEES” !!!!. I said no thank you. You could pay me a Million Dollars. There is no way I am going to be stuck on an airplane for 11 hours with this child, let alone, catch the connecting flight and a train for another hour. We have moved 13 times in 10 years, accross 3 continents. We know what travelling means.
Enjoy the trip. It will be life changing for all of you and open new horizons for the kids. Be prepared forthem wanting to study abraod.
Also to Asia take a triple Antibiotic Ointment. Always comes in handy.
Since you want to travel light, take a Sarong for you and the girls. It can be a skirt, bath robe, beach towel, sun shield…..I have even used it to carry Mangos home from the market.
Doing what’s best to make sure everyone is safe (& happy!) doesn’t always mean that everyone has to do the same thing (does it ever??) We just came back from Disney with our 6 year old and 2 1/2 year old. The 14 month old stayed home with his aunt and I think had just as much fun!
I can’t imagine being on a plane ride that long myself! Much less with my toddler. My husband grew up in Asia and still has family there, but we have yet to go back for a visit.
Here’s a trick I learned going to Europe. Bring a bunch of semi-old clothes to leave behind. I brought 1/2 good clothes and 1/2 old clothes that I didn’t really care for too much (including old underwear. I wore the worst one on the plane. I then left it in the garbage. During the trip I left my old clothes behind. That way I had half my suitcase left at the end to bring back souvenirs and new clothes! Also buy plenty of 2 pound zip lock bags. Organize each days clothes in them and seal them up. This eliminates clothes scattering at the airport and less chance of losing items. Just put the old clothes bag in the bag and less chance of dirty laundry mixing with clean. The ziploc bags also don’t need a vacuum to suck out the air and makes more room in your suitcase. Last item, take your suitcases to Publix to weight them to make sure they are under the limit. Good luck and have a safe trip.
Oh that is really a GREAT idea!
Oh that is really a GREAT idea!
I do this too! I didn’t know other people do as well…but for my new clothes, I always wear them a couple of times and give them to my sister-in-laws (we stay at my in-laws for free) so they see that I JUST took the tags off and wore it only once of twice and disperse among my sister in laws…maybe you can do the same with your mom if you guys are the same size?? That way they get extra gifts, and you got nice picutres and room in your bag! I also take the perfume I am using at the time..A full bottle never gets done in time. ALSO to take less clothes, take more scarves, big chunky necklaces and statement earrings…sam moon has some great ones!! Accessories really make the outfit
My Mom is really tiny! Sadly I don’t fit the same size clothes! But these are really great ideas guys! Thank you so much. I was thinking about getting some sun dresses for my girls and I to wear and change the shoes and jewelry like you are saying!