Hello Reader,

Do you like taking roadtrips? I do! In fact, my family is on the first leg of a 2-week-long mid-America road trip even as I write.

We're only three days in and have already eaten freshly-picked peaches and homemade ice cream from a roadside orchard. toured a chocolate factory (with free samples!), explored Gateway Arch National Park, stamped our passports at the Illinois State Capitol, and visited the Lincoln Home National Historic Site.

That's because we believe in enjoying the journey as much as the destination. If you share this mindset (or want to adopt it), then this week's link list is for you. Happy trails!

Free resources for you this week:

• ​A Prayer for Travelers - a printable prayer guide for whenever loved ones take a trip
• ​World Travel I Spy - an old favorite with an international twist
• ​Favorite Websites for Vacation Planning - minimize cost and maximize good memories
• ​5 Reasons We Love Factory Tours -fun, fascinating & often FREE, factory tours are the best
• ​Travel Tales Conversation Starters - a fun topic for the dinner table!
• ​Free Printable Road Trip Games - more games to keep kids entertained on long car rides
• ​Travel Quote Coloring Page - a sure way to increase love for your native country

What I'm reading this week:

I finished both The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron last week and started The Castle of Llyr, all by the masterful storyteller, Lloyd Alexander, and all a part of his Chronicles of Prydain.

This series was my husband's favorite as a child. I made the huge mistake of trying to send the whole set to Goodwill when we were newly married, because I thought a couple of the book covers looked creepy.

Fortunately, I asked before donating them, and he said he not only wanted to keep them, but would read them aloud to the family beginning that very evening. Short story: Now they are some of our favorites, too (though we did eventually replace his old, dogeared copies with a newer set featuring much prettier covers).

My son and grandson are currently reading our hard copies, so I listened to the audiobooks. I'm just a few chapters from the end of the 3rd book, then will begin the next title in this 5-book series.

What we're eating this week:

In addition to those handcrafted chocolates, we've eaten a wide variety of other delicacies this week, including Chicago-style pizza, shepherd's pie, and horseshoe sandwiches -- dishes we don't see often in our neck of the woods.

As usual when traveling, I pick restaurants based on whether or not they participate in the AAdvantage Dining program -- a habit that has helped our large family fly free to Europe three separate times.

I love the local fare we get to sample that way, and the fact that we earn five miles per dollar spent is just icing on the cake (and if I can simultaneously use a restaurant.com certificate to help pay down our tab, so much the better)!

Progress on last week's goals:

It was a whirlwind week, for sure, but I successfully ✅ spoke at a homeschool conference, ✅ sang with the symphony, ✅ painted more of my mural, ✅ graduated my son (which included lettering a last-minute high school diploma), and ✅ got our bags packed for our two-week trip and pulled out of the driveway only an hour behind schedule (time my lead-footed husband did his best to make up on the road 🚐 ).

Personal goals for this week:

My only goals for this week are to...

• take it easy
• enjoy my family
• make some great memories together, and (maybe)
• post a few pictures of our adventures to Instagram.

We'd love for you to follow along there!

Friendly reminder:

Whether you plan on traveling this summer or not, I hope you'll spend some time in the coming months memorizing scripture. If you have kids who'd like to do the same, sign them up for the National Bible Bee Summer Study Program. You can save 10% with the code FlandersNBB23 -- but act fast! Registration closes on May 31.