Trail mix or mixed nuts are a great, protein-filled snack to keep hunger at bay, and easy to pack and eat in the car.

Whole apples - we try to avoid slicing them since they get brown so quickly!

Fruit snacks.

Dried cereal. You can put your families' favorite in baggies, or get the individually-sized snack cups.

Granola bars are so easy to travel with, and are a hearty road trip snack that still tastes like a treat.

Crackers are a great starchy road trip snack to have on hand, especially if you have anyone who gets car sick.

Apple sauce or other fruit pouches.

Goldfish crackers, of course! They will almost certainly get all over your car, but IMO are still worth it for the ease and universal kid appeal.

Grapes are good healthy road trip snacks as they hold up much better than most other fresh fruit while traveling. If you've got little ones, you can cut them after washing to avoid a possible choke hazard.

What building has the most stories? A library.

Dig a huge hole (but don't forget to fill it in again before you leave!). My kids love digging, and they think gigantic holes are just about the coolest thing ever. Even more than making sandcastles at the beach, they love digging, and digging, and digging, until they've made a giant hole they can fit inside.

My kids LOVE using grabbers, and picking up litter at the beach is really and truly one of their favorite beach activities - helping the environment is just a bonus. I've gotten grabbers on Amazon, at the dollar store, and at Costco, and they all seem to hold up about the same (which is not all that long, unfortunately), so I suggest buying the cheapest you can find. The grabbers with a trigger rather than a squeeze handle seem easiest for little hands to use.

My little kids love to stand in the shallow part of the water as the waves roll in, then race to try and reach the shore before the wave does. I love how this simple beach game keeps them so entertained!

My boys love digging in the sand, using toy trucks, shovels, and sand toys of any kind.

Looking for seashells is a classic beach activity for kids that mine love to do every single time we go. I usually set a limit for how many they can bring home each time, and have learned to designate a special jar or mesh bag as the "seashell" holder to avoid creating an entire beach at home!

Wiffle ball is a favorite for my boys, as long as it's not too crowded!

Spike ball is a fun outdoor game that transports easily and is perfect for the beach. My teens especially enjoy it, but all of us have fun playing together.

We have two younger kids and two older kids. For the older two, we tried lessons when they were really young, but found that they didn't actually learn to swim well until they were much older, in elementary school. It was nice to have them be more comfortable in water, but I also felt like that exposure didn't have to happen in formal, paid lessons. With the younger two, we tried early again, but they were so resistant that we backed off for a bit. We tried again when they were 5 and 7 and the difference was like night and day. They loved it, learned quickly, and we were overall so much happier with the process and end result.

We usually prefer kids parties at home, though sometimes I wish my kids would choose to have it at a trampoline park or other outside venue - though more expensive, it is much easier! But, the bonus of the at-home party is you can more easily tailor it to your kids preferences, and have more control over scheduling, food, activities etc. Our kids tend to be more introverted, and prefer smaller gatherings at home. At younger ages (preschool and early elementary), birthday parties at a local park have been a huge hit! These also work really well for more casual weekday parties after school, if you're rather avoid a big weekend affair.

Why can't a nose be 12 inches long? Because then it would be a foot!