The 4th of July is always a fun time for us. We usually host our family and friends for a good old American backyard barbecue and light fireworks from the edge of our driveway. But this year looked a little different.
This year, the 4th of July was on a Friday, and it was my husband’s first 3-day weekend in years. Neither of us can remember the last time he’s ever had a job that gave him weekends off, let alone a holiday at that!
So we were excited because it meant we had options: We could stick to our annual 4th of July cookout tradition or decide to do our own thing with just the seven of us, and we chose the latter.
If you know me, you know hosting is my love language, so skipping out on hosting our family and friends wasn’t an easy decision. But this year was personal. Not just because it was my husband’s first 3-day weekend EVER, but also because a year ago on July 2nd, 2024, he lost his job.
That was a very dark and difficult season for us, and as you can imagine, our 4th of July was not a happy one.
But if someone had told us that we would be celebrating the 4th of July 2025 on vacation with our kids and that my husband would be working at a job that pays him more without sacrificing his weekends, there’s no way I would’ve believed it. BUT…God is good!
So now you understand, we couldn’t just celebrate Independence Day. We had to celebrate our freedom, too! We still fired up the grill and let our kids play in the sprinklers, but I got to slow down and soak it all in.
Related: Easy Brownie Sundae I Made for the 4th of July
Traditions are great, but sometimes it’s okay to break them.
Switch things up. Spend the holidays a little differently. I realized I don’t have to share every holiday with everyone. There’s nothing wrong with being a little selfish about that.
This 4th of July weekend was just as much mine as it was everyone else’s. And for the first time in my life, I gave myself permission to decide how WE wanted to spend it as a family, without the pressure to spend it with our extended family.
Related: Our Weekend At Great Wolf Lodge With 5 Kids
Going offline won’t kill you.
I did something this weekend that I never thought I’d do. I went on vacation without posting anything about it! It’s sad that this even feels like somewhat of an accomplishment when you think about it, but we very much live in a digital age, and as a society, have become so glued to our phones that not showing up on social media when you’re on vacation just feels…weird.
So I decided this past weekend not to share online that our family was at Great Wolf Lodge, and it felt great! Yes, it was hard, but somehow being disconnected from social media made me feel more connected than ever.
We waited a long time to enjoy a family vacation like this, and I knew our time here would be short-lived before we’d be heading home to reality soon. It made me realize there’s so much freedom in deciding to post later.
The whole time we were there, I used my phone simply to capture moments I didn’t want to forget. And I did so without worrying about needing a WiFi connection, so I could share that with the rest of the world.
The truth is, this little vacation felt sacred, and I wanted to soak it all in.
It’s okay to say no.
No, to opening our home. No, to posting on social media in real-time. No, to fireworks.
You read that right. We also skipped the fireworks this year and didn’t miss them.
I’m grateful for the quality time I got to enjoy with my crew. We laughed. We danced. We sang. We screamed. Some cried. Some got little boo-boos. And some of us (ehem, mom and dad) are very, very sore from riding water slides.
It was a 3-day weekend well spent — and I’ve got the pictures to prove it!
xo, Danielle
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