Veer Wagon Review

I started looking at purchasing a Veer over two years ago when Sophie (our second oldest) grew out of our double stroller. I wanted a safe place for her to be able to sit, that was comfortable, and would be easily transportable because I was finding more and more frustration with assembling our stroller every time we would go somewhere to have her not want to squeeze in, or have trouble maneuvering the stroller around obstacles/terrain one handed while chasing after kids. After Maggie was born it became very obvious that our double stroller was no longer serving much of a purpose at all (it is actually just taking up space in our dining room currently), but nothing had taken its place. The Veer was repeatedly an obvious option for us to try as our family continued to grow but we were deterred by the cost and kept thinking if we held out we could make our stroller work.

Fast forward to earlier this summer when we took our first beach trip of the season and discovered how much help we were going to need for our next beach trip when we knew we would be staying farther away from the beach and I was going to be very pregnant. We weighed the pros and cons and essentially came up with the agreement that we would go see a Veer in a store and then decide. So I toted all of our kids to a local store that carries Veer products and left within the hour as the proud owner of a new Veer.

So what is so great about this thing? It’s just a wagon right? Yes but no.

Veer wagons are made for hauling kids and stuff. They are meant to be used in all kinds of elements, terrains, and configurations. The wheels remind me of a BOB stroller but they are smaller and don’t require any air. The steel frame folds flat and the handle can adjust for pulling next to you, pushing like a stroller, or pulling as wagon behind you. The seats have buckles for each kid plus a footwell to accommodate longer legs as kids grow. Unlike a stroller I think a Veer wagon is perfect for a family who wants something to haul their kids from very little to much bigger. Taller kids wouldn’t be able to fit into a small wagon or stroller but the Veer allows plenty of space for growth.

Veer has been very smart in the engineering of this wagon and they have pretty much thought of everything you could possibly need. When you buy the wagon it comes with a snack tray, two cup holders, and the inside walls of the wagon are full of little pockets. You can hose it down after getting dirty which makes it much easier for me to feel ok with getting it dirty. Accessories are all sold separately but each has an awesome purpose. There’s an attachment you can use for an infant car seat, a nap system to turn the entire wagon into a bassinet, canopies and visors to keep the sun off, a bug net, a cargo basket that attaches to the back, a toddler comfort seat that has a five point harness for little kiddos that aren’t quite ready for the bigger seat (also comes in a fluffy warm fabric for colder weather), a weather shield, misting fans that fit inside the cup holders, and a travel bag. You can customize your wagon with color or printed side walls and purchase canopies that match. When we purchased ours, we also purchased the cargo basket, two canopies, and a nap system. We have a carseat attachment on order but just haven’t gotten it yet.

I think it’s fairly obvious that we have really enjoyed our Veer and found it to be a very suitable replacement for all our stroller needs and then some. I would say that nothing is perfect and neither is the Veer but it has been a really fantastic thing to own. It is odd to me that you have to purchase the canopies separately because they are such a vital part of the Veer message to “go out and explore” so I would definitely add that in to your initial cost. I also think having the cargo basket takes the Veer to another level. I can fit so much in that one basket and its nice to have my hands free. There’s plenty of room on the handles to attach a diaper bag so you can really carry a lot of stuff if you have the cargo basket too. When we were at the beach we were able to fit a tent, two beach chairs, a beach bag, several towels, a cooler, and two kids in our Veer for going back and forth to the beach. We used the snack tray to feed them meals on the beach and when we left we just hosed it all off to be ready for the next day.

Steering does take some time to adjust to (it definitely doesn’t steer like a stroller) but overall I think it is very easy to use. Tight corners and turns can be tedious at times (like maneuvering in and out of restrooms) but I also had trouble with those with strollers so that hasn’t been that much of an issue to me. On the beach the wheels rolled so well over compact sand but it did take some finagling to traverse the soft sand. We figured out that if you keep the front wheels elevated just slightly you can roll through fairly easily. One feature I did not realize how much I would enjoy was the ability for it to fold down. I was able to wagon Maggie into the doctor’s office recently and then fold the wagon down in the exam room for extra space when I wasn’t using it. It takes so much less time to unpack from my car so I feel more inclined to use it and take the kids places. I also greatly appreciate having a safe, clean space that the kids can be in that allows them to see and experience plenty without getting out.

If I could go back to when I was purchasing our double stroller I would seriously consider skipping it all together in lieu of a Veer. I love that it serves so many purposes and can be so versatile for our family’s needs. We’ve taken it on neighborhood walks, on city adventures, we’ve gone to the park, to the mall, even bridesmaid dress shopping, we’ve used it with just one kid, and we’ve squeezed in three kids (although that’s not how it is intended to be used), and yet each time it serves us so well. It is definitely an investment but unlike any stroller we have ever owned, we plan to use our Veer for many years to come.

Cheers to the Veer makers, they seriously know how to make a solid, smart, and awesome product.

All opinions are my own and this is not a sponsored post!

Kiawah 2021

We are back! After a full week at the beach, we are home. It’s crazy to me how long a week can feel while also flying by at the same time. We’ve actually been home for a few days but while we were away our cable line was cut, so we’ve had a mandatory internet break as well.

Our drive down to the beach was not fun at all. The kids did the best they could but traffic was intense and it took way longer than it should have. One of the tricky parts of a Saturday to Saturday rental is that everyone has the same arrival and departure dates and that can make traffic really bad. Once we got into town, we made quick pit stops at the grocery store and to unpack the car before hitting the beach. It was the best way to stretch our legs after a long day of travel and we just couldn’t wait. We also got to get our Veer dirty for the first time!

This trip was really special because we were meeting up with an entire branch of extended family, some of whom we had not seen since before Covid.

As our week progressed we fell into a few different rhythms. We had beach time each day, although sometimes it was earlier and others it was a late afternoon/evening time. We had big family gatherings for dinner on some days and others it was a big beach party. We made a visit to a random farmers market one day and also took the kids out for lunch on the water. We went to the park twice but it was so hot our time there didn’t last long. We made so many memories and hopefully made up for some lost time with family.

Our kids were amazingly resilient. They stayed up late and slept in late which was really nice. They each found a part of the beach they loved and had a blast. It became super difficult to get Emily out of the water because all she wanted to do was play mermaid. Sophie loved the tide pools and having snacks under the tent. Maggie was all over the beach and loved eating sand. Having plenty of family around helped when all three of our kids wanted to do different things at the same time. Adults alternated spending time with all the kids (my niece and nephews too!) and it also gave us the chance to spend time and actually visit with the other adults.

We had two rainy mornings but otherwise our weather was perfect. I was grateful for the break the rain gave us from the production of beach “getting ready” and hauling. Luckily we had our Veer for beach days and it helped us get a ton of stuff plus kids to and from the beach.

Our typical beach haul included: our kids (obviously) two of which would sit in the Veer, a cooler in between the kids in the footwell, a few beach towels, two folding beach chairs, a tent, and a bag with our keys/phone/etc in the cargo carrier on the back of the wagon. We figured out which beach access was handicap accessible near us and then we never even had to carry it down any stairs!

There were a few opportunities for me to get some time to rest and relax by myself including an ice cream date alone and a sunrise beach walk. It was great to have time alone but I found that when I was away I was ready to be back with my kids because I was enjoying our time together so much.

No sooner did we fall into a solid pattern, our trip was over and it was time to go home. Our drive home was about as ideal as it could be. We only stopped once and the kids were so good.

While we were away our house was VERY busy. Our contractor was hard at work inside while we were able to have an irrigation project done in our yard (hence the cut cable line). But our project will be a story for another day!

For now I’ll just say it was a great trip and I can’t wait for next time. I’m so grateful we were able to take the week to make memories with our kids and family but also coming home felt so good.

Family Vacation Packing Tips

One of the hardest parts of taking your family on vacation happens before you leave home. Trying to remember everything to pack and making sure it fits can be such a challenge! What if we need this? Or what is someone is sick? Or what if we don’t have a washing machine? Over the last few years I have started keeping a very specific and detailed packing list for our vacations to make packing easier. Every year I refer to the list and modify as needed because as kids grow or we have more kids a few items may change but the basic structure of the list always stays the same.

I’ve broken the list into five major categories: Bed, Bath, Outdoor, Kitchen, and Other with items listed in each. I also find that what we pack in makes a difference for how we pack so I have included a list of what kinds of packing supplies we use. Each trip is different so I edit as needed. I also will refer back to my list while we are traveling or have returned to remember if there’s something I wish we had packed or something we didn’t need at all.

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Packing Supplies:

What you use to pack for your trip can make a huge difference in how prepared you feel. If you can’t find what you need it can make things complicated and stressful. I find that less is always more when we pack so I try to have a bag for each category, and then it makes it easier to keep track of what we brought.

Packing cubes: I used to laugh at people who use packing cubes but now I never pack without them. As we had more kids it became super challenging to remember which bag had a particular child or set of children’s items in it. I also found that multiple bags added to logistical challenges when packing the car. So each family member has a set of packing cubes in a specific color. Depending on the trip we are taking we may only use one cube per family member and then all the cubes go into on bin or bag. I typically use my oversized Scout bag for all our cubes if we are driving and when we fly I can fit more in one suitcase instead of everything getting mixed together. When we arrive at our destination I will put each person’s cube in their designated room. The kids know which color their cube is and they can find their belongings easily versus having to dig through a shared bag. We have two different kinds of packing cubes and each have worked great. I picked them based off of color choices because they are such similar options. I use these for myself and Jon or these for the kids (each kid has a different color).

One bin for all toiletries and first aid: I have struggled with how to transport toiletries and medicine for years. We all use mostly the same products so it feels really redundant to pack small individual sets of things when I know the kids stuff will end up in the same bathroom as ours. So to conserve space and mental energy I started putting all our toiletries and medical supplies into one small rubbermaid bin. I will have individual items separated by Ziploc bags or by toiletry bags but it helps to keep it all in one easily moveable bin. I haven’t tried this method with flying yet but I imagine you could do something similar with one large bag. When we arrive at our destination we take the whole bin and place it on the counter so everyone knows where toothbrushes, hairbrushes, and all the other stuff is. This way all these items have a home base and have a better chance of making it home again.

One bag for kitchen supplies: If we are going somewhere that has a kitchen I always try to pack some supplies to make cooking easier. I will go into detail what those supplies are below in the kitchen category but for now just wanted to mention that I use a medium size Scout bag to transport any kitchen supplies. Then when we arrive that bag goes straight to the kitchen and we can keep our belongings organized and have less risk for leaving something behind.

Cardboard box for non-perishable food: Along the same theme of kitchen supplies, I usually try to pack snacks and dry goods if we are traveling somewhere that has a kitchen. This helps save on time in an un-familiar grocery store and can help save money. I have tried bringing items in other bags or bins, but a cardboard box always works great because you can get rid of it if you have emptied your supply of food (although I have yet to have that happen thanks to a husband who loves to shop at Costco).

Cooler: We tend to pack a cooler when we travel with things that transport well, that will allow us less shopping time while on vacation, and maybe even keep us driving longer with a meal on the road.

Car toys vs. house toys. vs. outside toys: I debated adding this category but it is a part of my packing process so here it is. I try to have a bag for car entertainment that includes things the kids don’t normally play with regularly at home. I keep the bag put away when we are home and then revamp it before we head out onto the road. Once we arrive at our destination it comes inside with us along with extra books, puzzles, and our Duplo basket. I know… of all the things to over pack with, we do bring our entire Duplo collection. Mainly because they are in an easy to carry bin and all of our kids can play with them right now. We then also will have an extra outdoor items like bubbles or pool floats that tend to make it into the “outside” bag with pool towels and sunscreen.

Now onto the list! This is a copy and paste of our master list, so not every item goes for every trip. We adjust according to where we are going and what we may be doing. Also you know your family best so if there’s something that would make a big difference for one of your family members, it may be helpful to make room for it. On our most recent trip Emily really wanted to be sure we brought our pencil sharpener for her colored pencils. Normally I wouldn’t pack something so un-useful and random but she LOVES coloring with colored pencils right now so it was a big deal for her to be able to sharpen them. I am also very pregnant so sleep is not the most comfortable which meant bringing my huge maternity pillow that would have been much easier to leave at home for packing logistics but was very helpful for me to bring.

Family Vacation Packing List:

Bed:

• Sound machine
• Nightlight
• Bed rail
• Pack n play with sheets
• Extra water proof mattress cover
• Wipes/Diapers
• Bed time books
• Clothes w/ suits and jammies for each family member

Bath:

• Toiletries
• Razor
• Toothbrushes
• Hair detangler
• Kids shampoo/conditioner
• Soap
• Extra toilet paper
• First aid
• Kids Benadryl
• Kids Tylenol
• Aloe
• Thermometer

Outdoor:

• Beach toys
• Bubbles
• Stroller- sometimes we opt to leave at home if we don’t think we will need it
• Sunscreen
• Floaties
• Towels
• Beach bag
• Kids sunglasses
• Kids shoes (tennis, water, play)
• Baby backpack- in exchange for the stroller

Kitchen:

• High chair
• Eating utensils
• Cups
• Reusable Water bottles
• Dishwasher soap
• Dish soap
• Knife
• Cutting board
• Ninja food processor
• Frying pan
• Baking sheets
• Any small amounts of spices we may need for meals we’ve planned
• Cast iron skillet
• Spatulas

Other:

• Video camera
• Chargers
• Apple TV- we tend to bring our own instead of trying to figure out how to work a new TV. Also nice to have music!
• Toys
• Art supplies
• Laundry detergent
• Travel baby entertainment chair

A lot of my packing skills come from my parents and from watching our favorite youtube family of travel journalists “The Bucket List Family”. I’ve learned that we can definitely do with less but also that it is really important to pack the essentials. There are stores most places you go so if there’s something you really need like more children’s Tylenol you can usually get some. We typically end up somewhere with a washing machine which means we can re-wear outfits so we pack minimal amounts of clothes especially for the beach where bathing suits rule anyways. Packing can be such a painful task or it can be super fun. Having this list has helped me make preparing for a trip much easier and keep my focus on the exciting vacation ahead.

Now tell me, what did I forget?!

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Reacclimating, Picking Paint Colors and Glucose Test

Oh friends reacclimation to normal life after vacation is so tricky. I feel like I see it more in my kids than anywhere else. They are exhausted. Maggie has been taking two naps a day, and the older kids have had some serious emotions thanks to over tiredness. I usually like to build in a buffer day between vacation and regular life to help transition but this time we didn’t.

Yesterday we spent most of the morning cleaning, unpacking, decluttering, and making a donation pile. It was so productive but also so exhausting! It’s getting hard to manage the kids, being pregnant, and trying to be productive. I try to take advantage of time that Maggie is napping and the older girls are resting for those kinds of things but it also doesn’t help when I’m tired and need to rest too! Anyways, lots of good stuff happened but nothing of major consequence. The afternoon was spent with my mom and some friends who came over to help me start figuring out paint colors. I am ready to get some of this dark wood lightened up! I am the worst with making these kinds of decisions so its amazing to have women who have loved me and known me my whole life that are able to help. Here are a few hints for colors I’m looking at:

Did you know you can buy paint samples as peel and stick pages that you can stick to your walls? Who knew!? So my plan is to make a few color selections and then order some samples to stick all over the place. Much easier than getting a bunch of different little cans of paint.

Once we wrapped up our design planning session, it was straight into dinner, showers, laundry, and bed time. I was up and out early this morning for my 27 week and glucose test appointment at the doctor. The glucose test is one of my least favorite parts of pregnancy, but this morning’s appointment went great and I even ran into a gal in the waiting room that is in a mom group with me and follows my Instagram. We had never met in real life so it was fun to chat for a few minutes to pass the time while I was waiting.

My test wrapped up and I hustled home to relieve my sweet mom who was taking care of the kids and to have some breakfast. Anyone else ever run into the same issue where your kids think the next meal is supposed to start wayyyy before its time? My kids were asking for lunch while I was making my breakfast so while Maggie napped I let the older girls watch a movie to pass the time (which of course wasn’t the right movie so it didn’t last long) until a more reasonable hour for lunch approached.

Afternoon plans include making lunch (of course), working on my packing list blog post, spending some time decluttering, an impromptu meeting with our grading and hardscape guy (look at the awesome grading we got done while we were at the beach!), and maybe some outdoor water time.

How do you transition back to normal life from vacations? Any tips?

Hilton Head 2021

Hi! I hope you’re weekend included something fun and summer-centric. We spent the last four days enjoying a long weekend and some much needed vacation time on Hilton Head Island.

For most of my life we have enjoyed taking family vacations to the same few places. My grandparents spent almost two decades living on Hilton Head so a majority of our vacations were to their house. Now that they live closer to us, we still take trips to HHI and have the amazing privilege to stay at a family friend’s home. Historically we’ve done big family trips with my sisters and our kids, but now we have so many kids it’s a little hard with too many people. So this trip was just my little family and my parents.

Wednesday:

We left Wednesday afternoon just before 3 with the hope that at least some of our kids would nap, but of course the longest nap of the four hour drive was about 30 minutes. We stopped once for dinner and potty, plus one other potty stop. I had not anticipated how challenging would be to find places willing to let us use their restrooms. Many fast food places are operating with drive through only, so I was glad I remembered to pack our “car potty” to save us from having to haul the kids into some gross bathrooms. We rolled into town about 7:30 pm and our kids didn’t settle into bed until almost 10 which didn’t surprise us at all.

Thursday:

Naturally Thursday morning was a slower morning although the kids did not sleep as late as they could have. We had breakfast and then made our inaugural trek to the beach. The wind was absolutely fierce on the beach and the sand was stinging everyone’s legs. There was no way we would be able to pitch a tent let alone enjoy the beach, so back to the pool we went. After a morning in the pool we cleaned up for lunch and quiet time before hitting the pool again before dinner. Another late night ensued because for whatever reason our kids seem to be more awake when they are exhausted plus they never seem to want to sleep these days. My favorite moment of the day was watching Maggie enjoy floating in the pool so much she almost fell asleep!

Friday:

We were up much earlier Friday and after another big breakfast we trekked back to the beach for a very successful morning beach session. We pitched our tent and chairs while the kids dug and got covered in sand. Maggie kept eating fistfuls of sand and then would stick her fully covered sandy tongue out like “ugh that’s gross” before doing it again. Then it was as if all three kids flipped a switch at the same time and they all started back to the house without us! I turned around in my chair to see a hilarious little line of children making their way across the sand by themselves (they hadn’t gotten far I promise) so just like that beach time was over and it was lunch, followed by nap time for Maggie, and movie time for the big kids.

We spent the later part of Friday in the pool before dinner and grabbed some quick showers so we could catch the beginning of Gregg Russell’s show at Harbor Town. My parents used to bring me to see his show when I was a kid so it’s been fun to have our kids hear his songs too. We left the show early because it looked like Sophie might fall asleep sitting up on the stage with him, but of course sleep didn’t happen until very late.

Saturday:

For the first time our whole trip the older kids actually slept a little later, but Maggie missed the memo and was up suuuuper early. In fact she was up so early that she was ready for a nap at the same time everyone else was ready for the beach. So I stayed back for her to nap and to do a workout while the rest of our crew headed out, only for them to return about half an hour later thanks to rain! The older kids played in the rain (they were already in bathing suits) while Maggie finished her rest and then just after lunch the sun came out…right as I fell asleep on the couch! Once everyone was awake and well rested we played in the pool before having a traditional low country boil for dinner. Once dishes were done, my mom and I left Jon and my dad to handle bedtime while we took our chairs down to the beach for some much needed adult time. It was fun just to hang out and spend the evening chatting.

What do we think of visors these days? I found this one in my hat collection when I was packing and thought I’d give it a try. In some ways I really like it but overall I’m still deciding.

Sunday:

Another vacation morning and another early rising day for Maggie. We were up before the sun which gave us a head start on packing and getting the house ready for us to leave. Then as we were just about ready Maggie needed a nap so we hung out for a few extra minutes. We woke her up and hopped in the car just before 9:45 and started the slow long trek home.

Why does it seem like there’s always traffic on your way home from vacation to make the journey so much longer and more depressing that your trip is over?. We had another unsuccessful attempt at finding a clean potty for the kids to use, but otherwise it was an uneventful drive.

I’m already missing the slightly slower pace that vacation brings even with three active little kids. I feel like vacation as a parent is never really a vacation, it’s more like normal life with a much prettier background. Luckily we have another trip planned for later in the summer with Jon’s side. This actually made unpacking really easy because I didn’t unpack a lot of what we will need for our next trip! I do love the game of trying to figure out what all we need to bring, and have an extensive beach packing list that makes it much easier. As for today, we are back to house projects, laundry, and working hard to getting our kids back on some semblance of a normal sleep schedule.

Any fun trips planned soon? Would you like me to share how I pack our family for a trip? What do you think of wearing a visor?