This past weekend was our first attempt at a family vacation with our newborn. We loaded up the car with the kids, dogs, luggage, and plenty of snacks for the long car ride. We decided to rent a house near a beach to just be with each other as a family. That turned south really quickly the first day.

I think the long drive and the new environment caused everyone to be overtired and grumpy. We also ate at a restaurant for dinner and it took more than an hour to get our food, which by that time, the kids were melting down. We did not plan to be sitting at a restaurant that long and it still boggles my mind how the food took so long. We ended up taking it to go and trying to rally at home for bedtime. Luckily, the rest of the trip went better.

We ended up learning from the mistakes of the first day and just made sure to bring the kids a tablet to watch something on if we went out to eat. I hate doing that usually, but being out and about the whole day playing or at the beach required something to make sure a meal out goes smoothly. It ended up being a decent enough experience and I’m sure everyone will look back with rose colored glasses at the fun times of the trip. I am grateful to spend the time building sandcastles, digging moats and rivers, playing soccer, picking fruits, and playing at the playground. Those are hopefully the good memories my kids will hold on to

Also, I think as a parent that is completely outnumbered by the kids and dog, it’s best to be flexible when required. Bending the rules for tablets during mealtime is a good flex in the rules because nobody wants to see a tantrum with their meal. Also, just getting through the vacation itself was a win for my wife and I. We did it. I don’t think we will do that again for a while though and a vacation from that vacation is much needed!