Where would you go on your Ultimate Family Vacation?

Even though I complain about the long hours that my husband has to work and that he is often sent out of town for business, there are definitely some major perks to his job. One of the largest ones being the sabbatical program that the company has in place, which has allowed us to go on two great family vacations in the past few years.

As I was pregnant with Little Sister B for our first trip, we headed to the Cayman Islands and Aruba with our almost-2-year-old Big Sister E for some relaxing fun on the beaches. Then, this past May the four of us headed down to the Bahamas for another chance to revel in the sunshine and enjoy the ocean waves. We had a great time!

With our next vacation already in the planning stages (I mentioned that this is a huge perk of my husband's job, right?) we already have a good idea about where we're packing up and taking the family: Costa Rica.

Having done a little research on family vacation destinations, the abundance of things to do in Costa Rica that are kid-friendly sound wonderful. From the animal life to the volcanoes to the rain forests, how could Big Sister E and Little Sister B not be occupied and happy with the adventures that we could have there?

Already on my agenda include visiting the waterfall gardens, frog ponds, national parks and hot springs and taking the family snorkeling, horseback riding, birding and river rafting. And then we can't miss going on a dolphin encounter or a guided hike, on the rain forest aerial tram, seeing giant turtles building their nests, taking surfing lessons...

From the exotic animals to the amazingly beautiful scenery to the warm, friendly locals, how can we go wrong? Costa Rica sounds like the perfect place for us to spend quality time together enjoying all of the possibilities that this incredible trip can provide!

Now it's your turn: where would you go on your ultimate family vacation?