Random Splendor...: Summer time getaway- a long post

warning...this post is way too long...and it includes way more information than anyone wants to read...ever...So if you don't read it, I don't blame you...at all, really.

This year, we had been planning a family vacation on the beach. However, since we have really been trying to get rid of debt as quickly as we could, we started thinking of other ideas around the beginning of the spring that would be a bit cheaper. After giving up alot of plushy things over the last year, I guess we have gotten conditioned to the idea, because once upon a time I would have been crushed to think about giving up the beach, but it really didn't bother me ....at all! However, we really wanted to have family time and escape from the every day so we got serious about planning a vacation on the cheap cheap.

My sweet little family

After planning and budgeting and planning some more, we had a cheap vacation planned out. Ricky has teachers conference in Nashville every July. So, we thought that would be a great time to just build a family trip around his conference. After all, that meant that our gas to and from Nashville would be paid for, as well as our hotel room for 4 nights. That really helped with expenses. Also, the school would pay for Ricky's meals for the days of the conference (Mon thru Thurs). Our plan was to then add on 3 nights in Chattanooga after his conference was over to extend our stay a little longer.

Well, let me tell you, when you have kids, plans can fly out the window quickly. We did go to Nashville and had a fantastic 5 day stay there. We shopped, ate, swam, played with cousins, saw a few sights and made some new friends. By Thursday night sweet Caleb was worn out. I mean couldn't stop crying kind of tired and only Momma holding him would calm him down. Sweet little man had so much fun he just pooped out. So, we made a decision to not push him any further. We had really enjoyed the 5 day get-a-way and headed home. We both felt like it would be a better idea to just take the Chattanooga leg of our trip either on Fall or Spring break with kids who weren't exhausted.

Tuckered out little Caleb

When we got home, we stayed on the down low, because everyone thought we were gone on vacation and since technically we were supposed to be gone for 3 more days, we spent those 3 rainy days at home with blinds closed, no cooking and enjoyed some really laid back family time at home. I honestly enjoyed that almost as much as vacation. It was also nice to get home and have all the laundry from the trip unpacked and washed and put away before we were even supposed to be home. I think we may make every vacation end with a short home retreat before we enter the real world from now on! All in all, we enjoyed a family get-a-way (no, it wasn't as sandy as planned or far away, but we were together and spending time as a family) on a very small budget. A 5 day get-a-way plus a 3 day home retreat ended up costing us a little under $250! Hows that for fun?!

Me and Laney and our humidity stricken hair :)

Now, I know $250 isn't much but we actually did quiet a bit of things on that money. We are getting better at taking the time to plan to really make our $ stretch.

The first day we arrived we dropped Ricky off for his conference and me and the kids spent the morning with their cousins Drew and Ben. Aunt Em and I got to really enjoy catching up and the kids were all really well behaved. After we picked Ricky up and checked into our hotel, we all took a nap (which happened EVERY DAY while we were there, ahhh naps are awesome!) That night we had dinner at Rainforest Cafe which the kids really loved. And I love their turkey wraps, so yay :)

Tuesday night the conference Ricky attended (which is for automotive teachers from all over the country) hosted a picnic for everyone at Two Rivers park. The park was fantastic for the kids and had some of the most fun playground equipment, complete with a kids size zip line. We met our twin family that night. Yes, we have a family just like us! It was almost creepy. But they were fantastic and we had so much fun with them for the rest of the conference! We so look forward to seeing them again next year. After picnic and playtime we took the kids to see the Brave movie.

Silly kids

The next day me and the kids did some shopping and swimming and that evening (after our daily nap) the teachers were invited to a family fun center for a catered meal and games. That meal was so good! Wish I could eat it right now good! We spent the evening with our twin family and really wore ourselves out.

The kids also really loved when we had dinner at the Aquarium on the last night. It was great because we got there and got seated right at feeding time, so they got to watch the diver dude go in and feed the fish and sharks. Laney was really into that!

Watching the diver feed the fish

Love Caleb's stance here

Laney and her fish impersonation

The last day we headed East to Cumberland Caverns and did a 2 hour cave spelunking trip. It was so fun! Ricky had gone there as a kid and I had never been. The cave was huge and we were all really glad we went. I couldn't believe this huge cave was only a few hours away and I had never heard of it! A definate must for a fun day trip, especially if you love the outdoors like our family does! We had a picnic there and then turned back to Nashville for dinner before heading on home. This was a great trip and proof that you can have a get-a-way and not spend a fortune. We are still planning a trip to the beach, it just may be a year or two. And that really is ok :)