We took our whole family on vacation last October during DGD fall break. Had a blast. I read these wondeful books about a family tradition of family vacations, especially going to the same place such as the beach. Going to the beach really pulls my heart stings. But i have these two little men that sit on each shoulder. One says 'Joyce, you know you can't keep on paying for your kids trips, meals, everything. How can they grow up and take responsibility?" The other little man is saying "Joyce, you know how much fun it will be and you will be making memories. There are ways that your kids can pull their share of the weight, such as doing all the cooking. You know you want to see your grand daughters have fun at the beach". To do it financially we would only take about 3 days. But i want to rent a each house, not a condo. I want to be right on the beach, not somewhere that you have to get everyone in two cars and drive to go. I want to be able to sit on the deck and watch the sunset. I want to smell the water and listen to the waves. But when I look at 5 bedroom homes, I just can't see letting myself do it. I know my DH would do it in a heart beat. He will do anything to spend money on his girls. It makes up for what he didn't do when they were kids. I also have one daughter that sees things like this as gifts to be accepted graciously, with excitement. The other one says Mom, you know I'm trying to teach my husband that we have to be able to live on our budget alone.

So this is my dilema. And this vacation, if I should choose to accept it has to be within a days drive from Lexington, Ky to keep from getting a hotel room on the way to and from.