In Honor of Mother's Day Week- An Interivew with Emily Kraus of A Mom Explores

Find Emily Kraus at AMomExplores.com and on socials @amomexplores

Check out Voyager Toddler Milk – USDA organic powdered milk in convenient single-serving packets perfect for travel with little ones. @voyagermilk

Emily's Podcast is called "The Travel With Kids Podcast." 

Travel with kids doesn't have to be a headache or budget-buster. Emily Krause, founder of A Mom Explores blog, shares her hard-won wisdom from years of adventuring with her four children across America and around the world.

Emily reveals her top family-friendly destinations, both domestic and international. The Black Hills region offers abundant wildlife and outdoor spaces perfect for kids, while Washington DC provides free museums and monuments that make it surprisingly affordable for larger families. For those ready to venture abroad, Emily explains why Costa Rica and Italy consistently deliver memorable experiences for all ages, from sloth tours to gondola rides.

The conversation tackles the real challenges of family travel head-on. Emily candidly discusses her transition from spontaneous solo adventures to the structured planning required with children. She offers practical budgeting strategies, from using flight comparison tools to packing food that significantly reduces dining expenses. Her approach to packing light – one packing cube per child – demonstrates how organization and minimalism can make family trips far less stressful.

What sets this discussion apart is Emily's balanced perspective on creating trips that work for everyone. Rather than exclusively catering to children's interests or forcing adult activities, she describes their family "team" approach where everyone gets experiences they enjoy. By involving kids in planning and teaching them to celebrate others' interests, travel becomes a powerful tool for building character and consideration.

Ready to plan your next family adventure? Listen now and discover how travel with children can be not just manageable, but one of life's most rewarding experiences. Check out Emily's blog at amomexplores.com for more inspiration and practical guides.

• Black Hills and Badlands in South Dakota offers exceptional outdoor spaces and wildlife viewing perfect for children
• Washington DC provides free museums and monuments, making it budget-friendly for larger families
• Costa Rica and Italy rank as top international destinations with universal kid appeal and diverse activities
• Switch from spontaneous travel to having structured plans when traveling with children
• Book accommodations well in advance when traveling with larger families
• Use tools like Google Flights with open destinations to find affordable options for fixed dates
• Save on food by packing snacks and limiting restaurant meals to once daily
• Take advantage of programs like "Every Kid Outdoors" which gives fourth graders free national park passes
• Involve children in planning to build excitement and investment in the trip
• Balance adult interests (museums, hikes) with kid-friendly activities and treats
• Consider multi-generational travel to create memories and have extra helping hands
• Pack light using packing cubes – one per child with complete outfits
• Remember you can purchase most forgotten items at your destination

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Romies.
We are married.

Speaker 2 (00:07):
To each other.

Speaker 1 (00:08):
Right, we are a touring musical duo.

Speaker 2 (00:11):
And our music has taken us to all kinds of places
all around the world and keepsus always on the go.

Speaker 1 (00:16):
So we hope you enjoy our stories and adventures while
running around working to keepall your plates spinning.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
And we hope to facilitate your busy lifestyle
and feed your inner travel bug.
Hi everyone, we are so excitedto have you today.
This is going to be this iskind of a first time we've done
something like this.
We, rory and I, are married andwe travel to each other and we

(00:44):
travel often with our cats, butwe don't have any children and
we don't really we haven't donereally like travel with our
nieces and nephews, and so, inhonor of Mother's Day, we wanted
to talk with someone who is anexpert on travel with children,
because I have a feeling thatsome of you might feel like

(01:06):
vacationing with your childrenor traveling with your children
is too much of a headache andyou just want to stay home and
your idea of getting away wouldbe to not have them with you.

Speaker 1 (01:18):
I don't think I've ever heard anyone say have
children, we'll travel.
I don't think that's a thingright.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
So today we have a really, really special guest
with us.
We're going to introduce her injust a quick second, but we
also want to say a big thank youto Voyager, who is sponsoring
this episode, and they providetravel-friendly powdered milk
that is easy for on-the the gothat you can take with you on
your travels with your youngins.

(01:48):
So we're going to talk moreabout them later, but we want to
dive in with our awesome guest,Emily Krause.
Emily, thank you so much forbeing with us.

Speaker 3 (01:57):
Hi, thank you so much for having me.
I'm really excited to be onyour podcast.

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Thank you, thank you Well, and I hear you've had some
laryngitis and so like wereally appreciate you diving in
in spite of that, like you soundfun to us.
So I want to hear first of all,emily, you have a blog.
Tell us about your blog, whatyou like to talk about and where
people can find that Like let's, let's start there.

Speaker 3 (02:25):
Sure.
So my blog is called a momexplorers and I basically talk
all about travel with kids,pretty much just sharing all of
our adventures, and I think whatsets it apart is that I provide
all of the details for ouradventures.
For the longest time, I wouldsee travel influencers or travel

(02:47):
bloggers and all of theircontent was so aspirational and
inspirational, but there was nodetails like how much did that
cost?
You, like, how did you get frompoint A to point B?
Where did you stay?
And you would see these likebeautiful images, but it was
like, well, how could I recreatethat for myself?
And so I thought, well, wait aminute, I'll be that person.

(03:09):
And so, yeah, from from thetime we started traveling with
our kids, I just startedrecording the content over the
years and so, yeah, that'sbasically I've.
I've always loved writing, andso my blog used to be like more
of a you know, online journaltype of thing, but it's really
developed more into like tipsand tricks for traveling with

(03:31):
kids we want to like.

Speaker 2 (03:48):
We want to share practical things that help
people realize that you can dothis like right, have a weird
life like we do.
You can go on these trips, youcan explore the world.
I just love like that you canhave a different mindset around
all of this and then when you'rebringing the whole family, you
now have added costs.
You have, like, justpersonalities so many details
yeah, how are you like differentages and all of this kind of

(04:09):
thing?

Speaker 3 (04:10):
so maybe what are some of your favorite family
trips that you have had, thatyou feel like these were a
success, and maybe these are acouple reasons why great
question, um, and I feel likealmost any trip can be kid
friendly, but I'll definitelyshare the ones that I felt like
were easily kid friendly, likeyou didn't have to have a lot of

(04:32):
money or something to make itkid friendly.
So like top of the list wouldbe like.
Black Hills and Badlands inSouth Dakota was one of our very
first big road trips aftermoving back to the Midwest.
We were both from Wisconsin, welived in Florida for five years
and then we moved back toWisconsin in 2020.
So that was kind of our firstbig road trip with the kids and

(04:55):
it was just a dream like just somany great outdoor spaces for
the kids, wildlife.
You could really just like takeyour own time and road trips.
So definitely I think that'slike a bucket list vacation for
families in the US.
Another big one I think is likeWashington DC.
Even though I guess hotelscould be expensive, all of the

(05:15):
activities in Washington DC arefree.
So museums, monuments,memorials it's all free.
So for a family like ours withfour kids, even like $10 or $15
per person, it adds up Likewe're dropping a hundred dollars
to go into a museum, butsomewhere like Washington DC you
can do everything and allyou're paying for is like food

(05:36):
and accommodations, so so Iwould definitely say that one.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
Also, like with DC, you are not needing to rent a
car because they have such goodRight.
So you might yeah A pass orsomething.

Speaker 3 (05:49):
But yes, exactly, I went with my just my youngest on
that trip and I was like, waita minute, this is a game changer
, because we could fly in.
I didn't have to bring a carseat, we just went straight from
the plane to the metro and ittook us like right to 0.1 miles
away from our hotel.
I was like, whoa, that was soeasy, so perfect.

(06:09):
Yeah, anytime you don't have toworry about car seats.

Speaker 1 (06:11):
It's like, yes, a dream come true, we use car
seats all the time, I mean seats.
Relatable right.

Speaker 3 (06:22):
Maybe it's not the same.
So those are two, like I wouldsay, really big, family-friendly
destinations that we loved.
And then we actually just gotback from a spring break in
Washington State.
It was not warm, but it was oneof the most beautiful places
I've ever seen in my life and wejust road tripped all around

(06:42):
Washington State.
We did Olympic National Park,leavenworth, seattle.
They absolutely loved it.
So Washington state was awesome, too Beautiful.

Speaker 2 (06:49):
We're actually going to be covering the Olympic
peninsula in uh, coming up, like, I think, in June somewhere
around there.
Amazing Talking about that,yeah, so I'm glad.
I'm glad you did a littlepreview for us.

Speaker 3 (07:00):
Yes, perfect, we planned that forest.
Yes, perfect, we plan that.
And then for for international,I would say my top two
destinations would be Costa Ricaand Italy.
Costa Rica, I think for ustravelers it's it's close ish to
home, you don't have to crossthe ocean, wildlife, they're

(07:21):
just so family friendly there.
Um, so much biodiversity, likeit was just really amazing.
And like a lot of tours thatyou can take with your kids,
like a sloth tour, horsebackriding tour, zip lining, things
like that.

Speaker 1 (07:35):
And by sloth tour you don't mean a lazy tour.

Speaker 3 (07:37):
Correct.
That's what animals are.

Speaker 1 (07:41):
I know a lot of people who would enjoy a sloth
tour.

Speaker 3 (07:44):
Yes, sloth, full tour , yeah, baby.
And then Italy.
Just I mean you can't go wrongwith Italy.
Like pizza, pasta, gelato, likeworld famous, like places like
the Colosseum and going on agondola ride in Venice.
It was just like yourquintessential.
Like the kids still say thatwas their favorite trip.

(08:05):
So I would say those are my,some of my top choices.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
Right.
So those are really goodpractical things that folks can
kind of plug into.
As, hey, I'm not used totraveling with kids.
These are great places we candive in.
Now anything specific with you,like as a mom, like traveling
as a mom versus just maybe solotravel, or you and just you and
your husband, any kind of extraresponsibilities that you carry

(08:34):
along with you in that sense,yeah, just a little bit.

Speaker 3 (08:46):
Yeah, I loved traveling ever since I was in
college and the way I used totravel was like by the seat of
my pants, no plans, trying toget lost in a city and trying to
find my way back to where I wasstaying.
Like that's the kind of travelI love.
I love to linger and dillydally with kids.
It's like that's not the move.
I tried it.
It didn't work move.

Speaker 1 (09:05):
I tried it, it didn't work.

Speaker 3 (09:06):
Yeah, you got to have at least like an outline of a
plan, and definitely you have tobe flexible too.
But, like, if you're wanderingthrough a city, kids are like
where are we going, what are wedoing, when are we eating?
And so you gotta, you gottahave things in mind, things to

(09:29):
do.
So that, first and foremost,was something I had to get used
to, as well as like we reallyhave to plan ahead of time
because we're a family of sixand the hotel rooms or the
accommodations that can fit sixpeople are very limited, so you
got to snatch them up early.
Yeah, same with flights.
Again, when you're multiplyingit times six, even a hundred
dollar difference is a big deal.

(09:49):
So having a plan soar inadvance is not my nature, but
it's something I had to adjustto, for sure, with a big family.

Speaker 1 (09:58):
Yeah, I can imagine.
Wow.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
Along those lines.
Do you have any budgetingtricks that you that you have
found really helpful?

Speaker 3 (10:07):
Hmm, yeah, quite as far as flights, we, because our
dates are kind of fixed.
My husband's a school principaland the kids are in school and
they have sports, so we reallyhave to stick to spring break or
like a specific week in summer.
So we really have to stick tospring break or like a specific
week in summer.
I've learned to be moreflexible with our destination

(10:35):
and so to use tools like umgoing that sends like the cheap
flight emails or Google flightsand just like plug in our dates
but leave the destination blankand see like well, where's the
cheapest place to fly to?
Um, yeah, dabbling with pointsand miles.
We're not huge points and milespeople, but we do like use it
to offset the cost.
But there are people way moreknowledgeable about that than I

(10:56):
am for sure.

Speaker 1 (10:57):
I can imagine with six your points add up a little
faster than if you're just us.

Speaker 3 (11:01):
Yeah, yeah, correct that.
Which is why I'm like, oh man,it takes like years to earn
enough points for flights forour whole family.
Yeah, no doubt, yeah.
And then, just like we're notbig foodie people, so we always
like pack PB and J's granolabars, apples, and like we'll do
maybe one meal a day out andwe'll do that like in between

(11:25):
lunch and dinner, so it's likeeat a lot, and then we'll maybe
that like in between lunch anddinner, so it's like eat a lot,
and then we'll maybe do icecream later or or something to
kind of offset the food costs.
Yeah, nice.

Speaker 2 (11:34):
Yeah, that's great, and it's usually more healthy.
Besides that, it's budgetfriendly.
You're choosing?
Hey, I can actually choose somewhole wheat bread right now or
some yes yeah, have a vegetable.
Yes a vegetable and all thesugar.

Speaker 1 (11:47):
You know things like that All these kids may be all
in butter with sugar.
I'm just saying right.

Speaker 2 (11:54):
Yeah, I just want to jump off this saving money and
the budget things that you'vetalked about, because we have
done a previous episode withRussell Hannon, who talked about
budget travel, and he talkedabout some of these website
tools and things like that, andone of the things that he
mentions is, you know, nationalparks have a free day throughout
the year and a day that you cango free, and so you made me

(12:15):
think of that when you mentionedthat earlier of like, hey, find
the days that the museums arefree or that the national parks
are free, because those are tokind of keep it budget friendly
and all of of that.

Speaker 3 (12:27):
Yeah, yeah, and actually like along those lines.
First of all, we just made useof the every kid outdoors
program that the national parksoffer, so every fourth grader
gets a free national parks pass.
You just have to do like athree question quiz online and
it's like would you rather dothis or that?
So it's super easy and then youjust download it and bring it

(12:47):
to the national parks and thewhole family gets in free.

Speaker 2 (12:50):
So that's a tip, awesome, wow, yeah so we need to
let all the fourth graders knowexactly exactly family gets in
free.

Speaker 3 (13:00):
That yeah, well, anyone in the car?
Anyone in the car with thefourth rider?
I?

Speaker 1 (13:04):
have a big car yes, yes.
All your family.

Speaker 3 (13:09):
Take that minivan, yep, that's right.

Speaker 2 (13:12):
Now speaking of minivans, I would assume that,
for having a large family, thatroad trips end up being a little
bit more comfortable for youall, a little more practical,
more affordable.
Do you kind of lean into roadtrips as your mode for most?

Speaker 3 (13:30):
things we definitely did when we first started Before
my blog was making enough moneyto pay for the trips, and this
was when we lived in Florida.
We started with day trips noteven road trips like day trips
we're driving two hours out andtwo hours back because we're not
paying for a hotel Like we'redriving two hours out and two
hours back because we're notpaying for a hotel.

(13:50):
And luckily Florida likeeverywhere is a destination,
everywhere is a tourist spot.
So it was great to get my startin Florida, because it just
there were so many places towrite about within driving
distance of where we lived.
And then we definitely spent afew years in the Midwest road
tripping around.
In the past few years I've justbeen really blessed.
My blog has been able tosupport our trips, so we've been

(14:14):
able to take a little bitbigger trips for spring break
and summer.
But honestly, the way thingshave been going, I'm like we may
need to get back to our roadtripping days for sure.

Speaker 1 (14:25):
A little cyclical perhaps.

Speaker 3 (14:27):
Yeah, a little bit Recession core travel, right
yeah.

Speaker 2 (14:32):
For those who haven't read your blog yet or are not
yet familiar with you, tell us alittle bit about your kids.
Are all of them on board, sinceyou can take the whole family?
Do they all get excited about atrip?
Do you have one or two that arelike, oh man, we have to go
again?
How are their personalitieswith travel?

Speaker 3 (14:55):
Well, thankfully, all of my kids still get excited
about travel, and something I'vedone to make sure that they're
excited is like I bring them inon the decision making, like hey
, we're thinking about these twodestinations, which would you
guys rather do?
And then, once we've chosen thedestination, I'll be like, oh,
we could do this or this, andthey help me kind of plan out

(15:16):
the itinerary.
My kids are ages five through11 right now and luckily my 11
year old is like she's just themost adventurous, excited kind
of personality and so I thinklike when you get to those tween
years is kind of when it startsto get like, well, I'd rather
be with my friends.
Thankfully she is not like that.

(15:37):
She's like where are we goingnext?
So she kind of sets the tonefor the kids I feel like, but so
far, so good.
They all still they love travel, so I'm very thankful for that.
Yeah Well you know they'refollowing her lead dude, that's
great.

Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, thank you.
So involving them in thedecisions.
And then do you feel like youare able to do things that you
want to do like, or do you feellike you make an itinerary, just
so the kids will be happy?

Speaker 3 (16:06):
that's's a great question.

Speaker 2 (16:07):
And you might have some fun, maybe along the way.

Speaker 3 (16:10):
Yes, great, great question.
I think it depends on the trip.
So I've done a few birthdaytrips with the kids where I kind
of just like lean into theirinterest.
So Legoland with the boys,because they were really into
Legoland for a while.
My son loves Star Wars, so wewent to Disney World and did
like the Galaxy's Edge stuff andit's funny because I had never

(16:34):
seen a Star Wars movie in mylife before.
That Wow, oh yeah.
So the week before the trip I'mlike we got to watch all the
Star Wars movies.
So he and I every morning wouldget up and watch all the movies
together.
My daughter's really into HarryPotter, so we've done, you know,
wizarding World of Harry Potterat Universal Orlando, but also
we went to Scotland and saw likeHarry Potter sites there.

(16:57):
So there are specific trips wetake that are catered to their
interests.
But then when we take familytrips we like to do a mix.
So like this is for the kids,this is more for the adults.
So we're not going to shy awayfrom museums or think like hikes
or things that my husband and Iwant to do.
The kids learn like hey, if wedo this, we can go do something

(17:19):
that you want to do either lateror tomorrow, but we try to do a
mix of like adult stuff thatthey're dragged along to and
then like, for example, if we'rein Europe, I'm going to say yes
to every carousel, I'm going tosay yes to the gelato, let them
have a special treat or a sodathat they wouldn't normally have
.
Because, yep, we went to twomuseums today, so yeah, when I

(17:44):
was growing up, mom would always.

Speaker 1 (17:46):
we had a big yard to clean, it was like four and a
half acres in front.
The back weed eating every treeand she was always like, if we
work in the yard until whatever,whatever, we'll go to the state
park and we'll hang out there.
And that was always, you know,the incentive.

Speaker 3 (17:59):
So yeah, man, yeah, I mean, some might call it
bribery and it is a little bit,but also like, like I just
really subscribe to this ideaand I talk about it with my kids
that our family is a team andit's kind of cheesy, but like,
hey, we're a team, it's not allabout you, it's not all about me
.
We're gonna like take turnsdoing something we enjoy and

(18:22):
you're gonna like be happy forthe person who's like this
activity is for, becauseeveryone's going to get a chance
.
So just fostering thatenvironment of like hey, there's
something for everyone, butlike, don't be rude when it's
someone else's thing.

Speaker 1 (18:38):
Yeah, totally.

Speaker 2 (18:40):
That just teaches kindness and consideration, not
only within your family, butwith other people.

Speaker 3 (18:45):
So yeah, totally.

Speaker 2 (18:47):
Travel just has so many good lessons it does.
So you mentioned that, likeyour husband has like a real job
and your kids are in school.
So have you been tempted tohomeschool so you can travel
more?
Or do you feel like, with kindof this quote unquote normal
schedule, that you're still ableto get your travel bug uh in?

Speaker 3 (19:13):
yeah, to feed the travel bug and to kind of keep,
keep you, the travel personinside you, happy when you have
to be home for a while I willsay that I went through like a
morning period almost, um, whenthe kids were so young.
We could just take off anyweekend and like go do something
and my husband's a teacher, sowe do have summers more flexible

(19:36):
.
So I felt like when they wereyoung we could be a lot more
spontaneous, we could travelmore.
And then I had to go throughthis morning period of like
they're all in activities nowand you can't just take them out
of school whenever anymore.
They're not in preschoolanymore.
Well, the youngest is, and Istill take her out a lot, but
like I had to go through aperiod of adjustment.

(19:57):
But and the other thing was Iwas like, well, how am I going
to grow on social media?
Because I'm like trying tocompete against these like
full-time travelers and peopletaking a family gap year,
they're able to do so much morethan we're able to do.
And then when I realized what Ithought was my weakness was
actually my strength because,like the majority of families,

(20:18):
kids go to school, kids are insports and they're just trying
to find one week a year yeah,that one week a year when they
can spend family timeuninterrupted on a vacation.
And so once I started leaninginto that.
It made me a lot more excitedabout the stage of life that
we're in.
So there's always pros and cons, you know, because when the

(20:38):
kids are toddlers, travel's justreally physically demanding
with them, but you have moretime and more freedom.
And now the kids are older,travel's a lot easier but our
time is more restricted.
So it's just, you know,weighing those pros and cons,
yeah.

Speaker 2 (20:55):
And just being flexible with the season that
your family is in right now.

Speaker 1 (20:59):
Yeah, leaning into that season.

Speaker 2 (21:01):
Yeah, yeah, you'll have a new season very soon,
because they think hey we'llgrow up so fast.

Speaker 1 (21:08):
You'll soon have a teenager.

Speaker 3 (21:11):
I know I'm not ready.

Speaker 1 (21:12):
We're going to talk about a new season.

Speaker 3 (21:15):
Truly.

Speaker 2 (21:16):
Well, with the theme of Mother's Day, have you
traveled with your mom and oryour husband's mom?

Speaker 3 (21:23):
This is something I'm really passionate about is
multi-generational travel.
In fact, I just got back from atrip to Paris with my mom and
my mother-in-law and my youngestdaughter, so it was just a
girl's trip and we had so muchfun.
But we've, the past few years,started inviting our parents

(21:44):
along on big trips with us, andit's just a great way to spend
time with them, have an extraset of hands to help with the
kids and just spend quality timetogether.
So, yes, I love traveling withmy mom and my mother-in-law.
Yeah, that's great yeah we lovethat.

Speaker 1 (22:02):
I grew up doing stuff like that and then we have.
Also, we really enjoy travelingwith our parents.
We've been to Europe with them,went on a trip to Arkansas with
their parents and just yeah, wereally enjoy the same.
Yes, the same, yes.

Speaker 2 (22:17):
Yes, and earlier as you were talking, I thought
about, like when we were talkingabout everybody getting to do
kind of things that they want todo and stuff.
I was curious, if you ever geta chance to do things when you
have the whole family with youIs has there been an opportunity
where you could leave the kidssomewhere and you go off and

(22:38):
just do have a have couple time?
Well, if you are traveling withyour parents or grandparents or
aunts and uncles or whatever,then you've got that can give
you some freedom, them to havetime together and then you and
hubby can go off and have someyou time yeah, that stuff.

Speaker 3 (22:52):
They always tell us like, well, we'll watch the kids
, you guys can go off and dosomething.
To be honest, we have notreally taken advantage of it,
because I feel like my parents,at this stage of life, have more
energy than we do.
Somehow, like it hits 7.00 PM,we're like we're back at the
hotel, we're in bed with thekids and they're like, well,

(23:12):
we're going to go off andexplore more and we're like,
cool, you do that.

Speaker 1 (23:23):
We're going to just hang and explore more and we're
like, cool, you do that.
We're going to just hang outhere but maybe in, maybe in a
few years, that'll switch around.
But they always offer that'sgreat.
My, uh, my family for years hastaken uh ski trips to colorado.
Well, in addition to othertrips, but it's a big family
trip, like, for some, I think,four generations on a trip.
Yeah, it's really cool.

Speaker 3 (23:44):
I have a large family but it's fun that all of them
love going and we take, you know, every age.
Those are the best trips withall the cousins and aunts and
uncles.
I love that.

Speaker 1 (23:50):
Man and you can get really great prices on a cabin.
That's like 20 something people.
It's so bizarre you wouldn'tthink you can.
But per person you can getreally inexpensive housing.
Yes, for sure.
So we found that in Colorado.

Speaker 2 (24:09):
But that takes you know.
You have to know a year inadvance that you're going to do
that.
And you have to have the travelnerd in your family that is
staying on top of shopping forthose skills and all of that
stuff.

Speaker 3 (24:21):
You know, yeah, it's a lot of logistics, that's for
sure it is.

Speaker 1 (24:25):
And I would say, if you find a place that and this
is just a general tip for peopleif you find a place you'd love
to go back to again and again,get to know the people that own
the place that you can stay at,if at all possible possible,
because for us that's beencrucial in some of these trips
that we've had, where it wasbetween us and someone else
who's going to book the place,or they were thinking about this

(24:47):
and that and they leaned intous because of our relationship
and we don't know them outsideof having stayed at their place.
So that's really great to getto know.
Especially when you'retraveling with large groups,
multi-generational things,whatever with your family, to
get to know the people whereyou're staying, it can be really
helpful, kind of like knowingyour local banker Right.

Speaker 3 (25:10):
That's a good tip.

Speaker 2 (25:11):
Well, I want to hear a few more tips from you.
Do you have any additionalhacking hacks, Like you've
talked about?
Child seats?
You know, how do you, how didyou practically, especially when
they were little like organize?
Did you make lists of I need tomake sure that I have my, my
Voyager powdered milk, I have my, you know, my car seat, my

(25:35):
bottles, whatever it is.
How did you organize that kindof stuff?
And just like, some general,like packing type tips that you
can share with us?
I'd love to hear that.

Speaker 3 (25:47):
Yeah, I am actually.
My packing list lives in myhead, which makes it difficult
for other family members to helpout.

Speaker 1 (25:55):
Yeah, no doubt, post that on the refrigerator, yeah
exactly Well now on therefrigerator.

Speaker 3 (26:00):
Yeah, exactly Well.
Now that the kids are older,I'll like write out a list for
them, like you need this manyshirts and then bring them to me
and I'm going to like gothrough it and make the correct
shirts.
I'm a little bit controllingwhen it comes to packing, but I
suppose at some point I'll haveto give up some of that.
But I love to pack light and soI try to limit everyone to like

(26:23):
one personal item per person.
So I have one packing cube perkid.
And then what I'll do is likeI'll get all the laundry in the
house done and I'll start makingpiles.
And then I think, like, as welead up to the trip, I'm
throwing stuff in a speciallaundry basket that I know is
going to go on the trip so Idon't forget it.
When I see it in the house, I'mlike oh yeah, we're going to
need that for the trip.

(26:43):
Throw it in the basket.
So typically I'm like startingto think about it a few weeks
ahead of time and then, a day ortwo before the trip, I'm laying
out every outfit for each kidand then putting it all in one
packing cube.
Each person gets one packingcube.
So I feel like I'm a lot moreorganized packing for the kids
than I am for myself.
Um cause then I leave my stuffto the last minute.
I'm like, oh yeah, I guess Ineed stuff too.

(27:05):
But then what I'll do is like,as I'm packing, if I'm like, oh,
this is still in the laundry orthis is in the garage, I need
to go get it.
I'll make a list of what Ihaven't packed yet and put that
on top of each bag.
So it's my own specialorganization, I guess.

Speaker 1 (27:21):
Well, it's been working for you, so I guess, I
guess it works.

Speaker 3 (27:25):
But but yeah, we just tend to really pack light and
because we travel so often, Ikind of have it down to like a
rhythm.
I know what we need.
It's like your weekly groceryshopping.
You just kind of know what youneed.
Yeah, yeah Well groceryshopping.

Speaker 1 (27:38):
You just kind of know what you need, yeah, yeah.
Well, it's amazing, thoserhythms that you find natural.
Some people will findcompletely unnatural and like
they can't grasp them withoutyou telling them which.
That's just how their mindworks.
So that's great that you havethat you can share.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (27:52):
Because I'm like I do some things.
I pack.
I do a little bit of what youdo, but I can also learn from oh
okay, you do that.
That's kind of cool.
How can I apply that to how Ipack?
So it's fun to learn how peopledo their thing.
Yeah.

Speaker 3 (28:09):
So I'll make packing lists and publish them on my
blog, and then, while I'mwriting the packing list, I'm
like I should really use thismyself.

Speaker 1 (28:17):
I should print these out.

Speaker 3 (28:19):
I really should make use of these, that's awesome.

Speaker 2 (28:23):
So when you have forgotten something, left
something home, has it ever beena big disaster for you?
Have you had any like oh wereally, that was really dumb to
not have that.

Speaker 3 (28:37):
I feel like we really have been lucky.
We haven't forgotten anythingreally too big, except one time
I did forget the stroller.
My parents live closer to theairport, so if we have an early
flight I'll always like stayover at their house the night
before.
So I drove down to their houseat like 7 pm and then got all
the way there and realized likeI forgot the stroller at my

(28:58):
house.
So that was probably thebiggest thing, because I was
able to drive back and get it.
It was just a pain.
But I think having a little bitof like breathing room in our
budget has been the best thing,because it's like oh, you can
actually buy stuff wherever yougo.
Yeah, they have stores there.
They have stores there.
So I feel like the biggestthing I've forgotten or not
forgotten, but like didn't packwell for is like we traveled to

(29:22):
California in spring and I justthought it was going to be warm
and it was in the 60s and it wascold and I had one sweatshirt
and like no pants.
So I guess I'm wearing the samething every day on this trip.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (29:37):
Where's the?

Speaker 3 (29:38):
local Army.
Yeah, so that was probably theworst of it, but truly we've
been very lucky and haven'tforgotten anything too important
.

Speaker 2 (29:48):
Yeah, oh, that's good , that's one thing we talked
about with Brooke BrookeShinneman's class with her
packing list, you know talkingabout packing light and most
things.
You can problem solve onceyou're there.
Figure out what you're going todo once you're there.

Speaker 1 (30:04):
Yeah, we were heading to Europe soon and my mom's
like is there anything you needbefore you go?
And I was like, mom, we can buyeverything there, but most
people, they don't.
They know it intuitively, butthey don't, they don't consider
it.

Speaker 2 (30:18):
Well, and we?
I mean, we're musicians, right,so we don't have real jobs.
So I'm always thinking aboutwhat can I bring so I don't have
to spend money there?
Of course, and so that, I think,has led me to kind of maybe
overpack sometimes and just kindof like because I want to save
money and so I it's worth it tome to carry around this extra
bag because I'm saving money,and so I think at the end of the

(30:40):
day, you kind of have to figureout what can I really live
without and how can I pack lightand trusting that I can buy it
there.

Speaker 1 (30:49):
It's going to be okay .
Yeah, and not to panic, becausesometimes, worst case scenario,
like I was in Kentucky and Ineeded some pants, pants, but I
didn't need to spend the money.
So I went down to the goodwilland bought pants for a dollar 50
and I've had them for years.
So you know well, there areways around it, there are work
around okay that.

Speaker 2 (31:11):
So I have to tell a story.
This latest one, this was ourlatest trip.
I went to my niece's wedding.
I only packed one shoe.
I had all I.
I brought two sets of like bootsand I was still trying to
decide my outfit which is dumbanyway, but I was like I had my

(31:32):
outfit options and I had my twopairs of of like funky boot
shoes.
So they were taking up a lot ofspace.
So I had them in the littlesuitcase that I was gonna take
and it turns out Rory needed totake that suitcase.
So I had all four shoesoriginally in the suitcase, but
when I switched, somehow onlythree shoes made it.
So I had a pair of shoes thatdidn't go with the outfit I

(31:52):
ended up wearing and only hadone shoe.
But we were with family and Iwas like I'm, this is a day of
my life, I don't need anotherpair of black shoes.
So I'm like looking around andI noticed that one of the
grandmothers had black shoesthat would perfectly go with my
dress and be just fine.
And I said what size do youwear?

(32:15):
And she said and a half.

Speaker 1 (32:16):
I said perfect, borrow your shoes tomorrow for
the wedding and she wastraveling from Missouri.

Speaker 2 (32:23):
So she, oh, so funny, we were all there, another
state and so that way I didn'thave to go spend time shopping,
I was just able to borrow.

Speaker 3 (32:32):
So if you are ever traveling with family, that you
know, that you know yeah you canalways borrow right and
honestly, like that's so true,though, and that's something
it's like yes, you can buysomething when you get there,
but sometimes it's like learningthe art of like going without
for a week.
Like you're gonna be okay ifyou go without this one thing,

(32:52):
um, and so that's another thingabout like packing light and
traveling with kids is justlearning to be content with what
you have, because it's for ashort period of time.
So, yeah, I'm, I'm with you,plus I.
I have this theory that, likewhen you forget something and
you have to buy it at the mostrandom place like I need a pair
of shoes and all that's nearbyis like a Walgreens it ends up
being like your favorite thingthat you wear for years.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
We have a shirt like that for Rory.
Same thing, yes, I loveorthopedic shoes so much.
Yes, I love that.
Well, emily, thank you so muchfor all of your help and input.
And just insight, yes, and yourinsight and getting to meet you

(33:37):
and people can find your blogat a mom explorescom.
Meet you and people can findyour blog at Amomexplorescom.

Speaker 3 (33:42):
Yes, and then on your socials you are at Also
Amomexplores across all socialchannels except my podcast is
called the Travel With KidsPodcast.

Speaker 2 (33:52):
Okay.
So we will put links to all ofthat in our show notes.
Y'all be sure to check that out.
Emily, thank you so much forbeing with us today and happy
Mother's Day, yeah.

Speaker 3 (34:02):
Thank you so much and thank you again for having me
on.
This was a really funconversation.

Speaker 1 (34:07):
Yes, it was.

Speaker 3 (34:07):
Thank you.

Speaker 2 (34:08):
We are super excited to thank and let you know more
about today's sponsor, which isVoyager Toddler Milk.
Now, even though Rory and Idon't have toddlers, we think
this product is so fun andhelpful.
Adults can use it too.
By the way, it is USDA organicwhole milk in convenient,
individually wrapped singleserving packets that don't need

(34:31):
to be refrigerated.
It's powdered milk, so all youhave to do is add water and
you're good to go.
So it's so easy to take throughairport security.
So, moms, no liquids to worryabout, Just toss the packets in
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(34:53):
beach days, playground time,like anywhere life takes you.
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(35:14):
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(35:35):
So huge thanks to VoyagerToddler Milk for sponsoring this
episode.
With Emily Krause and Emily, weare so excited and grateful
that we have had you on ourepisode.
Thank you so much for joiningus as well.
Y'all check out the show notesfor all the info and definitely
take Voyager Toddler Milk withyou wherever you go.
It's clean, healthy, makes lifeon the go so much easier, and

(35:56):
that's why we are here and whywe do this podcast so we can
help make your life and yourtravels much easier, more
convenient, more fun, so you canlive your life to the fullest.
Enjoy your travels.
We'll see you on the nextepisode.
We hope we've inspired you thisepisode, so join us next time.
Please subscribe to rate andshare our podcast with your

(36:17):
friends or you know whomever?
And please like and follow us onInstagram, youtube and Facebook
.

Speaker 1 (36:22):
We're also on X and on all social platforms.
We are at TheRomies, that'sT-H-E, r-o-a-m, i-e-s, and our
main hub is our website.

Speaker 2 (36:33):
At www.
Theromiescom, that's right,that's.
D-h-e-r-o-a-m-i-e-s dot com.
We'll be there until next time.
Yeah, thanks for listening.
Bye.