Weekend Recap

Hey, hey! Happy Sunday, friends! Are you ready for another Weekend Recap?! It’s been a busy one around here, so I’ll get right to it!

When I signed off on my last Weekend Recap, it was Easter Sunday and we were headed out to see our families for the day. We started with an Egg Hunt and baskets at home before heading north to Keith’s parents’ house. My sister-in-law Meghan coordinated an awesome Egg Hunt for all of the boy cousins, which they loved (of course)!

Tina and Michael

Me and James

Newest Nephew Leo ?

And cousins hunting for eggs!

My biggest:

My littlest:

Mid-afternoon we headed to my parents’ house for yet another Egg Hunt,

bubbles with GrandDaddy,

and a walk in the woods.

My mom also let the boys make their own Easter desserts: Peeps Cars!

These were Twinkies, mini Oreos for the wheels, a white chocolate-covered pretzel for the steering wheel, and Peeps in the driver’s seat…all held together with plenty of frosting from a tube. Obviously a big hit with the kids!

And for a more grown-up spin on dessert, my dad made individual Chocolate Souffles with orange cream sauce (recipe from Jacques Pepin). Mmmmmm…

Since Casey and Gibbs were both off from school on Monday, they spent the day with my mom while Spence and I had a quiet time at home. We stayed busy with plenty of post-Easter clean-up, laundry, and a slow jog on the road by our house after breakfast. It was still cloudy and cool, but you can tell that everything is GREEN for spring!

We took it easy and stopped plenty of times to fix his shoes, get his snack, talk on the phone to my mom, and check out the creeks (always his favorite)…

I was a little bit worried that he would miss his brothers and be bored, but this guy seemed to enjoy having what HE wanted for breakfast, watching what HE wanted on television (while playing with trains), and going outside whenever HE wanted to!

Tuesday’s early morning session at the gym with Mark included the “Landmine Rotational Clean and Press” that he put me through (x3)! I had never heard of it before this workout, but it’s a good one — heart rate up and full body workout!

Start:

Finish:

After lunch that day Aunt Barbara arrived to spend time with Gibbs and Spence so that I could take Casey into Charlottesville for an appointment. I made the most of my trip into town, which included a stop at Costco (BEAUTIFUL when I only have 1 child along for the ride!), and a quick walk with my bestie, Kristin (who is practically famous on this blog thanks to her Easy Chocolate Italian Love Cake post from last year…I just noticed that the recipe has been pinned over 16K times now)!

Wednesday morning coffee served in a lamb mug! How cute is that?! My mom obviously knows my love for coffee (and mugs), so for Easter she gave me this one as well as a piglet mug that is equally cute. They’re handmade by her friend (and pottery instructor), Mrs. Cordyack, who also happens to be my 7th grade art teacher! ❤️

It was a gorgeous morning, so after we dropped Casey off at preschool I took the other boys with me to the high school track. I wanted to get in a 2-mile run, but Gibbs was home for spring break all week so a stroller run with Spence wasn’t going to happen. Instead, I brought along some Matchbox cars and snacks to entertain the kids while I ran laps.

Photo courtesy of 6-year-old Gibbs…my budding photographer!

 They were in heaven! Toys + food + a giant sand pit = FUN.

Practicing his long jump…

When I was done, we made a quick pit stop at Yoder’s on the way home to pick up some lunch supplies. Nothing says “Spring Break” like a cup of homemade Cookies n’ Cream ice cream at 10:00 a.m.!

I spent the evening reading this new cookbook on the couch. I love the title, and it’s basically exactly how I cook: mostly wholesome…but with a few indulgences thrown in there, too. I have so many recipes dog-eared to try!

Thursday morning’s early session with Mark included this exercise that he called, “Rip Trainer Hockey Plyos,” and it was definitely one of the tougher workouts we’ve ever done. I was dyyyyyyyying.? But lucky you…I will soon be sharing the FULL workout in a separate post so that you can (a) see what a complete workout with a personal trainer looks like; and (b) kick your own butt at the gym!

I came home to breakfast and coffee in the Piglet mug from Mom,

and later that morning I took the boys to the trampoline park in Charlottesville, which was one of Gibbs’s requests for Spring Break. Such a fun way to burn off some of their (never-ending) energy!

I made 2-ingredient barbecue chicken in the Crock Pot for dinner that night (no recipe — I just put about 2 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken breasts and thighs into the pot, along with a bottle of BBQ sauce…cooked on low for 4-6 hours; shred and serve)…but I used THESE bear claws to shred the meat. So easy, and much more efficient than the two forks that I usually use. ? I gave them to Keith in his stocking last Christmas, but they would also make a great (affordable) Father’s Day gift with some other grilling supplies…

After I gave the boys their BBQ sandwiches for dinner, I scooted out the door to a LuLaRoe Clothing party at my friend Amanda’s house. It was my first time at one of these events, and it was a lot of fun! I sipped some sangria, ate some snacks, and came home with two tops and two pairs of leggings (not pictured here)!

Friday morning donut stop on the way to preschool!

and lunch at the picnic table after school.

I decided to take advantage of the pretty 80-degree day and get some exercise in the yard. I jogged laps around our fence line while the boys played in the sandbox and Casey taught Spencer the fine art of picking up sticks…

This jog was much slower and more difficult than the run on the high school track earlier in the week — thanks to the soft, uneven ground and the hills! I just tried to focus on the spring blossoms and the mountains…

Do you remember the Spirograph?! Definitely a throw-back to my childhood, but the boys have had a lot of fun with this recently!

And yesterday morning was quite the adventure! I spent most of the day traveling to (and from) Northern Virginia for Molly’s bridal shower.

She’s marrying Cameron, one of my neighbors and childhood best friends, so the party was hosted by many familiar faces!

Cameron and Molly have already traveled the world together, so the shower’s theme was a no-brainer:

There were so many special touches, but I especially loved the brie cheese “wedding cake,”

the flower vases wrapped in maps,

and all of the beautiful food!

Look at the cream puff kabobs with heart-shaped strawberries!

And the bride-to-be!

Congrats to Molly and Cameron!!

And that brings us to today…I have some blog projects to work on and the usual Sunday chores to get done, so off I go. Have a wonderful week ahead!