{Travel Survival Series} Meals

A Week at the Lake {Survival Series} Food and Groceries

During our week at the Lake, we have found that the best way to do meals with a large group is to share the most common meal, ours being the noon meal, and then be on our own for the evening meals with our individual families. When we collaborate for the main meal, each smaller family takes one day and plans the entrée and everyone else brings sides and salads. We also bring snacks for our families and snacks to share. Each of us tries to bring an appetizer-type snack to bring down to the beach for the day (this is totally casual and somehow works itself out over the course of the week). Each family ends up needing to bring less food and we’ve found that it’s much less stressful planning only one large meal for the week. I’ll post ideas for main meals and ideas for our suppers (these tend to be smaller meals and are quick and easy to fix). I’m also adding ideas for sides, salads and snacks as well. I’ll link up as many as I can!

I also love these trays from Target to help transfer all of the food out to the picnic tables.

Main Meal
Our main meal is usually cooked on the grill and is served on picnic tables. Here are some ideas of what we have for this meal:

Hamburgers
Teriyaki Shish kabobs
Pork Loin
Grilled Chicken
Pork Chops
Steak
Fried Fish – we also have a fish fry sometime toward the end of the week to showcase the guy’s catch during the week.

Second Meal

Tacos in a bag
Tonka Toasters over the fire
Brats
Hot dogs
Poor Boy Sandwich – we usually pick up a pre-made sandwich at Wal-mart before leaving town and eat that after church Saturday night while getting settled, no prep yet satisfying J
Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Sloppy Joes

Breakfast

My favorite because it’s so easy
It is family tradition to have Lucky Charms for breakfast, that’s it. I’m not sure where this tradition came from but I’m not arguing!!
My mother-in-law will also invite us over one morning for fried fish, eggs and toast

Sides

Cookie salad
Green Fluff
Snicker Salad
Potato Salad
Rotini Noodle Salad
Broccoli Grape Salad
Green Olive Salad
Patio Beans
Veggies and Dip
Chips – it’s easiest to pack the individual servings of chips so you can pack around them without worrying about crushing a whole bag. For tacos in a bag, you just need to make sure you have enough bags of Doritos for each person to have one (or two, or three!)
Cantelope
Strawberries
Apples
Kiwi
Grapes
Watermelon
Corn – Frozen
Green Beans – Frozen
Squash – Frozen from the previous fall
Potatoes – for Lettuce and potatoes (see below)
Carrots – we often have at least one meal of glazed carrots
Lettuce – my in-laws make creamed lettuce over potatoes from lettuce in their garden. Sounds weird but it’s delicious. - We use something similar to this recipe without the sugar and ingredients are added to taste.


Snacks
Chex Mix
Twizzlers
Red Vine (yes, it’s imperative to have both, I guess)
Chips & Salsa
Puppy Chow
Reeces Pieces
Peanuts
Dried Fruit
Taco Dip
Rice Krispie Bars
Cookies
Special K Bars
Candy Bars – fun size are great
Microwave popcorn (for those late night snackers)
Cinnamon Bears
Chips – our newest favorite is TIGI Friday’s Potato Skins
Deep dish mini fruit Pizzas
Gold Fish
Teddy Grahams
Granola Bars
Fruit Snacks
Fruit Cups

We take two coolers while my in-laws usually take 4 (there are only two of them in their cabin now but my mother-in-law always brings lots of food). Any food that doesn't need to be kept cold, isn't put in the cooler but added to a box or rubbermaid tub and then put in the fridge when we get there. Here are a couple of ways you can store your snacks while you're there:

Realsimple.com has a great post on grab and go snacks here. You could hang a shoe organizer over a door and put your snacks in it for the kids (or you) to grab and go without digging through cupboards, etc. This one I found on Pinterest from Moneysavingqueen:

Moneysavingqueen

This one is from A Girl and a Glue Gun (she has a whole post about travel with kids) as well as PMKCrafts and would be great for in the car or while your there to take out of the cabin with you. Our resort has a play ground and it's much easier to bring the snacks to the kids instead of trying to get them inside.

Source

And last but not least, HERE is my free printable list for meals  and groceries!

If youre looking for more ideas, follow my Pinterest Boards for Travel and the lake.

{Survival Series} Pre-Trip Prep

A Week at the Lake With Little Ones

{Survival Series}

Pre-Trip Prep

I have a fabulous App for packing called Packing Pro. The only problem is that I’m a super visual person and if it’s out of sight, it’s completely out of mind. That makes a list that I need to see sitting on the counter pretty useless in a gadget. I end up checking it as we’re pulling out of the driveway. This is NOT recommended and will result in at least one trip back home within the first 10 minutes (Manly Man has a 15 minute limit for turning around to get forgotten items).

There are also several hundred items involved in a trip like this so I have my handy dandy excel spreadsheet (which I’m sure can be transferred to my iTouch, I just haven’t taken the time to do it yet). So, you get a googledocs list of my Pre-Trip packing and a list of things to do before you even think about packing (like making that reservation to begin with!!).

This is my Pre-Trip List for our little family of four and the things that we (mostly me) need to get done before we leave.

  I set aside a space in our dining room for packing items as I purchase them and suitcases once they are packed. The towel on the floor is so we don't scratch the wood. Little Lady has decided that she wants to help so they look a little crazy but at least she feels like she's a part of the process. For packing the kid's suit cases, I use the "Ziploc Method" shown here from Money Saving Mom:

Money Saving Mom

Instead of tape on the bags, I used a sticky note inside each bag naming the items inside the bag. I changed it because the weather in Minnesota can change from the forcast the day (or week, if your packing in advance) before so it's easier to dress by the weather the day of than try to figure it out a week before.

To Do (Pre-Trip)

At Home

·         give itinerary/ trip details to another family member not going

·         lock up valuables

·         take out garbage - to curb

·         empty trash - to garbage in Garage

·         unplug appliances

·         turn off water heater

·         water plants

·         Plan Menu

·         Shop for food

·         Pack Food

·         Pack Supplies

·         Clean Truck

·         Get Pedicure

·         Update appointments - medical, dental, hair, eye, etc

Equipment Prep

·         recharge batteries  - digital camera, video camera, cell phones

·         camera bag  x1

o   digital camera  x1

o   Flash cards  x5

o   video camera

o   USB drive

o   cables

o   battteries

Misc.

·         Maps

·         Notebook

·         Pen

·         Pencil

Laptop Bag

·         Laptop

·         Laptop Cord

·         Spare Hard-drive

Laundry

·         Clothes Pins

·         Detergent

·         Dirty Clothes bag

General Prep

·         Prepare bank accounts – pay bills, etc

·         Reserve Cabin – 1 year prior

·         Hold Mail

·         Arrange for break from job

Medical Prep

·         Prep kids medications/vitamins

·         Prep ICE packet – immunization records, etc

Documents

·         Contact Info

·         Drivers License

·         Photocopies of documents

Luggage

·         Backpack – ManlyMan

·         Tackle Box

·         Suitcase 1 –ManlyMan

·         Suitcase 2 – Mom

·         Suitcase 3 – Lady Bug

·         Suitcase 4 – Little Dude

·         Camera Bag

·         Laptop Bag

·         Entertainment Box/Bag

o   Kid’s books, snacks, etc for travel

Boxes/Bins/Coolers

·         Food – refrigerated

·         Food – non-perishables

·         Kitchen items

·         Outdoor

·         Bathroom

·         General

Money

·         ATM card

·         Cash $200

·         Credit Card

Click HERE for a printable list in Google Docs. I love the excel spreadsheet because I can edit it all I want but still save it from year to year. I'm also one that has no idea where to start but if you give me a template, I can easily be creative with it. Enjoy!

LuggageTags

I love the luggage tags from Nick Jr. as my kids are huge fans of Bubble Guppies. You can find them here. I just laminated them and added a cord to them. Little Lady already knows that hers is black but I'll end up forgetting when we're unloading it's just easier to have a tag on them when I'm frantically

searching for something or trying to pack.

I'd love to hear any other additional tips and tricks for things that help you before you leave for a trip!

{Survival Series} Introduction

A Week at the Lake {Survival Series} Introduction

A week at the lake sounded fun when it was first mentioned to me 6 years ago. Since then, I have learned that a week at the lake is HARD WORK. Especially when you add in family and… the in-laws. My husband’s family has been going to the same lake during the last week in June for the last, wait for it, 36 years. Yes, 36 years they’ve been going to the same place. My mother-in-law, the wonderful woman that she is, has been a trouper. She has packing for this event seriously down to an art. She still uses her trusty notebook with lists and has truly grown with the times and how families change. In this series, I hope to help others and give tips and tricks for making a week at the lake as enjoyable as possible. Full of memories and excitement as well as plenty of carefree timelessness in the midst of being somewhere else and the stress that comes with it.

 

A Little bit about where we’re going. The cabin is about 2 hours away from our home. We don’t own it and its part of a resort that has a total of 8 cabins. Manly Man’s family rents out all of the cabins for the week (Saturday-Saturday). Over the years the transition has been from being his grandparents and their children who are now adults with their own families. Grandma might come for a day or two but now all of the cabins are rented out by aunts, uncles, and now Manly Man’s immediate family of brothers and sisters. We had our own bungalow for the first time last year and I was given a reality check as to how much work this really is. My mother-in-law has been very gracious in sharing her lists and experiences to help make this a very pleasant experience.

In the past, we had only lived 45 minutes from said lake and I would work during the day and come down for the evening or maybe stay a day or two here or there. I was able to pick things up from the store or grab things that we might have forgotten on the first trip. Now, not so much. The closest “town” is about 5 miles away and is very small with select amount of items at their grocery store. There are larger towns close by but unless you want to make an afternoon of running errands, you may want to have everything you need with you.

In this series, I hope to share my lists and tips and tricks with you. I’m only two years into doing this myself but I’ve learned so much and the more I look for ideas and help, the less I find so I figured someone might be looking for what I’ve already got. I hope you enjoy! Please share any tips and tricks you have too!

St. Francis & St. Frances

I've been to visit New York city twice. Although I have yet to see the Sears Tower, the Statue of Libery or Ground Zero, I have come back both times with more wisdom than I had when I left. I went there both times to visit the Sisters of Life. While there, I encountered two friends. Saint Francis de Sales and Saint Frances de Chantal.

One of their convents is named after Saint Frances de Chantal and although I know little about her, I do know that she was friends with Saint Francis de Sales. This is the convent where I learned, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I would never return to the Sisters of Life as one of their sisters in community. It was heart breaking and freeing all at the same time.

Given that information, my prayer time this morning was quite interesting. One book shared a comment from Saint Frances de Chantal: "Perform faithfully what God requires of you each moment, and leave the thought of everything else to him. I assure you that to live in thisway will bring you great peace."

The other a quote from Saint Francis de Sales "No indeed, my child, the devotion which is true hinders nothing, but on the contrary it perfects everything; and that which runs counter to therightful vocation of any one is, you may be sure, a spurious devotion. Aristotlesays that the bee sucks honey fromtheflowers without damaging them, leaving them as whoe and fresh as it found them. But true devotion does better still, for it not only hinders no manner of vocation or duty, but, contrariwise, it adorns and beautifies all. Throw precious stones into honey, and each will grow more brilliant according to its several colors-and in like manner everybody fulfills his special calling better when subject to the influence of devotion: Family duties are lighter, married love truer, service to our King more faithful, every kind of occupation more acceptable and better performed where that is the guide.

Given that St. Francis de Sales feast day was yesterday, this is completely understandable but it was enlightening nonetheless and something I definitely needed to hear. As I look across that room at my two little blessings, I realize how much my life has changed since that slice in time on a rainy day back in March of 2004. I will never forget that moment and I have a feeling that these two saints had something to do with it. I must learn to listen to my friends more often!