[hjdeth]

This depends SOOO much on the child.

With my first 2 adopted kids, we got stuck in Warsaw for 6 days due to 9/11 on our way home. They just didn't do well with ANY changes in routine for several months. I didn't take them on a vacation for about 6 months. They really needed the stability of their own beds. They were 5.6yo and 6.9yo at adoption.

My 3rd adopted child is just the opposite. He likes his bed, but so long as his pillow travels with him and bedtime is at the same time every night, life is glorious. We got home from Ukraine on 12/5/02 and headed to my parent's for Christmas vacation on 12/12/02. 3 weeks of driving cross-country in a van with myself and 4 kids and staying at 3 different relatives' houses didn't make a dent in his life....other than to find new family to tell him how awesome he is. He was 6.6yo at adoption. Now, the other 2 kids, home about 15months then, had several meltdowns and were over-stimulated to the max.

With my newest daughter, we arrived home at Thanksgiving last year and traveled to Florida for a 2-week Christmas vacation less than 1 month later. Again, so long as morning and night routines were followed, no problem. She was 7.4yo at adoption.

Some changes did have to be made to my normal "drive to vacation" routine. More potty stops, some "wiggle" stops, no more driving straight through on a 1000 mile trip. But you know, I have seen more of the in-between country in the last 3 years than I saw in the previous 20 years, so not a bad thing.

We go camping often in the summer. The kids love it...no TV, no video games, no phones...just outside fun and music. It allows you time to "smell the roses" with your kids that you may not always have during the normal workweek. You would be amazed how wonderful and beneficial to bonding an afternoon nap in the sunshine can be.

So, make your decision after you have met your children. If they can handle it, go. If not, don't.