Favorite Vacation Spots

Today I'm linking up with Kelly's Korner for favorite family vacation spots.  I think I've mention this on here before, but growing up I can't remember a summer that we didn't take some sort of family vacation.  Sometimes it was far off and extravagant such a Disney World.  Other times is was an hour away to Six Flags and a Ranger game (I'm pretty sure my parents were the inventors of the now ever so popular "staycation").  I know it's cliche, but for us it wasn't just about the destination, but the trip as a whole.  My brother and I both looked forward to the overall experience.  McDonalds for breakfast, "Wild America" on the TV that Dad propped up in the back corner of the minivan and plugged into the cigarette lighter, and the search for the perfect hotel.  Keep in mind this was before the internet.  We had a few bad experiences with booking a hotel that sounded great, but was actually "the Roach" as my Dad would say.  My Dad then made the decision to wait until we arrived at our destination to book the hotel.  This not only allowed us to see the hotel first, but it was also great for that wonderful Cummings spontaneous gene.  Yes, the one that causes you to drive through the night to a whole different state than the one you intended on visiting.  Not that that ever happened or anything.  Don't worry usually after about the 20th hotel that we stopped at we found one that had vacancy.  (Just kidding Dad, you know I loved our adventures ;)).  Anyway, back to the point.  I am so thankful that no matter what was going on in our lives family vacation was made a priority.  I have so many wonderful and priceless memories from them.

Over the years we have visited A LOT of wonderful places, but there are a few that we found to be wonderful for the family without completely breaking the bank.  Our number one place right now is Buena Vista Colorado.  My Grandparents have a "summer" house there so we have the privilege of staying with them.  This is where we went on our first family vacation with Kadynce and we can't wait to take Lydia this summer.

Summer of 2011 we drove up to Estes Park and camped for a few days.  It is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

This was last year in Cripple Creek.  I just love the history of that little old town.

The Summer of 2010 we went to Branson, Missouri.  This is one of my all time favorite vacation spots.  it's just great for any age.  Kadynce wasn't even a year old and we were able to lots of fun things to do.  We went to Silver Dollar City, Noah the Musical, and the Dixie Stampede.  She loved the Dixie Stampede and I'll always remember that she had her first real bite of chicken there.  Haha oh the things that stand out in a mommy's mind.   

Another place my family has always loved to visit is San Antonio.  This is a picture from when we took Kadynce to Sea World in May of 2011.  When we go we love to visit the River Walk and the Alamo as well.  I have also heard that they have a great Children's Museum and Zoo.  Those places are on our list for future visits.  It's so nice to only be about an hour and a half from there now.  

This is a big year for us as we have quite a bit of traveling planned.  My "baby" brother is getting married in Lubbock in July.  From there we are headed to Colorado for 2 weeks.  The first will be spent at my grandparents and the second will be at a family camp with our church.  I'm pretty sure Jonathan is counting down the days to this.  Two solid weeks in the mountains is pretty much his definition of heaven.  Then at the beginning of December we are loading up with my family and heading to Orlando.  That's right, we are sooooo excited to be taking a trip to Disney World.  I honestly don't know who is more giddy, me or Kadynce haha.