May 09, 2016

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!

15 comments:

  1. Ummm what is pineapple casserole? ?

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    1. Yes, I would like to know too!

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    2. I'm not exactly sure, because I've never made it--but I know it had pineapple, cheddar cheese, and crushed Ritz crackers (it's served hot). Sounds odd, but it was very, very good! I'll have to get the recipe from my mom. She said it's always a big hit at potlucks.

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    3. I was going to ask this same thing. hahaha Sounds divine.

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    4. It's a Paula Deen recipe - I think. I've made it as a side for ham. It's very good. But high in calories!

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    5. Yes, please share the pineapple casserole recipe if you can... I've had it on vacation and loved it! And the picture of the guys cracks me up. They only lack beer cans in their hands!

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  2. I love that last picture, it made me snort out loud because it is so true. Guys...
    And the drawings that Eli did are awesome, I see he inherited Jerry's talent.

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    1. It's funny to see the difference in what guys and girls talk about at get-togethers! I would be bored out of my mind having a 15 minute conversation about a lawn mower ;)

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  3. Corn hole! My North American friend introduced me to it, not something we play here in NZ, and I love it. Such a fun game.

    Love the pic of you & the boys, & the one of the jacuzzi. Looks like fun! Happy Mother's Day Katie

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    Replies
    1. Corn hole is such a fun game for when you just want to chat and relax with friends!

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  4. Any chance you could share those recipes? They "Look so good"!!

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    1. I'll have to ask my brother for his recipes, but the Chocolate Peanut Butter Poke Cake can be found here: http://www.plainchicken.com/2014/06/chocolate-peanut-butter-poke-cake.html (It's over 700 calories per piece, so don't say I didn't warn you! haha). The recipe says it's 12 servings, but it's very rich and I think you could do 15 or even 20 servings.

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  5. Hahaha I have a VERY similar picture of my husband, uncles and some cousins up north at my aunt's cabin all standing around a grill. Too funny! Also, your hair looks really dark right now! I'm loving this color on you!

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    1. Thanks! When my grays started getting really noticeable last year, I finally started to color it--and I like it a couple of shades darker than my natural color.

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  6. Pineapple casserole is my signature Easter dish. So good! I only use half the sugar and butter Paula Deen calls for. It's sooooo good with ham!

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