I really am not sure how those marketing spies have done it.

See, I have been planning out our summer for the past month or so; filling our weeks with camps, camping trips, quick trips to visit relatives and juggling work commitments. (It has been a full time job putting this jig-saw puzzle of the Tucker Family life together, I tell you!) But, the ONE thing, the one MOST important summer activity, I have sadly not been able to schedule yet is the Tucker Family Vacation (which, mind you, is MUCH different than a camping trip or visiting relatives!)

I recently discovered HomeAway, a website that directly connects travelers to a world-wide database of homeowners who are renting their properties. I love being able to go straight to the source because it makes for a more authentic travel experience. You can rent properties in Costa Rica, Italy, Gulf Shores… you name it. If you can dream it, there is most likely a HomeAway homeowner ready to rent to you.

Costa Rica, Italy, Gulf Shores (Photos by HomeAway homeowners)

Since, I’m mostly on-the-go, I have been using their iPhone app to drool over – hmm, I mean, research – warm, beachy getaways that will allow the kiddos to splash in the ocean while Hubby and I sink into the sand with our long-overdue novels. Researching with the HomeAway app is a breeze and has allowed me to hone in on just the right location, set-up and price. So, imagine my surprise when they announced the HomeAway Challenge designed to give my family (and yours, too!) the opportunity to reclaim the family vacation. Once I decide on the perfect sandy destination, I may get to go for free? Score! (I swear, these guys are spying on me!)

About the challenge, HomeAway is setting out to find five families who best demonstrate – visually and in words – a need to “reclaim” their family vacation.

The two most-deserving families, as voted on by the public, receive a $2,500 and $1,000, respectively, stay at the HomeAway vacation rental of their choice. The three remaining families receive alternative prizes that can help ease the stress of family travel: the third place-winning family receives a $500 gift card; and the fourth and fifth place-winning families each receive an iPad mini to help keep the kids entertained while traveling this summer.

Consumers can enter HomeAway’s ‘Reclaiming Your Family Vacation Sweepstakes’ by visiting the sweepstakes page on Facebook® and uploading a photo along with a caption of up to 500 characters that explains why they need to reclaim their family vacation. The sweepstakes is open from April 29 to May 17, 2013, with the public invited to vote for the best photos and stories from May 18 to May 31, 2013. Winners will be announced in early June.

Submit. Share. Vote. Win. OK! I’m TOTALLY in!

Meet the Author | Susan Tucker

Susan lives with her husband, two young sons, and a new super-cute puppy near the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Boulder, Colorado. When she’s not chasing her boys on the ski slopes or watching them on the sidelines of the soccer fields, she helps start-ups with social media and online marketing. Susan is social media junkie and you can often find her live tweeting from just about everywhere she goes.

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