Family Vacation? Not Really!
Mr. Incredible and I just returned from 5 days of fun in the sun. My family took our annual trip to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I’m always excited to go to the beach. It’s something special about looking out into the mass of water and seeing the sun staring back at you while the waves dance around the shore. I love it!
The kids had an awesome time. They played in the ocean, swam in the pool, floated on the lazy river, shot each other with water guns and had an absolute blast. Mr. Incredible was able to relax, sleep late, watch hours of TV and just chill.
Me? What did I do? I made breakfast and lunch every day, gave baths, dressed and undressed kids, made beds and kept an eye out so no one drowned. Whew!!!
Family vacations are always fun for the kids. But how much do parents, especially moms enjoy family vacations? At a recent blogger event I was talking with Sherrell Kirkland Andrews. She made the statement “Family vacations aren’t really vacations, they’re just a change of scenery.”
And that’s when it hit me. Even though I had time to sit by the ocean, shop at wonderful stores and eat like crazy, I didn’t really have a vacation. While in Myrtle Beach I did much of the same things I do at home: cooking cleaning, organizing, staying up late and waking up early.
So, even though we just spend major money on our “family vacation” I’m now looking forward to another get away. Hubby and I really need time to just relax and do nothing…. no kids, no stress.
Have you planned your family summer vacation yet? How will you make sure you get a change to relax with the kids in tow?
More from Krystal can be found on her blog and on twitter.
Yup, not really a “vacation” with the family. In your list of duties you forgot to add doing laundry, getting the house ready and packing BEFORE the vacation and doing the same AFTER the vacation in reverse. You DO need a vacation with hubby alone to have a real vacation!
We have not had a family vacation since our family became complete 3 years ago and i am longing for one. However, i budget for eating out, so that i do not have to cook when we do go on mini “vacations” which are usually visiting family. However like Funkidivagirl, I make sure that we clean the house and do all laundry before leaving. When we return, my hubby is a really big help and he will do laundry, since i normally do it during the week.
Now I do plan to do some kind of family vacation next spring or summer and 1 thing I will be looking for is an all-inclusive resort that has activities for the children, so that i don’t always have to entertain them and don’t have to worry about cooking. It’s also important to have the kids help keep the hotel or rental home or condo clean, just like they do at home. Pick up your clothes and toys, wipe the spill off the floor etc..Most importantly at least 1 day should be Mommy and Daddy day…