Picture Perfect Memories

This post was written in partnership with Social Print Studio. 

A few years ago, my husband and I took our girls (at the time ages, 2, 5 & 7) on a trip to France and Morocco. Before the trip, people thought we were crazy to take such young kids on a trip abroad. And after, they claimed that the girls would barely remember anything – especially my two-year-old. My response was always that I would remember their experiences – the look on their faces riding donkey’s through the markets of Fez, eating ice cream atop the Eiffel Tower or the squeals of excitement and joy as they jumped on the trampolines in the Jardin de Tuilleries next to the Louvre in Paris.

Soon after we returned, I ordered a poster of photographs from Social Print Studio compiled of Instagram pictures from the trip that I hung in our dining room. It still hangs there today – and my girls continue to comment on it at least weekly. Thanks to those pictures, the details of the trip have stayed – even 3 years later – in their mind and in their memories – even my youngest! My then 2-year-old still remembers what flavor of ice cream she got atop the Eiffel tower when she sees pictures of this iconic monument, all three girls are mildly obsessed with donkeys thanks to riding them in Fez and they vividly talk about the trampolines in Paris with similar excitement and joy – all images that are on our poster!

I attribute many of these memories to the joy of the experience but also to the fact that we see the pictures daily which prompts discussions about the trip regularly.

Once the summer ended this year, a dear friend and I had a discussion about how to keep those epic summer memories alive in our kids. My family took several summer road trips to Asheville, NC, Pittsburgh, PA and Chicago IL – we also participated in swim team, sailing camp and took several trips to our family farm including one for the total solar eclipse! Now that the summer is over, I decided to order a photobook to document our amazing days.

I ordered the book from Social Print Studio – a small print shop that I’ve been using for years. This was the first time I ordered one of their photo books and – like every single product I’ve ordered from them – it is gorgeous. The girls and I are able to sit together with our new book and talk about riding the Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier in Chicago, riding down the river on the Gateway Clipper with cousins in Pittsburgh and witnessing the once-in-a-lifetime total solar eclipse at our family farm.

This Christmas, we are planning another big trip abroad with the girls to Germany and Poland and I can’t wait to see their faces at the Christmas markets, watch them ice skate with old friends in Warsaw and visit the Black Forest in Straussberg. And then I will definitely be printing out pictures for us to remember and share the experiences for years to come.

How do you remember and document trips and seasons with your kids?

Update : This Code is No Longer Active. Social Print Studio has generously offered a 25% discount to The Wandering Rumpus readers on all orders through Friday, November 10. Simply enter the code WANDERINGRUMPUS at checkout and create some picture perfect memories!