Happy happy Wednesday, friends!
Today, I have a WELLNESS WEDNESDAY all about “EXERCISE SNACKS” + it’s time for this month’s LET’S LOOK!
If you don’t know what this is, once a month, Erika and I do a little link up where we “look” at different aspects of our lives (and then if you blog, you share and link up too!). We have been doing this little linky party for years now, and it’s always one of my favorite posts each month because most of the topics are YOUR suggestions!
Alrighty, just as a reminder, here’s what we “looked at” in 2026 (all your suggestions!)…
In January, we looked at THINGS WE OUTSOURCE WITHOUT REGRET.
In February, we looked at WAYS WE’VE TURNED INTO OUR PARENTS.
This month, I am sharing a look at FAVORITE FAMILY VACATIONS 🙂 .
You know me, I never mind chattin’ about traveling.
Since today’s prompt was “favorite family vacations”, I was curious about what each of my family members would say.
I asked them one at a time and without others around to influence their answers.
What surprised me the most was, that other than one exception, no one repeated a vacation. I was also surprised by how quickly they answered. No one had to think about this for longer than 10 seconds. I was also really surprised how far back some of these trips were.
Here you go…
Well, we were the “one exception”. Ha! Andrew and I both picked the same vacation as our very favorite to date. We both picked our recent trip to GERMANY & POLAND as our fave.
We have always loved traveling with our kiddos, but there was something extra, extra special about this trip. It was Christmas-y, it was snowy, the food was amazing, the history was rich…our kids are older now, so they were just FUN to be around. We laughed so much, we played a lot of cards at night. It was just sweet and special, and Andrew and I both loved every minute of it.
I would like to point out that this wasn’t our original vacation. We had already booked and paid for a ski vacation but when Andrew hurt his shoulder/bicep in October, we had to cancel and rebook in early November. Looking back, I can’t imagine doing any other trip. This was the trip our family needed at this time. Sometimes, we make all of these plans, but “Plan B” ends up being the very best plan.
I hope to travel many, many more times with these five people…but the bar has been set really high moving forward. We loved this one!
After school on Monday, I asked Kensington which trip was her favorite, and her answer really surprised me.
She said…
…it was when we went to PARIS (AND SWITZERLAND) when she was six years old 🙂 .
Listen, that kid is 17 years old, and she has been on a lot of trips since she was six, so this one really surprised me. She answered so quickly when I asked her though and explained that it was the first trip she remembers really, really being excited about before we left home. I think the quote was “It was Paris, Mom. How could that not be my favorite?”. Ha!
She said she loved her Grace doll (the American Girl doll who was from Paris) and couldn’t wait to go. This is where she fell in love with macarons (which she has been trying to bake and perfect ever since). This trip is also where she saw the little white dog and started asking for one herself from that day forward (which would continue for the next three years until we finally gave in and got her Frenchie 🙂 ).
Kensington still has the little Eiffel Tower painting in her room that we bought her on this trip.
I can’t argue with her. Paris is always a good answer when someone asks you about your favorite travels.
Mades wasn’t around to see Paris that year, but she did make it to Smith’s favorite vacation.
I asked him on Saturday morning, and my boy said…
…OUR MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE.
This cruise took us from Barcelona to Rome and so many places in between…
…when I asked him to explain, he said something to the effect of, “I liked our ship, I liked all the cool places we stopped, I thought it was fun”.
I couldn’t agree more 🙂 .
When I asked Ashby on the way home from school last week, her answer surprised me too…
…she said it was when we visited LONDON AND THE COTSWOLD’S OVER FALL BREAK!
I loved that trip too, but I was surprised she liked it better than some of our other ones. Ashby said she loved the food, our fun tours, and the hotel.
She told me that on that trip, she realized she wants to live in London when she grows up. She decided that was her favorite city in the world.
I told her that if she lives there, her dad and I will visit her all the time.
Does she get bonus points as a expat because her middle name is London? 😉
And last but not least…
…Madeley’s favorite vacation was our SPRING BREAK CARIBBEAN CRUISE!
This was the only answer that didn’t surprise me one bit.
She talks about this vacation often.
What’s not to love?
Warm weather, beach days, epic cruise ship, all you can eat food…hello? That sounds like a wonderful vacation!
And those are our favorite family vacations. Four European trips with a dash of cruise.
Okay, as a travel professional, I feel the need to point out that as much as my family loves a great “kid destination”, none of my kids picked any of their many, many “kid specific” vacations. I often get clients who worry that they’re taking their kids on a trip that isn’t filled with “kid things”. I am a firm, firm, firm believer that kids love to travel and that families can have wonderful vacations no matter the destination. It’s about the togetherness, the food, the adventure of it…don’t be scared of taking your kiddos outside of the “norm”.
And, of course, my travel agency would LOVE to help you plan your next vacation too! Reach out to us for more info!
I want to know what has been YOUR favorite vacation. Please comment and share!
Next time on Let’s Look, we are going to look at…
…our HARDEST THINGS WE’VE EVER DONE. Hmmmmmm…well, we’ll see what happens in that post. I’m making my list now 🙂 .
Don’t forget, if you blogged along with us today, please make sure you link up below.
Also, don’t forget, I’m sharing “EXERCISE SNACKS” today as well. Pop over there and check out that post too.
Have the best, best day, friends! xx
Sara Alexander says
So many fun trips to reminisce about. My kiddos and I have been studying the revolutionary war and the foundations of the US in school this year so we just booked a trip to Philadelphia, Williamsburg, VA, and D.C for June.
This post got me thinking about your epic D.C. trip, so I looked it up and was SHOCKED it was all the way back in 2017 (seriously, how does time go so fast?). Um, can we have Kerri’s number?! 🤪 And I think I will let me kids have ice cream before dinner like y’all did too! Love your blog and your family. ❤️
Mix and Match Mama says
You guys are going to have the BEST time! I always remember exactly when that trip was because it was the week after Manda’s funeral. It was such a sweet, sweet time with my family. And guess what? That young Kerri who read my blog and reached out and who accidentally got us into the Oval Office…well she grew up into the big media personality Kerri Kupec.
Elspeth Mizner says
What a diverse list of trips! Thanks for sharing with us!!
http://www.elspethsdaybyday.com
Susan Jeffries says
Your travel agency is helping us plan our trip to Germany and Austria this summer! We get to take our daughter with us which is wonderful, as she lives in a different state now. So a week together on our bucket list trip is a magical blessing !
Mix and Match Mama says
We are SO BLESSED to send you! I hope you all decide it’s YOUR favorite family vacation!
Kristen says
We travel a ton as family, My favorite was the Turtle Bay Resort in Oahu (I think it’s the ritz now) it’s hands down my favorite hotel on earth… close second and my husband fav was our trip to Positano Italy. ..and my teen daughter who has done numerous cruises, europe , islands , etc still picks Disney as her #1!
Mix and Match Mama says
She’s a girl after my own heart 🙂
Sheaffer says
So many amazing memories with the fam!
Paula Hobbs says
What a sweet trip down memory lane!! I love everything about this post. I love how each kiddo has special feelings about their favorites!!
Beth Valenta says
My favorite is an annual trip to NYC. It really gets better each time my daughter and I go. We add more meaningful scenery and just experice it. We always go to a Boston/Yankee game, a musical, Central Park, the Plaza…it is just always something going on.
Mix and Match Mama says
I love that this is a tradition with your daughter!!
Katie Hahn says
This post was FUN!
Ginger Butz says
I love that all the kids had a different favorite! I have 3 kiddos – much older- and they always have a different favorite too. How lucky are all of our children that we can go on vacations and they have the possibility to choose a favorite!
Mandy says
How to fun to put who’s vacation was the favorite! Beautiful pictures!
Angie says
Such a fun post! My kids are at school but I think if I asked them my 17 year old son would say Yellowstone and Grand Teton National park and my daughters would say Costa Rica and our 3 week central European trip. My son loves adventure, national parks, the wild west and my teenage, twin girls love all things tropical and beautiful cities. I personally can’t pick a favorite, I have loved every single trip/vacation we’ve done as a family. We’ve done everything from US national parks, US major cities to European adventures and relaxing beach vacations.
Erika Slaughter says
I can totally imagine Ashby living in London!! It fits her so well!
Susy says
Love your hair in the Paris photo!
It’s a beautifully springy and fresh!
sandi says
With four kids between the ages of 17-23 you realize how important ANY vacation was. Those trips when the kids were little were hard… the naps, tired legs, adults that want to maximize time somewhere and kids that are over the location. Traveling with young adults is bittersweet as our trips all together are more difficult to plan. They have a work schedule and not a lot of vacation time, we have a soon to be son-in-law and another family to consider so any time together is wonderful.
Our son’s favorite trip is the Mediterranean cruise (planned by you guys) after his college graduation. Our youngest daughter enjoyed her year away from school when the older three were all in college and we traveled the country with her in an RV. Our middle two girls like beach vacations and relaxing trips where they can do a little reading and eat good food. My husband likes the active trips with hiking, and cards or games in the evening when everyone is tired. I have enjoyed most of our vacations (National Parks, DC, lots of States visited, and a few cruises) but my most memorable was the Mediterranean cruise because of the amount of family time and the fact that it was probably our last immediate family only trip.
Mix and Match Mama says
We were SO excited to send your family to the Mediterranean, Sandi! xx
Patty Anderson says
I think I’d have to say my favorite vacation was last March when y’all planned our trip to London. We spent a few wonderful days there. I’d never been, and I quickly fell in love with the city. Amazing! Then we hopped onto the transatlantic voyage of the NCL Aqua (my favorite NCL ship by far) and sailed to NYC. It was supposed to sail into Boston, but due to a storm they needed to avoid we got three extra days onboard. Since we’d splurged on the Haven, it was awesome to be delayed! Brooke did such a great job of taking care of details so we didn’t have to do it ourselves.
Mix and Match Mama says
We were so so so happy to help you, Patty!!
Carla Holt says
Our Hawaii cruise and Italy trip both planned by your agency! We are working on a British Isles cruise with Brooke that we are so excited about😀
Mix and Match Mama says
YAY!! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for allowing us to be a part of your travels! xx
Robin says
Can you do a post on favorite couples vacations with just you and Andrew? My husband and I are just starting to travel without our kids and we need ideas, lol!
Mix and Match Mama says
YES! Great idea! Writing that down, Robin!
Tamara R says
Well this might be one of my favorite posts you have done!! Yes yes to vacations with kids and making amazing memories all over the world! I loved hearing about the vacations you each picked. Our cancelled trip (the med cruise) turned out to be the best trip that never happened as I ended up spending my big birthday in my favorite city, Paris. Also, Kensington, did WE just become best friends? 🤣🤣 (Je t’aime, Paris!).
Mix and Match Mama says
You have become besties with both Kensington AND Andrew over the last week. I’m starting to feel left out. 😉
Tamara says
Pahaha, well you are my original bestie! 😉
Andrea says
Our son had the same realization on a trip to England. He wound up attending the Royal Veterinary College in London after undergrad in the States, and is living his best life as a veterinarian there. We miss him but are not sad about getting to travel there so much!