What's Up Wednesday.... May Edition

Happy Wednesday friends!! It's time to link up with Shay. Mel and Sheaffer for What's Up Wednesday....May Edition. 

 A fun monthly post where we answer these questions....

What we're eating this week......

This week we are keeping it simple... lots of simple suppers... most on the grill. We kicked off our Summer with Monday's dinner of crab legs, boiled baby reds and grilled corn.

It was so yummy! 

Also up this week are these Chicken Caprese Burgers. 

You can grab the details on this burger and the rest of our menu here.

What I'm reminiscing about.......

Running. I hurt my foot while training for the marathon and have not been able to run (insert sad face here). So I have been reminiscing about last year's half marathon, while I patiently wait to hit the pavement again!

What I'm loving.....

Roasting or grilling vegetables. The colors and the flavors... I just cannot get enough!

 

And we are still mildly obsessed with fresh cherries....

What we've been up to......

We finally got the boat in the water.....

Luke has been playing lots of baseball.....

And still reading every book series he can find....

Ella has been dancing so much I have had to carry her! Ha!

And she has really been making some strides on the soccer field....

Paul has been hard at work keeping our city smelling like Cheerios....

I have been working hard to keep all the plates spinning this time of year!

And we have apparently completed exhausted Maddie.....

What I'm dreading.....

Nothing....I mean Summer is coming.......

What I'm working on......

Summer plans! We are planning our first "stay-cation" in a long time. Looking forward to the down time and having fun in our own back yard. The kids are finalizing their "Summer Bucket List"....which I am sure will include a lemonade stand!

I'll share our list soon.

What I'm excited about......

S-U-M-M-E-R

What I'm watching/reading.....

Paul and I just finished watching Big Little Lies....

It was so good! And now we are all caught up on all the series we like to watch together. At first I was bummed, but then as I thought about it, we don't watch much TV in the Summer. So I think we will survive!

I read some great books last month and shared them in my May Book Review. This was my favorite and will definitely be in my top 5 for the year. 

I just started this one... yes another Elin Hildebrand.

 I am all about beachy reads the next few months!

What I'm listening to......

Jimmy Buffett, Zac Brown Band & Kenny Chesney.... all good boat music...with a little Bruno Mars thrown in there for fun!

What I'm wearing......

Well this weather was not great here in May. It was cooler than normal and extra rainy. I pretty much lived in distressed jeans. 

I tried to make it more exciting with a fun top...but the bottom has been jeans on repeat!

 Sometimes with a jacket, other times it was warm enough to do just a tee. I am really hoping next month I can be wearing more shorts and tanks than jeans and jackets!

 

What I'm doing this weekend......

We have got baseball, soccer and more baseball! However it is looking like a rainy weekend... so plans may change. If that's the case, we will be off to see Pirates of the Carribean. 

Paul loves this movie series and sometimes he thinks he is a pirate 😉

What I'm looking forward to next month.....

The end of school for my crew! Here they are on the first day of this school year... 

Always crazy to see how much they change during the school year. 

What else is new.....

I don't think anything else is new.... I think I covered it all!

Bonus question.... Favorite Vacation spot.....

Lake George, NY.  I spend my summers there as a kid and we took our kids for five years. It is just the best mix of relaxing, beautiful water, and fun stuff to do when you want to! I just love it there... and need to get back soon!

And that's it for What's Up Wednesday! I hope you are having a great week & we will see you tomorrow for our Weekend Wrap Up. 

There's always room for one more at our family table.

xoxo

Genevieve

Four Meals for Your Family Table... Week 21

Well that sure was a whirlwind weekend! We packed it all in.... baseball, soccer, swimming with friends, more baseball, dancing, amusement park, slip n slide, ice cream....
The last thing I wanted to do is think about what to cook this week! So it is 4 simple suppers this week, for another busy week. Is your week a bit crazy too? If so, these 4 meals are perfect for your family table.
But first, about last night.....we kicked off Summer with the perfect dinner.

And I tell you, Luke would eat his weight in crab legs!
Now onto the next few days.....
one

On my quest to "mix up" my burgers this year.. I bring you the Chicken Caprese Burger. Fresh and full of  two of my favorite Summer flavors...... basil & tomato. I made my burgers with 1 1/4 pound of ground chicken mixed with 1 TSP of Italian Seasoning (salt free), 1 TSP of salt and 1/2 TSP of black pepper. I grilled them and topped with a slice of fresh mozzarella at the end. Layer the bun with fresh basil leaves, tomatoes and top with the burger. I drizzled it with some herb infused EVOO, but it would also be great with your favorite pesto too.

two 

These are a pretty delicious twist on a taco. Baked BBQ Chicken Tacos are loaded with flavor and will be a new Taco Tuesday Favorite for sure! Even better is the chicken cooks all day in the crockpot! Place 1lb of boneless chicken in the crockpot, along with 2 cups of chicken stock. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove the chicken, shred it and toss with 1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce. I fill the shells with fresh spinach, red onion, the chicken and some pepper jack cheese. Bake at 400 for about 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

three

Keeping it simple for Thursday too with Grilled Chicken. I just season the chicken with some salt & pepper and serve with some roasted potatoes....and as always, something green!

four
I really don't think you can beat a simple BLAT on a Summer Friday night. Especially if it's eaten on the patio. We put the A in there for avocado. I spread that on the bread instead of mayo, and we love it on sourdough bread. Pair with some fresh veggies or carrot "fries" and dinner is done!

So there you have it.....four simple suppers for this short, but busy week!

See you tomorrow for What's Up Wednesday....a fun recap of  our life over the last month!
There's always room for one more at our family table!
xoxo
Genevieve

Friday Favorites.... Yay for a 3 Day Weekend!

It's Friday!!! 
Whew... the last weekend of May! And the official kickoff weekend of Summer. But I tell you.. .this darn forecast is not what I call Summer. I feel like we have been stuck under a gray rain cloud all month! I am so ready for Summer....it is my favorite time of year and this pretty much sums up why....

As always, I am linking up with some of my favorite blogging friends, Andrea, Narci, and Erika to share a few of my Friday Favorites. A random list of things that made me happy this week!

one

Watching this boy play baseball. Now I feel like we do that nearly everday, but it doesn't get old. It is his 5th year playing and it's been cool to watch him progress each year. They really "get it" this year and have made some great plays.

two

Cherries!!! Luke asked me to get cherries the other day, so I grabbed some that night....and they were gone in minutes. The next day I bought more....and well we ate our way through 3 lbs of cherries in 24 hours. 

#givemeallthecherries

three

While the weather has been pretty meh around here, Tuesday night was beautiful. And somehow we did not have any activities, so we took advantage! I made dinner, packed it up and we headed to the boat to dine al fresco.

 

We played some cards, ate dinner and enjoyed a beautiful Tuesday night.

four

I joined Andrea over at Momfessionals for Show & Tell Tuesday. This week's topic was Travelogues and I had so much fun looking through old vacation pics.

 I highlighted our most beautiful, most memorable and best family vacation. My most memorable had a pretty funny story about how my life changed on my first ever camping trip. If you missed it, you can catch up here.

five

Yesterday I shared my May book review. Three great reads, including this one, which is a top 

contender for my favorite of 2017!

You can check out my review here.  And I am on the search for great Summer reads... so drop your favorites in the comments!

And this is marathon weekend. The marathon I was training to run in...but now I can't due to a darn injury. I was pretty bummed about it, but what can I do? I have been resting my foot and it's starting to feel better, and hoping to run again soon....and get another race on the calendar. 

For now I will reminisce to last years marathon weekend and root on my girl Kelly who will be running her first full marathon. We ran the half together last year!

Do you guys have any fun plans for the weekend???

We have got baseball, soccer, dance, and more baseball... all pending on the weather! 

Hoping to get out on the water at some point! And of course we will be grilling all weekend....

Maybe these Greek Burgers again, because they were so good!

I shared the details on these in our Meal Planning post.

Have a fun weekend and we will see you on Monday!

There's always room for one more at our family table!

xoxo

Genevieve

May Book Review

It's the last Thursday of the month & time for my monthly book review!  I am linking up with Narci over at Grace and Love Blog for her monthly Carpool Book Club.  Be sure to check out her blog for all her picks too!!

                                       If you missed the last few, you can catch up below.....

January Book Review

February Book Review
March Book Review
April Book Review
So this month I checked 2 off my "want to read" list, and read one more from Elin Hildebrand (who has yet to disappoint me!) And I have linked all the books to Amazon, so you can click the picture and add to your cart!
one

As I said Elin has not disappointed me yet.... and I still want to live on Nantucket! The Matchmaker is the story of Dabney Kimball... a lifelong Nantucketer. She is seemingly happy in her storybook life of being happily married, a daughter dating a prominent NY businessman and running all the town's festivities. Until one day her first love....her true love, Clem, returns back to Nantucket. Things seem to unravel for Dabney as she tries to sort through her feelings for Clem. As if it could not get more complicated for her, she receives some shocking news and must face the secrets she has kept and decide who she wants to be with . I really enjoyed the storyline and of course all things Nantucket. This book would be perfect for Summer.... grab a copy and toss in your beach bag!
two

I have wanted to read this book for a few months. It was so darn good I finished it in two days. Now I have really loved my Beatriz Williams books, but this one is a contender for my favorite book of the year. This story is about Lily.. a girl with an unfortunate past, but who is determined to turn it around. She meets Ryle... a wealthy neurosurgeon and it appears her dreams of happily ever after may come true. But after seeing her first love, Atlas again.... things may not be as they seem. Quite a few twists and I really liked how it all turned out in the end. A great story that I could not put down!
three

I can't remember where I heard about this book, but I had it on my read list and grabbed it. This was an excellent story. Much deeper than some  of the lighter reads I have been into and oh so good. The story of Isabelle....a woman in her 80s and her hair dresser. When Isabelle gets a call to go to Cincinnati she asks to take her.... all the way from Texas. These two really connect on the trip and we find out a pretty amazing story about Isabelle and her past. The two have an amazing friendship... one that each benefits from as they share their life stories. It is a great story that teaches you to look past age, race or background and truly see people for who they are.
Three great reads this month! Yay!
Have you read anything great??? Looking for some great summer reads!
See you tomorrow for Friday Favorites...there's always room for one more at our family table.
xoxo
Genevieve

Weekend Wrap Up....Wicked!

We made it through another busy week in May and had another busy weekend. Seems to be a theme...busy!

Ella had a dance competition on Friday night. Her first dance was scheduled for 9pm and her second at 10pm. #pastmybedtime. I tell you it was tough on a Friday night, as we were all pretty wiped out from the week. I had to carry her to the competition! Ha!

#butreallyIneededsomeonetocarryme

She and her friends did a great job! Her lyrical group won an award for the best display of emotion. Ella received the award from the judges and she gave her name and dance studio into the mic on stage. It was so cute!  They have worked hard on that dance and she always tells us not to smile at her when she is doing that dance. It's a serious story they are telling and she needs to stay focused...that's the warning we get before that dance😉

We all slept in Saturday morning and then we were off to baseball pictures and a soccer game.

Luke spent time playing with friends in the neighborhood, and my girlfriend sent me this adorable pic.

We are so lucky to be in such a great neighborhood! Love that the kids can just walk next door or down a few houses to play with friends. And my neighbors have helped me so many times with getting my crew on or off the bus when my work schedule gets hectic. So happy we have this neighborhood to call home!

Saturday night I went with my mom & sister to see Wicked. 

What a great show!! It was my first time seeing it and it was just amazing. I would love to take the kids next time it comes to our area.

I did not get home from the show until almost midnight. That's two nights in a row for me up until midnight. I am still tired! 

Sunday was a funny day... it looked light it might rain all day so we were kind of hesitant to make any outdoor plans. Which was ok with me... a catch up day around the house was just what I needed.

Luke got a new bat and practiced his swing in the yard before his game.

And Maddie was an excellent retriever in gathering all the balls after he hit them!

We headed out to Luke's game Sunday night and got a message on the way that it was cancelled due to rain. But we still went out for ice cream.... 

Luke picked bubble gum and spit out every piece of bubblegum! I mean when you think about it... why would you put gum in ice cream? It's frozen, so you can't easily chew it. And even if you could.. it's kind of awkward to chew gum and eat ice cream at the same time. What do you do when you get to the cone? Spit out the gum and eat the cone? Random thoughts, I know... but really whoever thought of this flavor? I think that was our first and last experience with bubblegum ice cream!

So that's a little peek at last weekend. I am already looking forward to this coming weekend!  A 3 day weekend  to celebrate Memorial Day and hopefully kick off Summer!

See you tomorrow for my monthly book review. There's always room for one more at our family table!

xoxo

Genevieve