Our weekend started out on the busier side on Saturday but by Sunday afternoon, we were ready to put on our pajamas nice and early and hunker down at home.
Saturday
Saturday morning began with a workout! I took the vast majority of last week off from the gym thanks to my travels to Vermont coupled with my desire to spend as much time as possible with my parents during their short visit. It felt good to give my body a break but by Saturday morning I was craving some movement. Burn Boot Camp delivered a total body conditioning workout that left me feeling energized and ready for a fun day ahead.
I quickly came home to shower before Ryan, Chase and I had plans to attend Braydon’s second birthday party. Alexis and Dan planned a birthday party brunch, complete with doughnuts, toys, bubbles and cake.
The highlight of the party came around 10 a.m. when Dan magically reappeared dressed in an Elmo costume which captivated the kids and magically didn’t make any of them cry. We had to laugh pretty hard at the clearly-too-small costume that looked more like Elmo capris than a full Elmo costume on Dan’s tall frame, but he stayed in character for a solid 20 minutes, using a high-pitched voice to read to the kids and doling out high fives left and right.
The party was a lot of fun and I enjoyed catching up with friends while the sugar kicked in and our kids ran around like crazy and tried to jump on bubbles.
We said our goodbyes a little before noon and made our way to the store to pick up a few things I needed to make cornbread and honey butter for Saturday night’s chili cook off. On our way to the grocery store, we passed a small pumpkin patch run by a local boy scout group and made a quick pit-stop to pick up a couple of small pumpkins and snap a few photos since the little patch was so cute!
We swapped family photos with another family at the patch (my favorite way to get all of us in a pic together!) and then headed to the grocery store for cornbread essentials before driving home.
Once the cornbread was baked and cooling and Chase sleeping, I leashed Sadie up for an afternoon walk while Ryan tackled his to-do list.
The weather on Saturday was beautiful. It warmed up throughout the day but hovered in the low 70s through the mid-afternoon. Perfect walking weather! I walked Sadie while listening to my favorite podcast (Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me) and we covered around three miles.
By the time we made it home, Chase was awake and playing trains with Ryan. I quickly changed and rounded up the food we were bringing to the chili cook off and we headed out! We arrived at my friend Carrie’s parents’ house to find nearly 14 crockpots full of chili and plenty of toppings, appetizers and snacks to enjoy. I added my cornbread to the cornbread table crossed my fingers it would taste okay and do well in the cornbread competition since I had never made the recipe before and didn’t get a chance to try it before the party.
Chase had no trouble entertaining himself at the party since three of his best buddies were there which meant Ryan and I had a chance to relax a bit and soak up some quality time with a few of our closest friends.
Soon after the sun went down, the votes were calculated and the winning chili – a white chicken chili – was announced. The cornbread winner was announced second and I completely owe my victory to you guys and your recipe recommendations! Thank you!!! A few of you recommended the same recipe that involved creamed corn, sour cream and a seriously doctored-up box of Jiffy corn muffin mix and I revamped it a bit by adding sea salt and honey. If you’d like me to share my rendition of the recipe on the blog, please let me know and I’ll work on a cornbread post ASAP! Carrie’s parents’ awarded the cutest prizes to the first, second and third place winners and I’m now the proud owner of a fancy schmancy wooden spoon and serving board.
Eventually it was time to say our goodbyes and put our overly-wired toddler to bed, so we thanked Carrie’s parents’ for such a fun night and headed home. I wasn’t very sleepy by the time we crawled into bed, so I ended up reading for a few hours and finished The Woman in Cabin 10 around midnight. There sure were a lot of twists in that one!
Sunday
Sunday morning began on the lazy size with coffee and pancakes in our pajamas. We eventually got dressed and made our way out the door a little after 9 a.m. to attend our church’s early morning service. It was a wonderful service and the message focused on not looking for acceptance from others and knowing we are fully loved and accepted by God. In a world where it’s so easy to fall into the comparison trap and base our value on the opinions of others or things like social media “likes,” it was a breath of fresh air. The service concluded with the song “What A Beautiful Name” which I absolutely adore.
After the service, we drove up to Carrigan Farms for a hayride to a big pumpkin patch!
The experience was awesome and Chase LOVED the hayride. He was fascinated by the tractor and kept waving to the driver. Aside from a minor meltdown when it was time to leave which resulted in Chase crying “HAYRIIIIIIIDE!” as we buckled him into his car seat, I’d consider the trip a success!
The hayride took us from the main barn to the pumpkin patch, with a short stop to visit some farm animals along the way.
We left with three large pumpkins and apple cider and made a quick stop for some doughnuts before we arrived home around 1 p.m.
Once we were back home, I whipped up a quick lunch thanks to Lindsay’s recipe for Shrimp Curry Noodle Bowls and we dug in! (Side note: I have made that recipe no less than four times since she posted it on her blog two weeks ago! LOVE it.) After lunch, Chase went down for his nap, Ryan headed off to the gym with a friend and I sat down at the computer to work. By the time everyone was home and ready for action, I was ready for a break, so we took our party outside and spent most of the afternoon walking Sadie and playing at a local park before dinner.
Dinner was a delicious delicata squash penne pasta dish I made thanks to our most recent Blue Apron delivery (not sponsored, we just love it) and I officially need more delicata squash in my life! We wrapped up the night the usual way: Bath + books for Chase before bed followed by reading in bed and an early bedtime for me and Ryan.
As for today… It’s picture day at Chase’s preschool! I cannot wait to see his pictures and I think they’ll either be a hot mess or completely adorable… but then again sometimes the disaster pictures are the absolute best, so hopefully it’s a win either way!
Hope you guys have a great Monday!
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from Health & Wellness https://www.pbfingers.com/pumpkin-patches-chili-cook-off/
Debora Mary - Blog 