When you are going on a trip to get away from it all and you have a younger child you need to look at it from their point of view.

Often preschool age children won't remember a lot about the vacation as they get older, and that is okay they live in the moment and we want to make those moments as happy as possible.

A couple years back I took my daughter on a trip to the mountains, we took in a lot of fun things and she had a great time. We even caught a live production of Dora the Explorer which I thought would be the highlight of the trip. Don't get me wrong she loved it and talked about it for quite awhile.

She also enjoyed climbing in the mountains and seeing a waterfall, the chipmunks we saw, the zoo, and the tram we took up the mountain. We also played lots of car games so even the riding in the vehicle part of the trip was pleasant.

She loves to look at pictures from our vacation and talk about all the fun, but she said we don't have pictures of the "funnest" parts of the trip. I took a look at all the pictures and thought what didn't we get pictures of, I couldn't remember anything special we had done that I didn't have documented on film.

When I asked her what the best part was she said swimming in the pool with me, and staying in the hotel room watching television and reading books.

That got me thinking, we go swim frequently, we watch T.V., and we read a lot of books all the time, so what was so special about doing it on vacation.

I think it was several days of undivided attention, there were no phones or computers or meetings or chores to interrupt our fun. We just got to spend a ton of time together without anyone competing for my attention.

Don't get me wrong, we still take in the fun sightseeing attractions when we are on a trip but I make sure we take time to spend a day or afternoon at the pool as well. Never do we try to pack so much fun in that it isn't fun.

We also try to plan an overnight trip or two to a fairly close town that has a pool. We just go and relax, swim and spend time together. This is especially fun in the winter when we go to a hotel with an indoor pool.

So remember when planning your next getaway, it doesn't have to be fancy or expensive to create lifelong memories your child will appreciate as they grow up.