The Countdown Begins....

We leave for our big family vacation in a little over a week and the tornado, that is getting ready for a big vacation, has begun. Our summer clothes are all over the house, suitcases are out of storage and laundry is piling up everywhere. I keep telling myself that it will all fit in the suitcases somehow :)

Packing and trying on summer clothes has been extremely confusing for Z. I asked him to try on his sandals this morning ("beach shoes") and so when we later got in the car he thought that we were headed to the lake to go to the beach. He kept saying the names of his lake friends and couldn't wait to see them all. I had to explain that we just tried on the shoes to see if they fit and that we wouldn't be going to the beach until next week. I also had to explain that we were taking a big airplane to the beach because the beaches around here were covered in snow (I didn't have the heart to tell him that his lake friends would not be at this beach).

No matter how hard I try to save money....getting ready for vacations cost a fortune! Over the last two weeks I have had to buy: swim diapers, sunscreen, a new 3T summer wardrobe for Z (we did inherit some lovely hand-me downs), snacks, toys and books for the plane (one for every hour of flying), a new suitcase, batteries, a few new clothing items for S and I, a new battery for the DVD player, swimsuits for all and a weeks supply of rice milk for Z. This all adds up rather quickly and thus we have already spent a small fortune and we haven't even left yet :)

This trip is truly a family vacation :) My mom, dad, sister, brother in-law, niece, other sister (her hubby has police school so she is going solo), S, Z and I will be headed south for a week. It will be an adventure but with 7 adults and 2 kids...we do hope to each find some time to relax. We stopped at the hotel last year while on our cruise and I know that Z and G will have a blast! Z is already planning out his sandcastles and talking about which stuffed friends he will be bringing. It should be a lot of fun and we are all very excited.