Quality Time

I feel like it has been forever since I have had some alone time with Nick.....it is difficult becuase of the back and forth to his Dad's and usually the weekends he is with us, we have lots of things already planned as a family. We try to plan the fun things when he is with us so that he does not feel left out, but I realize, in his eyes, even some of the little things are a big deal........

Last week when he returned home from his Dad's he saw the cupcakes that Sarah and I made......most kids would be thrilled to dig in and be happy just to consume them, but Nick was disappointed..........he was disappointed that he was not here to make them. When I saw the look on his face, I knew that this weekend he and I needed to spend some quality time together.

We ran some errands on Saturday and went for a little hike....just the two of us. Do you know that park where I always drag the kids for pictures? Well, the last time I was there I found a path you could follow and it took you through some really cool places, but I knew it was not the kind of path Sarah could walk, so I promised Nick we would come back when it was just the two of us to check it out......


Nick's favorite place was under this big old stone covered bridge.....It was gorgeous!! We could have stayed there all day. {we were in direct sunlight and there was major glare....not the best for picture taking, hence the Vintage look on the pictures.....they were a little too blown out looking, but I wanted you to see how cool this place was} There was a mini waterfall and a big huge tree that had fallen into the creek. Nick was quick to spot that and couldn't wait to go down and check it out. We spent about an hour under the bridge and it was so peaceful and relaxing. Nick did not want to leave, but we had to go as we had other things to do. I did promise him as soon as the weather breaks that we will go back and spend more time exploring....he is such a nature boy:)



After our little hike, Nick and I went home and headed straight to the kitchen for tag team baking. We made another batch of chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese icing.....this time we made the icing light green, in honor of St Patrick's Day:)

Nick loves to be in the kitchen almost as much as I do.....and he had so much fun piping the icing on all the cupcakes with our new handy dandy icing press!! We really had a great day together and at the same time Sarah got some one on one with Daddy!!

Since I already posted pictures and the recipe for the cupcakes last week, I didn't want to post them again, but I thought I would share some of the other food items that were on our menu this weekend......

Shrimp Scampi on Couscous

This was a spin on the classic Shrimp Scampi served over linguini.....it was really good and did not take long to make. Click HERE for the recipe.

Panzanella Salad

This was the perfect side for the Shrimp Scampi.....My Mom makes this during the summer months and it is always a winner. Who doesn't love bread in a salad....and the vinaigrette dressing is to die for........YUMMM. Click HERE for the recipe.

It seems I have been posting recipes almost weekly.....Am I boring you all with this?? I try to keep this blog as a mix of family, friends, fun, food, and photography. What started out as a scrapbook of the kids lives has turned into so much more.

I am approaching my 200th post followed by my one year blogiversay. I never imagined I would have so much to say, and often wonder how much longer I can keep going without running out of things to talk about.......

Not sure what I am going to do for the 200th post......If you have a topic suggestion or idea, leave me a comment.......for now, I will keep doing what I have been doing:)

Hope you all had a great weekend.....it is going to be a busy week for us!!