A memory making, parenting regret we have...but are now changing as of last year.

In the great words of Cher...
"If I could turn back tiiiimeee...if I could find a waaaay...
I'd take back all the years that we didn't vacation..and we'd gooooo!"
Those are the lyrics, right?

It's not like we haven't taken our kids places...
....we really have taken some fun trips over the years.

Aaaannnd it's not like they haven't had fun on the homefront...
..I mean, if you need a tour guide in Chicago..call my kids.
Go ahead..ask them where to find the best doughnut
or which museum is the most fun to visit. {wink}

However..we DO wish we would have made a family trip a yearly priority..
...even if it was just a weekend of camping.

Last year..our friends {that are basically family!}
asked us to join them out in Montana.

Jeff to my surprise..said Yes!

If it wasn't for them.. I KNOW we wouldn't have gone this past summer.
I can't tell you how thankful we are for the little push they gave us to go.

Also..let me just note here...camping in a TENT for 10 days?
Yeeeaahhh...that was big for me...but now I can say..Sooo worth it.

Montana was a place Jeff had been dying to take our family..
...and finally, finally it happened! and not because of us.

Well..sort of because of us, wink! but it wasn't our idea to go.
I know Jeff and Liz..we would have continued on...
engrossed in our usual, busy, summer schedule.
We can sometimes be a little too practical and rational.

Well..this trip...it ended up being by far, one of our family favorites.
..if not THE favorite.

{The only sad thing was..our oldest wasn't able to come with..sniff, sniff}
This is why you need to go! :) They grow up!

As I was going through some pictures..trying to organize the masses...
...I was distracted {for like an hour!} by all of our Montana pictures.

Now all we want to do, is go back! Ha.
It made me think..and then Jeff think..
...no matter what..we are going to do some sort of getaway.

Something every year. Something to connect our family.
Have fun together..even if it's just for a weekend.

So, other parents out there..let me encourage you... Plan a trip!!!
Make memories. Even if the plan is simple..it's still a memory.

Making memories doesn't have to be expensive or extravagant.
Making memories doesn't have to be Disney World.
{FYI...our children may end up in therapy one day..the only children on earth
to never visit the most magical kingdom in all the land..cough!
I know, I know, I can feel the shameful stares as you read my blog..}

Making memories can be as simple as two nights in a nearby hotel.
It's just the thrill of packing your bag and going somewhere. Together!
...vacating life for a time.

Also..going through pictures, I found this little gem.
...under the St.Louis Arch...100 years ago...
..everyone was sooo little....and there was no Frankie yet..
.and I was wearing cowboy boots.

Go forth. Make memories.
Your kids will be grown up all too soon.
XxOo