Mother's Day cook out

I hope all of you moms out there had a great Mother's Day yesterday! I had a fantastic day with the family. I headed out for my long run in the morning--just five miles--and it was nice to have it done by 8:00. I'd gotten so used to running in the late morning after breakfast, that I forgot how much I enjoyed getting it done early. During the summer, I'll probably get out early every day before it gets too hot. Jerry brought home doughnuts from Monica's for breakfast. I hadn't had a doughnut in a long time, and it sounded so good! I got a glazed sour cream doughnut, and it was delicious.

The boys went to church with my parents, and they each made a gift for me while they were there. They made a bookmark and filled out a sheet about me, which was so cute! Eli's made me laugh out loud:

"She is always saying, 'That looks so good'"--it's totally true. When I look for recipes on Pinterest, I always show things to Eli and say, "That looks so good!" People always laugh when my kids tell them their favorite food that I cook is Split Pea Soup. They LOVE it, and get so excited when I make it! Kids are so cute. Seeing this made me want to go through all of their old school papers to look at the past Mother's Day projects they've made me ;) They've grown up so much!

2007

2016

My older brother, Brian, invited us to his house for dinner. He also invited my parents and my younger brother, Nathan (Kendall had to work, and then she went to her parents' house). I was glad that I'd saved my high calorie day, because the last time we went to Brian's, I left there feeling STUFFED.

While we were driving to Brian's, Jerry and I both commented on how it felt like it was taking forever to get there. Then we realized that we weren't on the road we thought we were on. Thank God for Google Maps (which has helped me way too many times to count), we figured out where we were--10 minutes in the wrong direction. Haha, we still found our way. Brian and Becky haven't been living here that long, so we've only been to their house a handful of times. (They've recently sold their house in Minnesota, so now they are officially residents of Michigan!)

Brian was making homemade guacamole when we got there--I adore guacamole! We snacked on chips and guac while we waited for the ribs to finish cooking in the smoker. The guys played corn hole while I chatted with my mom and Becky.

For dinner, they'd made ribs with a dry rub, marinated grilled chicken, asparagus, and cheesy potatoes, and my mom brought a pineapple casserole (I brought dessert). Everything was SO good!

I normally don't really like eating meat "straight up" like that--if I eat meat, it's usually mixed in with other food--but the chicken that Brian marinated and grilled was phenomenal. The kids even said, "This chicken is better than the chicken at La Pita!" Haha, you KNOW it's good if it's better than La Pita ;)

For dessert, I'd made a Chocolate Peanut Butter Poke Cake that I found on Pinterest. It was extremely rich and caloric, but totally worth it (everyone loved it). Afterward, though, I felt super full and I wished I'd only eaten half a piece.

After dinner, my mom and I got in the jacuzzi with the kids. I only lasted about 10 minutes before the heat got to me, but it was so nice!

Meanwhile, the guys were all standing around my brother's lawnmower. My mom, Becky, and I were cracking up at the "typical boys" and I took this picture of them ;) They were standing around talking about the lawnmower for probably 15 minutes!

We chatted for a little bit and then it was time to head home. It was a fun evening! I wish that my sister lived in Michigan, because it would have been fun to have her there, too, but I love getting to see my brothers as frequently as I'm able to now. This was probably my favorite Mother's Day yet!