importance of planning family vacations

Our first family vacation with just our immediate family was to Hawaii after we had our first son. It was just the three of us and was probably one of the most memorable trips we have ever taken. After we had our second son, we have yet to take a real vacation with just the 4 of us. It has been 3 years now and this year we promised each other we would make it happen.

We got caught up in our busy lives and lost track of the importance of a family vacation. We had so many other trips between girls trips, boys trips, extended family trips, weddings, birthday parties, activities like sport events where we stayed in places like this Boutique Hotel Downtown San Jose, that an actual family vacation just kind of took a back burner. It’s really important to go on a family vacation though if you can. There are loads of great places that you can visit, such as Rome, France, Dublin. If you do plan on going on vacation soon then make sure that you do your research about the place first. For example, if you are planning on going to Dublin then you might want to look at something like this DART map to give you a better idea of how you can travel there.

As I look back to my photo book I made from our only family vacation, it just reminded me how we were stress free for those 6 days. We didn’t have to be ready at a certain time to meet others or eat somewhere due to someone else’s opinions. It was just us.

I look at family vacations to take a time to re-center not only yourself but your balance between you and your spouse and your kids. We get so caught up in routines and schedules and calendars, we forget to enjoy each other.

That we can have those days of no yelling and frustration getting out the door each day.

That we can have a morning where we can order room service and not leave the room for hours.

That we can have genuine laughs and be totally silly without constantly looking at the clock.

That we get to experience something new with your kids

That we get a moment to enjoy life.

So to all the families out there, I highly recommend just planning one trip a year for just your family. Make it somewhere different each year. It doesn’t have to be extravagant or require you to even get on a plane but do something that will give you that time to just enjoy each other. You will come back feeling balanced and fresh with those daily frustrations lifted off your shoulders (until they build up again!).