We. Love. To. Travel.
I can think of a million reasons why we shouldn’t go on family trips: shlepping Zeesy’s food, a large age range of kids with so many different interests and needs, significant behavioral challenges… and I could go on. It takes a huge amount of work, and I need to be really intentional about what I want to facilitate and, at the same time, manage my expectations!
Menny just got home from treatment, and we have a pretty hectic summer coming up, with us being spread all over the place. I felt in my bones that we needed to come together in a very focused way to ground ourselves and reconnect as a family.
We had a very short window to make it happen. We needed somewhere close enough, but that also felt like we were away. We found an Airbnb right outside of Ashton, Idaho, 15 minutes up a dirt road, 3.5 hours from Bozeman. Here is a link to the house we stayed in: www.airbnb.com. It is beautiful with gorgeous views.


This is when quality vs. quantity really matters. We were away for three whole days, but boy, was it just what we needed. PSA Incoming: Sometimes, if we can’t go somewhere super exciting or we can’t get away for enough time, we tell ourselves that it’s not worth it. I’m here to tell you that getting away, even for a few days, can be very powerful for your family. Some focused attention is so important and hard to do at home with so many distractions pulling at us.
I get asked a lot: how do I create a cohesive family unit with many children with different backgrounds and all the many challenges that come with building a family through adoption? First of all, we are not always as cohesive or functional as I would like 😏. It takes a lot of work, and there are many ups and downs, but travel plays a very significant role in making it work. Which is why I have a travel section on my blog, and we do it as much as we can.
OK, let’s get to the point! I’m going to tell you about this most recent trip to eastern Idaho.
This was our plan: my husband was landing from New York at 1:00 PM on Monday. We wanted to head out around 2:00 PM. I was worried about getting everything ready solo with the kids around. I was super organized, and I rocked it! Except… I didn’t. An hour and a half into our trip, I got that terrible sinking feeling (if you are a mom, I’m sure you’ve experienced this once or twice) and realized that I left Zeesy’s food (she has a special medical diet; you can read more here) sitting pretty in the fridge in her special cooler. I had to break the news to my husband—not fun lol—and we needed a plan. Driving back would be torture! Luckily, I was able to get my housekeeper to meet us and bring Zeesy’s food. We waited two hours for her to come, and it did affect our plans, but we had a fun time in the park. I really believe it was an amazing opportunity to model a few lessons for our kids:
1. We all make mistakes—it’s not fun, but we survive.
2. Flexibility and resilience—things did not go as planned; we needed to pivot and come up with a new plan. That’s life!
3. Regulation—we all want our kids to be able to regulate their emotions and reactions to disappointment or when something doesn’t go their way, but do we model that? Here was my opportunity to model for them what that looks like—NOT EASY! Bottom line, I was regulated so the kids stayed regulated, and we had a good time.



BTW, I forgot to mention earlier: I chose to sit in the back with the kids as they are in a stage of constant bickering. I figured that with me right there in the midst of the action, it would help, instead of me being a referee from the front. It was a good decision. The more we can set ourselves up for success, the better!
We finally made it to our destination, a few hours behind, and apparently, we weren’t done being flexible.
We had planned to have a BBQ for dinner. We brought a portable grill, but we couldn’t figure out how to set it up safely. (Yes, I know that’s another whole discussion.) We had frozen food with no way to cook it, and it was already hours past dinner time. We discovered that the house had an open fire pit, so we gathered sticks, poked them through frozen hotdogs, and roasted them over a fire. Something that could’ve been full of tension and stress turned into an adventure—a memory that, no doubt, my kids will remember fondly!



Bedtime was super exciting as there was a triple bunk bed. What more can we ask for!


We were only there for two full days, so I planned a sensory activity for the mornings, and then we would go out. Tuesday, we played with slime (Elmer’s Goo is my favorite). Here’s a link: https://amzn.to/2SlqMbs.





The kids went into the hot tub, and we just hung out being low key—well, the Bruk version of low key—while enjoying the beautiful outdoors and views from the house.



After lunch, we headed out to Mesa Falls. We did a 2.5-mile hike (I ended up having to carry Chana Laya for the entire hike) but we didn’t get to see the falls, which was so weird. Turns out, we went the wrong way and the falls were just steps away in the other direction! Woops lol. Sometimes you search high and low and the answer is right in front of your nose. The falls were absolutely stunning! I am glad we didn’t find them right away, or we wouldn’t have done the hike, which was an experience. Sometimes the journey is where it’s really at!












We were pretty pooped after that. We went back to our Airbnb and settled in for a movie night with frozen grapes and ice cream. Pretty special, and it really felt like a treat because we never do that at home. Then dinner and an early bedtime, as the night before was a late one.


Wednesday morning, our sensory activity was Orbeez, followed by coloring and more chilling. It’s important to note that these activities don’t last long but I still find them to be grounding and a great way to start the day. It feels special on a family trip.





This time, we packed lunch with us and headed to Island Park, where we rented two razors (two 4-seaters), which I would describe as the new and updated version of an ATV or 4-wheeler. We had so much fun!!! We went up a mountain where we climbed 9,500 feet in elevation. Some parts were really windy and narrow, and oh boy, was it scary and thrilling. We ended up at the peak with the most gorgeous views, and ate lunch. We didn’t hang out too long as it was way colder than we expected. We made our way down the mountain and continued on to Henry’s Lake, another beautiful spot, which we enjoyed very much.









We returned the razors, and we were quite the sight, covered in dirt—evidence of a great time. It was an activity that I would highly recommend. After dinner, we had a family paint night. I brought paints and canvases, and it was a great activity that everyone could participate in stress-free. If you remember, part of the goal for this trip was family connection, and I thought a lot about how I wanted to do that. Everything we did was to facilitate that.







We left the next morning and headed back to Bozeman. Like I said, short but oh so sweet. We had planned to stop for lunch at Quake Lake but couldn’t find the turnoff. So, we pulled over on the side of the road and it ended up being such a hidden treasure. It was a great way to end our trip!



I love sharing our travel adventures with you, and I hope it inspires you to do the same! The one thing that I learn over and over again is that the world is such an amazing place. There is beauty everywhere you look. You don’t have to go far or spend a lot of money. You just have to open your eyes and find the unique beauty that’s right in front of you!
If anyone is interested in a trip to eastern Idaho, check out this post from chrislovesjulia.com, one of my favorite blogs, for even more great things to do in the area.
Happy trails!
Chavie