Vacations - Take the kids or no?

Ohhh to take them or leave them? This was always a debate - you see in my family, we grew up taking family vacations - I'm talking kids, mom, dad and even grandma too.  

In my husbands family - his parents took the vacations and the children stayed home - now before you start feeling sorry for them - there were plenty of times where they went places,  but for the most part the vacation time was for the adults..... to recoup most likely - I get it!

So your thoughts on vacation time? Leave the kids or take them?  I say both.

We adopted both sides of the family vacation into our family. We took an adult vacation and a family one.  

On the adult one,  the kids stay with their grandparents.  Guess what? Everyone survived and there was grandparent bonding time, plus we were always more relaxed and better able to step back into the parental role once we got home. Everyone was refreshed....well everyone, except the grandparents who needed a vacation of their own after that. (Thanks Nana, Poppa, Mimi and Pa)

Then there were the family vacations - maybe a little more stressful (depending on the age of your children) but still - some amazing, wonderful memories together. Being prepared is key, as well as the location you select, the amenities and simply being willing to go with the flow. Don't stress - just try to enjoy and relax no matter how many tantrums go down. 

This topic comes back to one of my favorite words, BALANCE. Happy people are people that are balanced. So whichever you decide is best for you - do it - have fun, relax, be grateful - put down the phones and computers and enjoy!