Some of Our Favorite National Park Adventures – And How Your Family Can Experience Them Too!

Seldom A Dull Moment believes in Dreaming, Designing, and Departing on that next great adventure. Traveling as a family has given us some of our best memories, and exploring National Parks has been a highlight of our adventures. For the past 16 years, we’ve had the opportunities to experience some of the most breathtaking landscapes in the country. From mountains to canyons, these parks have given us some of our best memories Here are some of our favorite National Parks so far—along with tips to help your own family plan an epic outdoor adventure!

Departing – The Final Countdown to Your Family Vacation

Welcome back to Seldom A Dull Moment! If you’ve made it this far, congratulations—you’ve navigated the planning phase and are on the brink of departure! At this point, you might be feeling a mix of excitement and stress, wondering, “Did I remember everything?” or “How do I keep my kids engaged from takeoff to touchdown?”

In Part 1, we explored the joy of dreaming together as a family. In Part 2, we tackled the planning process to create a trip that excites everyone. Now, in Part 3, it’s time for the real adventure to begin. Let’s talk about departure day—how to keep things smooth, stress-free, and fun for the whole family from the moment you walk out the door!

Interested in reading the first 3 posts in this series? Click the links below.

• Intro Post...Dream, Design, Depart: How to Plan a Family Vacation That Everyone Will Love

• Part 1...Dreaming About Your Family Vacation: Getting Everyone Involved

• Part 2...Designing Your Dream Vacation, WITH Your Kids Help

Getting Ready to Depart! Let's Go!

As departure day approaches, the excitement for your family vacation reaches its peak. The lead-up to departing is just as significant as the dreaming and designing stages. This phase presents an invaluable opportunity for the whole family to connect on a deeper level before embarking on the adventure of a lifetime.

Designing Your Dream Vacation WITH your kids help!

 

Designing Your Dream Vacation: Part 2 – Turning Dreams into a Plan

Welcome back to Seldom A Dull Moment! If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably feeling the weight of vacation planning—especially when you’re trying to balance your big kids' disinterest with your desire for a meaningful getaway. If you’re thinking, “How do I get my kids excited about this trip?” or “I’m about to pull my hair out,” don’t worry, you’re not alone.

In the first post of this series, we talked about the importance of dreaming together as a family. But now, it’s time to get to work and design the vacation of your dreams—without the stress, frustration, or feeling like you’re dragging your kids along for the ride.

• Interested in reading the first 2 posts in this series? Click the links below.
• Intro Post...Dream, Design, Depart: How to Plan a Family Vacation That Everyone Will Love
• Part 1...Dreaming About Your Family Vacation: Getting Everyone Involved

Planning a family vacation when your kids are older can feel impossible. “The kids get bored!” “It’s hard to plan a vacation where EVERYONE has fun!” “I give up! No more family vacations!” We've all been there. But the secret to making this work is getting everyone involved—yes, even the teenagers who’d rather be glued to their phones—and designing an itinerary that’s got a little something for everyone. Here’s how to do it without losing your sanity.

Dreaming About Your Family Vacation: Getting Everyone Involved

            

                     

“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.” — John Lennon

Planning a family vacation can feel like a daunting task, especially when you’re trying to balance the needs and desires of your big kids with your own. But what if the key to a successful vacation lies not in the details, but in the dreaming? In my book DREAM, DESIGN, DEPART: A Guide to Creating the Perfect Family Vacation, the first step to any family vacation is dreaming about it together. Dreaming allows your family to come together, share visions of what the trip could be, and set the foundation for a vacation that everyone will be excited about.

Get your copy today!

In this approach, the journey begins with dreaming. Before booking flights, choosing hotels, or planning out activities, take time to think about what your family wants from this experience. Once you’ve dreamed together, the next step is designing the perfect itinerary that meets everyone’s needs. Finally, when the plans are set, you’re ready to depart and enjoy the trip you’ve created together.

Today, let’s focus on dreaming—how to get your whole family involved in envisioning the vacation, especially your big kids, and set the tone for a memorable trip.

Dream, Design, Depart: How to Plan a Family Vacation That Everyone Will Love

Hello parents!

If you're anything like me, the idea of planning a family vacation can quickly turn into a stress-fest.

Between juggling everyone’s schedules, figuring out where to go, and making sure every family member’s interests are taken into account, the whole process can feel overwhelming. But what if I told you there’s a way to make planning easier—and more enjoyable for the whole family? 

That’s where my "Dream, Design, Depart" method comes in. It’s a simple approach that will help get everyone involved in the process and create a vacation that’s fun, relaxing, and memorable for everyone.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

Big Cities, the Beach, Birthdays and a Book! Summer 2024

 The calendar says it's still summer and upon reflecting on the past few months, I've come to the conclusion that my first year of retirement has landed me exactly where I want to be! AND I am so excited to see where the next years take me. 

Let's explore the summer of 2024 and how we've embraced Seldom A Dull Moment with BIG CITIES, THE BEACH, BIRTHDAYS, and a BOOK!

Let's Go to Vegas and Los Angeles! An Epic Mother/Daughter Trip...

 

Our 2024 EMDT (Epic Mother/Daughter Trip)  is about to commence! 

Our last mother/daughter trip was in 2019 when the three of us tackled Disney World for 4 days. We've all changed a lot since that trip, and a lot has stayed the same. I've realized that traveling with my big kids is so much fun. It's a whole different adventure from traveling with toddlers...school age kids...tweens and teens. For one, everyone will be 21+ on this adventure! That puts a whole new spin on what we might do, and the three of us have come together many times prior to departure to plan/design this vacation with all of our interests and vacation styles in mind. Through lots of active listening and flexibility, I truly feel that this trip is going to be epic! 

Below are some pictures from our previous mother/daughter trips! Lots of memories created and lots more memories to be made in the very near future!

2019 Disney

NYC trip with Rina to see Frozen on Broadway

Disney, 2019

Our 2024 EMDT (Epic Mother/Daughter Trip) is to celebrate Katie's college graduation. As a member of the high school class of 2020, she did not get a 2020 graduation trip, and there was a lot of heartache as we canceled 10 days in Paris for June, 2020. A  promise was made that in 4 years, her college graduation trip would be epic!

Europe was put on the back burner, and discussions were had about other big cities that she'd like to explore within the United States. 

Can you tell from our Bingo Card where we are heading?

Yep, we settled on Las Vegas and Los Angeles, with a little bit of Disney thrown in. :) 

The DREAMING phase of our vacation planning began over a year ago. What did we want to do? Where did we want to go? What do we want to get out of this vacation? Beyond a grad trip, why are we going on this vacation? How do we want to feel when we return?

These early conversations involved all 4 of us, we've always traveled as a family unit for our big vacations. Knowing that flexibility, compromise and active listening would be key to a successful vacation with our big kids, we came to the mutual conclusion that Don would not appreciate this vacation as much as Katie and I would. Carleigh loves traveling and seeing new places, so she was in from the beginning (even though her vacation preference is outdoors and nature). A family decision was made that Don would enjoy this vacation from a distance (through texts and pictures), so the vacation planning began for our 2024 EMDT!

We moved into the DESIGNING phase of the trip planning, and started talking about what we wanted to do...California Disney was at the top of the list, as was a "dress up" evening in Vegas. We threw around a lot of ideas and settled on Vegas (3 nights), Disneyland (2 nights) and Los Angeles/Universal Studios (4 nights). We had the destinations, the length of the trip and the amount of time in each location. 

Now to move onto itinerary building and getting more specific with hotels/reservations/transportation and all the FUN stuff!

Three adult women, three strong opinions and three sets of ideas...can we make this happen, where everyone gets what they want? It took about 6 months of conversations and I think we are there! I became the "chief vacation planner," and started booking flights and hotels. Prior to any booking, I reached out to my college daughter and my school-teacher daughter for opinions and feedback. Both were not local, so lots of quick calls and facetime conversations. 

We continued to talk about what we each wanted through those months of planning, and plans were coming into focus. Our matching Disney shirts were ordered (and have a TYPO...stay tuned for that reveal)! Our VIP Universal Studios tour was booked. Our fancy Vegas night was designed! There were also times of compromise and asking why during our conversations. 

Did we really need to buy tickets for The Sphere Experience in Vegas? The conclusion was yes, after understanding why it was important to one of us. 

Did we really need to do a 2 1/2 hour private tour of The Walt Disney Studios in Burbank? I could have just said yes (my bucket list item) and through conversation, I helped the girls understand why this was important to me. 

Why should we spend time finding Indy bookstores and cafes while on this vacation? Because it was important and offered the "down time" that would help with the rest of the vacation.

These realizations and compromises came through the ongoing conversations we had during the designing phase of this trip. It wasn't KATIE'S GRAD TRIP or MOM'S TRIP (because I was paying for it). The vacation belongs to all three of us and we all have ownership of parts of it, while understanding and recognizing the importance of the other parts. We are celebrating Katie's graduation, and all 3 of us are equal travelers on this vacation!

So, now we are entering the DEPARTING phase of the trip. What are we packing? What's our countdown? What time are we leaving? How are we getting to the airport? 

We will all be together the night before departure and I can already hear the laughter and excitement as we anticipate our adventures. AND I know Don will appreciate the vacation from a distance. As he has stated numerous times during the last year...he will gladly miss the 3 P's, PEOPLE, PAVEMENT, and PRETEND!  Though I wish it was a 4 person Rahn family vacation, I know that our EMDT will create family memories that will last forever!

I will be live blogging when possible, and if you want to follow along on our adventures, you can find me on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok (yep, I did it!)

 Stay Tuned for our 

Seldom A Dull Moment adventures 

as we depart on our 

EPIC MOTHER/DAUGHTER TRIP 

to 

Las Vegas and Los Angeles!