Vacation

So, have you ever noticed the way money just seems to melt when your on vacation? I don't know about you, but I will spend money on vacation that I would NEVER spend in my "regular" life. Has this ever happened to you? You leave the house headed to parts unknown...only to stop 100 yards down the road to fill up the tank. Of course your on vacation, so the kiddos ask if they can get a snack and a drink. Well of course...Your on vacation after all! Pretty soon, you've dropped $58.93 on a $40 tank of gas...and your only 100 yards from home....BUT HECK~YOUR ON VACATION!

Soon, we will embark on a 6 days of glorious vacation...but this time...I'm ready! I've done my research, and we're ready to set sail without completely melting down...I hope.

When I say I've done my research...I really mean it. And to tell the truth...I've learned A LOT!

SNACK ATTACK!

This afternoon I got 90 $1 bills from our bank and divided them equally into 3 snack baggies. That will give each kiddo $5 a day to spend on anything they want. From Slim Jim's to Red Bull...the sky's the limit...as long as it doesn't cost more than 30 bucks! Of course we'll be paying for everything as far as food, tickets, and shelter....but anything else...that's on their dime.

I explained that they can spend it all on the first day...at the first One Stop we come to...but that's it for the next 6 LONG LONG LONG days!

A TICKET HERE... A TICKET THERE

Another thing I learned is to decide on the things you plan to do BEFORE you get there. In our case, we will be spending 4 days in Tulsa before the concert. We've got all kinds of things planned...the zoo, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Her-Ber Village....So what I did was find out the cost of all 7 things we plan to do and set that money aside...in cash. No credit cards for this family! And it's a good thing, since we don't have one anyway!

FOOD & GAS

Since we bought the Bon Jovi tickets months ago & the house we've rented is already paid for...all we really have left to plan for is food and gas. Of course that's no small thing with gas running $2.66 a gallon and 4 growing boys to feed!

One family site I read said to plan for 2 "fancy" ($60) meals out and keep the rest under $25. Well, one of the reasons we rented a house rather than a hotel was to make eating cheap a little easier. We can have all our breakfasts at "home" and even a lunch or 2 if we want.

And speaking of the house...Bran found us a really great deal by just plugging "vacation rental houses" into Google. We found a 2 bedroom house with a living room, kitchen and dining room for $80 a night! I would way WAY rather be in a house than crammed into 2 tiny hotel rooms...and I can promise you, we wouldn't be getting the rooms for $80 a night!

Anyway, we are all getting so excited about our trip! We'll be spending the first 3 days at the cabin with the Waggle's and the last 4 in Tulsa getting hyped for the big concert! How much fun can one family take???

My next blog will be all about Easter! I LOVE EASTER! The service, the egg hunts, the food...I love it all! And this year will be especially awesome. We get to have both of the babies over at the SAME TIME! Derek and Val are bringing little Em and Trav will be bringing Nat and Makayla and Karlie! Val's brother Eric is also living here now, so he'll be there too. I CAN'T WAIT!!