we took a LOT of car trips when i was a child and my mother always had a way of making them magical. she would wrap up something little for each hour of the trip…a surprise for when we begin to get tired. they were not big things, maybe crayons or a book or a small toy…but the unwrapping and the suspense made the car trip fun. i am sure it was little considerations like these that made me love the fanciful and helped shape my strong belief in making magic. she had this knack for making things feel magical…

tomorrow i am taking my kids on a bit of a car ride to the zoo. i have, oh so stealthily, gathered together a few things to make our own trip a bit magical like binoculars and a small thermos and compass set (necessary for both the zoo and for finding our way there), spiderman comics, lots of fruit, a connect 4 travel game, and i have downloaded every fairytale known to man and burned them onto several cds. i will leave the picnic lunch packing for the morning (hummus sandwiches and salad) and we are off. fun!! don’t you just LOVE summer!