Summertime, summertime, sum- sum- summertime!

June is finally here! Why on earth am I so excited that June is here? I HATE hot weather. I would much rather spend my days in Colorado in the middle of winter. That's just the kind of girl I am. But the reason I'm so excited that June is officially here is that we are going on our first ever FAMILY VACATION!! Ryan and I have taken little overnight vacations here and there. We even went to Vegas for a few days earlier this year, but that was for Ryan's brother's wedding. Vacation, yes, but it had an agenda.

We have never taken the kids anywhere for vacation. I guess it's because they are so young that, before, we knew that they wouldn't really enjoy it and/or remember what we were doing. It has to be so incredibly difficult for parents who take their babies places, especially during the summer when it's so hot! I don't know how or why they do it. I'm glad we haven't, though. I mean, the kids are almost 7 and 5, and it almost doesn't seem fair that we haven't taken them out of the state...EVER. But I know my children. They did great when we went to Lawton for Hunter's graduation, and that was kind of a trial run for us. We slept overnight in a hotel, so we got to test the waters a bit to see how they would do. Really it was to see how we all would do. And they absolutely loved it!

We probably picked the worst time to take a vacation to Texas, but it was when Ryan's bid week was, so we wanted to take advantage. He only gets to bid 3 or 4 weeks a year, and summer is almost always taken by the time the bid sheet gets around to him; being so low in seniority will do that to ya. So this year (well, last November-ish) when a week in June was left open, he jumped at the chance. With Alex now in school and Reese starting Pre-K in August, we knew that his week in October would be out as far as taking a family vacation somewhere. I can not justify taking my kids out of school for a vacation. I know that some parents do it, but I will not hinder their education for a trip. There are other times we could go and, to me, school is way more important. Of course, I'm a school nerd and I LOVE(d) school, so I may be biased a bit.

We are taking the kids to Arlington in a week. Well, it's less than a week away. We're leaving on Sunday to go to Ryan's folks' to spend the night, and to break the drive up. I know my kids. 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 hours in a car would never fly. Then we've got it all planned out. We're going to a Texas Rangers game on Monday night and then to Hurricane Harbor on Tuesday. We'll be headed back to Oklahoma on Wednesday, but I'm not sure if we'll stop at Ryan's folks' again or if we'll just try to drive straight through. I know what my choice is, but we'll see when the time actually comes. The kids are so stinkin' excited! They've been telling people for weeks now that we're going to Texas for vacation. I think they're more excited about the idea right now than they are about what we'll actually be doing. They have no idea what's in store for them and I love that!

I can't wait to see their little faces when we're at the Ballpark at Arlington and when we finally get to Hurricane Harbor. I'll post pictures because I know they will be priceless. The McAlister clan is going to have one heck of a vacation, even if it is just for a few days. Remember, my kids are only 6 and 4. Small doses.