We've all been there. Just a few days away from vacation and you are super excited about what lays ahead. The only thing between you and the perfect getaway is often the most dreaded thing of all-- taking your crazy family on the airplane! Inevitably the kids will get impatient, an adult in your group who may travel often for work will get annoyed with the inefficiency of family travel, and very quickly the powder keg explodes!

Well have no fear, here are a few tips to help make the flying process as smooth as possible.

If you didn't know already we've got a BIG family. Four kiddos in total-- 3 boys (15, 8, & 4) and a princess (2). Because of our family size we tend to go the road trip route over flying... Lord knows it is not cheap to put six people on a plane these days.

As a family we regularly drive from wherever we live at the time to Walt Disney World. When we lived in Northern Virginia it was about twelve hours. Now from Houston its usually about 16. Before my parents moved to Dallas we made several trips between Houston and Washington, DC-- 25 hours of driving! The most amazing part of it all... We do it straight through nearly every single time.

So with all this driving I constantly get the question-- how do you maintain (your) sanity on these long trips!? Well, here are some of our tips.