We have all seen the movie “Vacation” with Chevy Chase. It is definitely one of my all time favs. I think we can all relate to the often stressful times that come with family vacations. Lets face it, it isn’t always easy and in fact it is almost always a lot of work. No longer are the days of packing up yourself and significant other and setting off footloose and fancy free. With kids it’s a whole new animal. Packing for the kids requires making sure you have extra clothes for those bound to happen accidents, clothes for changes in weather, and never forgetting their special blankets and stuffed animal they need to sleep. You also have to have enough snacks, drinks, sun block and you can’t forget the entertainment during those long road trips. Luckily in our day of technology we have Ipads and rear DVD players to help us out. My poor parents had to listen to us scream songs and play slug bug for hours on end. Heading off with the kids requires frequent stops for bathroom breaks and hopes that you will be in civilization when one of them yells “mom I have to pee”. Then there are the tantrums, the fighting from the backseat, and the persistent “are we there yet?” questions. So why do we do it? Well the answer is simple. Despite it all, it really is wonderful. I think what we long for is to see the joy in our children’s faces and their eyes light up with excitement. When we see that, not only does it make our heart sing with joy but it reminds us of our childhood and what it felt like to be on vacation with our family and that one on one time with the whole family together that was so special.
We just returned from our Spring break trip to California. We visited San Diego with our first stop to Legoland. The weather was a little chilly the first day but overall the weather was great the whole trip. Legoland is a great place for the little ones. I think our kids may outgrow it soon so we wanted to get at least one or two more trips in since many of the rides at Legoland are geared for kids probably 12 and under. The kids even tried out the water park the second day when it was a chilly 68 degrees. My husband and I watched them enjoy their time in the water but that’s a little too chilly for me to swim. We ate at our favorite BBQ place in San Diego, Phil’s BBQ. That place is amazing! I cannot even tell you how good the El’Toro is! I can say that it is because of that sandwich that I don’t think I can ever go back to being a vegetarian. 😉 After several days enjoying San Diego we left to take the kids to Universal Studios for the first time. We figured they finally are old enough to appreciate all the movie stuff. We had an awesome time. Zack did fall and scrap up his knee pretty bad the first day. Then Ally and I came down with stomach flu the second day of Universal which resulted in Ally puking while we were in the line to see the Shrek show. We just told everyone around it was part of the show. Ogers are pretty nasty after all. lol. She said “mom, this is the worst and most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me”. I said “Ally, I hope that this is the worst and most embarrassing thing that ever happens to you”. lol. Well, Ally and I had to end up back to the hotel the rest of the day to recover but luckily we had done almost everything at Universal the first day. All in all it was a wonderful trip. Jeff even surprised us with a last minute stop to Downtown Disney where we got to eat at our favorite sandwich place Earl of Sandwich. Yes, I am pretty sure I gained about 10 pounds this trip.
Vacations just like anything else are all about what you make of it. I remember growing up and during many of our road trips we had things happen like our car breaking down, some or one of us got sick, hotels lost reservations, and once our luggage fell off our roof rack and our clothes were spread across the entire freeway in California. But good or bad those are memories that you can laugh at later. Trust me the luggage across the freeway and my underwear flying through the air wasnt funny when I was thirteen but now it really cracks me up. Vacations even with the mishaps and even though sometimes hard work are my absolute favorite because of time we can spend together and the memories we create that will last a lifetime.
IN A NUT SHELL 