Reasons Why I Will Never Be a Travel Agent

Have you ever tried to plan the perfect getaway?  On a tight budget?  Making sure it is kid friendly?  And, only a couple of days in length?

Yeah, I stink at it.

It all started with a change of plans.  We had hoped to get away for a weekend of fun in Branson, Missouri over our spring break.  We had a three day weekend when ALL of us would be home.  The closer we got to the weekend, the more practical our plans had to become.  Yes, we needed a break.  We needed to get away as a family but we needed to be very mindful of the budget.

I had a great idea!  I thought we could just stay at a local hotel for a couple of nights.  Our kids love staying in a hotel room.  Add an indoor swimming pool, and they are in heaven.  The plan was off to a great start until Nurse Boy scoped out all of the indoor pools online.  He was not impressed.  He IS the reason we can't afford to travel.  He has expensive taste... but, we have 3 kids and one income.  Go figure.

We decided to head to a small town about an hour away.  I found an indoor pool with a cool water slide for under $100.  I am thrifty like that.  This town also has a fabulous park with a fancy train and old fashion carousel.  We were set. 

Or so we thought...

The first day was rainy and gloomy, but that wasn't a problem when we headed to the INDOOR pool!

As you can see, we were all smiles!

We swam for a whooping 45 minutes, headed out for dinner, and planned to take in a movie in our room before a nice night time swim.

About 10 minutes into the movie, the fire alarm went off in the hotel.  People were filing out the doors.  We quickly left our room, only to discover that a kid had pulled the alarm AND we locked ourselves out of the room.  Good times.  To top it off, they couldn't get the alarm to stop going off.  Because it was so loud, we couldn't finish our movie.  Nurse Boy and the boys headed back to the pool, hoping the noise wasn't as bad there. 

They returned within minutes.  A kid threw up in the pool.  They closed the pool down for the rest of our stay.  YUCK!

By the time the alarm was finally turned off, it was time for bed.  The park was waiting for us in the morning.  (And this OCD mother was NOT going to let anyone swim in that pool the next day... or ever again.)

The next afternoon, we drove through the park and quickly discovered that the train and carousel had not yet opened for the season. 

Seriously, I stink at planning this stuff!  Nothing seemed to work in our favor.  Truth be told, we did enjoy spending time together without our normal distractions.  It wasn't a COMPLETE failure.

Plus, we found one of these at the park:

An old fashion merry go round! 

You never see these anymore.  I am pretty sure I almost lost my life on these things multiple times growing up.  So, we of course stuck our 3 kids on there and spun that bad boy until they screamed, "UNCLE!"

 

This brought back so many memories!  (And, yes, Nurse Boy and I took some turns as well.  I yelled, "UNCLE!" every single time.  Some things never change.)

 

All in all, it was great spending time together.  But, Nurse Boy gets to plan the next vacation.

Sprng Break '11

Last week was Spring Break for my kiddos.  No, it wasn't actually SPRING.  We like to do things backwards around here.  Of course, it snowed over spring break since it was still... WINTER!  It was a very light snow that melted by the next morning, but STILL.  Regardless of that little weather blip, the kids and I really did have a great time together. 

Our week was filled with friends, family, and fun.  We had an event planned for each day.  Lucky for you, I forgot to take pictures most of the time.

In the middle of last week, we took a trip to the zoo.  The boys made fun of me since I didn't take pictures of the animals.  When all is said and done, I don't care what the tigers looked like.  I am trying to capture my kids' memories.  (Or maybe I'm just trying to drive them crazy.  They aren't really big fans of my camera.)

 Here they are ready to start the day!

These two crack me up when they are together... true siblings!

Now, these two are so sweet together.

Bruiser LOVES animals, so the zoo was right up his alley.

Dimples was a huge help.  I love the young man he is turning into...even if he sometimes thinks he knows it all.  ;0)

We met some friends there, which made the day even sweeter.

It was a beautiful day!

But, my feet were yelling at me that night.  ;0)

The next day the kids and I took a little road trip about an hour and a half south of here to meet up with some dear friends at a really cool park.  It is always a good day when you get to spend it with close friends!

These two are a hoot together.  I love their energy!

Here is our bunch, minus Dimples.  He was too mature to stand next to the silly Peter Pan statue.

These girls are so cute together.  I love to watch them play! (And so does the little brother on the end. ;0)

Here's a picture of Dimples, just to prove he was there with us.  Apparently, he wasn't too mature to play on the equipment.

On Friday, the kids and I spent the day with Bubby and Papa.  Of course the day included  ice cream and toys.  (I can't wait until I can sugar them up, spoil them, and SEND THEM HOME! HA!)  That night, Nurse Boy and I farmed out the kids and had a late night out with some friends.  It was pure delight... lots of laughter, great friends, and my hubby by my side!

On Saturday, our spring break took an unexpected turn...

(I'll post more later.)

Hope you are enjoy Spring now... since it is officially springtime according to the calendar.

Random Thoughts From the Master Suite

We all dream of a day spent in bed.  No interruptions.  Good reading material.  The TV remote cradled in our hand.  Just a lazy-daisy day lounging in bed, curled up in between some flannel sheets.

I, too, have had this dream.  It seemed... well... dreamy.  Until it came true.

Last Thursday a nasty, evil GI virus, straight from the depths of hell, landed me in bed for 4 days straight.  I haven't felt that bad in a long time!  I think it ranks a close second to the summer I had mono.  Yep.  That bad.

Anyway, I made a few observations and came to some conclusions during my 4 day stay in the master suite...

(In no particular order)

1.  My husband is a fabulous father.  He doesn't fair nearly as well as Mr. Mom.

2.  My cell phone came in handy when everyone forgot about Mom being banished to her room.  I may or may not have abused my privileges.

3.  I should own stock in Clorox Wipes.

4.  Somehow the kids got to school (on time?), had  on clean clothes (so they tell me?), and completed their homework (the report card doesn't lie, so time will tell).

5.  Mr. Mom thinks ordering in is cooking.

6.  My family thinks cleaning is overrated.

7.  I am, apparently, the only one who knows where the vacuum is located.  (It probably doesn't help that I refer to it as my hunky blond "friend", Derek.)

8.  Stupid laundry did NOT take a vacay while I was stuck in bed.

9.  My husband will ALWAYS come home from the grocery store with an industrial sized box of sugar cereal.  Probably Lucky Charms.  The kids will only eat the marshmallows.  It really helped to balance out their diet of takeout dinners.

10.  My family did miss me.  My family really does need me.  I am glad to be back to doing my job so Nurse Boy can do his.  He is good at his and I am good at mine.  Except when I'm not.

Here's hoping my family will soon "un"ground me from my cell phone privileges!