Spring break (March): Joshua Tree NP (camping), and Palm springs. 4 days total.
Summer (August): One week in PA and one week in NY, visiting family. Train trip in between.
Thanksgiving (November): we were going to go to Utah and see Zion and Bryce for a week. But then the day before we left, the 3 year old came down with stomach flu, probably norovirus. When he seemed better we made an attempt, drove 6 hours to Las Vegas, both boys puked in the hotel, then drove 6 hours home the next day. We all got it, spent the week in misery, but hey, I lost 4 lbs.
Christmas/ New year's: are you kidding, after that, I'm hunkering down.
Was not a great year, though it was frugal. Our plane tix were bought on miles, and were only about $200 for the summer trip.
2016 plans:
Feb (President's day weekend): Legoland San Diego long weekend (MIL will be visiting, and my son won free tickets)
March (spring break): attempt Utah again. Luckily the Air-BNB owner graciously allowed us to transfer our reservation for that week
Summer: unknown. It's our 20th anniversary, were thinking about Hawaii. However, this summer is the last summer where both our niece and nephew will be "home", as our niece is going off to college. So we are considering sending our 10 year old out there for a few weeks to hang with his cousins. If we do that, then we will likely use our vacation time to fly to NY, see family, and bring him back with us. Maybe we'll go see Niagara falls for a special anniversary treat.
Thanksgiving/Xmas - I have no plans.