It's a dark and dreary day and snow and ice are in the forecast. How I wish it were summer! It would be so nice to be in the sun, feeling the warm humid air and swimming.

What if you told your kids you were going swimming on a day like today? What would there reaction be? How excited would they be? Imagine what there friends would say, they would be the envy of all kids!

This is how my family feels once a month, for less than the price of going to the movies and all the snacks, junk foods and arcade games that go with it! And, it is all possible courtesy of Priceline.com.

Here is how it works. On the day we decide to go swimming, in get on Priceline.com. I search for a hotel in my area, within a distance I don't mind driving. I select the option for an indoor pool. I then submit my bid of what I am willing to pay. We live in the suburbs, so often, many of our local hotels aren't even half full. I usually look into what their daily rate is and bid less than half of the price. It works best if it is closer to dinner time, as the hotel is less likely to sell the rooms for that night.

If they accept my bid, off to the hotel we go. We arrive with our suits under our clothes, we check in, drop our things in the room and then it is off to the pool. Often, we spend the night, order a pizza and get up in the morning for some more pool time before checking out and heading home.

We have mastered the packing down to a science. Everyone wears sweats with their bathing suit underneath. We bring a change of clothes for bed, as we shower after getting out of the pool. In the morning, back to bathing suits and then our sweats over top to go home in.

We do this often enough, that we have a travel bag packed with toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, etc! I can't think of a better way to spend a night with your family in the middle of the winter!