Dreams, The Way to Mazatlán | The Kids Are In Bed Ep 57

Mazatlán. It started with a song. Two, actually.

First, The Way by Fastball—a late-’90s hit that resurfaced in the bathroom one morning and hasn’t let go since. A road trip anthem with a haunting backstory that reframes the lyrics entirely. Then Dreams by Fleetwood Mac—rediscovered in an open-air taxi cruising the Mazatlán coast, right as the sun dropped into the Pacific.

Both songs set the tone for a spring break trip that was anything but typical.

In this episode, we share our experience traveling to Mazatlán, Mexico—a city full of history, character, color, and sunsets you can’t fake. We talk about what made it different from every other resort destination we’ve been to: the easy flights, the surprisingly smooth customs experience, and the way the city itself quietly wins you over.

We’re not influencers. We didn’t film a glossy travel vlog. But we did soak in the details:

  • A daughter’s first swim in the Pacific Ocean (and a jellyfish sting she shook off like a champ)
  • An aquarium we expected nothing from that turned out to be amazing
  • A lost wedding ring, found again by a treasure-hunting 9-year-old
  • Pulmonía rides with Fleetwood Mac as the soundtrack to golden hour
  • And a very public dad fail by the hot tub that had the kids praying for invisibility

This isn’t a guidebook for Mazatlán—it’s a snapshot. The kind of episode that might help you figure out if Mazatlán is your kind of city too.

Episode’s live now—watch, listen, or just scroll the gallery.

And if you’ve got a song that brings you back to somewhere unexpected?
We’d love to hear it.

A Horse, A Time Change, & a Passport Fiasco

This episode of The Kids Are In Bed started with a horse, daylight savings time, and a casual conversation about spring break movies. It ended with a last-minute trip to Mexico and a passport disaster that nearly sent Tim into full meltdown mode.

Here’s what went down:

🏇 Tim’s Horse Detour: He stopped everything to take the perfect horse picture. He will defend this decision forever.
Daylight Savings Wrecked the Whole Family: Normally, we think it’s not that bad. This time? We weren’t prepared. Monday morning was a disaster.
🎬 Spring Break Movies Don’t Exist? We tried to think of one. We failed.
🏖️ We Finally Booked a Tropical Vacation: After years of debating, we finally pulled the trigger on a Mexico trip.
📜 Passports Should’ve Been Easy… But Nope: One aggressively unhelpful government employee made the entire process a waking nightmare.

Listen now for the full passport fiasco story, our thoughts on daylight savings, and how this trip almost didn’t happen at all.

Back From Spring Break | The Kids Are In Bed Ep. 10

Tim and Jenni are back from Spring Break! They kick off this week’s episode by discussing the eclipse that captured the world’s attention. Tim shares how he didn’t really care, and Jenni explains how she didn’t know precisely where Arkansas was and the ACTs. They recap their trip out east to Maryland and their impressions of “The City of Brotherly Love,” Philadelphia. The show ends with a beautiful musical number.

If you have a minute, like and subscribe if you haven’t already. You could also read about whether or not a hot dog is a sandwich. Thanks for having fun with us!

Video Clip courtesy of @annsley06

Spring Break and Airport Pet Peeves | The Kids Are In Bed Ep. 8

Check out Tim’s latest essay, Bar Soap and People Pleasing.

This week, Tim and Jenni talk about the early spring blizzard in Minnesota. Then it’s time to get wild because it’s Spring Break 2024! Tim and Jenni talk about their plan to surprise their kids at the airport with a trip to Maryland to visit Tim’s sister. Then they talk about airports and airplanes: when to arrive to the airport for your flight, traveling with kids, Jenni getting through TSA, and Tim’s biggest airplane passenger pet peeve. They talk about their vacation plans, and Jenni reveals just how much she loves Old Bay. We appreciate you being here! Don’t forget to subscribe.