Departure

"Buckled in" courtesy of kcl_seattle.

We made a special trip to our independent bookstore to stock up on reading material for our Summer Vacation. Then each child was tasked with filling his or her backpack with items to keep them busy during the eight-hour flight to Washington, D.C., and from there, the five-hour drive to the Avalon, New Jersey. Here's what I found when I took a peek:

Max

• Aquaphor for perpetually chapped lips
• "The Prisoner of Azkaban" and "The Goblet of Fire" by J.K. Rowling
• Space workbook
• Uno

Sam

• A bag of Legos
• U.S. presidents workbook
• Pocket knife (which was returned to its drawer after he learned backpacks would be searched)
• Coloring pages of pirates
• "Red Wall" by Brian Jacques
• "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz

Chaja

• Paper dolls
• MP3 player
• "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engle
• "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
• Journal
• Scissors, colored pencils and sharpener
• Deck of cards on the 50 U.S. states

Ivan (with a little help from his mama)

• Bubbles
• Animal crackers

In my own pack, I've got my knitting, "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, and reinforcements: books of sudoku, mazes and word searches, as well as granola bars, string cheese, raisins and nuts, and, when all else fails, M&Ms to bribe my babies.