The Freedom to Take It Easy

Happy 4th of July!We let freedom ring in the Scheidler house this year by escaping the local festivities in exchange for some quiet fun around Lake Geneva. This is the first time in the 12 years we’ve lived in our home that we haven’t hosted a big family barbecue after the morning parade. This decision didn’t come easy.Should we take the family vacay the one week everyone was off (even though it was a month earlier than we typically go?)?Where would everyone eat their holiday hot dogs?How could we really celebrate the 4th without the grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins?Would there really be fireworks if it was just our family?Could the 4th of July come and go without 10 different holiday-themed desserts?Is it really a vacation if you only have to drive an hour to get there? (There’s a whole post coming soon about this!)After experiencing just the right amount of Catholic guilt, we decided to head north any way and discovered that we could have an amazing holiday…that we could take it easy and just have fun tubing on Lake Geneva, eating German food on an American holiday, and watching the best fireworks show with thousands of our Wisconsin neighbors. And to our surprise, our kids have said this was one of our best holidays yet.This isn’t to say that we won’t host our favorite holiday at our home next year, but in a year where we needed a little break to catch our breath, we’re grateful that we took the chance to embrace our freedom to do so.I hope you’ve all enjoyed your family this holiday as much as I’ve enjoyed mine. I’d love to know what you’ve been up to!xoxoP.S. If you love the comfy J. Crew shoes I’m wearing, I think they’re sold out online. However, these are a great backup option that will take you through the rest of summer.