Madrid, Sevilla and Lisbon

We much prefer Granada over Seville but would only spend about 2 nights there. We may be in the minority as most people seem to prefer Seville. Are you planning on flying? Madrid - Seville - Granada are fairly close by car, train or bus, Lisbon is not. Could you visit Lisbon on a separate trip to Portugal?

As above.
You do not say how you intend to travel but, irrespective, you need to recognise how much time you are expending/wasting travelling. Also consider - are you the only family which does not have one sufferer from jet lag?

It is a tight schedule. But Madrid-Sevilla is only 3 hours by AVE. You'll want to fly from either Sevilla or Madrid to Lisbon. You'll also want to fly open jaw, for example fly from the US into Madrid and home from Lisbon. I prefer Sevilla over Grenada but it would be a shame to miss the Alhambra. Another option to consider is skipping Lisbon and adding Grenada or skipping Sevilla and adding Grenada.

My recommendation would be to skip Lisbon altogether and go to Madrid, Sevilla and Granada or make Madrid a one day/night stop and go to both Sevilla and Granada. We did a rather whirlwind trip thru Andalucia back in 1998. We did an afternoon/overnight/morning in Granada, a day and overnight in Madrid, and an overnight/day/overnight in Sevilla. In Granada we went to the church where Ferdinand and Isabella are buried and had dinner under the walls of the Alhambra. The next morning we spent half a day in the Alhambra. In Madrid, we arrived early morning and spent half the day at the Prado. In the afternoon we visited the Palacio Real and that night went to a bullfight. In Sevilla we walked the Old Quarter of town, saw the cathedral, La Giralda (bell tower), the Alcazar, took a carriage ride and went to a flamenco show. I

I too would suggest you save Lisbon for another time. Madrid, Sevilla, and Granada make a perfect trio for April travel, and a nice compact trip with lots of highlights. If your trip coincides with the Abril Feria in Sevilla, April 24 to 29 next year, I highly recommend it. We went last May and it was fantastic. Or if you are going earlier in April there is Semana Santa the week leading up to Easter.

Let me put the "skip Lisbon" another way: Especially if you can afford a car, you can easily spend a splendid 10 days or more in Portugal. An oversimplification would be to say that it's as old as Spain, but cheaper and different in a less-developed, less-commercial way. (I love both countries.) When you say Family, I hear "young kids". Will they enjoy the Alhambra as much as you? On the other hand, roman monuments (like Carmona, near Seville) are fascinating, historic, and wide-open to running around and screaming! We drove across from Seville to Granada to see the white towns and sleep in Ronda. Ronda is unforgettable, but not worth multiple days for most (we spent two nights there to see Rick's/Pileta Cave.)

Thank you for all the suggestions.... Still planning out the details, therefore keep sending in any suggestions ! We are so looking forward to this trip!