Lately

After Jack's birthday last weekend, we have chosen to take it slow. I know that Thanksgiving is this week, but since I am not hosting, I am not in that frantic world of trying to figure out menus or feeling like I need to get my floors clean.right.this.minute.

The Monday after the party, I told Daniel I was off duty. No cooking. I needed a break.
So we went to Cracker Barrel.

It was so worth the 30 minute drive. Just to eat buttery vegetables and sit by the warm, crackling fire. Jack was very interested in the fire. And the deer head hanging above the fireplace.

We spent the week being lazy. And the weekend. It was great to do next to nothing.

Sunday morning, Daniel's dad drove down to spend the day with us. He met us in Huntsville for church.

After church we went to Cantina Laredo – one of our favorite Mexican restaurants (we went there for both Mother's and Father's Day this year!).

Wesley then took Jack for a stroll while Daniel and I finished up our meal. The two of them came back with a teddy bear :) That is what grandparents are for, right?

Then we walked through the outdoor mall at Bridge Street. It was such a pretty day, so we decided to ride the carousel.

I'm not sure what Jack thought about this contraption that went up and down and round and round.

I do know that it made me a bit dizzy. You won't find me on the teacups any time soon!

 
It was a beautiful day. We enjoyed just taking it easy.

We are looking forward to spending more time with Daniel's family later this week. 

Father's Day

This post is a little late. But that is my life right now. Getting things done when I have time... and that is ok.

Daniel and I are not big celebrators, so we didn't do a whole lot for Father's Day beyond grabbing a bite to eat at Cantina Laredo and popping into Barnes&Noble so that Daniel could spend time perusing his favorite magazines. 

I think I speak for both of us when I say that we are feeling more and more blessed by our little guy with each passing day. We have enjoyed close to 10 years of marriage, but Jack has just made everything that much sweeter.

Becoming parents also makes life harder. There is this huge responsibility to shoulder. A responsibility that you really can't be prepared for regardless of how long you choose to wait. 

I am so thankful that Daniel is my partner in this thing called parenthood. He really loves our little boy. You can see it when he bathes Jack, when he changes diapers, when he blows raspberries on Jack's bare skin and when he explains the workings of the world to him.

I am so blessed to have this wonderful man in my life who is a great dad to our son.

Mother's Day

For my first Mother's Day I told Daniel that I wanted to go hiking. Since it rained all day that was a no go. Instead we went to Cantino Laredo for lunch where we shared Fajitas.

After lunch I treated myself to a little shopping at Old Navy before meeting up with Daniel at Barnes and Noble where we shared a Venti Vanilla Latte and Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake.

I feel so blessed to be Jack's mom. I can't believe it has been six months since he entered our lives!

Menu Recap

Last week's meals were as follows: 

Monday Dinner: Taco Soup {Recipe from Ezra Pound Cake}. Daniel gave it 4.75/5 stars.

 

Tuesday Dinner: We had dinner with friends – Jeremy and Laura. Laura made us cheese dip to go with chips, corn on the cob and an enchilada-type dish. Afterward we ate Rice Krispy Treats while we played Monopoly. 5/5 stars for a fun evening with friends.

Wednesday Dinner: Mushroom and Provolone Turkey Burger with Sauteed Asparagus. 
Daniel gave it 4/5 stars. 

Thursday Dinner: Date Night at Geno's Pizza. We split an order of Bread Sticks and a Supreme Pizza.

Friday Dinner: Spaghetti and Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatballs with a Side Salad {Recipe from Picky Palate}. Daniel gave it 4.6/5 stars. 

Saturday: We spent the day canoeing and then had a second lunch at Cantina Laredo. It was excellent. I tried the Chimichanga. It had a red sauce – I prefer a white sauce, but the dish was amazing. It had a side of grilled sugar snap peas that were fantastic. Daniel tried the enchiladas and loved them. The side of rice was a bit bland, but overall this restaurant was a hit. Our friends recommend the desserts here so we will have to come back another time and split a main course so we can try out the desserts.

Afterwards we went to Orange Tree Frozen Yogurt. Daniel and I were both stuffed, but we decided to split a cup of yogurt. We tried a combination of the cheesecake, coffee, peanut butter and cookies & cream flavors and topped it off with Heath Bar. It was amazing.

Sunday Lunch: Mozzarella-Stuffed Meatball Sandwiches using leftovers from Friday night with a side of Chips. Daniel gave this 4.4/5 stars

Sunday Dinner: Pepperoni Pizza. You really can't go wrong with a pizza... 
Daniel gave it 4.6/5 stars.

Paddling the Flint River

Saturday we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and headed to Huntsville to paddle 7.5 miles on the Flint River.

This was not a "get thrown out of your boat" or a "we got shot at" kind of paddling trip. Nonetheless we had a lot of fun hanging out with our friends, enjoying the sunshine and being outside.

We opted to use NACK as our outfitter. I have to give this company props for providing great equipment. They were a bit pricey at $35 per person, but we really liked their Mad River Canoes – light and comfortable and definitely the nicest canoe we have ever rented. 

The water on Flint River was up, so what would normally be a 4-hour trip was around 2 hours. Two hours with a good current is much preferable to four hours of slow moving water.

Since we were off the river faster than anticipated, we decided to have a second lunch at Cantina Laredo, followed by dessert at Orange Tree Frozen Yogurt and finally a Dollar Movie at Carmike 10. Not too bad for a Saturday with friends.