How years of family road trips, Pinterest printables, and one stubborn question eventually became a card game.
Long before there was a card game...
There were hundreds of hours on the road.
Michigan to Tennessee. North Carolina. Toronto and Niagara Falls. South Carolina and North Carolina. Florida. Then Utah - Zion, Bryce Canyon, Kanab, and many more.
At the time, we thought we were just making family memories.
Looking back, I realize those road trips were quietly building something much bigger.
They were building Time Flies®.
If you're looking for family road trip ideas or road trip activities for elementary-aged kids, this is the story of how Time Flies® came to life.
It started with one very familiar problem.
Like a lot of parents, we wanted to limit how much of those long drives were spent staring at screens.
Not because screens are bad.
We still use them.
Sometimes everyone is tired, it's 100 degrees outside, and a movie is exactly what the family needs.
But I wanted another option.
Something that made the drive feel like part of the adventure instead of something we just had to get through.
Nostalgic road trip vibes.
Watch the full founder story here on YouTube.
So I did what every road-trip mom did.
I went to Pinterest.
I printed everything.
Road Trip Bingo.
Coloring pages.
You name it.
If it existed, I probably printed it.
The problem?
Most of it held my kids' attention for about...
2.2 seconds. 😂
I knew I couldn't be the only parent experiencing this.
"There has to be a better way."
That thought stayed with me long after the road trips ended.
As an elementary teacher, I understood how kids learn and what keeps them engaged.
As a graphic designer, I loved creating things that were simple, colorful, and easy to use.
As a mom, I wanted something my own kids would actually choose to play.
Not because I asked them to.
Because they wanted to.
I became obsessed with one question:
How do you create a game elementary-aged kids actually want to play during a road trip?
So I started building one.
The first version wasn't perfect.
Neither was the second.
Or the third.
I reached out to families across the country and asked them to be honest.
What worked?
What didn't?
What made kids laugh?
What confused them?
Every round of feedback led to another revision.
Then another.
And another.
About a year later...
Time Flies® became a real card game.
Not because I thought I had all the answers.
Because hundreds of conversations helped shape it into something better.
The best part isn't the game.
People sometimes ask what my favorite part of creating Time Flies® has been.
It isn't seeing the finished product.
It isn't opening the first shipment.
It's hearing from parents who tell me things like:
"Your games make me happy."
Or...
"Our family laughed the whole drive."
Or...
"The kids are still talking about what happened in the car."
Those messages never get old.
Because that's what I was really trying to create all along.
Not a product.
More moments together.
Why Time Flies® still exists today
Every new product we create has to pass one simple test:
Will this make a family's road trip more fun without adding clutter or more screens?
If the answer is no...
We don't make it.
Because our mission has never changed.
It's still the same one that started years ago somewhere between Michigan, Tennessee, Utah, and dozens of family road trips.
To help families laugh more.
Talk more.
Argue less.
And make memories long before they reach their destination.
Thanks for being here.
Whether you've been following Time Flies® since the beginning or just discovered us today...
Thank you.
I truly hope something we create helps make your next family road trip one your kids will still be talking about years from now.
❤️ Katie
Founder, Time Flies®
Explore the Time Flies® Card Game
See the Miles of Fun Printable