Monday, October 19, 2015

Miami Beach Family Girls Trip Recap

Happy Monday, everyone!  I'm back from a 5-day fun weekend away and am feeling refreshed and ready to attack the week ahead - which happens to be another short one as I head to Boston with Phil on Thursday!  I feel guilty about taking two trips two weeks in a row but my boss has assured me that it is fine. Plus, I am very fortunate as I get 6 weeks of paid time off/year (which includes sick time, vacation time and personal days) at my new job so I definitely have plenty of vacation time to use! Plus, I am not taking any time off around the holidays so that my co-workers with children can take time off.

Anyways, back to the trip at hand!  A couple of years ago the girls in my family got to talking about the fact that the guys go on hunting and fishing trips every year, but the girls never get away.  We decided to change that and went on our first girls trip in 2013 to Myrtle Beach. We loved going to a beach destination so this year we decided to go to Miami Beach as the timeshare my parents belong to has a property there.  I had been to Miami before but it was for work so I did not see much besides the downtown area so it was great to go back and see the sights!

I kind failed on the picture-taking front - I guess I was having too much fun to think about taking photos, but I did snap some shots throughout the weekend which I will share below.  When we go on these girls trips, we try not to over-plan our time as the whole point of getting away is to relax - especially for my sisters and sisters-in-law as they have kids at home and also work outside of the home so relaxation is key!  We shopped, ate delicious food, took a tour of Miami/Miami Beach, went on a boat tour and some some of the extravagant homes of famous people such as P. Diddy, and soaked up some vitamin D on the beach!  Most importantly, we bonded and enjoyed spending 4 days together in a fun location.  I'll let the pictures do the talking for the rest of the post!

My sister Abby and I before our run along the beach on Thursday!

There's nothing like running with the sand and surf by your side!

It lightly rained during the run so I got to see a rainbow!

Lunch at an awesome Cuban place on Thursday.  I love these women so much!

My sister-in-law Julie and I. I am blessed with two awesome sisters-in-law!!

It was fun to explore the area, but laying on the beach and reading was my favorite part!

I am so glad that we have established a tradition of getting away together every 2 years.  A couple of people said that they thought it was interesting that my sisters-in-law come along as they couldn't imagine traveling with their in-laws family. But I am as close to my sisters-in-law as I am to my sisters and we all just get along so well.  I can't wait to see where our future trips take us!  We all value our time together so I just know this is a tradition that we will keep alive for many years!

Do you still travel with your extended family?  Did you travel a lot as a family when you were younger?  My family did not travel much when I was younger since there were so many of us and instead we would spend time at the lake, which we all loved.

17 comments:

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

It looks like it was another good weekend with the girls! Its cool that you guys all get along so well that you are willing to travel together, especially the sister in laws and your mom! That is often the relationship where it's a little weird. My mom actually gets along great with my dad's mother and they travel together as well!

I do a lot of traveling with my brother and his girlfriend. I get along great with her and we always have a good time. Other than that, I don't have a mother in law or a sister, so that is the only girl really, unless you count my cousins' girlfriends etc. I actually like my cousin's wife better than I like him sometimes!

Charis Faith said...

I love that y'all do this! I think it's so awesome! I adore my SIL! I could absolutely see us doing trips together in the future! I made the effort to get along with my ex's family but honestly I never would have wanted to travel with my former SIL. However I have traveled with baby mama and I'm still friends with her and I have quit explaining that relationship to people and I just keep it simple.

I loved when I got to stay in South Beach and I ran my first half marathon thru Miami. It's a great area down there!

Nora said...

Love that you have this tradition!!! So special.

I'm not close with my in-laws, despite trying, so traveling with extended family may be tough for me. Growing up we did travel quite a bit! At least one family trip a year and I'm so thankful that my parents were able to make it work for us. My parents took me everywhere (well, mostly, obviously they had their getaways) when I was little, and we just kept it going once my brother was in the mix. I have such fond memories of getting in the car in my PJs for a road trip, stopping along the way for breakfast at some place, and then hitting the road until we got where we were going. It's a tradition we are working on with the girls, too: trying to get one family vacation in each summer they are with us.

Carolina John said...

How fun! I've always wanted to get down to Miami. And when it gets cold in MN, that's a perfect time to go. I travel with my in-laws plenty, and we always get along.

Stephany said...

What a fun vacation, and I'm sure visiting a warm place like Miami right before a Minnesota winter was divine! Keep those warm thoughts close when the weather gets frigid. :) I also think it's wonderful that you love to travel with your SILs. I would never in a million years travel with mine (ha), but I do envy the close (and healthy!) relationships you have with yours.

I don't travel with my extended family, only my mom! We didn't travel a lot when I was growing up because we didn't have the money, but I do fondly remember lots of day trips to Disney World! :)

Amber said...

Such a fun tradition you guys have! I think its awesome you have such a big family and everyone is so close with each other. We did a fair amount of in-country/ in-province traveling when I was young. Our first big big trip was to Disneyland when I was 16! I've done most of my traveling as an adult. We are trying to coordinate Christmas in Hawaii for December 2016 so that will be my first BIG trip with extended family!!

Kelly (She Wears a Red Sox Cap) said...

I love reading about your girls trips! They seem really fun :) I'd definitely travel with my mother in law and sisters in law! I basically do anyway when we do the whole family trip so why not haha.

So glad your next trip will be to Boston!

Abby said...

I am SO happy we have this tradition. It is so nice to get this time with you ladies, and I so enjoyed every second of it!

I loved our balance of exploring and relaxing! It was just right!

You should not feel guilty about 2 long weekends in a row. You work hard, and instead of taking big long vacations - you are doing several short ones. That seems to impact the workplace a lot less ;) (at least in my case)

Glad I got to come along. I missed you ladies so much! We are so blessed.

The Many Thoughts of a Reader said...

I do a family trip with my inlaws every year but would not want to do just do a girls trip with them. I'd love to do soemthing like that with my mom and aunts though. ;)

Leigh said...

Love that you do this with your family! Such a great way to make fun memories :) I've never been to Miami, but would never turn down sun and sand :) My mom started taking us away at Christmas to a tropical location instead of doing gifts, which was awesome!

Caroline said...

Looks like such a fun crew!! I love traveling with family, my brother in law (Eric, who you know haha) is the best and has come on family vacations for over 10 years. He fits right in, I see him more as a brother than BIL now anyways. I think sometimes I face that same pressure to find someone who gels with my family so well, which is really hard! I feel like girls can be harder sometimes so that's awesome you guys all get along! Kel and I have always liked my brother's girl friends in the past so hopefully we like whoever he ends up with haha.

Safe travels to Boston Thursday! I might just have to crash your brunch with Kel on Sunday haha :)

Anonymous said...

Your family has all the fun traditions! Hope you and Phil have a great time in Boston!

Marlys said...

I loved our 2nd Annual Girls Getaway as much as the first! The sun & sand really seem to draw us in and I loved that I actually got a bit of a tan before winter sets in! It was really great to bond with all of my "girls" and I'm happy you still want me to be present!
Have a great trip to Boston with Phil!

J and A said...

Looks amazing!! I love that you do this with family!

Jeanie said...

I think that's the best idea -- and it looks like such fun! That rainbow certainly was a lucky moment -- I'm so glad you had your camera -- and a fabulous time!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

I think two trips close together is fantastic! You go girl!! Your boss sounds really nice too. And that's great that your job is so flexible. I don't travel with extended family - but I do love to travel with Christopher :-)

Jamie and Missy said...

What a fantastic tradition!