I 've said before how I loved to overfill my car with "children" when I played the game of life as a kid. I would stick the pegs out the sides, on top of each other..... just shove them in wherever they would fit
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Those were the days before seat belt laws and all the kids in the neighborhood could (and sometimes did) fit into one station wagon.
Fast forward to 2008......
SUV's have increased the capacity for passengers but somehow there seems to be less room than was in the station wagons of my youth. Between seat belts, car seats, boosters, cup holders, magazine racks and portable DVD players there is limited space for actual people. Oh, I know these things are for our safety and comfort, I just wish I had considered this problem a little more before I "overfilled" my SUV with children!
The truth is, we cannot fit our entire family into one car. I have tried all of the tricks I learned in the game of Life and they don't work. BTW~it's against the law to tie children to the luggage rack. On the few occasions we have crammed everyone into our Suburban we look like the clown car at the circus. And the trip is far from peaceful as someone is always "touching someone else" or making irritating noises (usually intentional) to disturb their sister.
So we have been forced to drive multiple vehicles. Most of the time this isn't even a concern since 2 of the kids are out of the house and my son just got his own car. However, for a week out of the summer we have tried to take all the kids somewhere on a family vacation and there is no avoiding the "car dilemma."
For the past 2 years we have flown to Ft. Myers and rented 2 cars which we drove to Sanibel Island. That is 9 round trip plane tickets and 2 car rentals (I'm pretty sure that would send me back a few spaces in the game of LIFE!).
This year we were being very frugal and decided to drive to Florida (Perdido Key). Yes, we would need to drive 2 cars but that was still a lot cheaper than flying. That is until gas prices nearly doubled! Unfortunately even driving is not going to be frugal enough this year so we are canceling changing our plans (sad sigh).
As of right now I have no idea what kind of vacation, if any, we will take this year. I am sad about missing Perdido Key (I hear it is gorgeous) but I don't think that is where we are supposed to go right now. I believe God has something planned and we need to be open and available to His plan and not try to force our own. (Now with that attitude I just might win the game of LIFE and retire to Millionaire Estates!).
What are your plans this summer?
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8 comments:
Would it be possible to rent one of those 12 passenger vans? I know you would have the expense of a rental involved, but only gas in one vehicle and you could all ride together.
We are still working on our summer plans...we will have to take gas prices into consideration. We are looking for something budget friendly.
Have a great weekend!
Last year our whole family just spent the weekend at my parents (they have a great pool and area) and made a vacation that way.
Just because it was out of the ordinary...and I didn't have to cook at all...it was LOTS of fun!! :)
I hope you can figure a way to still have some sort of vacation!! :)
Don't lose hope. God does have plans for you I'm sure - so wait and trust Him. Praying you will know His provision, presence and peace.
Our summer holidays continue to change - juggling 3 work schedules, but we hope to head to Muskoka Bible Conference Center as often as possible. I still need to post those pictures I keep promising...soon!
Have a great weekend - and remember God's amazing faithfulness and provision to you in the past. He is the same yesterday, today and forever and He will give you some special family times. In your game of Life, He's in the driver's seat!
Love & prayers,
Joy
This summer I am hoping to have a referral and preparing for an addition to our family!!!
I agree rent an 11 passenger van or a 15 passenger van to have lots of room!!
Debbie
Kelley, I never would have thought that a vehicle would be a problem - but I guess it is hard to cram 9 people in one car!! :) I agree with everyone else . . . you could probably rent a 12-passenger van for the same price as 2 vehicles! Or better yet - have you ever looked into renting a camper? We had some friends who rented a camper last year to travel on vacation - and it was so nice! They loved it!
Praying that the right vacation comes along - with the right transportation!
Have a great weekend!
We have to drive to Texas for a wedding. I hate the idea of how much money it is going to cost us. THAT will be our family vacation. It is my nephew who is getting married. And it is possible the last family trip we all take toegether. I hope not. I don't get to go with my hubby and my eldest when he takes him out to California. Driving then too to take all his stuff. I remember those family vacations as a kid...and now those gone past with my kiddos as we camped several times each year for many years in a row. Great memories. I hope you find a way to make a trip!
Every year, a dear lady in our church gives a week at her time share. This summer, we're going back to Gatlinburg (a family favorite). In addition, my husband and oldest son will be going on a missions trip for two weeks to Bolivia. During that time, you can find me and my children well-medicated, waiting for their arrival home!
peace~elaine
Yeah, we have had to change our summer plans a few times already! We were going to make a trip west to South Dakota for a wedding and slip on down to Colorado for the fun of it...but we decided not to because of the gas prices. As it looks now, we are probably going to just make a few trips to my moms place, three hours north and possibly an amusement park too!
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