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| After we first arrived! |
Last weekend my husband and I enjoyed a little getaway to Las Vegas. It was our first extended vacation (alone) in seven years.
Ahhh... Just thinking about it makes me feel all warm and happy inside. Here are the top five things that made our vacation extra special:
1. The trip was FREE! What a great way to relax and enjoy each other's company. Even if you can't go somewhere for free, I highly recommend finding a destination that costs less. It might be going somewhere closer to home. It might mean watching prices online and being flexible with dates. Or it might mean having a Stay-cation. Whatever it takes, it's worth keeping the cost down. There were no worries about finances and that enabled us to really relax and have fun.
2. We had trustworthy (free) childcare. My parents agreed to watch all four of our children. Again, it might not be possible for everyone to have free childcare, but if you can find it, use it. You'll be able to leave your cares behind. If relatives aren't available, offer to swap childcare with another couple. It might mean a date night, an overnight, or a long weekend.
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| The show we attended |
4. We left our troubles at home. We made an agreement that we wouldn't discuss all those pesky day-to-day problems we face at home. You know the kind. The house related issues, the work related issues, the family related issues. Instead, we talked about our goals for our family in 2013. The things we want to work on as parents, as a couple and as friends. It was so much fun to be proactive, instead of reactive. Without the kiddos around to distract us, we were able to have great conversations.
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| Watching the Vikings - outside the Mirage |
What about you? What do you enjoy about getting away with your significant other? If you're not in a relationship, what do you like about having time to yourself, away from all the responsibilities of life?
You're such an attractive couple! I'm glad you got away together. It's so important in a marriage. My mom always insisted all four of us kids went along with her and my dad, and well, we have great memories of those vacations, but my parents divorced later on. Not good!
ReplyDeleteMy hubby makes sure we have time away each year. Sometimes we spend a lot of $$ (like Hawaii this year!), and other times we stay in town and do something simple.
I look forward to our date time alone. It's the highlight of my week.
Thanks, Ruth! Ooohh! Hawaii sounds so wonderful! Sometime spending a lot of $$ (if you have it) is a whole lot of fun, too. :) I love date nights with my hubby, too. Taking time to be alone is vital for a marriage.
DeleteYour trip sounds so fun! I'm glad you had a fun and free(!) trip with your guy! I love getting away with just my husband. It's funny...we seem to revert to the flirty, carefree versions of ourselves when we don't have the bills, kids, etc. on our minds or in our vision. :) We need to do that more often!
ReplyDeleteYes, Lacie! That was one of the things I was most surprised about - we did revert to the more carefree versions of ourselves. We met in high school and we've been together for a long time, but I'm still discovering new things I love about my husband all the time - and it's easier to do when we're alone together.
DeleteGreat suggestions! Funny that today would be this....as Tom and I did have a day together today. ALMOST got postponed completely, as Peighton has a nasty cough, and I had to run her in to St Cloud this morning to have it checked....but luckily it is viral, and off to school she went!
ReplyDeleteFor now, we do our staycations...we try for at least once a month, doesn't always work out, but we hope to make it more regularly. And we usually just try to make a whole day of it. Go somewhere local and just be together and have a good time. Today was lunch at Red Lobster (courtesy of my mom!! Christmas present) Then off to a movie (we saw "This is 40"....cute movie, definitely an adult movie, a little too much profanity for me) then we went to Cabela's and walked around....then went to get our free taste test of fudge (a must in our family!!) then found Chokecherry jam, and cherry sours candy....made the great purchase, then headed back home~ Always a great time with my hubby!! It is wonderful to go and have a great day with him.
SO excited that you two were able to get away and enjoy your time away from all the business of life here! Cherished memories!! After all, kids WILL grow up and move on, and it will one day again be just the two of you.
Jennifer Bailey
Jennifer, it sounds like you and Tom had a great day! Not only did you spend it together, but you did the things you both like to do. It's so much fun to connect on different levels with our spouses. Thanks for stopping in to say hello today!
DeleteIt sounds like it was such a fun trip, such a special time with your hubby. Did you get to see the Bellagio fountains? That's my favorite part-- that and the Bellagio indoor garden area. Wonderful tips for any trip-- thank you!
ReplyDeleteHello, Amanda! Yes, we did see the Bellagio Fountains - both during the day and at night! What a spectacular show! We also saw the very last day of the indoor Christmas garden, but the next day we went there, it was already torn down and they were in the process of decorating for the Chinese New Year. There are over a 100 gardeners on staff at the Bellagio - impressive!
DeleteSigh. How romantic! What a wonderful time for you two to just have a little getaway and I love your list here. Free and trustworthy childcare is such a blessing. Hooray for grandmas! I'm so glad you guys had a great time and that you were able to sit down, have those special, memorable conversations. That is such a gift for parents of little ones.
ReplyDeleteHooray for grandmas is right, Joanne! I don't know what we'd do without our parents being so close by. They make it possible for Dave and I to get away and to be carefree while we're there. We did Skype with the kids in the evenings, and they had great stories to tell. One of our little guys wasn't ready to come home when we picked him up after four days! That always makes me feel good - knowing they have so much fun, they don't want to leave. :)
DeleteOh Gabrielle!! That looks like so much fun! Getting away with the husband is such a good thing to do. When we had our 20th anniversary, we took a weekend trip and loved it so much we do it every anniversary now. And you don't have to have lots of money! Last weekend we celebrated our 28th anniversary. I took 1/2 the day off on Friday and we went and saw Les Miserables. Then we checked into the old Sheraton in Dallas which was really really nice and not as expensive as so many others in Dallas. We went to West End and ate at Hoffbrau Steaks. We watched movies in bed, slept late, then ate at Denny's for breakfast. We then went to IKEA...I had never been....yikes!
ReplyDeleteThat was our weekend, but like you, just being a couple is the greatest part.
Sherrinda, your vacations sound like so much fun! We try to get away around our anniversary, too. It's usually a night away and lately it involves going to a Minnesota Twins Baseball game! Whatever we do, it's fun to do it together.
DeleteThat sounds so wonderful! We like to do mini-getaways when able and when not we make sure to do a monthly date night. It's some of the best times I ever have!
ReplyDeleteJessica, I have a feeling you and your hubby have a great time together, no matter where you are! :)
DeleteWow, how awesome!! I'm so glad you had a good time. :)
ReplyDeleteSince we don't have kids yet, every vacation is like this for us, LOL. But we've talked about how we want to leave a lot of the special trips--like cruises and Hawaii--for just us until kids are old enough to really enjoy them. We also like to stay at a hotel for a weekend for our anniversary every year, so that's a nice little getaway we can hopefully continue when we have kids.
Lindsay, it's so awesome you and Mike are being thoughtful about the day you have kiddos. For a few years it changes how much, where and when you can travel. But we're now getting to the stage where it's fun to start bringing them with us sometimes.
DeleteY'all are just too cute for words! Mini-vacays and intentional time together helps keep marriages vibrant. I'm so glad you had such a great time!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Donna! The past few years (since the twins have been born), it's been very intense parenting around here. It's fun to get away and rekindle some of the fun we had when we were first together. :)
DeleteSO glad you had such a memorable, relaxing vacation! I still remember when my hubby "snuck" me away for 2 nights several years ago--it took the entire first day for me to decompress from my "Mommy" brain and get into my "Heather" brain again. Thank goodness for Grandparents--I hope to help my kids out that way someday when I'm a Grandma!
ReplyDeleteHeather, I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. That whole first day in Vegas I was still in mommy-brain mode. Thankfully after a good nights sleep, I was ready to go for the remaining three days and just be a wife! :)
DeleteI agree with Joanne.
ReplyDeleteSIGH.
We had a few days this summer when all 3 boys were at camp. We had a "staycation". I'll, umm, leave it at that.