My last vacation with the SDs was summer 2011 when they were 16 and 10. I have not been on vacation since. We have them FT as well, and any time away from them is my vacation. }:)

~ Moon

I feel your pain. We have a trip planned for the end of May. Just a long weekend thing but I'm not looking forward to it. SO keeps talking about how he can't wait to lay next to the pool and relax. All I can think of is SS whining and being a brat the entire time. Because that is exactly what is going to happen. Does every time we leave the house.

I would rather shove a pen in my eye then vacation with SD16.

I can relate. Although we don't have SD17 with us full time, she still goes on summer vacation with us. And she also is a dark cloud. We go camping for a week as it is cheaper for us than a hotel. It's always a nice campground with endless activities and amenities. Yet she never enjoys the experience. We like to spend at least a day or two just hanging out at the campground but SD17 thinks the whole week needs to be all shopping and sightseeing. And even at 17 years old she still pouts, sulks, and stomps around when we're not doing what she wants. I'd almost rather stay home all summer.

Sorry, but if my DH allowed his kids to act like disrespectful assholes and ruin ANYTHING, I'd be making HIS life miserable.
Here's what we all know: Skids act brats because of poor parenting. I'll be damned if I let DH or BM let their kids act like pieces of shit and ruin something that I paid for, i.e. vacation.
We have custody of skids FT and we do not allow SD18 go on vacation with us (or really anywhere) because she is an ungrateful bitch. We'll get a place large enough for the boys (SS10 and SS15) to each bring a friend, but we DO NOT allow SD18 to come. We stopped trying to please that bitch 3-4 years ago.
Does it hurt her feelings? Don't know and don't care. As soon as she learns to act respectful to me, BM, DH and her brothers we might re-think vacations, but until then, she gets to sit at home when we go out to dinner, to the movies, on vacation, etc.

I thought I'd cracked the Skids behaviour on holidays. OMG was I wrong!

My YSS19 behaved like a toddler last week on our ski trip. It literally got to the point where we told him to go home if he didn't like it. And he did. And he had to pay for the trip home himself. Never again.

I think he was expecting me and DH to try to coax him out of his bad mood. Nope, that was not going to happen. I really needed the break and he could just get lost rather than ruin the trip.

We got home on Saturday to a house that stunk and was a complete mess (bar our bedroom). I opened some windows, unpacked my case and grabbed my coat, phone and book and told DH I'd be back in a couple of hours. He cleaned up the aftermath of YSS.

I'd rather eat Nutella-covered grasshoppers than take a vacation with the skids. It's true...I do NOT like Nutella.

My DH has had delusions of taking PigPen and PrincASS on vacation with us. A vacation out in the tulies with NO tv, NO internet, and limited cell phone access. Those buttheads would be BEGGGING to go home within 2 days.

The last "vacation" I took with DH, DS and skids was supposed to be a camping trip. I had even went out and bought each kid their own tent and sleeping bag. We brought our Sheltie guard dog with. It was going to be a blast.

Welp, those skids whined like I had NEVER heard them whine before. There was no ELECTRICITY to charge up their gameboy/cellphone/whoknowswhat. There were MOSQUITOS and ANTS. OMG!!! What is someone came in the middle of the night?? There was no LOCKS on the tents!! (we were in the middle of no where, FWIW, and nobody else was camping there).

We ended up packing everything back up and driving all the way back home again.

Looking back on it, they had been excited that we were going as we had told them the visit before. I bet you my entire savings account that BM put all sorts of PAS-like anxieties in their heads in an effort to suck the enjoyment out of it. And it worked.