Dear Food Truck Warehouse

Dear Food Truck Warehouse,
    I am the father of three young children, and I recently came into some money vis-a-vis a wise investment.  Of course I would normally re-invest or open a savings account, but my wife is hounding me to put the money toward a family vacation.  Granted, she is home all day with the boys and has looked forward to a break, but I continue to point out that we would not be in our fortunate circumstances if I had originally adopted a "fast and loose" attitude with my money.  I say don't change what has worked.  She firmly disagrees. Could you possibly set her straight?
                                    Frugal or Unreasonable

Dear FU,
     Strangely enough, I had a similar situation happen to me a few years back.  I had won a significant amount of money on a scratch ticket ($500 if you must know), and seeing as I was out of work, I felt that it was an ideal time to take the kids on a memorable vacation. I decided on Orlando, FL.  Unfortunately, tickets to Disney were cost-prohibitive, but I had heard one could ride the Mono-rail for free, enjoying views of the Disney complex from its air-conditioned cabin.  
     In any case, I kept the trip a secret and the night before we were to leave, I continued the charade through the kids' homework tantrums and I-don't-want-to-practice-piano tirades. Imagine how hard it was to hide my snickering while I threatened all manner of things for their typically uncooperative behaviors!  After they turned in for the night, I packed the car for the 26 hour drive.  We only had five days total, so I was planning on driving straight through.  I knew it would be tight, but I had packed lots of cheese and bananas and empty Gatorade bottles to pee into in an effort to cut down on stops.
     I rose early the next morning; in fact, it was still dark.  I considered waking the kids as if a typical school day, but I really wanted something different.  Something special.  So, I raced into their shared bedroom, flicked the wall switch repeatedly, and screamed "Fire!".  Let me tell you, they were up and out in a flash!  Needless to say, we had a great time.
    I guess what I'm trying to say is that you can take that vacation AND save a little money while you're at it.  No need for black or white thinking here.  Remember, when we can compromise, we are making sure that everyone is equally unhappy.