Florida - Day Two

Our first full day at the resort! We had lots of exploring to do!

 

The view from our balcony....



 

The boys were up early and ready to swim!

Everyone headed down to the pool area to enjoy a fun morning! Between the water slide, pool, lazy river, kids pool and hot tub, no one was bored!

After nap time, Peter told us he wanted to go mini golfing....so off we went!

more like hockey then mini golf, but we had fun :)

Saturday was Auntie Cyn's Birthday so we wanted her to know we were thinking of her!

Before dinner we headed to the inside play space, the kids love it! We spent most of our first night there. So many great activities for kids here!

After dinner we headed to the game room, before heading to the movie theatre.

 



 

Roasted Maple Butternut Squash

Confession: Up until a couple of weeks ago I couldn't have even told you what a butternut squash looked like let alone tried it! When my friend Bethany gave me some, I had no clue what to make. I got some ideas from some ladies I know and went from there. What I ended up making was popular and got many compliments, heck I even tried it and liked it, haha!!

 I cut off the top & bottoms before I peeled them, cut them and half and scooped out the seeds.

I cubed them up and put them into a glass casserole pan.

Pouring on some maple syrup, yum!

This was all that was left before I realized I hadn't taken a picture!

 

 

Roasted Maple Butternut Squash

 

Ingredients:

2 Butternut Squash

Olive Oil

1/4 cup Maple Syrup

Dash of ground cinnamon, ginger & pumpkin pie spice

 

Directions:

1. Pour olive oil and maple syrup onto squash and stir. Sprinkle a dash of ground cinnamon, ginger and pumpkin pie spice.

2. Bake at 350 degreess for 40 minutes. Enjoy :)



 

Florida - Day One

I have discovered that naptime on vacation is the perfect time to blog! I am taking an online course so I needed to take my laptop with me, giving me the oppurtunity to upload all my pics and blog :)

Day one we spent a majority of it traveling, all the kids and adults did great! Laura, Chris and the kids were going out of Boston, with 10 of us traveling together it went really smooth!

Gwen, Jack and Peter were very excited to see our plane arrive!

The boys were AWESOME!! We got many compliments for there behavior... my advice to parents with young travelers, a blow pop can be very entertaining! It kept Jack occupied the entire first flight!

 

 After an early lunch in Baltimore we boarded for our flight to Orlando. Jack was asleep before we took off...Peter fell asleep five minutes after takeoff :)

How cute are they??!!

 "Mom, a train at the airport??!!"  I think we could have stayed at the airport for a few days and the boys would have been happy :)

They wanted family to know we made it to Florida safetly :)

 

In the rental car and ready to get to the Ron Jon Resort!!

We went into vacation mode pretty fast :)

Friday iPhoto Dump

Most of these photos are from the long weekend we enjoyed so much :) Wait until you see next Friday's photo dump.... they'll be some great ones!!!!

1.Decided that he wanted to go swimming :)

2.  My friend Cristina came to visit.. alot has changed for us in 10 years!

3.  Love this pic of Emilia & Peter excited when I started a movie ;)

 4. On Monday, we got to meet up with the Kahn kids and their nanny for lunch! It was SO GREAT to see them!

5. I took the boys to the playground

6.  Boys being boys.. I asked them to do something silly to send to Daddy at hunting camp.

 

Citrus Turkey Brine

I have made my own brine for the last few years now. We will always brine our turkeys. I believe many of you know Pete and I have a love for the Pioneer Women :) So when I was going to make a turkey this year, I decided to try her brine. Glad we did!

Pioneer Woman Brine
Ingredients

• 3 cups Apple Juice Or Apple Cider
• 2 gallons Cold Water
• 4 Tablespoons Fresh Rosemary Leaves
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1-1/2 cup Kosher Salt
• 2 cups Brown Sugar
• 3 Tablespoons Peppercorns
• 5 whole Bay Leaves
• Peel Of Three Large Oranges

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot(a very large pot). Stir
    until salt and sugar dissolve. Bring to a boil, then turn off heat and cover.
2. Allow to cool completely(this will take a few hours), then pour into a large brining bag or bucket. 
    Place uncooked turkey in brine solution, then refrigerate for 16 to 24 hours. Since it's cold enough 
    in Maine, we usually just place it outside to save space in the fridge.
3. When ready to roast turkey, remove turkey from brine. Submerge turkey in a pot on in a clean sink
    with fresh cold water. Allow to sit in clean water for 15 minutes to remove excess salt from the
    outside. Discard brine. Remove turkey from water, pat dry, and cook according to your normal
    roasting method.

Menu Plan Monday

We're getting closer to turkey day :) I'm enjoying the day off and snuggling with my boys on the couch. Not going to lie, we are enjoying some Christmas movies :)Enjoy your week!

Monday: Chicken Stroganoff
Tuesday: Mexican Pizza
Wednesday: Pesto Chicken Parmesan
Thursday:  Steak & Cheese Sandwiches
Friday: Takeout :)

Every week I link up with other menu planners :)

 

Friday iPhoto Dump!

What a week!

 

1. Friday night we spent over with Bethany & Mackenna. We had a fun time sleeping over while they guys were up to camp hunting and it's always fun watching the kids play together :)

2. Jack being silly :)

3. On Sunday, we had Pete's family over for dinner.

 

4. Peter celebrating the deer that Ben last weekend. Yes, he loves this stuff! 

 5. On Wednesday Katelyn texted me and I went out to celebrate the passing of YES on 1 with this crew.

6. 6:15am on Thursday morning our  house was a race track :)