Top Five Favorite Summer Getaways

With a family of five it is very important to us that we make lasting memories for our children.  It is also a little harder to stretch our dollar with three kids, which makes for pretty interesting ideas on our part as parents.  Although I can say my kids come back from our mini getaways with memories to last a lifetime.  Here are my five favorite must do summer getaways.

Brody making a sand castle

A day at the beach is the perfect summer getaway.  Sand castles, running through the waves, collecting shells, digging your feet in the sand.  These are all memories to last a lifetime.  There are also so many free beach entrances that make for a very inexpensive day in the sun.  We spent four days on South Padre Island last summer with our family (6 adults and 8 children).  It's funny that the kids out number the adults.  The youngest was our one and a half year old son Brody.  He was not to sure about the ocean which was fine with me because I'm not the best swimmer.  He had a sensory issue, so the mushy sand and water was perfect for him.

Aiden, Brody and Me on the river

 A night of camping comes in second for an amazing summer getaway.  At least one night, we are so spoiled by our everyday lives of television, air condition, fast food, that when we decided to take the boys camping I can honestly say it was the best decision we could have made last summer.  This was my husbands idea, mine was more of a cabin, ac, running water, you know the important things in life.  I agreed, because a mom of boys, I felt they deserved to ruff it and I guess I did to.  It was an awesome weekend.  We slept in a tent off a local river, went on an adventure {a small hike}, made a fire and roasted marshmallows, and even played in the lake after we caught no fish.  It was great and our oldest still talks about it.  The two days on the river brought the four of us closer together, and that made it amazing.

The boys at the wildlife ranch

Who says a summer getaway can't be a stay-cation. My third favorite summer getaway is a day at the wildlife ranch.  We have an amazing one 20 minutes away.  Most animals can be hand fed which is way cool.  Have you ever fed a zebra?  I have that picture in my archives, I must find it and show you how amazingly huge those teeth are.  Watching a two year old chunk food into a buffaloes mouth is also pretty priceless.

Me and Aiden in the cavern

My fourth favorite vacation is taking your kid into an underground cavern.  Can we say amazing and scary all rolled into one.  We loved the adventure of our forty-five minute tour.  We even watched bats excavating that was probably the scary part since we were within touching distance.  My son loved it even though he screamed.  

Aiden and Lauren lost on the bridge

My fifth favorite vacation has to be is taking a trip to a new city.  Armed with a map we enjoyed a day of visiting all the hot spots San Antonio had to offer.  I am from there, but my son had never experienced the city especially the amazing sites that the downtown area has to offer.  We soaked in the cultures of the south, enjoyed a tour of the Alamo, and even took a trip up to the Tower of Americas.

“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Alamo blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”