Show & Tell Tuesday.... Travelogues Edition

Hi friends!  I am so excited to link up with Andrea over at Momfessionals for Show & Tell Tuesday. Today's topic... Travelogues! Sharing some thoughts and pics on my favorite trips!

I have been pretty fortunate to have gone on quite a few trips. I love to see other places.....especially warm places and we try to make travel and adventures a priority with our kids. Now we don't do a lot of lavish trips, but I hope my kids will look back and have lots of great memories of our adventures! 

After thinking about our trips, I decided to break it into three buckets...... the most beautiful trip, the most memorable trip, and my favorite family vacation!

Most Beautiful Trip

This was by far our honeymoon to Maui. I remember all the craziness in the days leading up to our wedding and then remembering... holy cow... we are going to Hawaii!

It was just a beautiful place. The beaches, the scenery and the food were all amazing.

We took our fist selfie in Hawaii.........

Went on a few adventures......

Ate a lot of food....

And of course went to a luau.

Most Memorable Trip

 My most memorable trip is hands down my first ever camping trip. 

I did not grow up camping. I strongly believe either you are a camper or you are not. I was the "not". 

I will never forget when we pulled into the camping "resort" and I looked around at my home for the next 7 days.

Holy cow it was a ton of work. Not something I would put in the "vacation" bucket. Between tents, air mattresses, sleeping bags, kayaks, boat jetski, tarps, screened in tents, fire pits, grills and about a hundred rubbermaid totes....it took about 12 hours to set up camp. 

And then in poured... actually I think it rained everyday. So all that stuff we brought was soaked and I felt damp for the rest of the trip. Glad I had this every stylish wetsuit to get me through. I mean who doesn't love a good rubber suit!

I tried to warm up with a shower. You have to pay to take a shower. Yep...twenty five cents. Apparently I am expensive, because my shower cost about $1.50. And yes I learned that the hard way after getting caught with soap in my hair and fresh out of quarters.

However on day 3 of this trip, my life changed.

Paul said let's go out to dinner tonight. So we drove into the beautiful town of Lake Placid. Which by the way had many hotel options. We went to dinner at Adirondack Steak & Seafood.

Then he suggested a walk around Mirror Lake. It was sunset and we were walking around this beautiful lake....little did I know he was looking for a bench to stop at and propose. We lapped the whole lake (3 miles) and every bench was taken. Every. Single. One. So Paul said, let's keep walking.. it's a nice night. I can't imagine what he was feeling... this whole plan to propose at sunset and we could not find a darn bench!

At this point the sun had set, so it was getting dark and we found a bench off to the side that was surrounded with orange construction fencing and cones. It was there he proposed and I said yes... and it was just perfect!

Not exactly the view he was thinking, but a perfect memory in my mind!

His family knew his plans and we celebrated with champagne by the fire that night.

And the next morning I was a "happy camper"....

Then the story takes another funny turn. Paul was so excited to propose on this trip, he kind of rushed the ring and they had to size it down quite a bit for my finger. Apparently doing so loosened the diamonds. The next morning I had lost 3 of the smaller stones on the sides! He felt terrible...but what were we to do? We still laugh about it today and say that we were dropping diamonds on that campsite!

Best Family Vacation

Growing up, my family vacationed at a beach cottage in Lake George. Every year for one to two weeks... we had the best summers up there. Six years ago we took our kids and both sets of parents and rented a house on the lake. It was just perfect!

The kids just loved it!!

We did all kinds of fun water stuff at the lake. Paddleboats & kayaks...

We tried to get my dad up on waterskis for the first time in his life!

We watched my father in law slalom ski....at 76 years old....

And pulled my mom in the tube.....

I mean how many kids can watch their grandparents do all that???

We spent lots of time at the beach and on our boat.

 

Went out for a few great dinners....

Took a horse and buggy ride through town....

Went horseback riding...

And took a fun visit to Saratoga Race Track to see the race horses and get a behind the scenes tour....

We did a family picture with the beautiful lake in the background.

It was such an amazing trip, we did it the next few years... and got the same picture....

An amazing family trip!

So there you have it.... my Travelogues! Looking back on all these photos was fun....I am a very lucky girl....and I am excited for our next adventure!

See you tomorrow for our weekend wrap up.... there's always room for one more at our family table!

xoxo

Genevieve

Five Meals for Your Family Table....Week 20

Happy Monday friends! 

This week's meal plan has lots of fresh tastes of Summer. As we head into Memorial Day weekend, I have got Summer Fever and hope that the weather starts to feel Summerish here!

one

Grilled fish is a staple for us in the Summer. Grilled Salmon with fresh pineapple salsa is a little bit of summer on a plate. Simply season the salmon with a drizzle of EVOO, sprinkle with salt & pepper and grill about 5 minutes per side. You can grab the recipe for the salsa here.

two

Taco Salad is on the menu tonight. Salad bars are an easy dinner fix. Lay out lots of veggies and top with taco meat. Simply brown ground beef, turkey or chicken and season with your favorite taco seasoning. Dinner is done quick and everyone is happy to build their own. These make great salads for lunch the next few days too!

three

I just call this Summer Pasta. Take 4-5 cups of your favorite summer veggies, drizzle with some EVOO, salt & pepper.  You can roast them at 425 for 20 minutes or toss in a grill basket and grill. 

Toss with some pasta, a sprinkle of your favorite cheese and a little fresh lemon zest. 

four 

I shared the recipe for these Shrimp Spring Rolls yesterday and they are the perfect summer dish. A no cook solution on a hot day. Click here for the recipe. 

five

I am on a mission to make fun burgers this summer! These Greek burgers are full of flavor and a delicious twist on a burger. Take 1 1//2 lbs of ground turkey and season with 1TSP of salt, 1/2 TSP pepper, 1TSP garlic powder and 1/2 TSP onion powder. Form into 4 patties and grill. Layer the bun with thinly sliced red onion, cucumber, top with burger, tzatziki sauce (recipe here) and a sprinkle of feta. 

Oh so good! And there is just something about a burger and a beer....especially on the patio in Summer!

Have a great week friends!

See you tomorrow for Show & Tell Tuesday...there's always room for one more at our family table.

xoxo

Genevieve

Shrimp Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

These Shrimp Spring Rolls are a great no cook option in the Summer. They take a little time to assemble, but are well worth it!

Ingredients

1/2 package of cooked Vermicilli (can find in Asian food section)

1/2 cup grated carrot

1/4 cup chopped scallions

1 cup finely shredded cabbage

2 TBSP sesame seeds

1 lb of cooked shrimp, tail removed and split in half lengthwise

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Avocado- sliced

12 Sheet of rice paper

Place the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Set aside.

Soften the rice paper. Place lukewarm water in a pie plate and add 2-3 sheets at a time, soaking for 30 seconds. Remove one at a time and place on a paper towel to dry, layering a towel between each sheet.

Lay one sheet down and add 1/4 cup of cabbage mixture, 1 slice of avocado, 3-4 shrimp and a sprinkle of cilantro.

Roll tightly, and be sure to tuck in the ends as you roll. Continue with the remaining rice paper. Be gentle as you work with the sheets, as they can be finicky. I usually have  couple extra on hand. 

Peanut Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup Peanut Butter

2 TBSP liquid aminos

1/4 cup water

2 TSP fresh ginger

Heat all ingredients over medium heat until melted & combined. You an also add a few red pepper flakes if you want a little heat. Serve as a dipping sauce with the spring rolls.

Enjoy!

xoxo

Genevieve

Friday Favorites

It's Friday!!! And we are more than halfway through this crazy, busy month of May!! We may be crawling across the finish line, but we will make it!
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 whole lot of randomness making the list today... from puppies to flowers to edible cookie dough!

one
My sweet Mother's Day gifts!

 
I just love all the handmade cards and gifts. I recapped all our Mother's Day weekend fun the other day... you can catch up here.
two
The 80 degree weather this week!!! Yay!! After such a rainy start to May this week's warmth and sunshine felt so good! Tuesday night we finally got the boat in the water.

A sure sign that summer is almost here!
And our new marina has an ice cream shop right there, so of course we stopped there too!

Another sure sign of summer!
three
I linked up on Tuesday for Tuesday Talk and shared our story on life with a dog. I had never been a "dog person", but gosh how that has changed! You can catch up on life with a sweet (and sometimes messy) puppy here.

four
Wednesday morning my Luke took one look at me and said "Mama, those are cool pants". Ha! They were a bright blue color and he loves all things blue, so I was pretty cool to him that day.

Then we laughed when we saw were kind of dressed in the same colors!
five
Ella had her class Fun Day this week. Every year her school hosts a fun day/field day for each grade near the end of the year. It's a favorite day of hers, for sure and mine too, since parents are invited to stop by!

And now Luke is anxiously awaiting his day.....coming up in two weeks.
six
I grabbed a few plants for my pots this week and I cannot wait to get started planting. I don't have the greenest thumb... somehow I missed that quality from my mom. But I give it my best. I just love the bright pinks!

seven
We have a new-ish local bakery and they just started serving edible cookie dough. Yep... edible cookie dough. It is amazing! You can get in a cone or dish and sample up to 3 flavors. So of course we had to try it out!

We sampled Chocolate Chip, Sea Salt Caramel & Peanut Butter Fudge. Super sweet and super good! Local friends, be sure to put a stop to Kaylena Marie's Bakery on your to do list this weekend!
Whew.. that 's my random list of favorites for the week!
We have got a pretty full weekend... dance competition, baseball games, soccer game, baseball pics, and I am off to see Wicked with my Mom & sister.. yay!
Have a fun weekend friends!
See you next week... there's always room for one more at our family table.
xoxo
Genevieve