Do you have your passport?

You will need a passport to travel out of the country.  The process of obtaining a passport should be done several months before traveling.  I went to my local post office and scheduled an appointment to turn in paperwork for a passport for each member in our family.  I also found out that not every post office on the island handles passport registration.

Visit the website: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/apply.html to read the instructions for applying for a passport.  I printed out the forms from the website and filled out most of it before my appointment.  We also took our passport pictures at Costco and brought it with us to the post office on our scheduled day.  The post office will also take passport photos there, but it will cost more.  An adult passport costs $135 and a child passport will cost $105.  You will have to bring your checkbook with you to the appointment.  They will ask for separate checks for the federal and state level.  The total cost for a family of 4 can be nearly $500.

Your birth certificate will be mailed with your passport application.  This will be returned to you through the mail when your passport arrives.  It took about a month for us to receive our passports in the mail.  Then we kept it in a safe place for our trip!!