It's HOT outside

Let the summer festivities begin :)

That means LOTS of Popsicles

And Backyard meals

And of course WATER fun
Don't be fooled by the thumbs up.  He generally does not care for any type of flotation device.   He prefers to just run head first into any body of water no matter how deep it is. 

Sprinkler time
I tried to teach Benjamin how to do the sprinkler dance and he looked like he was already embarrassed by me :( He has NO idea what he is in for :)

Don't ask...
I have no idea how he ended up naked in the pool.  But he sure did love it.

Nothing all that important...

I’m kind of on a healthy semi-organic kick lately. Ya know, the type of people that only shop at whole foods.  I sort of want to be one of those people. Not full blown or anything, just half whole foods and half Schnucks.  I can settle for that.  I finally realize that I feel so much better after eating fresh fruit and veggies instead of all the processed boxed food I’ve been eating lately.

We stopped by a little produce stand on Jungerman over the weekend and I made a massive bowl of fruit salad.  I thought Benjamin and I could snack on it all week long.  Turns out Benjamin is a fruit snob, and only picked out the grapes. 

I ate a big bowl of fruit and dipped it in Chobani non-fat vanilla greek yogurt for a snack at work.  I’ve already posted about how much I love Chobani yogurt, but this was the first time I tried the vanilla and YUCKO! I’ve had other vanilla brands that were pretty good, but the Chobani was not so hot.  I could tolerate it as a fruit dip but I def. couldn’t eat it by itself.  I also sprinkled some ground flax seed on the fruit and yogurt.  I read it’s a great source of dietary fiber, nutrients and minerals so I figured why not.

And since I pretty much believe everything I read on the internet, I made some lemon water infused with mint leaves.  The internet told me that lemon water paves the way for losing weight faster AND added bonus…it’s excellent for your skin.  Apparently lemons have a lot of Vitamin C which helps rejuvenate your skin from within.  Anything to help me get the same Glow that Jennifer Aniston always seems to have!

Sunday morning was breakfast central in our kitchen.  I can’t tell you the last time I made a breakfast that didn’t consist of a bowl of cereal.  I was so proud of it but the fruit snob struck again! Out of everything I put on Benjamin’s plate, he only ate the grapes.

The pancake mix is from Target.  It’s called Log Cabin and it’s the best boxed pancake mix we’ve been able to find.  I thought about swapping out the oil and eggs for a cup of applesauce to make it a smidge healthier but I chickened out at the last second.  But I did swap regular breakfast sausage for turkey sausage and I think I actually prefer the turkey sausage.  

This week’s menu consists of 

Noodle stir fry with garlic chicken and broccoli

Spaghetti with Turkey meatballs and parm cheese

Pork tenderloin, sweet potatoes and broccoli

Fish, brown rice, sliced avocado’s and dinner salad

I started a boot camp program with Brenda and Danielle last week.  Last year I did some boot camp classes at a gym right down the street from the house.  The boot camp I’m doing now is completely different!  This stuff is no joke.  It doesn’t help that it’s June, and the classes are outside in a church parking lot on fresh black asphalt.  There were times I couldn’t tell if I was crying or sweating. I’m hoping it’s all worth it and I can become a member of the skinny club after my 20 classes are up!

I’ve kind of been slacking on the posting lately.  It seems like there is always something going on and by the time I can finally sit down in the evening, it’s late and I don’t have the energy to type.  I’m hoping to break that cycle this week and get back on track.  Wish me luck!

Weekend Recap

ughhhh...I can't believe the weekend is coming to an end already :( I'm never a fan of Sunday nights, as usual I didn't finish everything I wanted to get done this weekend. 

Friday we didn't do much.  I did a Michaels run to buy some supplies for a cute work out tank top (pictures to come) and then did a little reading.  I'm about half way through the last Hunger Games book.  So Good!

Saturday morning we checked out a couple subdivision garage sales.  I found a Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag for ONE DOLLAR! Those suckers are usually over a $100.  It's grey and pink so clearly it's for a baby girl but I couldn't pass it up for a buck. 

The big find that I was most excited about was this pottery barn looking mirror for $2.
I haven't decided where to put it yet. I'm thinking somewhere in our bedroom or the spare bedroom. 

See what I mean...
Same concept, but mine is $247 cheaper than the pottery barn version.  

David found some sort of yard tool.  I think it's for sod plugs, he was pretty excited about it. 
After that we took Benjamin for a bike ride, he is not fond of bike helmets which is weird considering he wore a helmet for almost 24hours a day for a few months.  I guess he forgot all about that.

David made a new washer game that we discovered while in TX.  He finished putting it together on Saturday.  He was anxious to use it so he invited his Dad and Katie over for a BBQ Sat. night

I made an angel food cake so we capped off the BBQ with some strawberry short cake
YUM!

Sunday (today) is my Mom's Bday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM :)
I was so happy to meet for breakfast this morning, although I was full for the rest of the day. 
I made some Key Lime Pie Fudge for a Bday treat and I must say...it is pretty darn good.  Here's the recipe but you've been warned!  I am not to blame if you eat the whole batch all by yourself.

I guess I should call it a night and try to get some sleep before the dreaded Monday morning comes around.  But I know I'm going to end up getting sucked in to my book and I'll end up with another midnight bedtime :(

Yummers

A few weeks ago we went to Eckerts to pick strawberries, while we were there I picked up some tomato basil noodles.  I finally got around to using them last week. 
I just added parm cheese, a little pesto, sea salt and pepper, and shrimp and holy moly...super FAB! 

My new fav snack
Apple slices, peanut butter and chopped nuts.  I also used nutella and granola the other day and it was just as tasty

I love all the fruit in the summer.  It seems so bright and fresh.  Maybe I should try putting together a fruit salad :)

Goodbye FL

So sad that it all had to come to an end :( But we had a great time and I love that we were able to cap the vacation off by a short drive to Gulf Shores AL to see Katie's Mom and hang out at Pirates Cove.

First, here are a few pictures from the last couple of days

Crazy Kid...

The last night in FL we decided to eat at Dewy Destin's.  Holy Moly!  It was some of the best sea food I've ever had.  If you're in Destin FL, it's a MUST!
After eating we walked around the Harbor walk again and took this fabulous family shot - I love that David and Benjamin looked completely bored while I totally cheesed it up :)

We tried to get some nice beach pictures of us in something besides wet bathing suits but Benjamin was not cooperating :( He didn't want to sit still and he definitely tried to look everywhere but the camera.  Oh well, I guess this one isn't too terrible

see what I mean...so hard to get a good family picture

Benjamin on the walkway from the condo to the beach .  Something he LOVED to do.  Seriously back and forth, back and forth.  He's always on the move!

Is it just me or does Benjamin look like he's 8 years old in this picture. Sometimes I can't believe how big he's gotten

Thursday morning we got up and decided to walk the beach one last time.  It was bittersweet.  We are definitely beach people so while we were anxious to get home and back in the swing of things, we were so sad to leave the water :(

It looks like Benjamin was really trying to soak it all in one last time

Finally it was time to check out (and not a minute sooner) We were supposed to check out by 10am and I think we were pulling out of the parking lot at 10:07am. 
We drove a couple of hours to Gulf Shores for a visit with Katie's Mom.  She lives across from the water and by a fun local hang out called Pirates Cove
So we dressed Benjamin back in his swim gear to hang out in the water for a few hours.  We were hoping to wear him out a little before the drive back home.  

I'd say we were pretty successful.  Benjamin had way too much fun running up and down the dock (don't worry David didn't actually toss Benjamin into the water.  Although I'm not completely convinced he would have freaked out if he had)

He definitely wanted to jump off.  David had to catch him a handful of times

Having a blast

And then running back to do it all over again...and again...and again. 

We got back on Friday morning and had a quiet weekend at home.  It was nice have a couple of days at home before going back to work. 
Now we're getting ready to leave for TX this weekend for a mini family reunion. Getting excited for a weekend full of family time. 

Day Three

Thank goodness for applesauce in a bag, those things have been a life saver.  We don't let Benjamin eat in the car, but for long road trips we make tiny exceptions and let him have these fruit squeeze bags.  They also worked great for the beach since Benjamins hands were sandy all the time.  So he was able to eat a little snack without the extra sand flavor :)

David made Benjamin a little sand pool that would fill up every time the tide came up.  Benjamin loved it and squealed every time the water splashed in

 I still can't get over how clear the water is here.  It almost looks like they're standing in a pool

 Love this picture

 He's ready to boogie board...at least he thinks he is

Benjamin definitely plays hard, so when it's time to come inside - he looks completely beat

So sleepy

Walk on the Beach

Probably going to be some of the best memories of our vacation....

David and I used to walk on the beach just about every night when we'd go on beach vacations in the past.  It was so much fun to get out and do it with Benjamin this time around.

He was a trooper for the first 15 min and walked on his own.  But the powdery sand started to be too much for him and he wanted a break so David shot him up on his shoulders.  I love his crazy wind blown hair

Family shot.  Too bad Benjamin looks bored:(

Benjamin had to say bye to every boat he saw

I definitely should have known better and put him in swim trunks instead of regular shorts.  Of course he wasn't going to just stick to the sandy beach.  He wanted back in the water, hence the wet shorts

Such a fun walk