Child Led Vacation

I recently just got back from taking the kids on vacation to my parents acreage in the Okanagan. What a great trip we had! I decided to just let the kids lead the vacation, after all, kids seem to be good at having fun. So I surrendered completely and resisted my natural inclinations to plan. I seemed to be on to something as we went on to have the best time ever! We truly let the day take us where it willed, allowing us to relax, laugh, enjoy, wonder, share, frolic, savour and connect. The days effortlessly passed by with alien shaped inspired pancakes, water gun fights, trips into town, campfires, storytelling, catching grasshoppers, watching ground squirells chase and play with one another, roasting veggie dogs and marshmallows, building sandcastles, observing and appreciating a lot of different bugs, sipping Slurpee's, licking ice cream cones, feeding horses, going for walks and hikes, watching sunsets, and enjoying the river. Oh, the river! The most fun was had at the river. Every afternoon after lunch, when the temperature seemed to instantly rise another 10 degrees, we all would walk down to the river to cool off. The kids snorkeled, swam, caught fish, found agates, looked for gold, dug in the sand and helped make a small pool for the girls to swim in out of a washed up tree and rocks stacked on top on one another forming a wall. The river was gorgeous. Let me try to help you establish a picture of the river in your minds eye. Hemlocks, pine, fir, cedars and boulders line the side of the river that we are on. Across the river is a steep rock mountain face, sporadically decorated with trees, reaching up to the clouds. We hung out on a small river made sandy beach surrounded by boulders, big and small. Sunlight sparkles in the ripples and dances on the waves. The motion of the water, not too swift yet not calm and still, is a play of shimmering diamonds, reflecting the rivers vitality and essence. Ahh, what a wonderful time we all had.....I swear to you that child led vacations are the only way to go!