Kids On Vacation

We’re getting closer to spring. Can I get a HELL-YEAH?!

I swear, the only thing that gets me thru the winter is a little vacay to break up the monotony of snow and ice.

It was SO DAMN COLD here last month. Like I mean, throw a cup of boiling water in the air and it turns instantly into snow in the wind!

YUCK!

So of course, we decided that this was going to be the year we have a mountain side family vacation instead of a hot, sunny, beachy vacation. Crazy, right? Well, how could we pass up the opportunity to vacation in the rocky mountains right in our back yard? We got a great condo 10 minutes to the lifts with enough space for the kids to play and spread out and a little escape retreat for us on the second floor. It was fabulous and restful and fun. I really got a chance to watch my kids react, adapt and enjoy being away.

Here are 3 things I learned about my kids when we were on vacation.

1) My kids can be happy anywhere. I used to think that in order for my kids to get the most out of  a vacation I needed to plan a big getaway. Disneyland or Hawaii. Nope, I figured out that as long as what ever we’re doing is outside of our regularly scheduled programming, it’s a vacation, stay or away. I’ve always told my kids, as long as we’re together, this is home.

2) My kids need a break as much as I do. 5 days a week in a classroom. Music classes. Studying. Practices. Sports. I know how tired I am just taxiing them around, I can only imagine how tired they are waiting 10 months to decompress every school year.

3) My kids like seeing me relax and unwind. At home mommy is the head director, organizing, shuffling and orchestrating their every day and not always with the softness or most gracious of manners. It was nice to hear my oldest say, “I’m glad you’re having such a good time here, Mom. You’re laughing a lot!”

It might be their age because let’s face it, vacationing with babies or preschool aged kids is a whole different experience. 10, 8, 5 and 5 are great ages to get out and try skiing and skating in the winter, although hunger and stubbornness might have been a factor for our particular brand of epic failure while skating on the frozen lake. I hope to be able to vacation with our kids more and more as they get older because I do believe that kids get just as much of an education from living real life and experiencing different cultures as they do sitting in a classroom. There’s even been talk around the dinner table about taking them to Brazil for the 2016 summer olympics! By then they’ll be 13, 11, 8 and 8! WOW! So much fun, right?

 

So tell me, what have you learned by vacationing with your kids?

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