Self-Proclaimed Long Weekend

We kicked off our weekend right a little early with dinner out on Thursday night...nothing like getting a head start, huh??  Dining with these two goofballs never ceases to be an adventure...

...I'm pretty sure that cranberry juice was chock full of high fructose corn syrup cause the boys were bouncing off the walls.  Check out Mason's dancing hands...haha!

Friday's mellow mood carried over into Friday night...I wasn't kidding when I said we started our weekend early.  It was a lazy day with a post-flu shot stop at the coffee shop, a visit with a good friend, and a quiet night at home with my boys.  This is how one of our boys chose to watch his show... 

...oh my!  They sure do love being naked.  

Saturday got off to a rainy start so I ditched my plans for a workout and had some crafting fun with the boys instead.  Check out our monsters...

 

...fun, huh?  

We finally got motivated to go get some breakfast and run a couple of errands, which included picking up the mugs we made with Abigail last week at Stuart Ceramics...

...they're a big hit with the boys and I have to admit they turned out pretty well...

...we're looking forward to going back closer to Christmas to make some ornaments.

We spent most of the rest of our day around the house.  I tackled some piyo and did a little more crafting with the boys...ghosts this time...

....can you tell we're excited for Halloween?  

I finished out my night with a girls night out to celebrate my birthday.  It was fun to get out and chat it up with my girlfriends.  They're such a fun group...

...never underestimate the power of fellow mom friends.  They are an incredible support group and a ton of fun too.

This mornings better weather called for a morning run with the boys.  I may or may not have bribed them with a promised stop at Dunkin donuts.  :-)  I got my sweat on while my boys ate donuts...I know it's not the healthiest thing for them but I'm pretty sure we all had a great time.  

Don't worry, they got their exercise too later in the pool while I kicked up my feet and watched them :-)  Now it's time to curl up on the couch with my man and watch the Dolphins game while chowing down these wings and blue cheese...

....our last hurrah before we tackle the whole30 tomorrow...I guess you could call it a whole30 eve :-).  This time, my man's along for the ride too.  Fingers crossed we make it.  Happy football Sunday!!

Birthday Weekend Fun

Last weekend we celebrated Mickey's and my birthdays with a little weekend getaway to Islamorada.  We're so lucky to have our birthdays one right after the other.  It sure does make for easy celebrations.  

Our trip got off to a rainy start...

There's nothing like a rainy day in the key to make you want a bloody mary...

While we waited out the weather with breakfast, a few cocktails and some window shopping, the boys had a blast back in Stuart with Aunt Abigail and Uncle Scott...

...obviously the weather cooperated for them better than it did for us.  

Thankfully the rain ended up clearing and we got out and did some exploring on kayaks.... 

...and on our bikes.

The boys continued to have a blast with the best babysitters ever...

We are incredibly blessed by Abigail and Scott who for three years in a row now have flown down on our birthday weekend.  The last two they've watched the boys for us and let us have a little getaway.  We are indeed spoiled by them!!

We had lots of delicious food in Islamorada, most of which I didn't even bother to document, but I couldn't resist photos of the paella and carrot cake that were delivered to us by our neighbors at the hotel late Saturday night...

....they definitely know how to help their neighbors put up with their crazy family reunion at the same hotel we were staying at.  :-)  I'm remembering that move for the future for sure.    

We finished up our Sunday morning with one last breakfast at Robbie's before heading back home to our kiddos and their wonderful caretakers... 

...breakfast with the birds never gets old.  It's always hard to leave.  

Abigail and I kept the fun rolling with the boys while the men headed back to work on Monday.  I talked Abigail into a 16 mile cruise around Stuart and Jensen via the bridges and island..

...thank goodness she's in shape and the boys are troopers.  It was much longer than I remembered.

We made sure to stop at the beach...

...and the park...

...we had one climber and one swinger thanks to a broken clavicle.  Hopefully Mason gets the all clear for all activities next week. 

After all that exercise, we were ready for some AC and books... 

...as well as a mellow evening at home with some burgers and family time.

Tuesday, we soaked up our last bit of Abigail time with a trip to Stuart ceramics...

...and some other downtown Stuart fun... 

...which ended with a stop at Kilwins to cool off... 

...we discovered some new favorite flavors we all had to share... 

....I'm sure it was all chemical and dye free ;-)...

...haha.  

It was incredibly fun to get some alone time with my man as well as some sister time with Abigail.  Now we're counting down the days til we get to see them again.  

Weathering The Storm

I love living in Florida 99% of the time.  Beaches, sunshine, warm weather year-round...what's no to love??  I'll tell you...tropical storms.  They don't happen often, but when they do, it's a real drag.  I think it has rained for the last week here and we're all over the dreary weather.  Thankfully the sun seems to be making a reappearance as we speak.  I hope we get some sunshine this weekend too.

Despite the rain, we've been able to get in a couple of fun outings like yesterday's trip to Stuart Ceramics with some friends...

...and our trip to art class today to make some adorable Father's Day canvases...

 

We also made a couple of trips in between downpours to go check on our favorite ducks...

I think we need to start taking some bread to them so they'll swim towards us instead of away from us when we come to visit them.  The boys love to watch them swim and waddle.

We got in a run this morning that left us a little soggy but it was actually kind of refreshing and we needed the fresh air...I needed to chance to chat it up with another adult too.  I love my running buddy!  The rain finally stopped at the end of our run and the sun came out long enough for us to snap a picture.  

 Good thing we were close to home, because the heavens opened up again big time shortly after.  One of these days we'll have to get a photo of the rest of our gang too.  

We had lots of yummy food while we've been cooped up...

Those chipotle burgers turned out pretty good.  The boys even ate them which I was seriously thrilled about.  I love that my boys will eat spicy food.  I'm raising them well!  :-)  

I topped mine with guacamole and served it with a side of collards, a couple of pieces of cauliflower, some sweet potato "fries" and homemade ketchup.

They made a repeat appearance yesterday at lunch along with a big green juice since it was slim pickings until we got our produce delivery right after lunch...

I made a DELICIOUS shrimp, garlic and broccoli frittata yesterday morning...

I got to enjoy some of the leftovers that night with my dinner since that boring frozen chicken burger was so disappointing...

...and again this morning along with 2 small peaches and half an avocado...

Thank goodness for leftovers...especially on rushed mornings like today.

Lunch today was pretty darn yummy too...

Spinach, avocado, hard-boiled egg, tomato, leftover turkey burger, and mustard vinaigrette.  

Enough food pictures...oh wait, one more...check out these beets I have prepped and ready for roasting along with a chicken tonight...

YUM!  

With the way they stain the cutting board, it's no wonder everything else gets "stained" as it makes its way through you.  Gross, but true!

Today's day 11 of my Whole30 experiment and I've gotta admit I'm feeling good.  I don't really have any cravings, I've cut back almost completely on my snacking, and when I do, I just have some nuts or olives...a vast improvement from the snacks I used to grab.  I'm sleeping really well and waking up early with energy.  My workouts are still a little sluggish but even that is improving.  People have mentioned that I look more "defined"...I'm not sure I see it but I'll take the compliment.  My stomach has never felt better.  I can definitely see this way of eating as something that could be sustainable with the occasional glass of wine or slice of pizza here and there.  

Even though I've been a little sluggish in the workout department, I did get in a decent lower body workout yesterday...

I did 3 sets of 10 for each exercise and followed it up with 20 minutes of intervals on the elliptical.  Today is a rest day from the weight room.  That soggy run in the rain was good enough for me.  

I'm proud to say I stayed on track with my Bible Study this week too.  1 week down and 7 to go in the study.  It takes 3 weeks to form a habit right?  I'm hoping one forms in the process. 

Painting, eating, visiting ducks, working out, reading and sleeping...that's about as good as it gets right??  Throw in some, I mean TONS, of rain and a DELICIOUS produce delivery yesterday and I'd say we did a pretty good job of weathering the storm.  Off to fold some laundry and then try and finish my book...

So far, I'm really liking the way things are working out for these characters.  Hope I like the ending too...