Friday Favorites: We Tried a New Hiking Trail

With our last full week of summer winding down, life is getting more and more hectic.



All three boys were still feeling under the weather on Friday so I spent another day waiting on them! LOL.  I did run out for a few errands-- the Dollar Store, Target, & the library.

 Despite being a beautiful day out I spent it inside watching movies, blogging, and reading. This view is always a favorite!



I spent my afternoon watching The One and Only Ivan while folding clothes and really liked it a lot.


I also watched Same Time, Next year; it was cute enough.  I'm not sure I liked it enough to ever want to watch it again.



We got takeout from Pub 99; their Vermont Cheddar Burger is amazing! My husband and I ended our night watching A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (finally!).  I LOVED it! All I kept thinking was we need more people like Mr. Rogers in our world.



The boys were all still felling icky on Saturday. I spent my morning in the kitchen.  Besides making them all breakfast I also reorganized the pantry, cleaned out and organized the freeze, cooked up a chicken/broccoli/rice casserole, mixed up a batch of Chex mix, tossed together a huge salad for the week, & prepped dinner by: shucking corn, slicing tomatoes, washing lettuce, and cutting up butternut squash fries.  By this time the boys were just about ready for lunch!  I LOVE being so productive in the kitchen and my clean pantry and freezer make me smile.



In the afternoon I was heading to my niece's (who's turning 7) and nephew's (who's turning 5) birthday party so I made up some gift tags (I gave up on making cards for kids parties years ago as we all know they really just want to see what's inside the bag).


I started a new craft project turning this Dollar Tree sign into something that matches our decor; I just love the color so far!




We did hit a rainstorm on the way to my sisters; one of those out of no where downpours that stopped within 10 or so minutes and it was completely dry at their house.  The  kids were all playing in the kiddie pool and the party had barely started when it began to rain.  They had one small tent set up outside that Ben and I huddled under with my parents while most of the party went inside.  It was pouring out and we didn't want to make a run for it... so we just waited it out under the tent.  By the time the storm passed by we had to leave to go make dinner but it was one of those wacky parties that we knew we'd never forget.


We made BLT grinders with corn on the cob and fries/ butternut squash fries for dinner.

It was a beautiful day on Sunday-- sunny with a high near 90.  I made pancakes for breakfast.

Ian was feeling all better and ended up spending the afternoon with Ben and I at the family's cottage with a bunch of visiting family members.





For dinner we ate ribeye steaks, baked potatoes, and salad.

Ian spent much of his day on Monday at the cottage hanging out with family, riding the jet ski, and even going tubing.  I spent my morning baking up some fresh cinnamon bread.  Then I went to my mother's trailer and hung around until lunchtime. The younger two boys spent their whole morning outside in the woods.  It's so nice they're all feeling better.



I finished up my puzzle & my craft project.  After lunch Alec and I ended up back at the cottage with Ian and a few family members until nearly dinnertime.



I made up a new chicken/ zucchini casserole for dinner and then my husband and I headed out to the hydroelectric dam.  He's been working so hard on making improvements this fall and had a motor he needed to reinstall on the crane.  I HATE watching him work with things like this 12 feet in the air but I LOVE that he is so skilled and finished the night in one piece. What a beautiful view though.





Alec was heading to karate on Tuesday morning and Ian was headed to work.  Alec got to lead the class in warming up then they really practiced his new form over and over again. We stopped at the library on the way home and spent all afternoon working on his school project & reading the student handbooks.





For dinner we cooked up burgers and hot dogs on the grill with chips and pickles.  I was supposed to make a salad to go with it but just ran out of time.  After dinner my husband and I headed to Lowe's to buy new tools for the new crane/utility truck for his work. We came home to a beautiful sunset.




With Ian gone to work on Wednesday, I was looking for something for Alec, Evan, and I to do. We ended up heading out for a hike.  It was a rather cool morning with temps in the 60's and we wanted to take advantage of the perfect hiking weather.  We hiked for an hour and half!  It was fabulous.  We did try out a new trail that led off of an old favorite and got slightly lost (I use our AllTrails app to keep an eye on where we're walking) but since I knew where we wanted to go we just kept navigating until we found our car again. I love trying out new trails!









For dinner we had salad with the chicken, broccoli, and rice casserole I made on Saturday then my husband and I headed out grocery shopping.

I had such a busy day on Thursday and yet felt like I got nothing done!  I went through Alec's back to school clothes and we realized we had lots of shorts and only 2 pairs of pants-- now that they've swapped the schedule around he's in shop for the first two weeks and can only wear pants.  We went to Amazon and returned a few pairs of shorts (he won't be back in the building for a non-shop day until Oct!) and ordered pants.  I may have ordered a few things for myself too. He finished his summer assignments and packed his bag too. So we are officially ready to go!

The boys and I headed to my husband's work to see about a painting job he wanted us to do.  Between the three of us we should be able to get all two coats done on all the walls/trim in just a day or two so we agreed to tackle it.  Then headed home to look through paint supplies and paint in our basement which really led to cleaning out all the paint we had as most of it was old and the can lids had rusted.



I threw together a Sheppard's pie to put in the freezer and prepped all the fruit for the week as well as cutting up all sorts of veggies for dinner and the next thing I knew a few hours had gone by where I hadn't left the kitchen.




For dinner I made Parmesan crusted fish (with chicken tenderloins for the boys), roasted potatoes, and a mix of roasted vegetables from our Misfits box including mushrooms, asparagus, broccoli, squash, and zucchini.  Then after dinner my husband and I headed back to the hydro so he could take more measurements.  This time he was lowering himself over the side in a basket using that crane motor he has just replaced.

Linking Up With: On the Edge,


Comments

  1. I hope your boys are all feeling better but they probably want to stay sick if you are going to keep waiting on them like this- ha! Such lucky boys :) I LOVE the way your pumpkin sign came out-that is a beautiful color!

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    1. They are all 100% better but I could definitely tell they were milking it towards the end and even called them out on it! LOL. Not that I could blame them but I did remind them they'd have to pay me back in full when I'm laid up.

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  2. Your pictures from your hiking are gorgeous! And that cinnamon bread looks, YUM!

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  3. I always like your hiking pictures! That pumpkin turned out so good, I love the color! And I wish I had a slice of that cinnamon bread this morning. Have a beautiful weekend!

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    1. It was lovely to get out hiking again. I'm hoping our weather will keep giving us cooler mornings so we can get back into hiking more often.

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  4. Your view is so beautiful!!! Bummer that the boys were feeling sick? Hope you guys have a great start to the year! LOVE the color of the pumpkin you re-did!

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    1. I keep telling everyone that they weren't really sick; they were man-sick. They had the sniffles and an occasional light cough or scratchy throat.

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  5. Oh I love what you did with your pumpkin sign! And we are looking forward to watching The One and Only Ivan too!

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    1. Thank you! I was so pleased with how it turned out.

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  6. That cinnamon bread looks so good! And the hike looks wonderful!

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    1. The bread was delicious and other than the waiting/rising time it was really easy to make too!

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  7. Amazing pictures from your hiking.. looks like you had so much fun :-)
    Beauty and Fashion/Rampdiary/Glamansion

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  8. We want to watch the Ivan movie and the Mr Rogers movie too. We just got rid of cable this week, so I am saving things to watch when the weather gets icky. We don't watch tv during the day in the summer for some reason; actually we don't watch during the week either any time of year. It is a routine that we find we love. Routine is so important, as YOU know. :)
    I love all the recipes you make. You inspire me. I am finally meal planning again. Yay!

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    1. Good for you for meal planning again! It helps so much especially during the school year (I think). I tried to get rid of our TV/ not let the family watch it during the week and my husband mutinied!

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  9. So many yummy meals!! And love the hiking photos.

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  10. So glad everyone is feeling better! It looks like you guys had a great week. The views and hiking trails are amazing. Hope your weekend is lots of fun too, CoCo

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    1. We really did have a good week and I am so thankful that everyone is healthy again just in time to start school.

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  11. Love these posts from you! The photo of the lily pads is beautiful. Sending lots of good vibes for the boys for their school year!

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    1. Thank you!! We'll take all the good vibes we can get.

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  12. I've been reading the book 28 Summers so I've been wanting to watch Same Time Next Year, too! Haha. That is so random that you just watched that because I added it to my watch list last night!

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    1. I couldn't believe it was so hard to find; I seriously read two book and saw one show/movie that referenced Same Time, Next Year that I just knew I had to see what it was all about.

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  13. I can't get enough of your lake photos and food. And I hope to see you on my Fancy Friday link up party.

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  14. That cinnamon bread looks sooo good. So do BLT grinders. I have never made them that way. I love how you took your old sign and repurposed it. Looks like it was a great week!!!

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    1. It really was a good week! I only thought of BLT grinders because my middle son orders them from places like Subway and I thought that sounded so good one day.

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  15. I love your photography. Seriously, even your paint cans looks great. Also, I love the lake view, is that the view from your house? Or where you staying now? Either way it looks like such a nice spot to relax by. I hope to some day live by the water.

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    1. That lake view (sunrise/ sunset photos) is the view from our house, one taken from our deck and the other from our bedroom window.

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  16. Love all the hiking pictures! Did you try the Magnolia bread recipe? Have a good weekend!

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    1. Yes, I did and it was so easy!! Thank you! I omitted the raisins though.

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  17. I'm sorry that your son's weren't feeling good. We have a walking trail in town, but we haven't been there in a few years. It's peaceful. I love light blue pumpkins. I'm not really a fan of orange, so I like the white & light blue 1s.
    http://therantingsofadramaqueensmum.blogspot.com

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    1. I am just so glad they're all feeling better now. Thank you.

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  18. I'm so impressed with all your cleaning and organizing! You got a lot done! I'm sorry your kids weren't feeling well. I love the pumpkin you did! I saw that on a few craft groups and need to get over to Dollar Tree and get one myself!

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    1. Thank you! Every now and then I really get in these organizing/ cleaning frenzies.

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  19. Glad you’re boys are on the mend! That hiking trail was so pretty.

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  20. The hiking trail is wonderful, the photos are gorgeous!

    xoxo
    Lovely

    http://mynameislovely.com

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  21. I hope everyone's feeling better! As usual you cooked up some delicious stuff this week! I read the book The One and Only Ivan with my son a couple of years ago. We are trying to enjoy the last moments of summer as well. Have a great weekend!

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  22. I had so many comments and then I saw that picture of water lilies on the water and everything else flew out of my head. What an AMAZING picture!

    Oh, and I love your turquoise pumpkin too.

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  23. You take such beautiful, beautiful walks. We sure do need more Mr. Rogers! That would be delightful. Your life looks so much more normal than it is here in the south.
    Blessings, Dawn

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    1. It's funny, because I feel like so many people's blogs I read from Texas and Georgia seem more normal than here. Maybe because I just try not to go that many places where other people are.

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  24. I saw your link on the Friendship Friday link up. That view is beautiful! Your sign looks great, and these are some fun times. Thank you for sharing!

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  25. Love the sunset pictures. And love that repainted sign!

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