THANKS TO HUM BY VERIZON FOR SPONSORING THIS POST. OUR FAMILY IS ENJOYING #100SAFERDAYS OF SUMMER USING HUM – A CONNECTED CAR TECHNOLOGY. #HUMPARTNER
Have any big trips planned? I’ve heard that question more than a few times this summer. My answer has remained the same – that we’re having a summer of small adventures. Short drives, impromptu dinners at the beach and squeezing in as much time with family and friends is our focus.
This week we visited all of the grandparents who are conveniently located in Orange County. And though it’s a trip we make frequently, I always try to find some way to make it special and new. I gave Kayla and Blake each little party favor bags filled with a couple of snacks and quiet things to play with and they were so excited. It’s the little things, right?
First, Kayla helped me pack the car. Suffice to say that I’ll be reverting to my solo car packing plan from here on out.
We started out Thursday evening at Craig’s mom’s house, and Friday morning while Craig worked, I drove the kids to my parents’ new apartment complex. If you know me well, then you know that driving to unfamiliar places (especially on four busy SoCal freeways I don’t normally take) is something I find stressful.
Fortunately, I had a little assistance from Hum by Verizon. Remember how I told you I was checking it out? Over the last few weeks, I’ve discovered some additional features I’ve come to love.
Not only is there navigation in the Hum app, but the location sharing feature gave me the ability to share my trip with both Craig and my parents. They could know where I was and what my ETA was without any distracting back and forth conversation, so I could focus on the road and not sacrifice safety while driving my most precious cargo.
32 minutes and one tiny meltdown from Blake later, we were at grandma and grandpa’s where Kayla and Blake wasted no time taking full advantage of the amenities like a free arcade and bowling alley. They battled in Mario Kart and Blake jumped for joy after getting a spare. Meanwhile, I pondered how different my life as a child would have been having all this at my disposal.
When Craig finished work, he took a rideshare over and joined us for a swim. If there’s anything I’ve learned about parenting, it’s that all it takes to make kids happy is a pool and an adult willing to toss them in the air. About 85 throws later, it’s fair to say that everyone slept well that night.
The next morning, we headed out early to beat the heat and give the kids a dose of nature at the Fullerton Arboretum. Kayla and Blake were treated to a turtle feeding by a staff member. Back when Kayla was about 2 years old, we made a tradition of finding a stick and a piece of dead grass and making a fishing rod out of it. With no bait and no real intention of catching a fish (at least on my part), we’ve never had any success but that has not discouraged these kids at all!
Next, we popped into a coffee shop for some mini donuts, which Kayla turned into donut pops, making the treat at least 100 times more exciting to her.
A little later that evening, I took Kayla with me on a work errand…one I thought she would love! We headed to a new store in Fullerton called Bricks & Minifigs. It’s essentially a Lego resale store that is filled with Mini figures past and present. I needed a few specific items for upcoming projects and Kayla just wanted to see EVERYTHING. We spent an hour staring at the cases and talking to fellow Lego lovers.
The next day, I was looking through the Hum app on my phone and realized it had the ability to tag trips as business mileage. If you’re a small business owner, then you understand how big a deal this is!
Every location I had driven to was chronologically listed and all I had to do was tick a box for the segments that were for work. Historically I’ve used a spreadsheet, which feels antiquated and inefficient. This was one of those small but life altering realizations about Hum’s capabilities, which will save me hours of precious time throughout the year and help make tax time easier.
After a few weeks of having Hum by Verizon in our lives, I can say a few things. HumX is certainly packed with features I find useful as a parent of young children, someone who values car safety, and as a small business owner (which so many of us are these days). It also provided more awareness to me of how I was driving. While I’m a defensive driver and a bit of a safety nut, I’m guilty of taking a couple of familiar turns too quickly and the evidence is right there in the app. It’s something I’m definitely aware of and it will influence how I drive going forward.
Down the road, I’m excited to see how HumX helps when we have a teenage driver on our hands. Without question, I’d want connected car technology like HumX in any vehicle my child was driving. Looking back at when my friends and I were teens, I wonder how many accidents could have been avoided? How many lives spared? Would things have been different had parents known how their child was driving and been able to intervene?
Our summer has been a summer of small adventures. Ones I hope we’ll keep having for many years to come. Thanks to HumX for giving us a safer summer! You can learn more about Hum by Verizon here.
