The Bailey Bunch Blog

Not a Sitcom, Real Life

Called To Kenya

I figured today is as good a day as ever to share my story of my impending mission trip to Kenya. It would be remiss to not stress just how far from my radar this trip was…I truly believe this trip is a “God Thing” and I am meant to go to Kenya for reason and purpose!

Many years ago, Patrick and I looked into mission work with our church, but ultimately deemed it “not the right time in our lives” to participate. With young children to care for, we just felt like the locations were too far and the time away too long. We didn’t rule them out for life, so I could confidently rule them out for this season of life 😉 I started to tune out the mission trip announcements at church, and I can honestly say, I didn’t even know there was a group heading to Kenya until my friend, Lisa, mentioned it, planting a seed I never imagined would grow! 

Lisa and her husband, Tyler, had invited our family over before our trip to New Zealand. Both Lisa and Tyler had spent a significant amount of time in the country and wanted to tell us about all of their favorite things to see, do and eat. While hanging out after dinner, Lisa asked if I was interested in going on the Kenya trip. I without hesitation told her no, explaining that with three little ones at home with me, and Patrick working full time, it just wasn’t in the cards. She told me she understood but urged me to pray on it. Truth be told, I didn’t pray on it because I just knew that it wasn’t going to happen! I honestly just brushed off her invitation and forgot about it…until a few days later, while I was reading Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming. Michelle had shared about the first time she visited Kenya, with Barak, as he researched his ancestry, which would eventually lead to the penning of his autobiography, Dreams From My Father. I was reminded of Lisa’s invitation to pray about going on the trip when I read that Barak’s Kenyan family resided in Kisumu, the exact city that the mission trip would be in. It was a little strange to say the least! I messaged her about this discovery, joking that maybe I could spin it as a “sign” that I was meant to go, still fully believing it wasn’t going to happen. That night, Patrick and I had a date night and I mentioned the story to him over dinner. He asked if I wanted to go, and I told him I would love to, but understood why I couldn’t. He said, “I’ll ask my Dad. If he’s not teaching summer school this year, I bet he’d come and help me out with the kids.” I knew it was pretty much up to that one detail because Patrick’s mom is a camp nurse in New York during the summer and my parents told me before I had Lilybelle, that they could not handle taking care of 3 young kids at the same time. I didn’t expect my father-in-law to say yes…I know it’s a lot to ask, and though they are good kids, they can be a lot to handle, especially for one person! Nobody in the world gets that more than me! 

I was kinda in disbelief when Mick said he could and would come to help Patrick out with the kids. It was way too easy. There were no questions asked, just the response of yes. Still, I wrestled with the idea of going. Ten days would be a long time to leave my family! Deeper doubt filled me when I learned that leading up to the trip we would have 2 hour team building meetings every Sunday. I loved the idea of getting to know the team better, but ten days away + 2 hours a week for multiple weeks seemed like more than I could give. The morning of the first team meeting, I decided that I was going to regretfully decline as the time commitment was just more than I could give. After church, I was going to find the group leaders and let them know…

Then church happened. Our student pastor, Craig Goldman, was preaching on living uncommon lives in a common world. The meat of his message was, “When we are united as the people of God around the mission of God then the world will want to know God”. As he broke it down, I was completely convicted as he preached that the mission of God is to draw people to Him and it is a 24/7 mission. I soon realized I wasn’t being very mission minded when Pastor Craig explained the two crucial elements of doing so, gathering and going. 20 minutes prior, I wasn’t going on this mission trip because of weekly gatherings…it was so completely crystal clear that God was speaking to me through Pastor Craig. I was completely being called out when Pastor Craig said “the way we spend our time, resources and energy reveals what we value, and what we value becomes an excuse not to live on mission.” How could I, as a woman of God who claims to put God first, not go after that? I understood that when Pastor Craig was speaking about our mission, he wasn’t speaking directly about mission trips, but from it I realized that this mission trip was to be a part of my mission. Pastor Craig ended by saying “Gathering leads to going which leads to the gathering growing”, which is exactly why we go on mission trips, to grow the Kingdom of God! After church I looked at Patrick and said, “I guess I’m going to Kenya afterall…!” He looked at me and said, “Yep.” And we both started laughing! If you’d like to watch or listen to this sermon (which is definitely worth the listen!!) click here! 

Once I was fully on board, God further revealed that I was meant to go on this trip through His provision. I didn’t plan to fundraise for the trip outside of the group fundraiser, yet after telling my hairdresser about my trip plans, a huge donation was made in my name! Pam was supposed to go on a mission trip with our church, but the plans changed and she wasn’t able to go after all. I nearly fell out of my chair when she told me she wanted to transfer over the funds she’d already paid to me. I’m a giver, so I truly struggle to receive, but God is teaching me to just accept his blessings. I was recently told that fighting Gods giftings is denying others the opportunity to do His work, which is the way I am trying to see this generosity! Thank you, Pam, for being such a blessing to me through your funds, but more importantly, through your friendship! I so enjoy soaking in your wealth of knowledge as dye soaks into my hair 😉 You better believe your truth is bonding to me as the color bonds to each strand! You are such a gift and I am thankful for you! 

God continues to provide in His awesome ways! When I realized I had to wear skirts and sleeves on our trip, I got a vision of wearing positive t-shirts over the maxi dresses I already own so I wouldn’t have to purchase a bunch of new skirts. I reached out to two friends, Heather, who owns a Christian based apparel company called Living On A Prayer Boutique, and Shannon, who used to own a Christian based apparel company. 

When asking Heather for a coupon code, she insisted on sending me what I wanted – on her! And she didn’t just send me the shirt I wanted, she selected two more positive messages to spread to the Kenyans as well! I have never even met Heather! We are Facebook friends through a mutual friend who thought we mirrored each other in our faith and values. I get such encouragement and joy reading her  posts! If you are thirsting for truth and positivity, do yourself a favor and go follow her! And of course, go check out her beautiful line of catchy Christian tees! Heather, thank you for your generosity and your encouragement! You’ve helped to provide me with the “Godfidence” I need to be “Brave” and every Kenyan I meet will know just how much Jesus loves their face 😉 Promise!

When I asked Shannon if she still had stock from her company, she asked me if she could send me the rest of it to give out to the Kenyans! I mean, seriously?! When I thought to reach out to both Shannon and Heather, I never imagined I’d get the responses I did, but God! I am so in awe of Him and the way He works and moves! He is truly awe-some! Thank you Shan, for being a part of this story! I can’t wait to bless some of the Kenyans with your generosity! 

So now, with less than a month to go, I am just excited to see what God has in store for me in Kenya! I have no idea why God lead me so strongly to this trip, but I am ready to find out! It’s never easy to leave the comforts of home to do God’s mission work, and the enemy loves to make you question the why you are waiting for God to reveal, so please keep me and the team I am traveling with in your prayers as we get ready to embark on Kenya. 

If you don’t already, be sure to follow me on Instagram at thebaileybunchblog to see photos and read updates from the trip! 

Be Blessed + Be A Blessing 

Traveling With Children

Recently, I’ve had some Mama’s reach out to tell me that I’ve inspired them to travel with their kiddos…I absolutely LOVE this! 

I’ve said it before on my blog, and I’ll say it again…

I can’t speak highly enough of the benefits of traveling with your children – for both them and you! It may not always be easy, but it will always be worth it because good or bad, it creates an amazing bonding experience which provides memories you both will never forget. It instills wonder and adventure while encouraging curiosity in our kids, while giving us parents the opportunity to truly see the world through a child’s eyes. I like to think with each new trip we take together, my family and I are clothed in a new sense of fearlessness, ready to take on the world, no matter what it may throw our way! 

Multiple Mama’s have asked me for a checklist of sorts to help prepare them to travel with their kids. Below you’ll find some of my best advise and reminders! Another resource for y’all is an older post I wrote called “Traveling With Toddlers”. In it I give my top tips for traveling with young kids so you can survive a drive, fight a flight and keep sane on a plane 😉

Toughen Up

I’m going to shoot it to you straight…people will have an opinion of your travels, and far too many will voice it. Whether it be the idea of a trip, while traveling to your destination or while on a vacation, be prepared for people to talk.

 I’ve had people say things to my face, I’ve had people say things within my earshot, so I’m quite positive I’ve had people talk behind my back too. It’s not easy, even when expecting it, which is why you need to mentally toughen yourself up prior to a trip! 

I’m going to share some things I personally had to withstand on our most recent trip to New Zealand. I share not for sympathy, but to provide examples for you because this trip was an especially hurtful one. Leading up to it, I had an internet bully trolling my pages. They wrote the ugliest comments, claiming I was a bad parent for taking my kids on a 14 hour flight. While boarding that said 14 hour flight, a man vocally displayed his disgust of us saying “Oh great, you guys are on this flight.” And while away, I endured earshot jabs for the silliest things like reading a sign out loud to my children or allowing my child to carry an oversized water bottle. It is appalling the things people think they have the right to say to you or even about you. Especially on or after a flight! On our flight home, a man sitting behind me stated that “Children shouldn’t be allowed on airplanes.” I was “thisclose” to turning around and letting him have it…ultimately I was really thankful I didn’t because Lilybelle did act out for a portion of this flight. I would have felt really foolish had I said something. 

My best advise is to give these people the grace you wish they’d give you. Set the example! Personally, I enjoy traveling to non-English speaking countries with my kids…if people are talking about us, at least I can’t understand what they are saying! 

Travel Like A Child

If the kids aren’t happy, you won’t be happy! This is why I plan our trips around my children! Now I’m not at all implying that you need to have every vacation at Disney (unless of course that’s your thing!) what I am saying is that you need to find things to see and do that your children are going to enjoy, no matter where you travel. I love the challenge of finding unique things to do that my husband and I will enjoy just as much as our kids! Having fun together is the best experience you can have 🙂

You do have to face a sad reality “Traveling Like A Child” though. Sometimes you just won’t be able to do some of the things that you’d really like to do, and you just have to be okay with that. I missed out on seeing an opera at one of the most famous opera houses in the world. I didn’t get to bungee jump in the place where bungee jumping originated. I missed out on visiting the oldest salt mine in the world. I could dwell on these facts, or I could instead choose to focus on all of the things I did get to do! I look at it this way, the things we miss now because we have children, give us extra incentive to go back and visit again in the future! 

Plan, Plan, Plan!

I like to think my ability to plan trips, down to the minute, to places we’ve never been before is a gift…but in actuality, anybody is capable of doing the same thing if they are willing to take the time to do so. My real gifting is the immense enjoyment I get out of this seemingly daunting task! Haha! 

To see an example of my itinerary layout, and step-by-step tips, read my post on Itinerary Planning. I can’t stress how important it is to have a plan! Especially with children! Who wants to think while on a trip?! Do all the planning beforehand so you can squeeze the absolute max amount of minutes enjoying your time away!

Expect Anything

All of that planning to say you truly need to expect anything when traveling – again – especially with children! I like to leave for a trip with a solid itinerary, and loosely follow it while away. Chances are we won’t be eating out for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but I like to have options for whatever meal we will need to have on the road. 

As much as you plan, you can’t plan your ideal weather! It’s smart to add a page to your itinerary with rain-friendly activities. And always, always, always pack a rain resistant coat and an umbrella, whether rain is expected or not! Trust me, I’ve learned this one the hard way…while visiting Austria, I had to break down and buy us all new raincoats. Rain wasn’t in the forecast, but let me tell ya, it rained for days!

Accept Everything

Things won’t always go according to your plans. In fact, sometimes your plans will get really messed up. We experienced this big time on our latest trip to New Zealand when not one but TWO of our flights were canceled! My heart was just about broken when we missed a booked day trip to see Milford Sound as a result. This excursion was the very reason why we decided to visit the South Island of New Zealand, and we missed it! It was beyond frustrating and felt so unfair…

Messed up plans are a small part of the bigger picture. When I look at our trip as a whole, it was actually really good, though this one part of it was absolutely awful! It’s all about perspective my friend… 

Take Too Many Pictures 

My rule of thumb is, “If you think you’re taking too many pictures, go ahead and snap a few more for good measure!” This can get tricky, because you don’t want to miss out on living in the moment, but photos are your one form of preservation, especially for little ones who may not remember a certain vacation because of their age. I like to take our photos as soon as we get to a new location, just to get it out of the way so I can enjoy the rest of our time there 🙂 

Another thing I love to do with our photos is create a travel scrapbook of sorts for each trip we take. I love to use Shutterfly to make my books. They have dozens of travel themed books you can drop your photos into, or personalize to your exact liking 🙂  These provide a great way to preserve your travel memories, and a great way for your young kiddos to remember all of the fun places they’ve visited!

Unplug

Though I do keep my camera handy (both my Canon and my iPhone) I otherwise unplug from the technological world when on vacation. I ignore calls and text messages until the evening when the kids are in bed, I ignore all e-mails, and I allow myself to make only one social media post per day of a recap of the entire day. I am so super strict on this because when away, it’s important to be AWAY! Our phones, iPads and computers can tend to suck us in. Before you know it, a half hour of mindless scrolling has gone by! It’s important, especially on a vacation, to not waste your time! Set your devices aside and just enjoy the moment! 

Get Chatty

Is there any better time to reconnect with your kids than on a vacation? With lots of extra time traveling to your destination, and no other real responsibilities than getting everyone from Point A to Point B, it’s the perfect opportunity to just talk to each other!

One of my favorite things to talk about is our day that we had together. I ask my kids to come up with a high and a low moment from the day, and their responses are priceless! We do this as a family, and I jot them down to add them into our travel book so I can always remember the cute things they say! Many days, the kids say something basic like “going to the playground” as their high…like we couldn’t have done that at home, right?!

I also love to talk about the day ahead, giving my kids something to look forward to…if they behave of course 😉 I’m just sayin’, it’s nice to be able to have something to hold over their heads if they’re misbehaving!

We also love to play all the typical car games, like “I Spy”, “Name That Tune” (From A Disney Movie), and “I’m Going On A Picnic…” We haven’t started searching for license plates yet, but that is another good one for a road trip!

Something Old, Something New 

When packing travel activities for the kids, I’m always sure to pack something old, that I know my kids love and will keep them busy, and something new that will perk their interest. It doesn’t have to be extravagant, a new coloring or sticker book will do, or even a new free app downloaded to a phone, but something new for them to discover can kill a lot of time!

Here are some of my personal favorite things to pack as travel activities…clicking the name will take you to it on Amazon 😉

Water Wow! – These books by Melissa and Doug are clutch! They are a part of their “On The Go” line, and they are a favorite in our house! Just fill the included brush with water, swipe on the pages and watch the colors appear! When the water dries, the colors disappear and the pages are ready to be painted again and again and again! They have so many different books from dinosaurs to professions, and letters to numbers. They even have a religious themed book that brings Bible stories to life!

Scratch Art  – Also a part of Melissa and Doug’s “On The Go” Line, these are another favorite that my kids graduate into after Water Wow. Use the included stylus to easily scratch off the dotted pieces to reveal a picture underneath! I admit, even I like doing this activity to kill time when traveling!

Color Wonder – Crayola really set the bar when they came out with Color Wonder! Colored markers that only mark on a Color Wonder coloring book…every moms prayer answered! Crayola continues to release new on point character books and new colors of their “magic” markers! If you haven’t discovered the wonderfulness of Color Wonder, the link to this pack is a great place to start! It comes with a book and few colors to get you started 😉

Sticker By Number – Again, this is an activity even I find fun! To create colorful pictures out of stickers, just match the numbered sticker to the numbered spot on the page. Kids love watching their project come to life in this fun way!

Reusable Stickers – Melissa and Doug do it again – love that brand! Their reusable puffy stickers are super fun! With a printed scene on the front and back, kiddos can get super creative moving the stickers all over the place, again and again!

Hidden Pictures Book – If you grew up reading Highlights for kids, you’ll be pleased to know that they now have entire books dedicated to their Hidden Pictures page! If you are anything like me, you begged your parents for a subscription just so you could complete the Hidden Pictures haha! Let me assure you, it’s just as fun now as it was then and brings back all the feels sharing something from your childhood with your children!

Magformers – If you have a builder, these are for you! These magnetic blocks are fun for ALL ages! We once packed them for a wedding, and by the end of the night, there was a crowd of people building with our kids! These stack up nice and secure so they aren’t at all difficult to travel with. They are a bit pricey, but they are worth every penny because they are super durable and super fun!

Gel Window Clings  – For $10, I admit, these are a little pricey for window clings, but these aren’t your average window clings! They have a thick, gel bottom, making them more durable than the typical window clings. I can’t even explain how invaluable these were to my 1 year old when we traveled to New Zealand. My husband and I spent hours playing with these with her, and on a 14 hour flight, they were a complete God send! She would peel them off the page, stick them somewhere, them peel them off and hand them to us over and over again. Even my 4 year old had fun with them making the different bugs become friends and talk to each other! There are loads of different ones to choose, from jungle animals to mermaids, they will surely have something to keep your baby busy!

Magnetic Maze – Melissa and Doug, can you tell I’m obsessed with them?! Another favorite travel toy is their Magnetic Maze that allows kids to move parts without losing parts! Amazon didn’t have this product, but another great one is their wooden maze puzzle which again, allows kids to move the parts without losing the parts!

Buckle Toy – Keep babies minds and hands busy with a buckle toy! These little plush toys easily clip onto the outside of a bag or backpack, essentially taking up no room inside your bag, and allowing you to pack more! Yay!

Search and Find  – This is a link to our first Search and Find book, which was Curious George themed and great for beginners! Disney also has a line of these books, and of course there is the classic, Where’s Waldo as your kiddos get older. Highlights even has a sticker version that is a hit in our house!

Muddle and Match – If you don’t have yourself an Usborne book lady, you should definitely find you one, because they offer the absolute best bundle deals on the absolute best books you’ll ever find! I love all the Usborne books, but a favorite to travel with is their Muddle and Match books. These are great because they are just downright silly and kids love silly things! It’s also great because the page is cut into three parts, which means extra pages to turn for the little ones who loves to turn pages!

Letter Bingo – There are a lot of good travel bingo games out there, but this one is my favorite by far. I like it because it’s educational, if we can learn as we play, it’s all the better! I like it because there are no moving parts..calling an item is as easy as spilling a wheel, and marking an item is as easy as pulling a tab down. Most of all, I love this bingo because it’s just fun! It combines a storybook with a game of bingo, making it so much more than just your average bingo!

Pack An Overnight Bag

Whether you plan to stop somewhere for the night or not, I’ve learned it’s always smart to just pack an overnight bag! This saves you from lugging ALL of your stuff into a hotel on a roadtrip…it also saves you if you have missing checked luggage on a flight! Yes, it can be a pain to pack and tote around an extra bag, but it has proved invaluable over our personal travels!

I hope you find these tips useful in planning your next family vacation!

Be Blessed + Be A Blessing

How To Create A Travel Itinerary

I’m slowly but surely unpacking our trip to New Zealand! Today on the blog, I wanted to share a little about why we chose New Zealand for our most recent family vacation and how I go about creating an itinerary.

Over Thanksgiving, the entire Bailey Bunch got together…Great Grandparents, Grandparents, Brothers + Sister-In-Laws, and Cousins all under one roof! I’m talking 20 people total! We’ve traveled together to the Bahamas and Canada in the past, and have had a wonderful time (I seriously married into the most laid back, drama-free family! Such a beautiful blessing!!!) When we chatted about a new destination to visit together, it was clear we weren’t going to be able to get everyone together at the same time, any time soon, so we decided to focus on traveling with those who seemed the most serious about it, Patrick’s brother, James, his wife, Drew, and their two sons, Theo and Calvin, who are close in age to Greta and Lilybelle 🙂 Drew was a flight attendant before having children, and has seen much of the world. Her only considerable option was traveling to New Zealand, which made deciding on a destination with them simple – haha! The only issue was the high cost of travel to New Zealand. Patrick and I were clearly the most serious about planning a trip, and decided to look into just traveling solo to Ireland, Germany or the Netherlands. Patrick told me to look into the cost to New Zealand just for fun. We were shocked to find it was the cheapest option of the bunch! Black Friday was nearly over and it was too hard to coordinate with both parties traveling back to their homes. We decided to wait for Travel Tuesday to see if prices would be even better then. We were seriously kicking ourselves for not just booking ourselves because the prices went up! Patrick must have talked about it at work and a co-worker tipped him off to try booking a flight on a Wednesday night before a holiday, so on a Wednesday night, prior to Christmas, Patrick searched and we found an even better deal than the Black Friday deal!!! No second guessing it, we booked it before Patrick could even ask for the time off from work – haha!

We booked this trip less than three months out, so planning it is still somewhat fresh in my mind. I wanted to share my formula for creating an itinerary, because I found ours to be pretty darn solid! Below you’ll find my best tips, and a sample day from our itinerary. Enjoy 🙂

1.) Choose a destination…

  •  Decide upon transportation to that destination. 

2.) Do your research! 

  •  Search nearby cities as well as the city you are going to. Decide if you’d like to see multiple cities, or just the one you are going to. 
  •  Decide if a rental car would be in your best interest if flying to your destination. 
  •  Scour Trip Adviser for top rated things to do in the area you’ll be visiting. Read the good and the bad reviews then decide for yourself if you’d be interested in visiting that place. I love Trip Advisor because the reviews come from real people! 
  • Google search photos and videos for further confirmation. Sometimes a photo can make something look better than it actually is. Make sure it’s the real deal!
  •  Read blog posts by different bloggers to find hidden gems. Bloggers are usually pretty good at finding unique things and presenting them to the public. The sole purpose of their writing it to inform 🙂

3.) Utilize Google Maps! 

  •  Plug in each address of your places of interest – be sure to save them! This is so super helpful!
  •  Group together multiple things you can do in a day by mapping out the distances that you just plugged in.

4.) Create Your Itinerary

  •  Pay attention to the days and times that places you’d like to go to are open…make note of these in case you need to switch your days around. (This is something I learned this trip as we showed up to a restaurant that was closed one day!) Plan your days hitting up the places that open and close the earliest, first. 
  •  Always include the addresses you are going to! I was shocked when a cabbie in Israel didn’t know where the Garden of Gethsemane was! From then on, I’ve always jotted down addresses and it’s helpful to have it on hand and not have to look them up.
  •  I find it helpful to colorize my itinerary! I color anything I have booked, green, and anything I still need to book, red. I also color anything that is free another color…when you are spending a lot of money on something you aren’t going to get to do for some time, it feels good to look and see you are saving some money too 😉 

5.) Book In Advance

  • You can often find better deals by booking in advance, but do pay attention to cancelation policies…book ahead wisely!
  •  Search for discount sites that would be similar to GroupOn in the area you’ll be visiting. You can also utilize discount sites like Expedia, Priceline or Kayak for a better deal. Compare the prices to find the best deal! When booking through these sites, they offer free memberships. Take them up upon it! Each thing booked, whether flights, hotels, rental cars, or activities, offer points, and these points build up over time to provide free travel! Some even offer special member discounts! While planning this trip, I realized that we have used Expedia a lot over the years, and we weren’t signed up for the free membership…I don’t like to think about the free perks we missed out on!! Our 2019 travel goes towards our 2020 membership, so it’s nice to be able to look ahead knowing we will have some freebies coming our way next year!
  •  Print out a hard copy of your tickets and payment confirmations. Put these in a file folder. It may seem like a pain to lug a file of papers when packing, especially in our digital world, but hard copies of confirmations and tickets really do come in so handy when traveling, especially to places where you just don’t know what the internet is going to be like. I can’t tell you how many times I was so thankful to have our hard copies on hand! 

6.) Meal Plan

  •  You’ll want to research foods that are unique to the area and make note of them! I make it my mission to try as many things as possible that I can’t get anywhere else in the world! 
  •  Search for child friendly restaurants if you have kids, then compare them to the Trip Advisor reviews to decide which ones you’d like to visit. 
  • I know this is “extra”, but check out the menus if you get the chance to. Make sure there is something everyone in your family can eat.
  •  Plug the addresses of the restaurants you want to go to into Google Maps so you can plan your meals out according to the locations you’ll already be in 😉
  •  Color your food options a different color on your itinerary.

7.) Go The Extra Mile! 

  •  Once my itinerary is set and our activities are booked, I map out the driving and/or walking distances from place to place. This is helpful to keep on a timely schedule! We are able to fit much more into our day when we have it all mapped out! 
  •  Color the distances a different color on your itinerary.

8.) Print + Pack Your Itinerary 🙂

  • I like to take a few copies, just in case! I carry one in my purse, and leave one in the car. I also have another packed in the file folder of papers just in case something happens to one of those ones. I also email it to myself for further confirmation that all of my work done in creating it won’t be in vain!

9.) Accept Over Expect!

  • Don’t expect to do every single thing you plan for. My mantra when traveling is accept over expect! Be thankful for the things you do get to see and do! Try not to dwell on the things you have to miss. The fact of the matter is, you can’t do it all! Additionally, weather, traffic, flight delays or cancelations, and a plethora of other variables all make traveling so unpredictable! Create an iron-clad itinerary with an elastic mind set, and you will be on your way to your most action-packed adventure yet!

Below you’ll find an example of one of our days in New Zealand 🙂

Happy Travels!

Be Blessed + Be A Blessing

 

 

Differences Between The United States And New Zealand

We are officially home from New Zealand and I have so much to share with y’all about our travels! First up though, I thought it would be fun to share some of the differences I noticed between New Zealand and America.

 It’s no question that every country across our beautiful world is completely different. One of the greatest joys of traveling for me personally, is discovering what makes a country unique. You can’t fully prepare yourself for visiting a foreign place, but I hope this list can be helpful to any readers who plan to visit the stunning country of New Zealand from the United States.

Kiwi – You may have heard of New Zealanders being referred to as a “Kiwi”. If you’re anything like me, your mind immediately goes to the fuzzy brown fruit with the seedy lime green center. While New Zealand IS a main producer of the worlds kiwifruit, China actually produces more. The “Kiwi” nickname does NOT derive from the fruit! It actually comes from the native, flightless Kiwi bird which is a national symbol for the country. While visiting a Kiwi Conservatory, we learned all about this beloved bird, whose species are listed on the vulnerable/endangered lists. There has been a nation-wide initiative to save this beloved bird, so the nickname, “Kiwi” isn’t at all offensive to New Zealanders, in fact, its viewed as a symbol of pride and endearment. 

Image result for kiwi bird

Chips – Keeping with food, “Chips” are listed on A LOT of menus as a side item. These are not potato chips, they are french fries! Not at all uncommon in America, “Fish N’ Chips”, is a staple meal in New Zealand. This didn’t at all throw me, I knew when ordering I would be getting fish and fries, but when I ordered a burger and chips, I found myself thinking “Oh yeah, chips are fries here! Duh!” Fries being called chips, I can deal with, but what really boggled my brain was that they don’t serve ketchup with their fries…er, I mean chips! Y’all, get this, they serve tomato sauce with them! Tomato sauce! And this said “tomato sauce” isn’t sitting on the table next to the salt and pepper, like it is in most restaurants here in America! My kids, whom are Nashville natives, could get down with it just fine, but I’m from Pittsburgh, which is home to Heinz, where ketchup is king! I just couldn’t! Call me a ketchup snob, fine, but just give me my Heinz while doing so!

Water – Like in the U.S., water is free in New Zealand. (Did you know water isn’t free in some parts of the world?! In Austria, water actually costs about as much as a beer, which made day drinking there a no brainer for us 😉 Water is not really served in New Zealand like it is here though. It was super common for restaurants to provide a chilled glass bottle of water upon ordering, and any more water needed after this could be refilled at a self-serve water station. Patrick, whom is known to tip higher to servers who keep his water glass filled, absolutely loved this! He so enjoyed being able to control his own water intake! I was indifferent. What I didn’t love is that this said water is consumed without ice! The things you take for granted here in America!! Ice just isn’t served in New Zealand!

Coke – Let it be known, Coke is my coffee! I love me a good Coke mid-day as a pick-me-up! I’ve tried to love coffee but I just can’t. Bleh! Patrick doesn’t love my little love-affair with Coke, but he really didn’t love it in New Zealand…Coke is expensive there! A small can costs about $2, while a 20 oz. bottle is about $3 (In US Dollars) and get this, there are no fountain drinks in New Zealand! At least from what I could see! All restaurants had coolers (which they call a ‘chilly bin’) with cans or bottles you could buy. There were no glasses of Coke served over ice! There were no refills! Even at McDonalds, there was no $1 Coke, there was no self-serve refilling station, and there were no refills in the cups that were considerably smaller than the ones in the U.S.! 

A soft drink I could get my hubby to get behind was L&P. Lemon&Paeroa is a yummy citrus drink that is a New Zealand original and was actually quite lovely! 

Tipping – Tipping is not at all expected in New Zealand! This made their more expensive prices a little easier to swallow. First view at a bill can really get you there! 1 NZ dollar equates to .68 US, so automatically everything just looks more expensive than it actually is! When you add a U.S. tip of 20% into the equation, I’d say realistically, New Zealand prices are only just slightly higher than those in the U.S. for a meal. 

With the lack of a tip at a meal, service wasn’t as good as it is in the U.S. Most places didn’t have servers, but the few we went to that did, weren’t super attentive. 

It was honestly so refreshing to not be hounded for tips after excursions and experiences! Just when you thought a closing statement was going to head in the direction of asking for a tip, they would only ask that you leave a positive review on Trip Adviser or tag them in a photo on Facebook or Instagram. It meant more to them to receive positive words than a few extra dollars. This simple act gave off a feeling of genuine care. New Zealanders want you to enjoy your experience so much that you want to tell others about it! There is no personal gain in their motives! 

Play Areas – Here in America, I hate that the only restaurant choice we have to simultaneously feed and get energy out of our children are fast food spots. Sit down restaurants here just don’t offer a children’s area, which can make going out for a good, healthy meal with your family more of a task than just cooking for them at home! Granted, I seek out child friendly restaurants when traveling, but it’s never hard to find places that welcome children by providing a small area for kids to play in.

This restaurant in Auckland, The Grounds, was actually created by 2 dads so that “foodie” parents could enjoy high quality food and drink, while their kids play!

Image result for the grounds nz playground

One cafe we visited didn’t have a play area, but instead provided a basket of toys for kids to choose something to play with. Kids always like playing with new and different toys, especially when traveling with a limited amount, so this was such a nice touch! Here in America, kids are provided a coloring page and crayons, which can be fun, but can easily get old.

WiFi – Free WiFi isn’t as readily available in New Zealand as it is in the States. Restaurants were hit and miss, and 2/3 hotels I booked didn’t have WiFi in the rooms, only in the lobby. One day, we were really needing internet to look up our flight information, so we went to McDonalds, totally expecting they would have free WiFi…they did, but you had to sign up for it with your email, which is a little sketchy.

I’m not going to lie, it was refreshing to unplug! Not having WiFi made our time together that much more enjoyable because we were in the moment instead of on Instagram. Even with a “good” connection, internet was still pretty slow in New Zealand. 

Driving – I didn’t do any driving in New Zealand, but my husband did, and it’s NOTHING like driving in the States! First of all, New Zealand drivers drive on the opposite side of the road. Additionally, the drivers side is on the opposite side of the car. Further complicating things, the turn signal and windshield wipers swapped sides of the vehicle. It was absolutely hysterical to see the wipers randomly come on when attempting to make a turn! It happened at least once a day and it never got old!! Even more comical, on his first drive back in the States, my husband again put the wipers on when trying to turn! Haha!

Peace – We were unfortunately involved in a hit-and-run accident while sitting at a red light. As the woman sped away from us, she flipped us a peace sign. I was so mad! I wanted to tell her “No peace! You just hit our car and sped away!” I quickly learned that the peace sign doesn’t mean “peace” in New Zealand. It’s actually equivalent to the middle finger here in America. Learning this strangely made me feel better about the entire situation! It was a relief no longer feel like I was expected to show peace for the situation!

Modesty – Cars in New Zealand are very modest. We didn’t see any flashy cars or large vehicles (other than tour vans or shuttles) We saw a handful of pickup trucks, but none had more than a 4 foot bed in the back. This is likely because gas in the country is super expensive! They charge per liter, and a liter was about the same price as a gallon here in the U.S.

Houses were also very modest in New Zealand. Most looked to be older, ranch style homes that couldn’t have been more than 2 or 3 bedrooms. Patrick and I had more than one conversation about how excessive even an average home in the United States must look to people from other countries. 

No Shoes, No Problems! – One of the more jarring things to see was people walking around with no shoes on. I’m not talking about people walking outside of their homes to grab their mail…I’m talking people walking in the grocery store with no shoes on! I first noticed a child walking around the market like this. Being a mom of three little ones, my initial (honest!) thought was “Well she looks a little old to not have shoes on but kudos to those parents for not caring what others would think!” Then I saw grown adults with no shoes on…and not just one or two! I’d say about 1/3 of the people in the grocery store were strolling shoeless! To each their own…but I’m gonna keep my shoes on, thanks! 

Cultural – New Zealand is made up of mainly two types of people, the Maori people, who are of Polynesian descent, and Caucasian people. Given this, you would not expect how cultural the food scene is there! We saw Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Turkish, and Indian Restaurants regularly. We even ate at a South African chicken place! I wouldn’t say New Zealand has their own type of food, but rather it’s a melting pot of different cultures. Our most fun meal in the country was definitely the Maori dinner, which is cooked “hangi” style. A hangi is a giant underground oven where meats, kumara (sweet potatoes) and other vegetables are cooked by the heat of the earth! 

Cleanliness – New Zealand is a very clean country! Kiwis take pride in their beautiful surroundings and it most certainly shows! Recycle bins are all over, sorting paper, plastics and trash. Because of this, there was very little litter! I grew up picking up litter around my neighborhood with my dad. I see red when I see someone in the act of littering, to the point that I will say something to them about it if given the chance! Not an issue in New Zealand! Check out this awesome sign that was posted in a park in Queenstown…

Image may contain: sky and outdoorRest Rooms – One of the biggest differences I see when traveling to other countries are the toilets and bathroom habits in general. It’s seriously fascinating to me to see how we all as a human race treat this common practice so differently!

I feel like America is kind of catching up to New Zealand on their potty practices. All of their toilets have a duel flusher, one button for pee water flow, and a stronger flow for poo with the second button. We are starting to see these more commonly here, though the single lever flusher still rules here. It was also interesting to see how much more water we use in the basin in comparison to the toilets there. 

Almost every toilet I saw was equipped with a SaniPod, a motion activated trash bin for feminem hygiene products…way better than the tiny bins that you have to lift yourself and always seem to be stuffed here in America…these make me shudder just thinking about them!  So unsanitary! The Sani-Pods are quite large, especially in comparison to the boxes here…so if I had to take my guess, their toilets may not be equipped for any product to be flushed, though I don’t know that for certain. 

Traveling as a family of 5, family restrooms are always a relief! We didn’t see family restrooms anywhere out of the ordinary, but when we did see them, they usually had two toilets, one adult sized one, and one child sized one. Some were even equipped with an adult and child sized sink! So very helpful!

I’m sure there are other differences between the United States and New Zealand, but in our time there, these were the main things that jumped out at me! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I had fun compiling it for you!

Be Blessed + Be A Blessing

The Bailey Bunch

Eight Days In New Zealand With Kids

In one months time, we will be on our way to New Zealand! It was a spur of the moment decision that led to this trip of a lifetime. We just couldn’t pass up the unbelievably low flight prices we found…like lower than they were on Black Friday AND Travel Tuesday!

Now that the holidays and Greta’s 4th Birthday are over, I’ve been planning our trip, which is one of my absolute favorite things to do! I’m just too excited to not share our itinerary and some things I’ve learned about this stunning country while planning! I hope you’ll follow along with our adventures on Instagram! 

DAY 1

New Zealand is made up of two islands, the North and South Islands. We will be flying into Auckland, which is located on the North Island. Auckland is surrounded by over 50 dormant volcanos. On our first day, we will be exploring a few of them, namely Mt. Eden and One Tree Hill.

Mt. Eden is the highest natural point in the city, so it’s known for it’s great view! It’s also known for a huge grass covered crater that we are hoping will help get some of our kiddos energy out 😉

One Tree Hill is the largest volcanic cone on the mainland. Neighboring it is Cornwall Park, which has a playground and free-roaming livestock!

The main goal of our first day is to get as much of our kiddos pent up energy from the flight OUT! Once we get them all run out, we will hop in the car and drive South to the smaller city of Hamilton where we will spend our first night.

DAY 2 

The most popular attraction in Hamilton is Hamilton Gardens. This public garden park is free to visit and is made up of 21 different gardens in varying styles. We will follow a free app that will take us on a self-guided tour of the gardens. 


This photo of Hamilton Gardens is courtesy of TripAdvisor

After getting some morning energy out on our walk around the gardens, we will go on a little drive to Waitomo Cave, which is known for its glow worms. This place is continually named on all of the “Places To Visit Before You Die” lists…can you see why?! 

After this magical boat ride through the cave system, we will head to Rotorua, which is the area we plan to spend the most time in. Rotorua is known for its geothermal activity and its rich Maori culture, but this area is loaded with a number of other unique things to see and do! One of those being a Redwood Forest. We plan to end our day at the Redwoods Treewalk, which is made up of 28 suspension bridges connecting the trees. Keeping with our “glow” theme, we decided to do the night tour, with the trees being illuminated with different colored lights! 

DAY 3 

This is going to be our Geothermal Day! We will begin at Kuirau Park, New Zealand’s only public geothermal park. One of its main features is a bubbling, steaming hot lake.

This area is surrounded by mud pools and hot springs, but we will keep it safe and only indulge in the free thermal foot baths!

Next we will head to Wai-O-Tapu, which is known as a “Geothermal Wonderland”.

This photo of Wai-O-Tapu is courtesy of TripAdvisor

I’m not quite sure what that means, but we will be sure to get there before 10:15 AM, which is when the Lady Knox Geyser erupts each day! After we figure out just what a Geothermal Wonderland is, we plan to visit Kerosene Creek, where a hot spring and freshwater stream meet making it a unique little swimming hole!

To round out our geothermal day, we will visit the picturesque Government Gardens, making sure to check out Sulphur Point and the Blue Baths Bathhouse where the fresh water pool is heated geothermally! This was the first bathhouse in the country that scandalously allowed men and women to bathe together! In their bathing suits, of course! 

DAY 4 

Not far from Rotorua is the largest lake in New Zealand, Lake Taupo, which is home to one of the countries most visited attractions, Huka Falls!

Before hiking to this thundering waterfall, we are going to hit the water for a sailboat tour. The highlight of our tour will be seeing the famous Maori Rock Carvings which are only accessible by water!

This photo of the Maori Rock Carvings is courtesy of TripAdvisor

DAY 5 

Our last day in Rotorua will be a fun one! First, we are going to go Rail Cruising.

I’ve never seen anything like this before! We will have our own private, self driving rail vehicle that will take us along an old abandoned rail road track! Patrick and I are so super excited for this experience!

Next, Patrick and I will take turns going Zorbing! I first saw Zorbing on The Amazing Race, and it immediately went on my bucket list! In order to Zorb, one is put into an inflated plastic ball. Once inside, the ball is then rolled down a giant hill! It sounds so silly, but y’all, it looks like so much fun!

I can’t wait to check this off my bucket list!! Zorbing actually originated in Rotorua, so it’s a definite must!

After our adventurous day, we will attend a traditional Maori dinner. Much of New Zealand’s population is made up of Maori people, whom are native Polynesians. Rotorua is known to have a very rich Maori culture and we are excited to take it all in at this interactive dinner! The meal will be a traditional Hangi feast, which is actually cooked in an underground oven!

 
This photo of Te Puia of courtesy of TripAdvisor

Additionally, we will tour the Te Puia village by boat, and get to watch cultural performances of the poi and haka dances! 

DAY 6 

We will be heading back to Auckland for a flight to the South Island. On our way back we are going to stop in Hobbiton, otherwise known as “The Shire” from The Lord of the Rings movies!

All of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies were filmed in New Zealand. The Shire is one of the sets that became a permanent fixture to the country. Additionally we will be having lunch there, feasting on whatever it is that hobbits would typically feast upon.

Most all of the flights between the islands are out of Auckland, which is why we have to travel back to fly to the South Island. It was ultimately the faster and cheaper option. By the end of the night we will be in Queenstown! 

DAY 7 

One of the must see places in New Zealand is Milford Sound, a fiord in Fiordland National Park.

We will be taking a bus tour there followed by a boat cruise on the fjord. This is an all day affair, so we are just going to kick back and take in all the sights of what Rudyard Kipling called the “8th Wonder of the World”. 

Day 8 

Our last day in the country will be spent in Queenstown.

We didn’t see the need for renting a car in the South Island, so our time here will be pretty lax, for a city that is anything but. Queenstown is pretty much the adventure capital of the world! I mean it is the place where bungy jumping was originated! Many say a jump is a “must” if in Queenstown, but y’all, it’s just not my jam! I never say never, but I’d bet high stakes I will not be making any jumps!

We will however visit Skyline, where we will take a gondola ride up a mountain …

…followed by a Luge ride down! This was one of the few activities that Beau is old enough to do solo, allowing us enough arms to do as a family!

We will explore the area a little longer on foot before flying back to Auckland. The next day we will fly out of Auckland bright and early making the long journey home. We are going to spend a night in L.A. to break up our flights since we do have a layover in Sydney on the way back, tacking on some extra hours in a plane.

There is so much to see and do in this gorgeous country! I could have planned an entire month with all the things we wanted to experience! It’s funny, Patrick’s brother, James, his wife, Drew, and their two kiddos will be in New Zealand the same time as us, but we are essentially going on completely different vacations! They wanted to experience different things than us, so we chose to split up…there are THAT many cool things to see in New Zealand! We are going to share an apartment in Rotorua, so we will swap stories each night 🙂 I’m a little jealous we aren’t getting to experience the natural phenomenon that is Hot Water Beach, where you get to dig your own spa pool! Naturally heated mineral water just seeps up through the sand and fills the pit…it looks SO cool! We just couldn’t make it work sadly! James and Drew are also prioritizing a day hike in Tongariro, which is a UNESCO World Heritage location, so you know it’s going to be stunning! We just didn’t think our kids could hang on a long hike. Like I said, there is just SO.MUCH.TO.DO. in New Zealand! So looking forward to sharing our experiences with y’all!

Be Blessed + Be A Blessing

Archives

Follow Our Bunch on Facebook!

Wooden Wrist Watch
%d bloggers like this: