Summer is here! It’s time to vacation. Let’s make all the calls, book the place, pack up the car, and be on our way!!!!

During the drive there, we’ll play traveling games, stop for a picnic, and then make sure the kids nap so that we can all arrive refreshed and ready to go….

We’ll quickly unpack, and call our new place home. Jump in the pool, and get the grill going. Dinner and baths and tuck the kids in to bed. Then it’s time for Mom and Dad to relax and have some quiet time.

We all sleep till 8, and then start our new day with a healthy breakfast and a quick swim. Then we pack up and out for some hiking and fun. Another great day on our summer vacation!

This all sounds like a dream! Perfectly planned and played out. I didn’t even hear about any kids fighting…..

Well, that’s because it IS a dream. It’s not real. It’s fun and ideal, but almost impossible. Let’s take a look at what a real summer vacation with the kids looks like.

Summer is here! It’s time to vacation. Let’s make all the calls, and then keep making calls, and then make some more calls. This place is too far, and this price is not right. This place seems so weird, and this one doesn’t have a pool!!! So let’s keep making calls while the hours slip by. The kids are all bored, they have nooothing to do! They’re screaming and fighting and complaining too.  After 3 days of investigating, we’ve finally found a place. It doesn’t sound perfect, and doesn’t fulfill all of our requirements, but we just gotta get out of here already before somebody loses a leg!

Next morning at 7 we pack up the car; each kid trying to be helpful and offering lots of suggestions. We’re holding it together, and keeping it cool, and by 11:15 we’re pulling out; not bad considering last year it took us 5 hours to pack up and out. Trying to look at the bright side here!

We attempt to play I spy, over the baby’s wailing. It’s semi-successful. We make an emergency bathroom stop, and figure we’ll eat lunch once we’re already pulled over. So what if it’s in a crowded gas station, with no seats to be found?

We finally arrive at our hotel a la dump, and try not to let the excited kids in on the fact that we are majorly disappointed. We head to the pool after hours of unpacking and getting everyone into bathing suits.  We enjoy being in the water, even if it’s only for a half hour; the pool closes once it gets dark out.

It’s too late to barbeque so we eat PB&J sandwiches for dinner. Bathe all the kids and tuck them into bed. Now for some quiet time for Mom and Dad to relax…. actually, change of plans, the baby just woke up with a rash all over her body, oh well, there goes relaxation time. 🙁

The next morning all the kids are up at 6, jumping on our heads! We decide to skip the swimming and just head out. We give each kid a chocolate bar in the car for breakfast. My husband and I decide to pass on the chocolate and on breakfast all together. At this point it’s just easier. We’re headed out for another exciting day of kids screaming, arriving late to places, and getting very little accomplished!

After our week of “fun” we arrive home and are the talk of the town for the next few days. All of the neighborhood kids wish they could go on vacations as great as ours. After all, we give our kids chocolate bars for breakfast!!