I'm enjoying the outdoors from my comfy lawn chair while my kids play with bubbles, the hose, on the swings, the trampoline.... you get the idea! They're so fun to watch. Elise pretends to take her favorite stuffed animal, Penny, to the store and around the yard for their "trip". She "cooks" for me in her sandbox, and Ben follows her lead.
This week I decided to break out of my standard dinner repertoire and broke out the cookbooks in search of some fun recipe ideas.
This is what I ended up with for the week:
Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs with rice and broccoli
Greek salad with sliced turkey & feta cheese
Grilled Chicken Burgers with sweet potato fries
Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and asparagus
Chicken Enchiladas & rice
Pork tenderloin and zoodles with stir fry veggies
A lot of these dishes I've made before, and some are on our weekly rotation. However, it's mainly a new way to prep/season these things or maybe something we haven't had in awhile.
I will confess that Elise and Ben aren't as excited about broadening their food horizons and may have already eaten hot dogs one night out of refusal of my brilliant dishes. Anyways, here's to long & warm summer nights, new food, and fun! The end of this school year is quickly approaching, and I'm sad but excited to see Elise starting PreK in the fall. My kids are growing up so quickly!!!!
The other week when my best friend Ashlea & her daughter were down visiting from NC we took the kids down to our small downtown area and had a picnic in the park where the food trucks were setup. The food trucks come starting in April through the summer, and they are a much anticipated event. Beer! Greasy cheesy food! Ice cream! I'm in food heaven.
We went to the beach that morning, played outside, and then after naps ventured to the food trucks. It was a LONG day for toddlers! Nevertheless, the kids were running back and forth across the open fields, playing with balls, and enjoying finding sticks, leaves, and rocks. Ashlea and I sipped drinks and chatted on our blanket, just enjoying each other & the silliness of kids.
Ben especially found hunting for sticks fascinating. He kept bringing over big sticks, little sticks, every one he found - he showed them to me and then offered them as little gifts.
I'll admit, I got emotional. About sticks. Yes, these are the things motherhood does to you. Anyways, I just found it so sweet and pure - this love offering of sticks. He doesn't have anything with earthly value to give - yet the sticks that he loved to collect and carry about he offered to his mom instead.
Don't grow up, sweet boy. I'll lovingly hold any outdoor treasure you bring me (as long as it doesn't crawl!) until you no longer want to bring them to me.
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