Family

Family vacations are definitely a luxury, but those lifelong memories are worth it. When I vacation with my daughter, it's just the two of us, but I decided to price some trips out based on a family of four (two adults, two kids) for the destinations below. The prices vary greatly based on the activities you do, but every trip below is possible for under $5,000.

It was nice to get some sleep and hangout at home while we were on vacation. I got to spend some time with my family and sleep in.

I can't help thinking back on the Thanksgiving gatherings from my younger years. Looking back at pictures of all of the uncles on my mom's side of the family gathered in my grandparents living room. EVERY adult smoking something! But, as I got older, I was eventually invited into the card games our family played...

With Thanksgiving coming up this Thursday conversation always turn to what we are thankful for.

We used to take family vacations when I was a kid. And we couldn't afford to fly, so we drove. In fact, because my dads parents lived in Memphis, we would have either 3 "fairly long" days in the car, or one "pretty long" paired with a "marathon" 14 or 15 hour day to get home...

Believe it or not, I'm one of the most active members of my family on social media. Specifically Facebook, for me. I've got a sister in law who has a "rockstar" social media presence, and one cousin who is active as well. Other than that, mom, step mom, 3 nieces, and my good buddy, Scott don't participate...

Growing up, my dad was a "car guy". He raced other cars from light to light. He would "open it up" on the stretch of I-15 close to Cascade, where you could see cops coming for 4 miles. He also named most of his vehicles. His 1975 Chevy 1/2 ton with the 454 was "Super Truck"...

Whenever I take my dog with me, he always gets the front seat. Don't know what I would do without a dog. They're the best and it doesn't take them long to get ready to go either......just kidding.

I hope each one of you out there will be able to put all things on hold Thursday to enjoy time with your family and recharge your batteries.  I think a break from everything going on in this crazy world would do us all some good.  Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family...

Somewhere in the summer of 1975, my grandfather took me golfing for the first time at the Anaconda Hills Golf Course in Great Falls. He would come pick me up, take me to the course, pay my greens fee and also gave me my first clubs. I have a lot of great memories of walking through the heavy dew that was on the grass as the sun came up each day ...

Just a note to let all you moms out there, know how much I appreciate the love you put into your family.  You can really tell the difference in the respect and manners that kids have by the attention they get from mom.  It probably has more impact on their young lives than anything else...

Drunk uncles? Relatives arguing about politics? Before you start piling mashed potatoes on your plate, get to know some of the worst people coming to Thanksgiving dinner this year.