Our Favorites from the 4th of July Weekend: 2025

We had such perfect weather for our long 4th of July weekend and made lots of great memories too.

Friday my husband was up early to smoke a couple of pork shoulders for his family's 4th of July party on the 5th. I headed to the grocery store to buy some fresh fruit then came home to cook up some new recipes. I was making a new turkey burger recipe for dinner and had some veggies from our farm box to use up so I whipped up a macaroni salad with fresh peas in it. We made a tossed salad and then I put together our lemon/blueberry ice box cake (also for the party on the 5th). 



Ian was off with his great uncles for the day helping get set up and cleaned up for the family party so my husband and I went periodically to see if they wanted additional help. I spent most of my afternoon reading on the deck and/or patio. 

Around 5 my family showed up to watch the lake's annual 4th of July boat parade. We all had fun watching the decorated boats go by. The guy across the cove from us has a live band at his party each year so we enjoyed listening to the music too.




We cooked up our burgers on the grill and while a few of my family members had a couple bites to eat they mostly just sat and played cards. 

 



 
 
Ian took my sister in law on a few jet ski rides and my husband got a fire going in the fireplace. My nephew made s'mores (for himself and a few of his siblings) and we all stayed out until nearly 10; watching what little fireworks we could see. Another family across the cove had an inflatable projector set up and we had fun guessing/seeing what they were watching. My mother in law wandered over to enjoy the fire too but all 3 of my boys had gone inside around 7/7:30. Alec and Evan had a D&D night online with friends and Ian was getting ready for bed early since he had to be up early for work in the morning. 

July 5th both the older boys were working and my husband took off early to run errands with his uncles. I had a quiet morning at the house with nothing to do. 



Around lunch he and I headed to his family cottage down the street and kicked off his family's holiday party with those members that could make it this year. Ian showed up after work and Evan came over long enough to say hi to everyone and eat. Alec ended up getting out of work an hour early so he stopped by around dinner and stayed for at least an hour. 





We took a walk to the bridge and some of the kids jumped off for a bit then we walked back to the cottage and tried to gather everyone for our annual group photo. It gets a bit smaller each year and gets filled in with lots of boyfriends/girlfriends of the various cousins.  


Fireworks around the lake this year were pretty non-existent so we made do with some sparklers- all the kids had fun with them; even the "big" kids.  


Sunday my husband and I were up early to grocery shop for the week then had a quiet morning at home reading, watching TV, doing laundry, etc. 

 

Some time around lunch we headed back to the cottage and Ian, Ben, and I stayed there until dinner. Most of the local families came back to eat up the leftovers (though oddly most also bring more new foods just in case as well).  



I was in my pajamas by 6 and had read over 3/4 of my book by bedtime. It was a lovely weekend. 

Linking up with: Spread the Kindness, 





Comments

  1. Maria RineerJuly 11, 2025 at 6:28 AM

    It looks like so much fun! All that family time, good food and lots to do on the lake sounds just about perfect! Those boats are neat looking all decorated. You probably could have "boat watched" for a long time :). I love how you were able to relax some, too.

    ReplyDelete
  2. HollyJuly 11, 2025 at 6:34 AM

    Well this just looks like 4th of July perfection! Love all of the family time and great summer food- your turkey burgers look fantastic- so glad you enjoyed :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Penny @ Penny's PassionJuly 11, 2025 at 6:56 AM

    What a fun weekend! I love the decorated boats.

    ReplyDelete
  4. JudeeJuly 11, 2025 at 7:18 AM

    How wonderful to be able to celebrate with our extended family. Looks like a really good time and some really good food. Macaroni salad is my weakness- love that stuff!!! I love to take photos when I've got my feet up and the photo includes my legs...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Laura @ Our Grand LivesJuly 11, 2025 at 8:08 AM

    What a fun holiday weekend you had! Your 4th of July menu looked delicious! We also have a boat parade on our lake and our family has decided over the years that rather than participate, we'd be the spectators (so there would actually be someone to watch the parade)! Some years we've had a large slip and slide down the hill and the kids would wave at the pontoons as they passed. This year, we had a water balloon fight with a few of the pontoons (their idea)! They even provided us with a laundry tub filled with biodegradable ammunition! We still spent time picking up the remnants but turned it into a competition.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Dara @ Not In JerseyJuly 11, 2025 at 8:10 AM

    Sounds like a great weekend and the food looks so good!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Kim CarberryJuly 11, 2025 at 8:54 AM

    It sounds like a wonderful weekend!
    The macaroni salad looks so good and the cake too! Yum!
    How cool to see all of the boats and have the music from your neighbour.
    It sounds like a great time was had with family and friends!

    ReplyDelete

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