Vacations

We have decided that we want to go to Hawaii. We're just going to jet over, see the family,and lead a life of leisure. And then I woke up. But seriously, we want to go. We have started a vacation fund that we hope to have full in two years. We want to stay for two weeks to be able to do all the things that are on our list, and that will take some serious fundage.

We want to do this like we did Disney. We want to have enough money to do whatever we want to do. We are going to try to rent a condo or timeshare or house for the time we are there. It will be cheaper than a hotel, so we are already saving money there. Some places still have maid service, but I don't know if that's the type of place we want to rent or not. We would love to be close to the beach, but that's more expensive. We'll see when it gets closer to vacation.

We can also buy our own groceries and prepare some of our own meals. It's expensive for our family of five to eat out. To eat out for all three meals a day for two weeks is a lot of cash I would rather spend elsewhere. If we eat most of our breakfast meals and some lunch and dinner at "home", we can spend that money on other things.

We want to go to other islands and do some of the really touristy things. We will be staying on the Big Island, so we will need to ferry or fly to some of the others. We want to go to the pineapple plantations, the coffee farms, ride horses in the valleys, the black sand beaches, North Shore, learn to surf (stinkin' hubby already knows how), volcanoes, and so many other things. We know we will have to pick and choose, but we can have a list of will dos and maybe dos.

I also want to spend some time with family that I have only met once. I don't know nearly as many people on that side of my family as I would like to. I would like to reconnect with my half sister. I have only met her once, and that was when I was ten. I have thought about her often over the years, but neither one of us has ever made the gesture to get to know each other. I'm hoping to correct that when we get there.

My dad had gone back a couple of years ago, and I have to say I was a little upset. He took my nephew, who probably wouldn't have gone otherwise. That was a great experience for him, I'm sure. I just wish he had let us know earlier. I wish he would have taken my kids. Those are their relatives that don't know them. Those are their relatives they don't know. That is neither here nor there now, and we are trying to rectify that situation.

We would really like to get the credit cards paid off before we go. That will allow us to save even more money. No cards to pay, more money in the bank. I like that idea. I like the idea of the credit cards being paid off. We are about to pay off another one. Three down, four to go. If hubby can get some really good overtime this summer and my Juice Plus business takes off, we can really start putting some money in the bank. Please pray for lots of rain and people who want to get healthy.

Those are our plans. We are going to live as frugally as possible and save as much as we can. We are planning the trip of a lifetime and memories our children can carry with them forever. The kids bring me all kinds of change to put in our jar. They find it when they clean their rooms and want it to go to our fund. They're so funny and I love them dearly. Hawaii, here we come.

Have a great day!