Hi guys! Since yesterday’s pregnancy update took over my usual weekend recap slot on Monday morning, I wanted to pop in today to share a little glimpse into the past few days. Truth be told, I didn’t take a ton of pictures but sometimes I think that’s the sign of a really good weekend! I still want to share what little I have mostly for my own memory, so let’s get to it!
Friday
My mom and dad arrived in town on Friday in the late afternoon and we had such a great weekend together! I knew they had this trip on their radar and hoped our baby would stay put at least until they arrived so I could avoid the stress of calling a friend in the middle of the night should labor kick in and we need help with Chase. Ryan joked that I was going to go into labor the minute my parents arrived in town since I finally let myself relax. Clearly that didn’t happen but we did manage to have a really relaxing weekend filled with lots of sunshine, boating and backyard cookouts.
We hung out at home on Friday night and spent the majority of our time on our backyard patio. Ryan grilled flank steak for dinner and I made an assortment of sides. Chase helped me with dessert and we made a marble cake with vanilla icing and sprinkles to celebrate my dad’s birthday!
My dad’s birthday is June 3 so we couldn’t resist having a belated celebration for Pop!
(Picture of Mae taken by Chase! He’s been very interested in Mom’s fancy camera lately!)
Chase and I made the cake from scratch but used a little shortcut thanks to this icing I found which we all thought was delicious!
The icing didn’t go as far as I expected and we weren’t able to fully frost a two-layer cake so we went for the deconstructed look. I am the only member of my family who prefers icing to cake (well, me and Chase!) so I think I was the only one who missed the additional icing. Next time I buy that icing, I’ll be sure to pick up two of those little tubs!
Saturday
Saturday morning began with a walk! Ryan and I were up before everyone else and ended up taking Sadie on a walk around our neighborhood before the heat of the day set in.
It felt like a little treat and a flashback to the early years of our marriage to walk with Sadie and not feel like we were multitasking with a stroller and toddler entertainment every step of the way. By the time we made it home, we were ready for breakfast and I made a frittata for everyone to eat along with a little cereal buffet because carbs have to happen for me first thing in the morning.
Ryan and my dad headed off to the gym together after breakfast and my mom and I hung out with Chase once he was up for the day. He was up rather late on Friday night after all of the sugary birthday fun and surprisingly slept in so my mom and I had a little one-on-one time together in the morning and eased into the day which was nice!
One everyone was back at the house and rockin’ and rollin’, we changed into our bathing suits, lathered up our bodies in sunscreen and headed out on the boat! It was the perfect boating weather on Saturday – upper 80s and sunny – and we went on a long boat ride up to a sandy beach where we dropped anchor. We floated in the water and played on the beach for quite a while and it felt amazing! I love lake days so darn much!
Before heading home, we boated over to my friend Carrie’s parents’ house and spent some time hanging out with her crew. Our parents hit it off immediately and since Carrie’s daughter Lilly is one of Chase’s BFFS, he was in heaven.
Eventually we made it home and settled Chase down for a (very) late afternoon nap. He slept like a rock for several hours and my mom, dad and I headed off to the grocery store to pick up some food to accompany the fresh grouper my dad brought with him that he got on a spearfishing trip in Florida last week.
We dug into grouper with a side of baked potatoes and green beans for dinner and watched the Belmont Stakes which took me and my mom back to my 2015 family baby shower weekend! The last time a horse won the Triple Crown I was also pregnant so apparently pregnancy = Good luck for Triple Crown horses over here.
Our Saturday night concluded with pie and ice cream which was heaven for this girl!
Sunday
Sunday looked a lot like Saturday over here! With temperatures expected to be in the low 90s we wanted our outside activities to revolve around water again and spent the late morning and early afternoon on the lake.
Not much feels better to me and my growing belly right now than floating in cool lake water and we spent several hours splashing around.
Chase was very into squealing and screaming whenever “Shark Dad” and Pop would sneak up on us!
After our time on the lake, everyone was pretty tired, so we showered and changed into comfy clothes and spent the rest of our Sunday lounging around at home. We ended up grilling out in the backyard for dinner again and called it an early night!
And that was our weekend in a nutshell! I hope to see ya back here tomorrow when I’m planning to share a recap of last week’s workouts!
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Looks like a great weekend! Nothing better than floating in a lake on the weekend!
Love the picture of you jumpin all belly and all in the lake.
Thank you!! My mom snapped that one using burst mode on my phone! 🙂
Me too! What a great pic to show your kids when they are older- they have such a fun Mom!
Florida Keys grouper? Never disappoints. Just returned from the keys!
This seems like so much fun and makes me wish we had a boat! Also, is there ANYTHING better than pajamas and a bowl of ice cream at night? I mean, anything???? – Kaitlyn | http://www.poweredbysass.com
I’m so impressed you could make frittata in a cast iron! I just did it last week and tons stuck to the pan. It took me a while to clean it & re-season it. Also love that jumping photo of you:)
The lake day sounds amazing! And that grouper looks good!
Kim
http://trendkeeper.me .. summer uniform!
You are so cute! That picture of you jumping into the lake is adorable! And I LOVE the deconstructed cake look, I think they look so rustic and yummy. I’m glad your parents were able to come hang out with you guys and spoil Chase before little one #2 gets there 🙂
I also like the look of them but just miss the extra icing! Ha!!
The icing definitely makes the cake. If there’s not enough icing to go around, I definitely leave cake on the plate 🙂 No shame. Haha!! I don’t make cake/icing often because I generally dislike pre-made icing, and don’t always have time to make it from scratch. I’ve never seen that brand you used before.
i found it at target and it was delicious! homemade is still better though! 🙂
Ha ha, I too am an icing girl! #icingforthewin! I love the looks of these deconstructed cakes (Jenny’s cookies makes some notable ones), BUT every time I see one I think about whether or not I’d get enough frosting!
Love the lake jumping pic. It’s contagious joy! lol Also, is that grouper lightly breaded? Because I LOVE me some light breading (I can’t help it. yes yes I’ve had plenty of grilled fish, but dang, I”m a sucker for some breading.)
Btw – I have a waterproof sunblock recommendation in case you’re ever looking – THINKBABY sunblock. It’s mineral based, one of the few recommended by the gov for not being harmful for the environment, and so good! (i.e. no phlalates etc. or microbeads). I was looking for an alternative to the Honest company for a variety of reasons, and this stuff did the trick! It’s a little on the white side (due to the zinc), but you just gotta make sure to rub it in and it’s not opaque. Works great!
thank you for the recommendation!
and my mom actually prepared the grouper by dredging it in egg and then tossing it in crushed cornflakes and old bay seasoning and then cooking it in a bit of butter on the stovetop. it was so, so good!!
Yummmmm!! I’m gonna have to try this the next time I cook fish!
Here’s a quick frosting tip for you: if you find you don’t have enough of the canned stuff, you can throw it in your mixer and beat it for a few minutes. It incorporates a bunch of air and gives you way more frosting! Best of luck to you with your labor and delivery!
so smart!! thank you!!! i’ll definitely try that next time. i also love fluffy, whipped icing, so this is right up my alley.
How did you prepare the grouper? It looks delicious!
It was so tasty! My mom made it up and dredged the grouper in egg before tossing it in a combination of crushed corn flakes and old bay seasoning and then cooked it in a skillet with a bit of butter. yum!!
My mom used to always make Cornflake chicken! One of my favorites.
I love the jumping into the lake picture. At 39 weeks for me, it took everything I had just to get in and out of a chair lol. True testimony to how fit you are. I wish I had done a better job. Keep up the good work momma! Can’t wait for baby pics!!
Hi Julie, What a fun weekend! How do you like the Puddle Jumper for Chase? My son just turned 2 and is tiny (22.5 lbs) so I am wondering if it would be too big on him.
Hi Alexis! We are loving it! Your son is about the same size Chase was last summer and we waited until this summer to being using it. The weight restrictions say 30 lbs but Chase is still under that and somehow it works for him! I was super skeptical because he is technically under the weight requirement but when we tried one on him at a friends’ house and put it on the tightest setting, it fit him perfectly. Of course I never stop watching him when he’s wearing it but it’s been such a nice way to let him enjoy the water without gripping onto us the whole time!
Thank you for your input!! I’m going to wait for next summer to try it on him, like you did with Chase since he’s still significantly under the weight requirement now. We’ll have to make due with the vest style I got for him, which will still be fun for the pool!
This weekend looks like my perfect weekend! I love summer days (and evenings) on the lake, and family time is just the best. Your pregnant belly is the cutest…I seriously can’t wait to find out if it’s a boy or girl!!
Hi Julie! Your weekend seemed like so much fun. Here it has been raining non stop. Can you believe it?
Could I you please share the cake recipe? It looks so good.
Have a great day!!!
Oh my gosh Julie, that picture of you jumping into the lake is amazing!! Definitely my favorite picture of you and that adorable bump!! I’m glad you had a fun weekend! I always love reading about your weekends, as they always seem so great!! Xoxo
Love the shoes you were wearing when you took Sadie for walk. What kind are they? Also, the belly jumping pic is just too awesome! Can’t wait till you introduce Baby #2 on the blog!! Good Luck!
thank you!! and they’re from new balance but i got them about 2 years ago!
Have you ever heard of mixing a can of frosting with your kitchen aid or a hand mixer? It makes the frosting really fluffy and generally helps one can of it to go further than it normally would otherwise. I’m with you though (and normally in the minority of my family), the whole point of cake is the frosting!!
Happy Birthday to your dad! LOL my dad is pretty boring when it comes to his birthday. All he wants is a good card and a chill day. I might make him a carrot cake because that is his favorite dessert!
too funny…when i saw the pic of the cake, i was thinking, man, there is not enough frosting on that thing! and then i scrolled down to read your next paragraph, a clarification as to why, and i lol’d. so so with you on frosting > cake. it was super adorable with the sprinkles! and i’ll be buying that tub tomorrow…