Hey friends! How are you? How was your weekend? I hope you’re checking in today after a few fun and/or relaxing days. We had a great weekend and it kicked off on Friday night when Ryan and the big kids picked my mother-in-law up at the airport. A few flight delays meant Diane’s arrival time was later than anticipated (and after Rhett’s bedtime) but thankfully the rest of the weekend was smooth sailing and filled with summer sunshine. We could not have asked for better weather and, whenever guests come in town in the summer, it feels like an extra blessing when the sun decides to shine and H-O-T temperatures dip a bit closet to 80 versus 90. Saturday Our Saturday morning began with coffee and cheering! Diane, Rhett and I were the cheerleaders for Ryan, Chase and Ryder as they wrapped up their final practice session for the big kids’ mini triathlon. Their big (actually quite little) race is next weekend and they are getting so excited! Our big plans for the day kicked off in the late morning when our friend Ben came over with his family. His dad and his dad’s wife are in town visiting from England and we love catching up with them whenever the are able to make it this way. The boys were especially thrilled when they arrived with little boxes filled to the brim with chocolate for them all the way from England! Ben also brought his dog Remi, a goldendoodle, along which meant it was basically the best day ever for Pepper. She absolutely adores Remi and the two dogs are hilarious to watch romp around with each other. Eventually we hope to get another playmate for Pepper but Ryan and I are thinking that likely won’t happen until Rhett goes off to kindergarten in a couple of years. (Although you better believe I’m on all of the vizsla rescue lists so ya never know if the perfect little vizsla pops up in need of some love…) (The above picture cracks me up. Pepper was living her best life on the boat and so relaxed in Chase’s arms. It looks like she’s out there sunbathing and waiting on someone to bring her a pina colada.) We kicked off our time together with a boat ride and loved meandering in and out of various coves. The mid-70s temperatures meant no one was quite ready to swim in the morning but it was perfect chillin’ on a boat weather. Once we arrived home from our boat ride, everyone was hungry, so we dug into a lunch that included marinated chicken thighs, hot dogs and brats, a cucumber, tomato and basil salad (made with cucumbers and basil from our garden!), baked beans, fresh fruit, rolls, and lemon sugar cookie icebox cake for dessert. With sufficiently full bellies, we were all ready to float in the lake and had fun in the water for a while while the boys entertained us with battles on the floating mat, jumps off the dock, and their attempt to conquer back flips off the rope swing. Since I already prepped a lasagna for our crew for dinner, we offered for Ben and his family to stay for dinner since everyone was enjoying themselves so much and before we knew it, dinnertime rolled around and we all dug into lasagna, a beet and arugula salad that was a huge hit (stay tuned for this recipe soon!) and garlic bread. This is the make-ahead lasagna recipe I’ve made four times this summer after we loved it so much during my mom’s 70th birthday celebration weekend and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to make hosting a group a little easier. It’s perfect for a crowd and I love that you can freeze it or make it a few days in advance. We also had berry crisp and vanilla ice cream for dessert which, once again, confirmed that ice cream served with some kind of hot sweet treat (a crisp, crumble, pie, cookies or brownies) is my all-time favorite dessert. Eventually we got the boys in bed and enjoyed a little more adult time before saying goodbye to Ben and his family and then heading off to bed ourselves after such a full and fun day. Sunday Sunday morning was nice and low-key as we sipped our coffee and chatted while the boys played for a bit. And then Diane and Ryan had an idea that lit up the boys’ world! Rhett’s birthday is on Thursday and Diane was bummed she wasn’t able to celebrate the big kids’ birthdays with them since she lives in Florida, so they came up with the idea to all head to Target and give the boys free reign in the toy aisle to pick out their own birthday gifts within a certain budget. I’m pretty sure the boys thought it was Christmas morning when Nona told them the plan! First, we headed off to Daylight Donuts for some toy hunting fuel where Rhett declared his sugar donut the “best donut I ever had in the whole wide universe.” Then it was Target time and it was so cute to see the boys debate the merits of various toys. Once their selections were made, we loaded up the car and spent some time at a local park before making our way back home for toy assembly and play time. The boys’ new toys easily occupied them for a huge portion of the day but we took a mini break in the early evening to swim at our neighborhood pool and pick up some pizza from Inizio’s for dinner. And we used last year’s Mother’s Day present to make our dessert: Snow cones! My mother-in-law had a genius idea and said she thought the shaved ice would taste amazing with Coke and then Ryan added a little bit of cherry syrup to the mix and a new favorite flavor was born. It made me want a giant bowl of buttered popcorn to go with it! The boys were all excited to stay up an hour or so past their bedtimes for extra time with Nona and to complete the giant Lego boat Chase was so into for his special birthday gift. I’ve helped the boys with other Lego creations in the past but never a huge one like the boat Chase made on Sunday and it honestly blew my mind! There was so much creative detail hidden within the ship that you’d never know unless you built it, including a science research lab, a bedroom, a bathroom, etc. Eventually everyone was feeling the length of the day and we decided bedtime was a good idea for all of us. We tucked the boys in and spent a little more time with Diane before calling it a night ourselves. As for the week ahead, it’s a typical school week for the big kids and we’re saying goodbye to Nona early this afternoon. Then Rhett’s FOURTH birthday is on Thursday which he’s pretty much convinced is the best, most important day of the entire year. It should be a good one! I hope you all have a wonderful week and, as always, thanks so much for making my blog part of your day!!! The post Weekend with Nona appeared first on Peanut Butter Fingers.

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