Monthly Musings: Summer Vacation Guide.

Today is the last Thursday of the month, which means Monthly Musings! I love the theme for the month of June, summer vacation guide. I’m excited to join in with Patty and Holly!

1 – Share your summer trips for 2025.
June – Louisville, Kentucky for a softball tournament.
July – Santa Claus, Indiana for a softball tournament.
August – Anna Maria Island, Florida for a vacation.

2 – How do you manage the post-vacation laundry?
I do the laundry right away! I don’t like clothes to sit in a suitcase for days, I want to get the smell off right away. I’ll do the laundry the next few days until it gets done.

3 – Most memorable summer vacation?
St. John’s Virgin Islands with my parents and brother. It was a big wedding anniversary year for my parents, and they decided to go to SVI! It was beautiful! On the last day, we took a mini yacht over to the British Virgin Islands and snorkeled. You could see so far down in the water, it was so clear. We also went to the Soggy Dollar, which you can only get to by boat! I remember my parents holding their wallets and personal belongings above water, in a ziploc bag, and we swam to the place. It was a fun small island, and I think it is still there. They are known for their rum!

4 – Do you cook or eat out on vacation?
When we have the kids, we do a little bit of both cooking and eating out. It all depends on the day, if the kids are in good moods we’ll go out to eat, if they are tired, or if us the parents are tired, we’ll just cook in. A lot of times, Kevin will grill out steak or chicken at the grill onsite, Hadley swims in the pool, and I stay up at the condo with Huxley. When Kevin and I go somewhere without kids, we’ll eat out a little more since it’s just us two. I don’t mind doing both, it’s nice to eat in and just relax while listening to the ocean waves on the deck. And it’s also nice to eat out at new places!

5 – Are you an overpacker, underpacker, or just right packer?
Overpacker all the way! I like to be over prepared than underprepared. Especially when you have kids! I know you can always go buy whatever you might need at the store, but nine times out of ten the stores on vacation are so much more expensive than the stores at home.

6 – Beach, lake, or mountains?
Beach. 1000% beach. The beach is my absolute favorite. Even when it’s disgustingly hot out, theirs’s just something about the sounds of the ocean waves, and the smell of the saltwater air. My second favorite is the lake. I love the lake! Jumping in the water, not knowing what’s under there haha and going boating. The mountains are my least favorite. Mountains are pretty and all, just not my thing.

7 – Road trip, or fly?
I am torn on this one. If we are going somewhere that’s 10ish hours or so, I’d rather drive so I can have all my crap and overpack hah! But if we are going somewhere that’s like a 16-hour drive, then I’d much rather fly. It’s all about the price and length of time we’ll be spending.

8 – Favorite vacation activities?
So many to pick from, but I will have to say I love sitting on the deck at night after dinner, overlooking the ocean, and just sitting out there talking with my husband and kids, listening to the ocean. My favorite sound!

9 – Best packing tips?
Packing cubes! They are my favorite way to pack. I’ll pack workout clothes in one cube, undies/bras/socks in one cube, t-shirts in one cube, things like that! And for kids, since their clothes are so much smaller it’s easier to pack their things in cubes too because they don’t need as many as I do.

10 – Favorite road trip songs?
Lindsey Buckingham – Holiday Road
Dirty Heads – Vacation
Jimmy Buffet – any song
Rascal Flatts – Life Is A Highway

If you’d like to join in each month, grab the graphic below! Monthly Musings is the last Thursday of each month, except November and December.

Previous Monthly Musings Posts:
Winter Self-Care
How We Show Love