memory keeping while on vacation

I tried something new this summer while on vacation.

I brought my Instax printer, my Traveler's notebook, and a bag with a few supplies.

My thought was to download photos nightly, edit them, print a few, and create a small notebook full of the little stories from our trip.

Did it work?  It was Amazing.  With a capital A.

Here are the details:

1.  I did not download every night, but I did most nights.  I would lay in bed with my laptop while the rest of the family watched tv, and I would quickly download and do a simple edit on the photos I kept, and deleted the rest.

2.  The next morning, I would select a few (maybe 4 or 5), that helped tell a story, and would print them while the rest of the family was still getting ready.  I tend to be the first one up and the first to get ready, just so the bathroom is free for the 2 teenage girls. And my husband tries to pretend he can sleep 18 more minutes and feel like it was 3 more hours.  Which doesn't work, but he hasn't figured this out just yet.

3.  On our slower days, I would gather the photos and the bag of supplies, and the Traveler's notebook and head down to the hotel lobby.  There was this long worktable, where I would set up shop and get to work.  At first I felt a bit funny, but no one coming or going seemed to even notice me.  I would simply adhere the photos to the page and add my words. Tell the story behind the photo.  Then to finish off the page, I would add washi tape, maybe a few stamps, and some watercolor.  This would take about 1hr.  Sometimes I went alone, and sometimes the husband would go with me and read on his tablet.  It provided some alone time for me, and allowed the girls space away from us, which is needed after many days together in a tiny hotel room.

4.  When I came home, the notebook was done, and I quickly made a digital book of many more photos that I cherished from the trip.  Easy Peasy.

Now, this worked great because my kids are not little anymore, so they don't need all the supervision they once did.  But I'm sure you can think of ways to tweak the system a bit to make it fit for your particular situation.

p.s. I also have sketches in my notebook, but that's a story I'll share another time.