After much debate and wavering back and forth, purchased a Surface Pro 4 (6th gen i5). Seems well built and offers the convenience of tablets.

Apple not having a touch screen was a deal breaker. It's a little light on RAM and SSD but should be sufficient for its intended usages. $800 at Costco with 4 years warranty didn't seem like a bad deal.

The pen and inking capability sounded interesting as well.

There's a lot of good info here. In terms of sales Apple and Best Buy usually do a back to school sale. Sometimes it's a free product like an iPod touch or sometimes you get a $100 Apple gift card. I currently have a 2nd gen MacBook Air and it has never given me a lick of trouble. Most people upgrade to new macs just because. Their oldest models are still working fine but they want the new model. Resale value is high. The aluminum solid construction will help if you have clumsy kids. Good luck.