The negotiations went right down to the wire.
We're in California's famous wine country -- shopping for frying pans.
No one cares that the water is cold. The kids splash at the lake's edge, play on the small sand beach as older, daring ones splash in the water and peddle kayaks, rowboats and paddleboats. Our pup eyes them all curiously.
Orla Duffy brought her three daughters to Orlando for a "girls' weekend" but they weren't planning to ride a single roller coaster, or even set foot in a theme park.
We moms all know the dirty little secret of family vacations.
Ready to hobnob with the locals?
In a desert oasis beside a roaring river, a handsome young Chilean man reaches for my hand to help me over the rocks. He smiles. "Gracias," I say.
Think family vacation -- on steroids.
Sorry, Cinderella. Five-year-old Hannah Sitzman has forsaken all things princess to be a Winter Queen, she announces as she makes her way to the huge ice throne in a castle at the top of a ski mountain that took more than 75 tons of snow and two full weeks to build.
Olympic medalist Nelson Carmichael has some tips on how to bump ski.
Talk about being 21st-century pioneers.
I'm standing in a bona fide ghost town in the middle of a forest -- in the snow, 10,600 feet above sea level.
I've never seen such wide open slopes -- no trees, no houses, just field after field of newly fallen snow.
"A moose!" exclaimed my 10-year-old son Matt, "A real moose!"
I love it when resorts really listen to us.
Old Faithful spews thousands of gallons of steaming water right on schedule, but Miguel isn't the least bit interested. He just lumbers by us searching for lunch.
You gotta hate that guy. The guy sitting next to you on the plane, at the pool or the chairlift who can't stop bragging about the fantastic vacation deal he snared that saved his family big bucks.
Mary Blilie had been at Big Sky Resort in Montana for just one day but had already snapped more photos of her kids than she had in a long time.
Mention that you're thinking of taking the kids to Orlando -- especially if you're first timers -- and you'll hear how your mother-in-law's sister's cousin scored discount tickets to Walt Disney World. Your son's first-grade teacher will fill you in on which character breakfasts her sister-in-law's aunt raved about (never mind that you know your preschooler will be terrified of the giant fuzzy creatures.)
The next time the kids give you a hard time on vacation, remind yourself that you really are building memories to last a lifetime.
We made fun of my sister mercilessly -- behind her back, of course.
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