We need a date night!...on vacation!!

We need a date night...on vacation.

Recently we took a delightful vacation with my parents and our kids.  We had a ball swimming at the hotel pool, going out to eat, visiting a castle (yes, a castle in Ohio!), and riding rides at Kings Island amusement park.

Honestly, it was a wonderful trip, but Beth and I kept running into a problem: we missed each other.  But we're on vacation!  How could that be? 

As amazing as family time is with the kids when you're away from home, it's also fraught with lots of challenges: making decisions about how to spend your time, putting out fires between siblings, going to bed late, little ones who sneak into your bed in the middle of the night, and so on. 

The question is: how do you stay connected as a couple in the midst of all of that?  I can't say we succeeded in our case.  Instead, it was a situation to learn from.  Here's a few of my ideas:

• make a point to get to bed a little earlier so we can have time to talk or do something fun together.
• if grandparents are along, ask them to hang with the kids, even for just a short while, so we can go for a walk or out to eat.
• get some quality "shower" time together (if making it in the bed ain't gonna happen with the kids in the next room)
• get up a little earlier to get some time together
• institute a daily rest time for the whole family for napping, reading, or quiet playing so the two of you can get a little reprieve.  

We've got one more vacation coming this summer so we'll see if we can take our own advice!