Webster's dictionary defines "vacation" as "a period of time that a person spends away from home, school, or business usually in order to relax or travel."

It is unclear, after much research, if Noah Webster Jr., founder of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, ever actually went on vacations with his eight children. But if he did, it is very likely he came up with the definition of "vacation" before he took his first one.The idea of getting away with our families for a summer vacation is an exciting one; no responsibilities of school or work or even our homes. We dream of taking our children to see new places and experience new things and maybe throw in a little history or culture or just have pure, unburdened fun.Going with friends, extended family, large groups or small, it all sounds like a perfect end to a long school year or long winter.Reservations have been made and days, even weeks, have been blocked off for this time of total family bliss and bonding.But although the idea of a summer family vacation sounds heavenly, the pre-vacation planning takes a lot of work for most moms.Paula Schoener and her daughter Megan, from Lewistown Valley, are in the process of getting their family ready for 10 days of a Williamsburg vacation.Fortunately they only had a few things to do to get ready, so Paula was able to sit and share what some of those things were."Well, I have all of the laundry to do before I can pack, then we all pack but I have to check each bag over so that nothing is forgotten because if it is, it will be because I didn't check," said Schoener."Then, of course I have to clean the house," she said."There is nothing worse than coming home to a dirty house from vacation, and then I need to be sure to find someone to water our plants, feed our fish, bring in our mail and check on the house. Getting out of the door feeling ready is always the biggest challenge."Schoener said the planning of their trip is a family effort."We really all do decide where we want to go and what we want to see each summer," she said."Their dad and I have the final decision of course, but our goal is to try to have as much fun and make as many memories as we can while our now 14- and 16-year-old are still at home."Schoener remembers not being able to afford to take family vacations when she was a child."I didn't really miss it as a kid, because I didn't know what I was missing, but I do want our children to talk about these trips with their families someday."It's amazing how the definition of "vacation" dramatically changes as our children get older. A well-circulated quote on the Internet by an unknown author reads, "You know your life has changed when going to the grocery store by yourself is a vacation."Schoener reflects on vacationing with her children when they were very young."In some ways it was easier. They went wherever we decided to go and were pretty easy to please, but then of course we had to figure out the best ways to avoid tantrums and meltdowns," she said.It was also harder to keep them entertained due to the lack of electronics, Schoener said."We make sure all devices are fully charged and everyone has their chargers and headphones. This way when talk radio is on in the car, everyone else can listen to what they want, then we avoid teenage tantrums and meltdowns."Summer vacation comes at different times of the year for different countries.While students in most of the U.S. will have vacation time during June, July and August, students in China will be schooled September through July and summer schooled during their "off" months. Children in Costa Rica will vacation December through February. Children in Australia vacation from mid-December to late January.But whether it is a vacation with a destination or just time to spend with family, Webster had it right. For all families, vacations should be "a period of time that a person spends away from home, school, or business usually in order to relax or travel.""We plan our vacation but we don't plan our time. It is nonstructured time so that we can be open to the best experiences," Schoener said.As we plan our summer vacations with our families and friends, most of us will stress about the packing and the cleaning and the preparation to create our perfect adventure.But once we have closed the last car door or buckled the last child in their airplane seat remember to take time to experience each other and enjoy the trip.