Vacation is Necessary Family Time!

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All these seem like great options - except the tent.

Now that both Barreto kids are school age,  2010  marks the first year that we are regulated to vacation time with everyone else and boy, does it stink.  We just spent much more on plane tickets for two upcoming vacations around Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve simply because of the timing. But I wouldn't change it because vacation has become a necessary ritual for the Barretos.  I'd even go so far as to say it's a necessary ritual for all families.

Whether it's a "staycation",  a Griswold-like road trip or flying away to an exotic locale or cruise–families absolutely need the opportunity to unwind together on a regular basis. Because like in all other relationships, families need the following:

Rest from the everyday routine that weekends cannot truly give
To spend time together in another environment
The opportunity to huddle together and just love on one another 24 hours a day for however many days
Build traditions unrelated to a specific place

These are a few of the wonderful fringe benefits we have encountered as we've vacationed together over the last 10 years.  Through tough times, and through times of plenty we have always made it a priority to spend time together, away from home.

So what would be Ultimate Vacation for the Barretos?  There was no agreement between us when asked.

My nine-year-old daughter and I were in agreement that Australia would be our ultimate vacation. My husband suggested a tour around the Mediterranean, including stops in Greece, Spain and Italy and not necessarily  a cruise. My five-year-old son said LA would be his ultimate vacation (and he should know since he had a blast there a few years back).

So unless some big windfall hits us or my new business suddenly lands 10 new clients, I don't see any of the aforementioned ultimate vacations in our immediate future.  With that in mind I asked the team again, what would be our ultimate vacation? The answer may surprise you but we unanimously said our ultimate vacation would involve good food, no work and most importantly, each other.

This is us celebrating Evan's 4th birthday at Walt Disney World.