My recommendation would be to cut down what you think you need to take with you by half after you've laid it all out. LOL! Go with clothes in one color scheme that mix and match. If an item can pull double duty or can work with multiple outfits that'd go to the top of my list. I really like outfit sudoku (you can see examples on pinterest) but usually only take an extra pair of shoes while traveling (on top of the pair I wear to travel), unlike the 4 in the sudoku. I second ebags. I love mine! Bring familiar medicine with you if you have favorites. It's the worst if you're sick and you have to go to the store and decipher which medicine to take. This doesn't mean you have to pack *every* medicine, just a couple. 😄 I usually travel with just carry-on but if that's too little for you I'd recommend packing one less checked bag for the family (so if there are 4 of you then 3 checked bags) and packing an expandable duffel in one of those so that on the way home you have the option of checking a 4th. I do find that the number of items I have seems to expand when packing for the return trip (ha! read:souvenirs). One of the good things about only carry-on is it limits how much stuff you bring back (one of the bad things is that it limits the stuff that you bring back...sigh.). 😁 Have fun traveling! ETA: For the plane: thick comfy socks (it can get cold at altitude), ear plugs, eye mask for each person. Sometimes the airline will provide these but I prefer to bring my own just in case (and mine are better quality). They're helpful for wherever you're staying too. I travel wearing a scarf and that's come in handy many times as a blanket or a pillow for behind my back.

I second those already said but would like to add: Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales Asterix and Obelisk Along with Tin Tin and Wings of Fire these are my DS's favorite graphic novels.

Something similar happens in my friend group too and it really bothers me. We get together for a meal once a week and if there are leftovers some will take extra for their lunch the next day. If I bring the main dish (we alternate) it makes me upset because money is tight and that extra could have gone to my own family's lunch the next day. Sigh. I know, it's greedy of me and only a couple of people do it. I haven't had the gall to speak up to them about it. This would have bothered me! Glad your plate is back where it belongs!

Did I read correctly that he wants to do VA, Disney, Pensacola, and then drive to the Alamo all during the first 6 days? That's too much. I live in Pensacola and it's about 8 hours from Disney (with restroom stops). All of that driving, especially to the Alamo from Pensacola, will take up a lot of your time. I think by day 4 you'll be exhausted. Tell him if you're going to do it you should do it right and schedule a down day after each drive day. We drove from Clearwater, FL to Alaska (southern route then up pacific hwy 1) and then from Coastal Oregon to Pensacola (northern route). The first trip we took 30 days to do and the second we took 6 days. The first trip was much more fun.

I have a friend who posts lots of passive aggressive things on FB too. Best thing you can do (unless you already went ahead and blocked him) is to put him on ignore. It's been great to not have to worry about whether the posting was referring to me or not. If I don't know about the drama then I don't have a reaction to it. He sounds lonely and slightly out of touch with what are normal interactions. Does he normally have issues with societal cues or social interaction? If this is something more along those lines then a time when your DH can lay down some boundaries in person would be a good thing. If it's more of a selfish neediness then boundaries are also good but if it continues then you may have to cut contact.

I can guess where you were probably flying out of yesterday! Ugh. DH is an airline pilot and it's been interesting to see how the industry works as far as how easy it can be to get a flight delayed/canceled/etc. DH has been rerouted/reassigned numerous times when weather sets in and then it's frustrating for everyone when crews time out. You put so "they" say in quotes but I can confirm that yesterday was a nightmare for airplane travel out of a number of airports which then has a knock on effect from crews not able to get out of other airports, happens to DH during certain times of year (so they weren't lying about that). Winter and hurricane season are the worst! Christmas travel + storms and canceled flights mean he may not get home himself from his commute on the flight he wants to. Sucks. I'm sorry that the gate agent wasn't communicating well. It takes 2 seconds to keep people updated! They should have had someone there to direct people. It sounds like a really sucky day.

I don't have anything to add about Gloomhaven as I haven't played it, other than to say I bet that you could watch a shut up and sit down review https://www.shutupandsitdown.com/ I don't usually like watching videos but I'll watch these to see how games are played. If you have Civilization then do you also have Through the Ages? We got it last year after wanting it for a while and I like it a lot more than Civ (which we also have). It's always rated near the top on boardgamegeek and I really like it. I bet your aspie would too! May have some similar issues with your 9 year old but I think this game is easier to play than Civilization. ETA: my 9 year old likes to play Powergrid with us. Do you guys have that one?

We don't live in the area but DH is a pilot based in Charlotte and so his schedule has been a bit crazy the past couple of days. Hopefully he can make his commute (flight) home tonight! I love the pictures of the snow! We're in Florida so haven't gotten any. My kids are always hopeful though!

I agree with you that the employee was completely unprofessional and should see repercussions at work. I do, however, think that the mom opened herself up to comments from the masses when they took their story public. We called our son Jack and before he was born I joked to DH that we should spell it Jackque just to be funny since Jack is such a normal and boring name. He didn't go for it...

No, they don't have it. Thank you so much! Will have to put it in with their "read" present. 😍

I got the emerald green with gold highlights, the gray with teal highlights, and the red with gold highlights. I thought that I would get one too and we could work on our own at the same time as a group activity! They absolutely LOVE dragon books and I think they're going to flip out!

They are SO cute! I got one for each of my kiddos for their stockings. Thanks so much for sharing!

DH went through CG OCS and had to square his meals quite a few times. That was quite a few years ago and now he needs lots of napkins. LOL! My family is English so my Mom always called them serviettes. Thanks to this thread I saved my half paper towel that I used as a napkin from lunch to be used later for dinner. I might live life on the wild side and try to go without. Wish me luck! 😂

I fly a lot and DH flies even more (he's an airline pilot lol!) and it really just depends on which TSA agent you get and which airport you go through. I generally don't pack anything outside of the 1 quart rule though because I don't want the hassle of deeper screening (sometimes they make me pull the baggie out, sometimes they don't). Can your friend put your couple of extra things in her baggie since she has TSA Pre? I hope that you have SO MUCH FUN!

I used to be in charge of the potlucks at our church. Each time I'd bring hot dogs in a crockpot. It's the easiest thing ever and the kids will love you. Open up packages of hot dogs and put them in a crockpot. Turn on high when you get to church and they'll be ready after. Bring buns and ketchup/mustard. Done and done. ?

I was going to add roadtrippers as well. We have done a couple of cross country drives and it was very helpful.

I haven't read the other responses, but wanted to put a plug in for the Coast Guard if he's at all flexible on which service he joins! DH went in as an officer directly out of college and went into flight school directly out of Officer Candidate School (OCS). During flight school (Navy, Marines, and Coasties all attend Navy flight school) he got lots of comments from fellow pilots that they wish that they had known that the Coast Guard has an aviation side (or even that the Coast Guard was military! HA!) A large number of them wished that they could transfer over. The Coast Guard is the 5th military branch and has all of the exact same benefits as the other services. The mission is also pretty cool, but I'm biased. ? Of course, your DS may not at all be interested in aviation, but I say that to recommend that he really do his research as to which branch, but especially which specialty he'd like to do and what job he COULD do for 20 years (if he's planning on staying in until retirement).

It's around 2 hours and most of the Delta flights direct CVG to MSP are CRJ 700/900 (one 717) so even closer together! I wouldn't ask someone to switch with you while on-board as they may have paid extra for their seat. If sitting together is a big deal then I'd get the main cabin seats. Your 11 year old should be fine by herself! OP, there is a frontier direct flight as well that you could look into, I just looked it up myself, and although you wouldn't be able to travel back on that Sunday if you did Wednesday to Saturday I'm showing approximately $150 per person round trip for this flight around that time frame. That might save you some buckaroos.

Do you live somewhere where there are a lot of transplants to the area? We live in a huge military/vacation community and so the assumption is always that you're traveling to see family during the summer - could that be what they're asking instead of "where are you going on your big fancy vacation?" OP we have the Hilton Hotels Amex that, like the PP, we put everything on each month to get points (and pay it off at the end of the month). Some cards give you perks like free breakfasts at the hotels (for those that don't already have free breakfast) so that might be something else to consider as well. We usually do a big breakfast (free if possible) and a big dinner while traveling and then take snacks for lunch and that way we're only paying for 1 meal a day.

That makes sense! To be honest, my biggest struggle my whole life has been jealousy/envy and I've worked really hard to tamp it down and try to assume the best of others - which is why I responded the way I did. It's more of a hot button issue for me. I actually didn't think what you said was offensive, but it IS a common thought that I've read a lot over many years of being on forums. I've had to talk myself down a lot in my thoughts of looking at what others have/do and being envious. Over time it's gotten easier. Also, there's the fact that my family and I travel a lot (due to DH's benefits) and I've heard a comment here or there about how "nice" it is with a sarcastic twist because we struggle financially as DH took a 60% pay cut to take this job. As though we shouldn't be going on these "trips" because we are in a "hard" financial place (still in a good enough place to where I can stay home and hs the kids!) What they don't see is that we have flight benefits and then use points for hotels that we rack up because DH is gone 20 days a month. We mostly use our benefits to meet up with DH so we can spend more time with him. I flew up to DC by myself for the day and spent a total of $20 and went to the national gallery but sacrificed a day at home with DH and the kids and needed the time away for my mental well being. So, there's sacrifices with everything. Sorry for the ramble, I didn't mean take offense to what you said!

Or they work for the airlines and get free standby flights ? The most exotic place I've been though is Cincinnati over Christmas to visit DH since he had to work. I did take some pics of my kids lying on the carpet at the airport because our flight was delayed. I don't think it's good to imagine that those who have more money than us that get to have all of these fabulous things/vacations, etc... are drowning in debt. There's always going to be someone who has more money than you, or even has the same but they make different choices with it. Try not to compare and be happy for them that they get to travel rather than look at it with envy. If travel is important to you try to work in little trips when you can. It doesn't have to be extravagant! I'm so sorry that you feel it's not going to happen in this season and it bums you out. I canunderstand that. Is there something small you can plan?

The only team you can't root for (if you're rooting for England) is Argentina. ? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentina–England_football_rivalry However, if you don't want to read all of that just google Maradona and Hand of God. ?

The clutterbug video above REALLY helped me, thank you so much for posting it! I got lost in some of the videos and I had never heard organizing described the way she did. I found out I'm a ladybug and that is very helpful to know!

I've played a lot of those so I wasn't surprised by any of them (though like the PP I'm surprised that Carcassone wasn't on there as it's usually on the list if Catan is). Our group is really into codenames, Avalon, 7 Wonders, Pit, Splendor (not my fav),and Bang! We play lots of board games in our house (family of 4) and the ones we play the most are: Empire Builder, 7 Wonders (though I feel like I've overplayed it), 5 crowns, and the usual carcassone and catan. We just received Patriots and Redcoats which I backed on Kickstarter for DH so we've been playing that every day that DH is home. It's similar to Avalon but less table talk so easier for our kids to play.

I'm a Christian and I used to say Appo-low-gia (like Appalachia) but then stopped when everyone around me pronounced it the other way. I'm originally from England though so not sure if that has anything to do with it? I pronounce mosquito and strawberries differently as well, apparently.