Friends and Family Weekend

May 5, 2014

What an absolutely fabulous weekend. My best friend Kristyn came into town with her husband and adorable baby. He is already four months old and this was our first meeting!! He stole my heart. Such a sweet baby. Look at this face. I couldn’t stop kissing it.

Friday night we celebrated their visit. We ate, drank and talked too much. It was perfect.

I guess I had Cinco de Mayo on the brain. Shrimp and Carnitas tacos, rice and lots of yummy toppings.

Plenty of drinks too 😉

It was a fabulous night with the girls I love and their families. I couldn’t ask for better friends in this world. Love them dearly.

Sun and Fun

April 30, 2014

I can’t believe it has taken me until Wednesday to do my weekend post. Such a busy week so far and it is only going to get busier! Sheesh!

This weekend was exactly what I hoped it would be. We grilled and chilled and had a great time. We were able to spend most of the weekend at my aunt and uncle’s taking advantage of the great company, awesome backyard and pool. The weather was beautiful and the pool was the perfect temperature for the kids (still a little chilly for me).

She is showing her muscles because she scaled the whole perimeter of the pool using her hands. She doesn’t know how to swim very well yet, but she finds a way to get around.

We grilled hamburgers topped with Chipotle Gouda and White Cheddar. Grilled buns, veggies, pasta salad, and sweet potato tots. Perfect warm weather meal.

Spot the avocado?

Just as good as I remember.

The kids watched from the driveway as a neighbor drove a remote controlled car.

Grassy toes.

Another great one in the books. Looking forward to this weekend. I will need it to get here quickly, this week has been a bear!

Birthday Weekend

April 15, 2014

This weekend we celebrated my Mom’s Birthday. It was a great day filled with great food and even greater company. We even got to play with this sweet little face.

Cheese and fruit appetizer.

Then the main event. My Mom decided she wanted a seafood boil to celebrate her special day. Ours had crab legs, shrimp, sausage, corn and potatoes. The guys manned the fire and it all came together pretty quickly. Every 10 minutes something new would go in the pot.

Potatoes first.

Then the corn.

Sausage and lemons next.

Finally the shrimp and crab. They turned off the heat and let steam for about 10 more minutes.

Time to eat!

We finished the evening off with a few different desserts from our favorite bakery. Cheesecake, Carrot Cake, Rum Raisin Bread Pudding and Mom’s favorite Tiramisu.

It was such a great day celebrating my wonderful Mama!

Love you Mom!!

Another Weekend Here and Gone

April 7, 2014

In what seems to be the new norm, our weekend was full of food and fun. Here are some highlights.

We headed to the beach after Tee Ball on Saturday. Perfect day for it. The water is still way too cold for me but it certainly didn’t stop the kids from jumping in. When we were done with sun and sand, we grabbed a bite to eat.

These nachos definitely hit the spot.

My husband ordered this Pizza Burger. It was no joke. Had mushrooms, pepperoni, cheese, black olives and tomato sauce. Perfect pizza-burger love child.

Sunday I took the kids for an early lunch before heading to a friend’s birthday party. I had egg salad on an everything bagel and it was delicious. Potato salad on the side.

Bounce House fun

Since we were near my parents house, after the party we stopped by for a visit. I love going to my Mom and Dad’s. The kids love it too. We had so much fun and ate well of course.

Burgers.

Cookies too 🙂

Needless to say we were tired and full come Sunday night but it was so worth it. Another great weekend.

Too bad today started with a dead battery in one vehicle. Happy Monday to us. Hoping the rest of the week is smooth sailing!

Hope your weekend was great too!

Weekend Things

March 10, 2014

This weekend was busy again. It was filled with family and fun, my two favorite things.

We went to my sister and brother-in-law’s house with my parents and some friends. The kids had a ball and so did the grown-ups. Talking, eating and just spending quality time together. The night ended with s’mores so you know it was awesome.

Sunday I woke up super-hungry and decided to make a yummy breakfast. We had leftover pork roast so I sautéed that with the last two eggs we had, mushrooms, onions and a chopped jalapeno. I put this over top of a corn tortilla that I fried in coconut oil. Topped it all with a little feta, a roasted tomato slice, half of an avocado and hot sauce. It hit the spot. I also liked that it cleaned out the refrigerator 😉

Lunch was a restaurant that has great New England style seafood. I had the fried shrimp with hush puppies. The portion was huge!!

As you can see, the hush puppies were popular.

I also managed to get our back porch all cleaned up. I am ready for dinners outside now that the sun will be out longer and the weather is absolutely beautiful.

Hope your weekend was great too.

Busy Weekend

March 3, 2014

Hard to believe it is already Monday again. This weekend was jam-packed for us. We decided to take advantage of the weather and spent almost the entire weekend outside. Here are a few highlights.

Saturday morning started with a trip to the bakery. We have tried going to this bakery before but we always seem to think of it on Sunday’s when it is closed. So Saturday we woke up early and I took the kids to check it out. This will definitely not be the last time we go here. They have so many different things to choose from. We got two cinnamon rolls, one maple bacon cinnamon roll and a berry cream galette. Everything was awesome especially the maple bacon cinnamon roll. Make sure you get there a little early because I think they sell out of them pretty quickly. I certainly know why!

After that we had the first daytime Tee Ball game of the season. There are so many players this season that we actually have two games a week. One during the week in the evening and then another on Saturday. We are definitely going to be at these fields a lot over the next couple months.

The weather was perfect and the kids had a blast. Little Man had two really good hits. The Princess and I cheered them on.

Goldfish break

After the game we headed to the coast again. It was really windy but the kids had fun again walking on the pier and playing in the sand.

I know this is out of focus but I couldn’t resist. They are so crazy.

Beach Toes

Sunday was all about the Florida Strawberry Festival. We got up somewhat early and made the drive which took a little over an hour. It was really busy and really hot. The kids had such a fun time though. We decided to get our Strawberry Shortcake first as the lines tend to get really long once the day wears on. So delicious. The rest of the afternoon was spent riding rides, eating Amish donuts, corn dogs and more lemonade than I’ve had in a year. It was a really great time, although I’m hoping next year we can sneak over during the week when it isn’t as crowded.

“I want to go on the America-Round”

“Mommy, I see you in my glasses”

So as you can see we had a busy weekend of family fun. Now back to work and a healthy meal/exercise plan to make up for all the shenanigans this weekend.

How was your weekend?

Anyone ever been to the Florida Strawberry Festival? What was your favorite part?

Sunday Funday

February 10, 2014

I love days that turn into fun adventures that aren’t planned. We had an exceptionally fun Sunday. Normally Sundays consist of cleaning, laundry, meal planning, kids staying in their pajamas too long, laundry, me staying in my pajamas too long, grocery shopping and did I mention laundry? When we woke up to a beautiful day on Sunday (after a gross, gray, rainy day Saturday) we were itching for some outdoor fun. So we ditched the dreaded laundry and headed to the coast.

I love where we live. We can hop in the vehicle and be breathing salt air in 45 minutes (40 if you ask my husband). So a quick car trip (just enough time for a much needed nap for the kiddos) and we were there. We watched the boats from the deck while we waited for our table at the restaurant. It was breezy, but so beautiful. Just being near the water makes me happy.

Out the window

We ate lunch (which I didn’t take pictures of because it was really dark in the restaurant). We wanted to eat outside but the kids were famished and the first-come-first-served diners outside were enjoying the day too and no one seemed in any hurry to get up. A nice man at the table next to ours came over and asked if he could take our picture. This was really nice, because I never ask anyone to take our picture although I always want more family pictures of us! He was a sweet man who had 20+ grandchildren! Maybe seeing our two crazies make him miss his 🙂

After lunch we headed to the beach! We let the kids run around and step in the water. Eventually Adeline soaked her dress in the waves and we had to run to the store to buy her a shirt. I had only packed her a change of pants (the joys of potty training).

How tall is he? Ugh, time flies.

I mean she can’t like her cheek to be pinched like that. Brothers!

Making sure he isn’t too far away

Then we headed to the pier to watch the fishermen. No one seemed to be catching any fish except for this guy. He was a pro. He would dive down and catch a fish every time! We watched him catch at least 5.

Stalking his prey

Harper wanted a turn with the camera.

Love them.

After a great day we headed home and I was lucky enough to get another nap out of these two on the drive. Here’s to awesome unplanned fun family days. Now back to reality and laundry.

Happy Monday

January 13, 2014

We had a very fun and full weekend. Lots of fun. Too much fun. Still recovering fun.

On Saturday we went to the grand opening of a new Farmer’s Market in town. There was a huge turnout. So huge that we thought we would have a difficult time parking (read: cars lining both sides of the street and people directing traffic) but we eventually found a place that was pretty close. Once in the farm it didn’t feel crowded at all. The property is a huge space and they had it set up into sections. The market with vendors, some food trucks and then a separate area where the kids could feed the animals! The vendors on the market side were spread out nicely so it didn’t feel too cumbersome. They had two large fruit/vegetable tents.

Beets and radishes are such pretty colors!

Local honey. My Mom and I got some Wildflower honey. Super good.

Baby goats!!! So cute.

There were all sorts of animals. Cows, a Brahman bull, ducks, chickens, a turkey, pigs, rabbits. The kids had a ball. We will definitely revisit this market.

The rest of Saturday involved watching the kids play in the front while enjoying a nice cold beverage.

Then dinner was roasted chicken (will post our recipe soon!).

With it we had rice with shredded zucchini and cheese, and a salad with carrots, broccoli slaw, bell peppers and avocado.

Sunday we had a birthday party to go to and dinner involved this delicious bucket of goodness. Why are crab legs always so stinkin good? Butter bath maybe??

Fabulous end to a really nice weekend.

I did make it home in time to watch 3/4 of the Golden Globes. My bedtime is normally like that of an 80 year old so I was proud of myself for holding on as long as I did. Jennifer Lawrence needs to be my BFF. Seriously. Love her.

Hopefully your Monday has been totally bearable.