Mini Honeymoons!

Hank and I are actually getting to coach volleyball together this season. He is being my assistant and I am loving every minute of it! Everything from bossing him around, knowing more about the sport than he does, and getting to spend more time with him than normal is so so very nice!

Another fun aspect of the volleyball season is that we will be going on out-of-town tournament trips. It's gonna be fun, I'm thinking! You know, little mini honeymoons with volleyball thrown in.

I know there won't be tons of free time, but we will get to ride to and from together, eat out alone, and even have some limited free time together. I love that!

I mean it's not on the same line as maybe taking a couple of Vegas vacations, but I think it's time invested in our marriage and therefore, the best vacation of all!

Vegas, Baby!

Hank and I have been wanting to take a couple trip for a while. We've talked about the moutains, the beaches, and even vegas. I have some friends who live in Vegas, so I guess we could stay with them... but what kind of 'alone time' would that encourage??

One of my friends flew to Vegas and got married about 3 years ago and loved it! They only invited one friend each and a few family members and said that they had the time of their lives!! How fun is that? Of course it was the second marriage for each of them, so they didn't want to hoopla the second time around!

A lady at church said there are a lot of free things you can do in Vegas, too. I would like to do a little research. Maybe we could do an anniversary trip there and renew our vows or something! That would be romantic!

Hit Me Disney One More Time

Our season passes to Disney will expire in December and we are determined to get back down to Orlando before that happens! Now we just need to get some good travel deals. Hank called and found that if we stay during the week, that we could get a room for $54 a night! That's pretty darn cheap. So I am putting money aside for hotel, gas, and food. We plan to drive to my in-laws spend a night, then get up early and head straight to the parks for the day. We will check in around lunch time that day and stay two nights... then we will check out in next morning, go spend the day in the parks, and head to his parent's house when the parks close around 8. Then we will spend the morning with the in laws and head home in time to get everyone settled for school! Sounds like a plan to me!! Oh, yeah, I need to put money aside for a stroller rental too!

Vacation options

As most of you may know... my family holds season passes to Disney World in Orlando through the end of this year. I never thought I would say this, but I'm looking for other things for us to do while we are in Orlando! Last time we went, I found an outlet mall that had a Disney outlet store in it! I was so excited to be able to get a few souvenirs without breaking the bank! And we have talked about checking out the water parks next time we got if it's hot enough. Hank has even said that the Orlando golf courses are pretty darn good! Maybe he and his dad will go play a round next time we're there. Although, I think it might be hard to pry my fourth child... also known as, my husband... away from the happiest place on earth!

Another State Checked Off The List!

My sister-in-law, Betsy and her family used to live in North Carolina. One of my regrets is that in the two years they lived there that we never made it up to visit. Now, they understand why we didn't. We had Tres, then Bryant a year and a half later and that 8-10 hour trips (depending on how many stops you have to make with kids) would have been unbearable!! But I am a person that LOVES to travel. I like to be able to say, "I've been there! And this is what I loved about it!" I did a little research on North Caroline when she lived there. There's a stretch of vacation destination property called the Outer Banks. It's beach front and from the pictures looks absolutely GORGEOUS!! Now that my SIL doesn't live there, do you think she would get upset if we went to North Carolina now?

Branson, Take Me Away!

A group of ladies from my church planned a trip to Branson Missouri a couple of years ago. I was a single college student at the time, and a bit broke, but that didn't stop me from wishing I could go! The trip they took was focused on pampering, shopping, and relaxation.
Now that I'm married with kids... well, I just never thought about Branson being a vacation destination. But with attractions like miniture golf, go-karts, Silver Dollar City Theme Park, Ride the Ducks, and even cave exploration I know that my boys would be in hog heaven! The prices are very nice too! If Hank and I wanted to plan a trip for just the two of us, we could go for $423 on the Platinum package. That would include 3 days and 2 nights in the Welk Resort Hotel, 2 tickets to the Grand Country Jubilee, a $30 gift card to Olive Garden or Red Lobster, a $50 Tanger Outlet Gift Certificate, and a coupon book with over $1500 in savings! The other packages are just as good!

GOLD PACKAGE $451 Total Cost Per Couple
3 Days/2 Night Clarion
2 adult tickets to:
Pierce Arrow
Mickey Gilley

SILVER PACKAGE $465 Total Cost Per Couple
4 Days/3 Nights Grand Oaks
2 adult tickets to:
Silver Dollar City
Baldknobbers
Legends in Concert

BRONZE PACKAGE $551 Total Cost Per Couple
5 Days/4 Nights Branson Settle Inn
2 adult tickets to:
Magnificent Seven
Dixie Stampede
Shoji Tabuchi

FAMILY PACKAGE $925
4 Days/3 Nights Presidential Condo
2 adult & 2 kids tickets (ages 4 - 11 yrs) to:
Darren Romeo
Ride the Ducks
Hamner Barber Variety Show

GREAT AMERICAN PACKAGE $454 Total Cost Per Couple
4 Days/3 Nights Welk Resort Hotel
2 adult tickets to:
Magnificent Seven with Dinner
Legends in Concert
Veteran's Museum

TITANIUM PACKAGE $683 Total Cost Per Couple
4 Days/3 Nights Clarion
2 adult tickets to:
Legends in Concert
Hughes Brothers
Incredible Acrobats of China
Shoji Tabuchi
Red Lobster/Olive Garden Gift Card

I also came across one of the events that will take place in Branson that sparked my interest. At the end of March, they are holding the 15th Billboard World Song Contest Awards Presentation Show & Performance in the Mansion America Theatre. That makes me want to look into the contest and see what kind of music they showcase!

The other thing I really like is that if one of the packages above doesn't work for me and my family for one reason or another, we could design a custom package to suit our needs.

Look out Branson! Here we come!