The freelancing (but not remote-able) job is the cause of the 11-month-out booking AND the possibility of changes.

Basically, we need to pick a 3-week time during "busy season" during which my partner will turn down all offers for work. Booking gigs can happen up to a year in advance, so it's a miracle I'm not already dealing with job-related "blackout dates." :-)

On the other hand, if it turns out the family we want to visit won't be around, or we mis-scheduled for things we want to do by a week, or an offer for a super high-paying gig that's just not worth turning down comes up, etc, we'll want to look into changing our dates.