Nope, you are being eminently reasonable. Go without him, I bet he'll change his tune.

Not unreasonable. DH and I take trips alone twice a year. We take trips with bios only. And once in a while we take skids with us usually when we visit DH's family out of state. Skids are 20 and 22 and should be starting their own lives. Just because they are losers with no friends or money doesn't mean they get to horn in on our vacations.
Couples should always have time away together. Relationships need attention and happiness to thrive. You are not selfish. You are making for a reasonable request from your SO.

No you are not out of line. I regularly took my kids away without the new wife and it was great quality time with them. Usually we went camping which we can do a lot of in Southern California. But kids are not attached at the hip and do not need to be a part of every adult activity.

Take seperate vacations every year if needed. Soon the kids will be grown and you two will have decades of vacations to take without them. Meanwhile he'll have not missed one opportunity to be with his kids which is important also.

I agree with you. In the beginning, my DH wanted to spend every single moment he could with his kids (every weekend) which meant he and I never went anywhere or did anything alone. I was always a firm believer that my kids could go visit their grandparents every once in a while, giving me some "me" time and they still do to this day.

It took me going away alone for him to change his mind. We had planned a weekend away because the BM was taking the SK's out of town for the weekend. ONE HOUR before we were to leave, she called and said she decided not to go, and what time would he pick up the kids (she KNEW we were going out of town)?? He immediately dropped everything to go get them. When he got home, I picked up my suitcase, grabbed my keys.
DH: "Where are you going?"
Me: "To fulfill our reservations"
DH: But we can't go now, I have the kids
Me: Define "WE". "I" don't have my kids for the weekend. Enjoy!

He apparently mentioned how callous I was to his mom, who responded, "Good for her! You two need couple time, why should she live the life of a hermit just because you bow to the demands of YOUR ex?"

Now we plan one, sometimes two big vacations just for the two fo us every year. We also plan one big and a few weekend get-aways with all the kids.

Ah so he likes being Daddyyyyy more than he likes being Clare's SO. I wonder if he would like you to say "I will never work on a day with an S in it." Because that makes about as much sense. Couples need personal time away from their parental roles. Not neccessarily for the physical element but for their relationship. Maybe remind him that you are in a relationship with HIM and not his children.

He's nuts.

We're at Disney World with DF's youngest two right now. Next month he and I are going on a cruise to Bermuda.

All parents need me time and couple time.

I already told my SO I'm not holidaying with his kids again. Either He and I will go alone, or I will go on my own separate holidays. I had no fun being around them so it's a total waste of any trip to do it all together. SO didn't even like it because instead of just his whinny kids to contend with, he had a bitchy SO to deal with too!!