Family Vacation to Lake of the Ozarks + Family Road Trip Essentials from Amazon

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We’re back from our annual family trip to the Lake of the Ozarks!

Friends, I don’t know what it is about this lake, but Cory and I say it over and over again every year: This is our happy place.

Cory grew up on this lake. He learned how to swim, backflip off the dock, and drive a jet ski and boat like a pro here. I was first invited to join his family at their lake cabin almost 20 years ago. (How has it been that long already??!!) It only took one trip to see why he and his family loved this place so much.

So now, we’re lucky enough to continue enjoying his family’s generosity and bring our kids down from time to time, too. This also falls in line with our goal to give experiences over things.

We kicked off our family trip with our inaugural selfie right before backing out of the driveway!

(As a side note, my kids are OBSESSED with Juice Blox from Walmart. Are these a thing for anyone else’s kids? I don’t get the hype but I’m also an adult so…😜)

We arrived after dark so we unloaded quickly and hit the sack. The next couple of days were spent doing ALL of the lake activities with just our little fam of 5. We swam around the lily pad at the dock for hours, jet skied, coved, and took the boat out for rides.

We also took a day to head to Big Surf in Camdento, though I apparently only took a handful of videos and zero pictures from the trip.🤷‍♀️ After we had been at the lake for a couple days, the rest of Cory’s family arrived. Our kids were thrilled to have some “cousin time.” Colton was also elated to try out the kneeboard. He’d been begging to give it a try and he honestly ROCKED it! He was able to get up on his first try!

I mean, look at that face. 😆 The next few days were spent with family and more time on the water. The boys also golfed one morning and later in the afternoon, we ladies headed to a couple wineries. We discovered Seven Springs Winery and the location is just beautiful. This was our view:

We also witnessed a couple get engaged and then leave in a helicopter! Right place, right time.😉 We enjoyed our last day together on the 4th of July, which is just a fun day to be on the lake. The view from the cabin allows us to see fireworks from a bunch of different houses across the way. We also took the boat out at night for a quick drive to explore some more fireworks and attempted some family photos. Brooks’ face in this one kills me.

On the fifth, we headed back home. We were able to enjoy a whole week here and I have to say, every time I leave this lake, a little part of my heart gets left behind with it. We love this place. And it’s the only family vacation we’re taking this year so it’s always a little sad when that’s over, too.

Family Road Trip Essentials from Amazon

In the spirit of spending hours on the road to get to the Ozarks (and back home), I’ve rounded up a few of the best Amazon family road trip essentials I could think of. We’ve made this 7(ish) hour road trip several times over the years, so we’ve learned a thing or two about what helps make the trip easier and more organized. Most of these items we have. A few were things I came across that I thought would be helpful and we may try next year! Links are below and I hope you find this helpful!

1. Car organizer. We have bucket seats so we don’t have this exact item, but if you have a bench seat, I think this would be super helpful to place in the middle! Plus, bonus points for organization!
2. Backseat car organizer. Another great way to keep items stored away and play iPad movies at the same time!
3. Car Trash Can. We own this and I highly recommend it! The snack wrappers, paper towels, and Kleenexes can be endless on a long car ride. This gives everything a place to go.
4. Extra large gray utility tote. We own an older version of this, but the upgrade looks amazing! We have bucket seats for the kids in the middle, so we put this tote there and fill it up with snacks and a small cooler of drinks so the kids can easily reach it while we drive.
5. Toiletry travel bag. I bought this one for myself about a year ago and it works for any kind of trip! There’s plenty of room for all the things and I’ve had a great experience with it so far.
6. LCD Writing Tablets. Our kids love these! And it gives the kids something screen-free to do in the car.
7. Packing Cubes. I have to give my hubby all the credit for these. He bought some for us recently and they are a game-changer! It helps to keep everything organized as you pack.
8. Headrest tablet holder. We have a DVD player in the car, so we haven’t had to use something like this yet, but I can see how it would be super helpful!
9. Dramamine for kids. When you drive to the Ozarks, you’re sure to hit plenty of hills and windy tree-lined roads. Our kiddos have definitely struggled with car sickness before and now I keep a pack of these in my glove box at all times!

And there you have it! A few family road trip essentials from Amazon.

We’re back and recovering (sloooowly) from our trip with deep gratitude and a twinge of sadness that our vacay is over. In the meantime, I’ll just be over here catching up on a mountain of laundry.😉