Vacation!!

So, my family and I are getting ready to go on our annual vacation to the beach. I can't wait! I love sitting on the beach, playing in the water, reading magazines I would never read except when on the beach ( I won't name names, but you know the kind of trash I am talking about!), people watching, and eating fresh seafood!

There is, however, A LOT of work that goes into getting us all there with all the stuff that we need. Not only is it me, my husband and kids going. My mother, my father-in-law, and his wife are also going with us. My husband's job in this trip is to drive us there. My job is. . well, everything else.

I, of course, start with a list. I first do a quick jot down of all the things that come to mind that we will need. Sunscreen is always the first thing, being a red-head, and having a red-headed son! Beach towels, beach toys, etc. Naturally, my mind thinks of all the fun things that we will be doing while we are there. So, those things get on the list first. But, then, reality will come back to me. We won't spend every minute of every day at the beach. We will need to eat, we will need to wear clothes other than swimsuits at times, we will sleep, ride in the car for hours to get there and back, we will need to entertain the kids in the evening, or when it rains (as it poured down rain and flooded last time we were there!). All these other things need to be thought of, so I can plan for them and pack for them.

So, my list gets broken down into compartments: food, clothing, entertainment, beach, etc.
Then, I will try to think out what we will be doing each day for each of these groups. From experience, it is always the little things that end up bothering us the most. Like, when our condo had a coffee maker, but no coffee filters! Now, we have a small stash of coffee filters of different sizes (since we never know what kind of coffee maker there is) that we take with us.

When it gets close to the day we will leave, I will start gathering all the items in one place. This helps me see the things, and will often remind me of other things that we will need, or that I might need to go buy. It also shows me whether or not it will all fit in our car (Thank goodness for large SUV's!!)

When we start the actual packing, I try to think of the order that we will need things, and then pack it with the items that need to be accessible within reach, or on top in the suitcases. I make sure that there are books, games, snacks, and water, within reach for the boys in the car.

When we finally get to our condo, and everything is unloaded from the car, I quickly put everything in its place. The clothes in the dressers, the food in the kitchen, the shampoo in the shower, etc. I want our condo to feel like home. I don't want to have to search through suitcases the whole time we are there. And, as soon as the condo is prepared . . . I AM ON VACATION!
Break out the flip flops, swimsuits, and margaritas!