Vacation Time

     Jim and I decided very early in our relationship that vacations were really important to us.  Jim has great memories of trips that he took with his parents.  I don't have as many memories, but I wanted to build those for our family.  We have been blessed that we have been able to take some great vacations in the ten years of our marriage.  We have several ways of saving money on our trips, but we still have a great time.  We tend to travel to places that are "off-season".  We stay in condos or cabins where we are able to make our own meals at home.  We are car travelers rather than fliers...we like the journey just as much as the destination.

     Our first trip was our honeymoon in Key West.  It was off season, we stayed at a bed and breakfast.  We had a great time.  We will be back one day.  A couple of years later, we took the boys and rented a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN.  We had meals at the cabin and did lots of hiking. Our next big trip was Marco Island, FL.  Again, it was off season, so we had a great condo at an even better price.  We drove and it was a tight fit with both boys and D in her car seat.  It was an amazing trip...so relaxing and peaceful.  We have rented cabins in Wisconsin and Michigan as well.  All the trips have been pretty budget friendly, relaxing, and just what we needed at the time.

     This year, we went way outside our comfort zone and planed an all out trip....to Disney.  Our first step was to call Abbi at Hi Ho Vacations to make some decisions.  We knew a few things we wanted (a meal at Cinderella's castle, a meal with Winne the Pooh), so we told her and then let her do her magic.  When she got back with us, she had a wonderful trip planned....4 nights, 5 days, meals planned, room booked.  All that was left for us to do was sign our contract and send her some money!  It was so easy to let Abbi handle all the details, any time I had a question, she got an answer for me, even when we were at the parks!

     We had an incredible time at Disney!  So much so, that we are already planning our return trip (hopefully 2015).  Disney is truly a magical place...I can't begin to explain how much we loved this vacation (although I plan to try in the next few posts that I write).

Jim, Nancy, Delainey, and Bryce

entering the Magic Kingdom for the first time!