Those Of You With Kiddos...

[Beer_Suds]

I'll add to my previous post. My kids LOOK FORWARD to our vacation each year. It is also their vacation from us, they get to "spend a whole week with Grandmom and Grandpop and eat candy, and ice cream, and go sawimming all dya, and stay up late, and watch movies, and play games, and go to the zoo............"

[Janeinpenn]

Have to have a healthy relationship to make life work. We are leaving a 19, 15, 14 and now an 8 month old. We have learned from the past that life goes fast, take time out for yourself, take a vacation with kids everyother year if you can. When they are small they never remember you left, when they are big they WANT you to leave lol.. So its a win win. Now my hubby and I need to find a new hobbie or we will be looking at #5 boy lolol...... NOMORE!! hahahahah.

[rjammin]

Our kids are 19, 25, and 27.

Did the Disney, Grand Canyon, and Yellowstone thing.

Time for mom and dad to PLAY

Life is good

Ditto on that!!

We have been going to Jamaica & Couples since 2003 when our kids were 18 & 20. We could only afford the Disney trip a couple of times when they were growing up but we did a lot of camping (cheap & fun).
They love the fact that we still get away together after all these years. Just last week our 27 year old son remarked to his mother that over half of his friends have divorced parents and how much he admires the relationship his parents have. She told him "it's because your dad and I go to Couples every year". Thanks Couples!! See you next April.

[scottk]

First let me say no one has ever questioned our couple trip. We have only done this once so far to CSS. We did this to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. Our kids are almost 21 and just turned 16. They have been spoiled over the years with summer weeks camping and boating at least 3 weeks of the summer since they were born. 8 years ago we bought a houseboat and became co-owners of a marina. Now the kids hang out at the marina and houseboat all summer and when mom and dad get away for a weekend or whatever no one thinks twice about it. We would love to spend a week or two every year at couples, but our boating commitment of both time and money prevent that. Bottom line is yes we do a lot with the kids but it is what we want as well.

[kelly]

We have a son, 18, and daughter, age 10, and we've been going on adult only vacations since our daughter was 8 months old. We're lucky enough that my MIL believes in us taking a vacation every year, alone, just for us. And she's retired, so she would watch the kids for us, even when we started staying for 10 days in Jamaica Now that the kids are older, they split the stay between both sets of grandparents. I think the kids love being at the grandparents even more than we like being away, if possible!

When the kids got a little older, and we could afford it, we did a few trips to Disney and the shore with the kids. And this year we're lucky enough to get two trips to Jamaica- one in January by ourselves, and one next week with the kids.

IMO, if your child is only 2, I wouldn't be worried about family vacations yet. I don't think they're aware enough of where they're at, to make a vacation worthwhile for them. You will have the memories, but they won't. He or she would probably be thrilled just to have a few days at home with mom and dad alone! If you have another option for a sitter, don't let grandma guilt you out of it. Enjoy yourselves, and your child will understand. Enjoy CTI! (And maybe tell grandma you need time to make a sibling lol)

[wileeandrr]

Ditto on that!!

We have been going to Jamaica & Couples since 2003 when our kids were 18 & 20. We could only afford the Disney trip a couple of times when they were growing up but we did a lot of camping (cheap & fun).
They love the fact that we still get away together after all these years. Just last week our 27 year old son remarked to his mother that over half of his friends have divorced parents and how much he admires the relationship his parents have. She told him "it's because your dad and I go to Couples every year". Thanks Couples!! See you next April.

Love, love this! I never thought about it like that

[wileeandrr]

I'll add to my previous post. My kids LOOK FORWARD to our vacation each year. It is also their vacation from us, they get to "spend a whole week with Grandmom and Grandpop and eat candy, and ice cream, and go sawimming all dya, and stay up late, and watch movies, and play games, and go to the zoo............"

lol...she is already asking when she can stay with grandma and papaw..

[Beach-bum]

Send your kids to Couples.

Our second daughter went to CSA for their honeymoon a few years back. They enjoyed it so much that they want to go back some day. We are talking about doing an entire family reunion at CSA.

Life is good

[vicster]

I figured out a great compromise, well once my kids got a little older.....We go every other year alone and the in between we take our son to Jamaica!!!

[beachbums94]

Our recent trip to CSS was the first time in 10 years we'd gone without the kids. Trust me, we're not waiting 10 years again, as we're already looking at CSA for next April. (And I don't feel selfish that we took the time without the kids!)

However, we will also continue the family trip each summer regardless of our time away in Jamaica together. This year that is two week in June. We don't do the Disney thing... there's no way I want to drag my kids around all day, overloading them with that experience and finding myself more tired than before we left.

We're fortunate that the Outer Banks in NC is about an 8 hour drive for us so we rent a house each year. Get the pool, short walk to the beach, or can even drive out on the beach. With the house there's still the luxury of being able to unwind and let loose while not completely alienating our kids! ha! And because they seem to rarely wake up before 9 or 10am each day there is plenty of couples time to walk to the beach, have a quiet breakfast or whatever!

So there's my 2 cents for what it's worth! :-)

[nicolea]

Our trip to CSA will be our first long trip away since our honeymoon and having kids. 5 yrs ago! I'm a stay at home mom like my mother was and she has been telling us for years to go on a long trip without the kids. We're finally going and I can't wait where as before I couldn't tear myself away from the kids. Our kids are still very young so we take them to Palm Springs for a few days and they swim. Which is all they would do if we went to Hawaii with them. Go and have fun without any guilt. As others said, it will be great for the 2 of you.

[amandaj001]

Our son is 19 months so we won't be taking him on any family vacations until he is at least 5. My hubby and I have talked about this and figured that once he is that age that we will still take our couples vacay and then plan a separate something for Caiden. I think it is very important to get alone vacations. We are around the kids all year and just want some time to play together. I think that it is a special time to reconnect with your partner. I think its good to invest some time into your relationship.

[courtromo]

Honestly my kids were just as excited for their sleepover at grammys then we were for jamaica. When we got back they asked when we were going on vaca again so they could have more sleepovers... our tripp planning actually started when I was researching family vaca to disney but thinking about it our son wasn't fully potty trained and waiting one more year meant they would be that much more involved and remember it that much more!
They even started saving their change for us which was the sweetest thing, so we promised to spend any money they saved for souveneirs. Needless to say my purse was raided several times but in the end they came up with $40 in 2 months!
Next year we will be off to disney as a family but me and hubby will cherish our couples vaca forever!!!

[Jamaican Wifey]

Hi,

We travel quit a bit as a family & a couple. Every since our daughter turned 7 (the age that we felt she was old enough to participate, appreciate & enjoy vacations), we have included her. We waited until she was tall enough for Space Mountain, brave enough to handle a waterslide, and heavy enough to participate in certain excursions. We take 3 large vacations a year with at least one of those being a "family" vacation (with our daughter and one of her friends/cousins), one a couples vacation for us, and one usually a 'extended' family & friends vacation like a cruise or something. We ALL love to go and enjoy ourselves while creating great memories. We also love living in California because we can take lots of quick weekend getaways as a couple and/or family because we have so many wonderful sites here. So we often have monthly escapes. My parents did the same for my siblings and I and taught us that traveling is very educational and you develop an great understanding and appreciation for others and their cultures. During our large trips, we travel to the east coast some, the Caribbean often and also visit other countries. Our daughter visited Europe on Spring Break without us (it was hard for me not to attend), she's 16 now...Yeah, she will make a fuss when we visit Australia & Fiji without her but oh well! There are times when we take her, there are times when we don't. One more year and she'll be off to college, I'm sure we'll continue to take vacations with her and without. We are proud to have raised a very smart, outgoing, & outspoken young lady and believe that our vacationing has played a part in creating her strong foundation. She is very responsible, open minded and always pays close attention to her surroundings at home and away (that common sense thing we sometimes forget). We take joy in knowing she's not a judgmental person and has a very diverse view of the world which is shown in her attitude and those she chooses to surrounds herself!

All in all, traveling with children is important to us...but it also important to take time for yourselves as well. Weather it's to see the Pyramids, the Grand Canyon, or your local museum ...you can find something fun for your kids to experience.