What is *YOUR* Ultimate Family Vacation?

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Cheerios® is giving you the chance to win a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, your ultimate family vacation. As part of a paid promotion for their “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, Cheerios® is sponsoring my post today about what my ultimate family vacation would be. Read (and view) mine below and Enter the Sweepstakes for a chance to actually win your own fantasy family trip or one of a bunch of other great prizes!

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Where Do *YOU* Want To Go?

I feel incredibly lucky. I have been able to travel a lot in my life. As a child, we went to Germany often to visit family, and that tradition carried on into my relationship with Bryan. When Declan came along, it seemed only natural to bring him along on our adventures.

I was chatting with my boys recently and asked THEM what their “ultimate” family vacation would be. We were out to dinner (so excuse the eating), and I ended up recording our discussion – because as we spoke, I realized in many ways, we’d already had our ultimate family vacation. A few of them.

So lucky.

Bryan talks about how he likes trips that have something for all of us: a mix of adventure, kid-friendly and the back-to-resort upscale-ish-ness for after you have been tromping around all day.

Yeah, we totally did have that in our recent trips to Ireland and Puerto Rico, right?

So, I combined us talking about what we *like to do* on vacation with pics of us *actually on* vacation.

Enjoy.


Now tell me about what *YOU* like to do on vacation!

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And don’t forget to enter the “Do What You Love” Sweepstakes, for a chance to win your own ultimate family vacation. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Further disclaimer: The trip to Puerto Rico was partially sponsored by the Rio Mar Wyndham Resort.

This article has 21 comments

  1. DiPaola Momma

    What *I* like to do on vacation is LEAVE. MY. KIDS. AT. HOME.

  2. Crunchy Green Mom - Suzanne B.

    I like to sleep in a place that I don’t have to clean or cook, or do anything!!

  3. Bryan

    Funny to hear that DiPaola! And I totally get what you mean. We had a trip to BlogHer over the summer and had some time to explore NYC on our own without Dex. It was amazing and we got to do so much.

    On that trip I was actually surprised how often I found myself saying “Dex would love this.” Or “I’d love to bring him back here.” NYC would be for when he is older, tho. I look forward to showing him that city when he (and we) are ready.

    We love our adult time, but we have found that when we get the right balance of all these parts for all of us, our vacation actually becomes something amazingly special, not just a break from work. I know that won’t be the case for everyone, but it delivers for us. And that may be my discovery/point: The ultimate family vacation is something that works for your family, and provides the things that you need.

  4. MPPs Mom

    I think you guys summed it up pretty great. I look for all those things. But like DiPaola, I do love a kid free one too. And Bryan you are so right, the whole time I am missing them and thinking how they would love to do this, or that with us!

  5. Aimee Greeblemonkey

    OMG, Lara, yeah – just like Bryan said – NYC was so great for us (still editing those photos) but these vacations lately, with the 3 of us, finding the right groove – have just been AWESOME. I am sure having just one kid makes it easier too. 🙂

  6. Ri, the Music Savvy Mom

    Well, we’ve got some pretty strong ethnicity goin’ on in our family. I’m half Italian (DelRosso) and my husband is half Irish (O’Laughlin). The majority of the rest – on BOTH sides,believe it or not – is French. (Blais/Fournier)

    Though he’s just 4, Liam is well aware of his roots. (Might have something to do with my mini-obsession with genealogy. ;))But, regardless – our normal family holidays are steeped in those Old World traditions that my husband and I grew up with. We eat French Canadian toutier on Christmas Eve, it’s Guinness Stew and Irish Soda Bread on St. Pat’s, and Liam helps me make biscotti all year long.

    Even with everyday things, I see that flavor creeping in. Both “Strega Nona” and “Jamie O’Rourke” are regulars on the bedtime reading list. Liam knows the correct way to pronounce “mozzarella” and “ricotta”, and there is NO QUESTION he got the gift o’ the blarney!

    So, our Ultimate Family Vacation would be in Europe, natch. To hit Italy, France and Ireland – specifically the towns or counties where our “people” come from – meet some distant relatives and have the opportunity to really SHOW Liam his roots would be an absolute dream come true.

    (And enjoying the wine, cognac and porter along the way wouldn’t hurt…;))

  7. sue at nobaddays

    My dream vacation is to spend a month in perhaps two to three rural seaside and mountain regions in India. I have never traveled to India – but long to!

  8. zipper

    Fun video Aimee! I love how you are doing that with photos now. I would love to go to China someday. Always have wanted to see it for some reason. No idea why.

  9. Meghann

    This is so hard to pick THE ultimate vacation, because our dream travel list is very long and varied. We travel a lot within the US, but still have only seen a tiny part of it. One dream I have is to take the kids and just hit the road for a few months and see. . .America.

    For oversees trips, Ireland pops into my head, although I don’t think we’ll ever get to go there as a family. Plane fare for six people is kind of scary high.

    I get jealous sometimes reading about all of the awesome traveling that you guys get to do, but then I realize we’ve done some great stuff ourselves. This year my favorite has been getting to view a shuttle launch from the VIP area, sitting where the senators sit when they watch launches. I’m pretty sure we saw Neil Armstrong too. Then we spent the rest of the week in Daytona Beach.

    Oh, I did want to put a shout out to Bryan and say: Dex is TOTALLY old enough for NYC. Last year we went with all four of our kids, and they were 9, 6, 5, and almost 3 at the time. We had a blast, and they did pretty great. Not saying that you should have taken him this time, I think you and Aimee deserved a vacation alone. But you know, in case the opportunity comes up again any time soon to go back, I’d say to take Declan with you.

    /VERY long comment

  10. Aimee Greeblemonkey

    Wow, loving all your detailed comments. Everything sounds SO FUN.

  11. MB

    vacation? what is THAT? 🙂

  12. a mom in the 'burbs

    I would love to take my kids to Europe or Asia. I’ve never been, but they are at the perfect ages (11, 8 and 4) to enjoy lots of different kinds of experiences together and are fun to be with! (Most of the time–unless someone is tired. Or hungry. Or has been touched by their sister…)

    Walking tours, architecture, parks, museums, kid specific events. I’d love to stay at a hotel for some of it and then an apartment once we had our feet wet. I’d really, really, really want a nanny, (since this is my dream vacation!). Someone we could have along to act as an extra set of hands (we’re outnumbered with 3 kids!) and someone who could take the kids for a few hours when we wanted to do something without them.

    I did they same thing as Bryan on a (rare) weekend away to Boston. I had never been there and as much as I loved the time with my husband, I kept thinking of things I wished the girls could experience! That’s why I think a nanny would be perfect.

  13. Laura

    I would just love to vacation somewhere that doesn’t involve packing all 7 of us into a minivan and driving for 20 hours. Maybe someday, I’ll strike it rich and be able to afford airfare for the whole family!

  14. Aimee Greeblemonkey

    R – we did London at Thanksgiving (so it was all dressed up for Xmas) and I really want to do NYC then too.

  15. Rachael

    ooooh . . . well I have several versions of a dream vacation . . .

    1- To travel across the country by train in the Fall
    2 – To go to NYC in December and go Christmas shopping at FAO and do the Chrismassy things in the city
    3 – To escape the winter chill of the Rocky Mountains in Jan/Feb and head to Hawaii with the family
    and
    4 – Laguna Beach in the summer time

    Does that give you enough options to choose from? 😀

  16. jennyonthespot

    I just want to escape ANYWHERE with my family. It could be an hour away… but just to get a change of scenery. We just don’t get to do much that isn’t away from here… I know the kids want to escape too 🙂

  17. MAV

    I’m not a mom yet and actually travel full-time right now with my spouse’s job. We see families on vacation all over the world and I’m always left wondering “Will I want or have the mental ability to travel abroad with our kids?? Do the kids even appreciate what they are seeing?? How can people afford to travel with children??”

    I’m hoping that cramming in all this time abroad will suppress the travel bug enough that I won’t have to worry about it for a while after starting a family. But, thanks for giving me hope that it is possible! And best of all enjoyable!

  18. zenrain

    Europe for sure. I would love to take them to Paris, and do different things than Jim and I did on our own there. Also Ireland, Italy, and Belgium. Maybe Iceland, too! There are too many places I would love to go!

  19. Sizzle

    I would love to take my entire family to Hawaii. I have never been! I think we all need some R & R, beach time, hammock laying, snorkeling, and luau-ing.

  20. monstergirlee

    I think I may be with Sizzle on this one. A family vacation to Hawaii. Sun, beach, cool stuff to do as a family, plenty of photo opportunities would be wonderful. Of course if Danny and I had a few days before the kids came over, that would be nice too ..wink wink…

    Either that or a family trip to Ireland to meet Danny’s family over there.
    Thanks for a chance to win.

  21. ZDub

    Your photos are just amazing. Puerto Rico is on my list to travel to for sure.

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