In our family, special trips are a big deal. A special trip is an outing where Daddy takes only one kid along. Sometimes special trips consist of a trip to Panera for a bagel, to the local bowling alley for a game or two, or to a store where said kid buys something with their spending money.
Joshua, Lisey, and Sonia have all been having special trips for a while, but Zoe’s never been on one (special trips usually start around age three).
Actually, I should say that she’d never been on one until this week. The older three all got to have their own outings with my husband earlier in our vacation, and a few days ago, Zoe finally got to have her first special trip.
Where did she go? To the aquarium, of course, to see her beloved fishies.
I wasn’t there, of course, but I sent my camera along. 
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
the cuteness just slays me.
I like the special trips! When my granddaughter was little, since I raised her, and I was really Mom, we would have “spoiling days” once in awhile, when I would take her as Gramma to the toy store and let her pick out a toy…just as a real life grandmother would.
You bring back so many wonderful memories to me reading your blog. Thanks!
Special trips are wonderful. I grew up as one of seven children with a father who worked 70-80 hour weeks most of the time, but every year for each of our birthdays, my father took us out to dinner at the restaurant of our choice, just a special time between each of us and him. Such good memories, and I’m sure your children will have those same wonderful memories.
That is such a cute picture of Zoe!
So, do YOU get special trips occasionally too?
If you scrapbook, you must have a terrible time trying to figure out which pictures to NOT put in, because you take so many fabulous shots!
I’ve enjoyed the photo-journal of your family’s vacation. Thanks for sharing!
Michelle, I certainly do! I actually got two special trips this vacation…my brother and sister-in-law were down last week and watched our kids, and my in-laws are down this week, and they watched our kids just the other night.
I do scrapbook, but I do NOT manage to scrap all the pictures I take. lol I just scrap as I have time and inspiration and I figure whatever I get done is better than nothing.
What a great idea. Out of curiosty, why do the trips start at (as late as) 3?
Someone took some lovely pix with that camera of yours. Maybe you should add photography instruction to your offerings.
William, it’s mostly a potty-training issue! Before our kids are potty-trained, they’re not so interested in a special trip. And it takes a little while post-potty-training for me to feel comfortable sending them out and about very much. lol
Joshua was potty-trained a lot earlier than Zoe, so his special trips started earlier. And Zoe’s been comfortable potty-trained for a while, but for some reason, we just hadn’t gotten around to a special trip for her yet. My husband’s time for special trips is spread a little more thinly now than it was when Joshua was Zoe’s age.
The pictures were all taken by my husband. I got the camera all set up for him, and I think he took some nice pictures, esp. considering he hasn’t had nearly the practice with my lens that I have. He’s usually better at non-people pictures than I am, so aquarium photos are perfect for him.
I love how her flip-flops match her T-shirt.
You sure trained her to poss!
My son (8) and husband have “guy time” where they go off on adventures once or twice a month. Just today, they went to a kids’ concert, sushi lunch, and the science center. I got to do a ton of kid-free errands and actually read a book for 1.5 hours straight. That was heavenly. And the guys had a blast. It’s so important for kids to spend time alone with the parent they usually don’t see as much. Since we homeschool, sometimes I feel sorry for my kid being stuck with his crazy old mom so much!