Summer Fun 2024 - Week 3

 

After a much quieter week last week, this week was much busier but with lots of fun things! 

Sunday - Father's Day!  We kept things simple this year.  We started our day with church.  Came home and enjoyed some of Darryl's favorites for lunch - Brats, Macaroni Salad, Fried Zucchini and Fruit Trifle.  Darryl and I then took a drive to his dad's house to pick up his mail for him.  I treated Darryl to a Mocha Frappe and it was just nice to have a little time just the two of us! 

Monday - Joshua and Nate started a week of Worship Camp today.  It is a camp they have attended for several years and always enjoy.  It is such a great way to learn more about how to lead church worship, work together in individaul bands to learn a praise song and write their own song.  They just have such a great time!  After dropping them off at camp, I headed to my mother-in-laws to "kill some time" for an hour before I met a long time friend from college that I had not seen in 30 years!  Ironically, she lived in the same tiny town as my in-laws until she was 7 so now her family comes back there to vacation/get away every year.  Anyway, this is the first year that we have been able to coordinate getting together for lunch and we sure enjoyed catching up!  

Tuesday - Day 2 of camp!  Today, after dropping my guys off, I headed to Biggby to meet my friend Jessica again for coffee.  We try to squeeze in 2 or 3 visits when she is here for a month even if it's a short visit like today as she had other commitments.  Then, later, I met my mom for lunch.  It was nice to enjoy lunch together and chit chat (even if she thinks I don't do enough of the "chatting" HA!)  No photos today though! 

Wednesday - Day 3 of Camp.  Nothing as exciting for me today.  We had our monthly Leadership Team Meeting for our Co-Op.  That took up my morning.  I decided to take some time to clean out my truck today.  It needed it :-)  

Thursday - Day 4 of Camp.  This is my "work" day when I clean the church.  After dropping my guys off that is where I headed.  

Friday - Final Day of Camp.  Finally I had a day "off" HA!  I didn't plan anything other than relaxing, watching some TV, and, did I mention, relaxing?  Darryl and I attended the end of camp Worship Celebration in the evening. 

Saturday - Time to get Joshua ready for camp! 

Weekly Menu

This is another unique week!  Josh heads off to camp for the week and my brother and sister-in-law, Ken and Lynnette, are coming into town for a few weeks.  I'm planning my menu knowing full well that it will not happen as written because we will end up at my mom's to eat dinner and hang out several times throughout the week. 

Friday - This is the last day of worship camp which ends with a concert.  Darryl and I will need to grab something to make it to the concert on time. 

Saturday - Dinner at my mom's 

Sunday - Joshua heads to camp today and Nate is heading to a friends Open House after hanging out at my mom's for a bit.  I'm planning Shrimp and Grits as it is a favorite of Josh's AND it is actually pretty quick and easy to make.   

Monday - Slow Cooker Zuppa Tuscana.  (This is the last night of TKD and Choir for a while too!) 

Tuesday - Tomato Basil Chicken and Pasta, Green Beans and Salad

Wednesday - I'm heading to a Ladies Dine Out Potluck with my Sunday School Class.  Nate and Darryl will be on their own! 

Thursday - I have a small sirloin roast in the freezer (I ordered a chuck roast awhile ago and they substituted with this tiny roast LOL).  Anyway, it is really only enough for two so, since Josh is gone and Nate is not a fan, I'm going to mkae Mongolian Beef and Snap Peas, Fried Rice and Egg Rolls.  

This weeks sweet treats are Molasses Cookies and "Miss Dots" Pound Cake (From the show Hometown)  

I have not made ANY of the sweet treats on any week HA!  There just hasn't been time to do them so I haven't!  Maybe this week!!! 

Summer Fun 2024 - Week 2

 

Welcome to a recap of week number 2 of summer!  It was a pretty quiet week which I think all three of us enjoyed.

Sunday - I had a choir concert and my family got to hang out at home :-)  They come to 95% of my concerts but every once in awhile I give them a free pass to stay home and this was one of those times!  It was a fun, but long day. 

Monday - I finally have some time to focus on decluttering and organizing and that's what I did on this day!  

Tuesday - This was all about errands.  

Wednesday - My guys have some projects that they have to work on/help with during the weeks and we focused on those today.  That included some yard work and working on organizing the garage. 

Thursday - My church cleaning day so I'm gone a good portion of the day. 

Friday - A FUN Day!  We had a meet up with our homeschool co-op at a great ice cream place. Hanging out with friends is always fun! 

Saturday - We attended an Open House and then just enjoyed hanging out at home and relaxing.  We enjoyed dinner and a fun game at my mom's to wrap up the weekend! 

Next week will be busier for sure!  So a nice quiet week was so nice :-) 

Weekly Menu

 Lets see if I can follow my well laid plan I mentioned last week. After a pretty quiet week last week, this week is a little different.  Joshua and Nate are attending Worship Camp which is a day camp they have attended for the past few years.  They are home in the evenings but are usually pretty tired.  

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - Baked Ziti and garlic bread.  I don't make this often as it makes a ton but it sure does taste good when I do make it! 

Saturday - Dinner at my mom's house 

Sunday - Roast in the crock pot, beefy noodles, and a salad 

Monday - Slow Cooker Creamy Tortellini Soup.  This is a new recipe so I hope it is good! 

Tuesday - Blackened Shrimp and Grits and Roasted Zucchini

Wednesday - Amish Breakfast Casserole and Blueberry Coffee Cake

Thursday - Double Crunch Orange Chicken, Fried Rice, Green Beans, and Quick Marinated Charry Tomato Salad  I made this chicken recipe years ago and I remember it being super tasty so lets see how good my memory is! 

Part of my plan is also to make a dessert and cookies each week for no other reason then it's nice to have homemade goodies instead of all of the store bought things! 

This week I hope to make Oatmeal Butterscotch Bars and  No-Bake Black Forest Cheesecake Bars.

Summer Fun - Week 1 2024

 

Welcome to the recap of  the first official week of our summer break!  It started out hot and humid but thankfully it cooled off and the humidity left by the end of the week!  

Here's a look at our week in photos! 

Sunday, June 2 - This was a fun family day that was kind of unplanned.  We went to church and then headed into Grand Rapids to pick something up from Darryl's work.  We planned to get lunch afterwards and couldn't decide HA!  Nate ended up with McDonald's, Josh got Speedway (yes, he loves gas station food), and Darryl and I got tacos from a Mexican place.  We actually wanted our favorite Tacos but the Adobe is not open on Sundays which is what caused our inability to decide HA!  We laughed a lot thought and just enjoyed being together. 

Monday, June 3 - Joshua and Nate had their piano recital.  This is my favorite event of the year.  Why?  I get to hear them practice all year, take them to every lesson, push them to do better and I get to finally hear a fabulous performance that showcases all of that hard work!  

Tuesday, June 4

Finally, the last day of school!  Joshua took his last math test and we were done!  Nate actually finished up last week but we took our photos today! 

Nate - at the beginning and end of the year.  One of the big changes - Nate got glasses!  I hadn't gotten a good photo of him with his new glasses until this photo :-) 

Joshua at the beginning and end of 9th grade.  

Wednesday, June 5

I actually got to do something today!  One of my close friends is here for a month from Florida.  They come up every year to spend time with family.  She and I met for coffee and conversation :-) 

Thursday, June 6 - I clean on Thursdays normally so I left earlier than normal in order to be home for lunch since my extra kids had a half day.  Nate spent the afternoon with his friend Monty and also attended Monty's last soccer game with his family.  I love that my guys have great friends! 

Friday, June 7 - Today was an end of an era.  I have been babysitting/watching my friends kids since the oldest was born in 2010 so almost 14 years.  Well, today was their last day.  It is bittersweet because they have been part of our everyday lives for so long.  They are good friends though so it wasn'nt good bye, it was just a "see ya later". 

I just happened to have this photo saved on my phone from 2017.  I'm sure if I dug through photos I could find an older one of these four.  They loved having matching shirts! 

The crew today! 

They have been great friends for so many years! 

Saturday, June 8 - We attended an open house for a friend - he's one of my guys long time friends.  His dad is also our pastor :-)  Josh and I also went star gazing at 4:00a. 😊

We

And the night ended with a beautiful rainbow! 

 

And that's a wrap!  

Weekly Menu

 Well, it is officially summer break!  School is done and most of the "extra" stuff is done as well.  Nate has TKD through the end of June but otherwise everything else is done.  It's nice to hit the summer slow down . .. granted the next few weeks are still full with summer camps and open houses but not the "normal" stuff!  

Here's the plan for the coming week:

Friday - Joshua and Nate are at a birthday party throughout the afternoon and I believe are getting dinner.  Darryl and I are having a frozen PF Change dinner and rice.  Super simple. 

Saturday - We have an open house to attend for lunch so dinner is at home tonight since my mom is also going with us to the open house.  The plan is teriyaki chicken thighs, Knorr rice packets (Like Rice-a-Roni), peas and crescent rolls

Sunday - I have a concert so I grab something beforehand.  I budgeted a little for the guys to stop on their way home from church and pick up their lunch too.  We don't eat out often anymore as it has really gotten expensive but I do try to budget for a treat every once in while. (Even "cheap" fast food is now expensive - it is crazy!) 

Monday - With TKD still going on - dinner still has to be easy and able to be eaten in shifts.  So it is our standard BBQ Cups and Chips. 

Tuesday - A family favorite - Spaghetti Carbonara and French Bread

Wednesday - Ham and Cheese Quiche, Banana Bread and Asparagus

Thursday - Tomato Basil Chicken, Crazy Jane's Salad (it's based on a seasoning mix called Aunt Jane's Crazy Salt Mix) , and Garlic Bread

I have been working on a menu plan for the summer.  It is easy to feel like I'm constantly planning and cooking when we have nothing extra going on so I have tried to make a "routine" or schedule based on style of meals.  Obviously things come up and change and that is ok!  

My basic plan is as follows (because I know you are all thrilled to know this info)

Sundays - Crock Pot Meals so that they are ready after church.  This is also our optional "grilling" day where we have a light lunch after church and then grill later in the day.  

Monday - Crock Pot Soups - yes even in the summer soups are good.  I tend to make hearty soups with lots of meat, veggies, and pasta in them making it more of a meal.  

Tuesday - Odd-Ball stuff HA!  Such as meatless items, homemade pizza, seafood and pork.  Really these are all things that I have limited recipes for so I just combined them into one night. This is also the night for new recipes along the way too. 

Wednesday - Breakfast!  I love breakfast foods like quiches and pancakes so I enjoy cooking it for dinner. 

Thursday - Chicken. 

Friday - Beef

Saturday - We usually go to my mom's for dinner.  

Truth be told, I tend to do these ideas and get bored about three weeks into the plan HA!  So, we shall see how long this one lasts!  I also just cleaned out all of my recipes and threw away quite a few that I've made once and have no desire to make again.  Maybe I'll find a few more to throw out by the time I'm done LOL 

It's Summertime (almost!)

 

I missed posting last week but since it isn't officially summertime yet (we are still wrapping up school) then I guess that's ok.  HA!  This will be the last "unofficial" summertime post as week 1 of summer technically started yesterday.  I chose to post these on Tuesdays to give me time to update it after the weekend. Anyway . .. summer is knocking on the door for sure!! 

Over the past two weeks we celebrated my mom's 80th birthday, had a great Memorial Day with family, finally finished up school, participated in a Library teen activity, and more!  Not to mention the Father/Son Retreat and my fun Scrapbooking "retreat".  I'll share some photos below from all the fun!  

On Memorial Day we gathered at my mom's with my nephew and his family and we celebrated my mom's birthday as well.  She loves having family over!  

I always snap a photo of the oldest and youngest grandkids - my nephew is the oldest of all and Nate is the youngest.  Looking at this photo I do believe Joshua and Nate might be taller HA!  (One of these days I need to find all of the photos of the three of these guys through the years!) 

My mom's actual birthday was celebrated at our house with dinner, gifts, and dessert!  She made out like a bandit HA! 

She was protecting her dessert and candles.  In our house, no one technically blows out the candles but they breath hard and talk with ALOT of breath to try and blow them out while they are being lit.  Fun times!  

This past weekend Darryl, Joshua, and Nate attended a father/son retreat.