I have been looking ahead to summer and trying to consider all the kids schedules and figure out when would be the best time for Jay to request vacation days. I really enjoy planning for things....parties, vacations, Christmas shopping, and even our weekly meals. I think it's all that list making....I love lists! I love considering all the possibilities. Mostly, I love to shop(!), and any good excuse to make it ok to spend money without guilt makes me happy.:)
I really want to do a real family vacation this year if we can manage to squirrel some money away. Some years we just aim to do some day trips but it isnt the same as getting away and visiting somewhere new, or somewhere that's a favorite, for a few days. Plus, I see the time slipping away when all of the kids will be able to come with us. To vacation all together for more than an extended weekend is almost impossible during the school year now that Mike is in college and on a different vacation schedule and because of all the boys' sports committments.
Jay planned our first real family vacation that did not include my extended family. (He's a great husband and dad!) We went to New Hampshire and he found this great condo with plenty of room for all of us. The kids were younger. Peter was the baby...probably about 1 which meant Sarah was 3 1/2, Jon was 6 1/2, Andrew was 7 1/2, and Mike was 9 1/2. Our plans were to visit Storyland. We got to go in the park for a few hours the first night for a preview with our pre-paid ticket for the next day. Sarah had just gotten over a fever virus...and, you guessed it, over dinner in the park Jon and Peter both started fading and it was obvious their temperatures were rising. We picked up some Motrin on the way back to the condo and decided to make the best of the situation.
The next day we gave Jon and Pete up with Motrin and went into the park. They felt fine as long as they had the motrin and we were trying to salvage this trip. Thankfully, it was an overcast day so it wasn't very hot(thank God!). Everyone had a great time. Other than an incident with Peter having diarrhea all over himself and the carriage(I didn't know where to start cleaning and I wish I had a hose!), it was a good day and when we got back to the condo I stayed back with the sick kids and the others enjoyed the pool and game room with Jay.
The kids remember seeing 2 baby bears near the garbage containers , which we watched from the safety of our condo window. Mike and I got to see a moose on the side of the road when we went to buy more Motrin and get some ice cream. The kids had fun in the pool and game room which they all got to enjoy our last morning there since everyone felt better. It definitely generated lots of family memories...and despite the illness we even went away the following 2 summers to Pennsylvania.(Which have their own funny stories(and illnesses), but I will save those for another day!)
