Friday Favorites: The Week We Got Home From Vacation

We had a great week finishing up our vacation and settling back into "real" life.  We had beautiful weather and snuck in a few hikes.  We began gearing up to start school and I tried to get us all back to a somewhat normal schedule.



After a delicious (and free!) breakfast Friday morning we loaded in the car and headed out of Mitchell, South Dakota heading to Omaha, Nebraska.  We hoped to reach Omaha by lunchtime(ish) and head right to the Henry Doorly Zoo and Aquarium.  We did have to find an alternate route there as a few major roads were closed due to the flooding of the Missouri River but we found our way and wow! What a zoo (and aquarium)!  We explored for several hours in the heat and still didn't manage to see it all before closing, but we did see most of it and had such a great time checking out all the animals.  We settled into our hotel and then headed out to Olive Garden, at the boys' request, for dinner.







We were up bright and early on Saturday and headed to the airport after a quick bite to eat at our hotel.  Omaha airport was easy to navigate and all the TSA agents were very friendly.  In no time we were boarding the plane for St. Louis.  We had a super quick 50 minute layover that barely gave us time to go to the bathroom and buy a few snacks before we were bound for home.  None of our flights were fully booked so we all got to sit together (a minor miracle on Southwest where there is no assigned seating).  Once we landed, picked up our bags, and found our car we were all starving and decided to hit up a Texas Roadhouse for late lunch/ early dinner.   Once home we unpacked and started in on laundry.

Sunday morning my husband an I headed to the grocery store nice and early and headed out on a mini date to the apple orchard in the afternoon.  We found these delicious caramel apples!  I spent most of the day doing laundry and trying to get caught up on my blogging.  We had a mini (and rather impromptu) birthday party for Evan that night with his grandparents and a Carvel ice cream cake.  He was quite happy.




Our Monday hiking group was meeting at Wachusett mountain for a hike but none of us wanted to brave the hour+ drive after having spent so much time in the car all last week so we found our own place to hike and enjoyed some nice warm breezes.





Alec and I began working on an Amish starter bread starter; for 10 days we leave the milk, yeast, sugar, and flour mixture on the counter, adding ingredients and kneading as required.  After 10 days we'll have enough starter to share and make up a batch or two of bread.



Ian needs his wisdom teeth removed so we met with an Oral Surgeon on Tuesday.  I was really impressed with him and he put our minds at ease (a bit!) about the surgery.

Wednesday after my mammogram appointment I convinced the boys to go hiking.  We went up to Purgatory Chasm and hiked a few trails.  The weather was perfect and the trees are really starting to turn red, orange, and yellow... I just love seeing all the fall colors everywhere.







Comments

  1. This looks like a wonderful trip!! I love the mini-date with your husband at the apple orchard. That sounds perfect!

    https://www.makelifemarvelous.com/

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    1. We did have a great time and saw so much in just a short week.

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  2. Aww how sweet mini date in the orchard. You have so many wonderful places to hike. Have a wonderful weekend

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    Replies
    1. We really do have lots of places to hike around here and I'm trying to get better about trying new ones.

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  3. Replies
    1. I could not get over the size of it! It was huge.

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  4. It's so nice that you get to go for wonderful hikes with your kids! Happy Friday.

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    Replies
    1. OH yes, we try to hike at least a couple times each week as long as the weather cooperates.

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  5. I am looking forward to lots of hiking this fall! As much as I like the school routine, I am looking forward to our 5 day fall break in a couple of weeks. Hoping to spend some time outdoors!
    www.chezmireillefashiontravelmom.com

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    Replies
    1. That must be so nice! Our local schools don't have break until Christmas. I would have loved a fall break when the boys were in public school. Fall is my favorite season.

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  6. Oh, is that Amish friendship bread that you're making? A friend gave me starter for that many years ago and I kept it going for a pretty long time (I just kept making more bread). It was soooo good.

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    1. It is Amish Friendship bread! We've never made it before but we've heard great things about it.

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  7. Looks like you had a great time!! Thanks so much for stopping by!! I bought the orange lights in Dollar General..
    Hugs,
    Deb

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  8. What a great trip and fun adventures! Belated birthday wishes for Evan!

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  9. What a fantastic week. I think you might have the most fun each week of everyone I read! I love all the nature you find.. That caramel apple looks so good.
    Blessings, Dawn

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    Replies
    1. It was a fantastic week! (And that caramel apple was amazing!).

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