My husband has a huge family. (in comparison to the way I grew up… with just my mom, dad, and I) Each year, we all meet up for a 3-day weekend away. This year, we decided on Labor Day weekend.
We have found the best vacations are the ones where there isn’t much to do. That might not make much sense, but we just have the most fun this way. Theme parks are great… and always tons of fun, but sometimes it’s nice to just hang out.
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| Go FSU! |
My son says it’s the best time he has ALL YEAR!
This year, I decided to take it one step further, by leaving my phone in the room. And NO SOCIAL MEDIA. I sort of did this on a recent staycation we took, leaving my phone behind most of the time, but I still checked in and posted some stuff online.
Lately, I have been a bit social media obsessed. Specifically, when it comes to Instagram. If you follow my IG page, you know I LOVE to post a pic or two… or 5… a day. I love seeing what everyone else posts, pictures of their kids, their vacations… whatever.
Sometimes I find myself editing and cropping pics when I should be paying attention to my kids or my husband. (whoops) So this trip I decided I would just really enjoy myself and not worry about getting pictures of every cute moment. But I did make sure my husband had his phone, and when I wanted to take pic, I just asked him for it. (also, lots of other people were taking pictures, so I just had to steal them from Facebook)
I have to admit… it was SOOOO nice. It made me wish I could just get rid of my phone, then an hour after that thought… I was back on Instagram.
So here are a few pics of what we did this weekend… since you didn’t see any of it on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. 😉
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I'm so guilty of the same thing! Great idea to disconnect! Looks like you guys had a nice relaxing time:)
It was fun… sweaty.. but fun! 😉
Sounds like fun! Kudos to you for disconnecting!! It's easy to get caught up in cropping and filtering, instead of living in the moment. I'm trying NOT to do that…. trying.
All the best~
XOXO
I am a bit ashamed to say it was VERY hard for me not to post pictures! They were all so cute! 😉
I'm looking forward to disconnecting next week when I'm on vacation with my family! I think it is so important for us to do on occasion.
I am going to try and do it on vacations more… instead of posting about it all the time! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Looks like a great vacation. I bet is was so much more fun and easier to connect with each other without social media.
I think my kids also enjoyed the break from mommy telling them to 'pose' all the time! haha!
I think it's important to disconnect every so often. Whenever we go visit my boyfriend's parents house (about 45 minutes away from us), I leave my phone in the diaper bag. Or put it on silent if I have it with me.
I should start doing that at family events. Good call! 🙂
Looks like you all had fun! I've been very aware of my social media time lately, and I've been trying to cut it down a bit. Love your pics!!
Thank you Tarynn!! It is so hard to disconnect, this was the first time I did it for an extended period, and it was so nice!
I need to try this! What a great weekend you had.
It was fun! You should give it a try.. even just for a weekend! 🙂
I keep telling myself that I need to unplug sometimes, but I do find it really difficult! Well done to you!
I should do it more often! But it was hard for me… I REALLY wanted to check my phone sometimes.
I too am addicted to social media especially Facebook but I try to go offline on weekends. I try, that's the keyword right there. 🙂
Yes, that's all we can do.. just being aware and trying I think is a good start. I have a long way to go! 😉 Thanks for commenting!
Camping is a great way to disconnect from social media. I just got a smart phone a few months ago so it is harder for me to disconnect. Looks like a fun weekend.
When I first got an iphone.. I was so so addicted. It's tough to put it down sometimes! 🙂
Too precious! Love that you were able to disconnect for a little bit. My husband always begs me to take a break, so that obviously means I have a problem. Living in the moment is definitely where it's at, and sharing, well that's fun too. Finding a balance is like learning how to be a juggler for the circus. At least we're trying. 😉 Hope you're having a good week!
Haha.. my husband always says that, too!! I am really bad in the car, when my hubby is driving I am on my phone the WHOLE time! We are all a work in progress! 😉
Awesome! I tried to do the same thing in Marco this past weekend..but the photos were TOO Damn good!
I bet! It was really hard for me… I wanted to post SO much stuff!
I need more phone and social media free vacations. It looks like a great time was had by all. You weren't kidding when you said LARGE family gatherings- how fun 🙂
yes, my family is crazy town.. but I love it! 😉 Thanks for stopping by!
It looks like you still got a lot of amazing photos for memories and had so much fun too.
Speaking of neglecting my family, it's probably tiem I got back to them. I was thinking about working on a post that's going up tomorrow afternoon on my blog–I thought of a new opening paragraph today while I was out walking–but I should really go spend time with my husband and do the blogging tomorrow morning while he's at work.
Yes, it is really hard to balance it all. I never realized when I started blogging how much time it would take! (but I love it!)
Guilty of this too! I left my phone at hone on accident the other day and at first felt naked and confused, but then it was nice! Its amazing how dependent we've become on these things and sad when it takes away from what really matters. We should all do this more often!
Ha! I can relate.. when I leave my phone at home I will turn around to get it, no matter what!
I think tomorrow after my morning coffee, I'm going to follow your lead and have a phone-free day. It is so great to have social media, but it's also great to get away 🙂
I hope you day is going well, and if you are seeing this response that means you didnt unplug! hahaha! 🙂 thanks for stopping by!
Glad u had a great vacation!
Thank you Natasha! it was fun!
Looks like you all had a blast! It's good when we realize that social media is just taking up too much space in our lives. Taking those needed breaks is good for our sanity! 🙂
yes, I am going to try and do this more often for sure! Have a great weekend!
Good for you. I need to do this more often. I find myself stressing about what's on my phone when I'm away from it.
Yes, so do I! But after a day or two without it, I didn't even miss it! It was crazy!
Such an AMAZING idea!! I really need to start unplugging a bit more!
Thanks for sharing on this week's #SHINEbloghop
Thank you for stopping by! I love the #SHINEbloghop! 🙂
What a fabulous family reunion! Large familiesare wonderful. There is something special for kids about being close to their cousins and being able to keep in touch. My cousins were a big part of my life growing up, and now my children's best friends are their cousins.
It's wonderful you were also able to unplug for a while!
Yes I am so glad we live so close to my husband's brother, wife and kids. The boys are so close in age.. my oldest nephew was born just 10 days before my son!
It's so difficult to put the phone down sometimes and just live in the moment. I'm finding it especially hard now that I've started a blog. I really need to work on that. It looks like you had a wonderful vacation! Love your pictures!
It is hard, and I have also gotten worse since my blog!! (way worse) I am just trying to be better with it on the weekends.. 😉
Great idea! Sometimes it is hard to put down social media
It is hard now, when I forget my phone at home I go into a panic! haha!
We also prefer to go on holidays to places where there is nothing to do. There is a great place only about an hour from us where there are tons of campsites, but not a lot else! As long as the kids have a ball and plenty of space they love it!
Well done on putting the phone down too! It can take over our lives without us even realising.
Thanks for linking up. Hope to see you again next year! #SummerDays
Thanks Katie! It was a fun linkup for sure, I found it right near the end! 🙂