Leaving my pets for vacation for the first time.

We have two dogs, one cat, a kitten and one bearded dragon that we have never left home alone for more than about five hours in the entire time we have had them. We do not travel much, I am a stay at home mom so there's been no reason.
However, we took a three day trip this past weekend- and heartbreak ensued.
We set up for my boyfriend's sister to come and stay the first night then the next two days check in on them.
We got a message from her the first night with a picture of our big girl Rosie laying on the couch with tears running down her face. Said she would not eat or play. The kitten, cat and puppy were oblivious but Rosie was depressed.
The next day she grew more concerned as she still could not get her to eat or play, just lay and whimper and cry.
As we were headed home the third day she called us and said, "Talk. You're on speakerphone. She's miserable."
So we started calling her name and asking if she was hungry and if she was ready for us to be home. His sister said she jumped up and ran to the phone and the muffled noises we heard was her licking the phone. After the call ended- she ate a little and went to lay on our bed.
The welcoming we got from her when we got in was crazy! She has been the world's biggest lap dog since we got back.
I'm almost scared to leave her again, now!
Any tips for making the next time easier on her?