Well, I think I figured out how to manage a surprise, no frills, Dec. 2012 trip along with our Jan 2014 familypalooza trip, provided prices don't skyrocket between now and then. The two biggest hurdles (aside from saving the money) are:
1. Convincing my boss to let me off for most of a week during our busiest time of the year (I figure I'll offer to work the day after Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years to take the edge off).
2. Saving up the extra money to offset DW losing a week of work due to non-paid vacation at her workplace.
Both of those should be pretty managable...I think....
TL