Happy Homemaker Monday

Hey there my Peeps! 

How are you doing on this fine Monday? Did you have a lovely weekend?

We were away to see family for a little reunion in Green Bay WI. Matt, Annie & I traveled down to the vrbo rental we had rented...and to meet other relatives for the weekend. It was a gorgeous property right on Green Bay (the actual water not just the city) and it was perfect for all we needed. We have several family that live in that area - as well as a few more relatives that flew or drove up for the weekend. 

We celebrated a few momentous things besides just catching up as family. My ex's Uncle had passed recently and he was a big GB Packers fan. Annie had asked if maybe we took a little of his ashes we could sprinkle some of him there. Matt & I as huge fans as well, were happy to oblige. Plus, in another life he had been my Uncle too. :) 

We also gathered at my Aunt's condo on Sunday for a little birthday celebration of a great Uncle of mine. He turned 98! So we had a little luncheon buffet and cupcakes and sang him happy birthday. 

We were blessed with lovely weather. We played bocce ball out on the lawn. We sat out in the sun and visited. Matt and I took sunset walks with my Aunt Mary Jo and had great deep conversations. We ate a lot of good food and played a lot of games. I don't know that I've laughed that hard in a long time. It was so nice as some cousins that never met Matt finally got to meet and know him. Many family members came up to me and kept saying how he fits in our family so well and how much they just love him. Yep, he's a keeper for life. 😊💗 

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

ice protein coffee and half of a bagel with scant amount of veggie cream cheese

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

errands & groceries, lab appt, cleaners come (we have company coming to stay this weekend and sometimes hiring help is a useful thing), visit my Mom, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT: 

things I want to accomplish and to grab to make for company coming this weekend (making lists) as well as Father's Day plans for my Dad (& step Dad, Matt)💙

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:

watering and tending to my flowers in the morning as I listen to the birds sing, someone mowing the lawn in the distance, and geese honking on the bay

CURRENTLY READING

I have not been in summer reading mode yet - too busy during the day or too tired at night, but I have lots of good books lined up!

 

ON THE TV TODAY:

  Jeopardy, old seasons of big brother & the office, Castle Impossible, AGT, Sweet Magnolias

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - leftovers we brought back in a cooler from the reunion

TUESDAY - asian chicken crumbles with sauce (Costco) over cauliflower rice, veggie spring rolls

WEDNESDAY -  

THURSDAY -  

FRIDAY - 

*need to plan out the rest of the week before we get groceries

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

organize some of my craft area, play with my flowers/garden

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

I thought you might enjoy this "cozynooks" channel from youtube that had ambiance of a strawberry garden  🍓

 

FROM THE CAMERA:

Watering my flowers this AM and I could see all the ants crawling on my peony bulbs. They will bloom soon, yay! 

My great Uncle Paul is in the yellow shirt. He is a retired priest and we had a little 98th birthday for him at my Aunt's condo:

Here are some moments of family time at the VRBO. We took turns being teams playing bocce ball or being the cheerleaders on the sidelines.

The VRBO was a 5 bedroom 3 bathroom place and had several levels and a few different decks. Matt and I loved this one for coffee in the morning as we were often up earliest.

This is the back of the property standing on the big dock looking back at it. And I caught some sunset pics when were walking back from one of our walks with my Aunt:

Here are some pics of the property. Matt & I secured the VRBO and handled menu planning, grabbing the groceries, and made a lot of the menu items (Matt did the grilling too) - so they insisted we have the primary suite. Which was the whole 2nd floor! 😍

I forgot to get a photo, but besides the dining table it had several stools along the island and the cutest breakfast nook connected with the island that had benches.

the lower level had a bar, big screen tv and fuseball:

The whole 2nd floor was a primary suite that included the bedroom, bathroom, and a hallway that had 2 very large separate walk-in closets and full laundry. Matt & I loved it!

The top floor was like a little cuppola with a desk area....basically a nice quiet work area with an amazing view!

Matt, Annie & I took a visit to Lambeau football stadium and said hi to Vince Lombardi (the statue where Matt & I got engaged). We had stopped there to sprinkle some of my ex's Uncle Gary's ashes (Annie's great Uncle) as he had been a huge Packers fan. Matt & I love Lambeau and were happy to help. We picked out a lot number in the parking field so there was kind of a designated spot to know where he is. I said a few words and we all said an Our Father prayer over him and then Annie sprinkled him and I got some pics for her dad. 

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear, especially everything going on in the middle east right now. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace. For healing for my Mom. 

For the Lord's love and peace to fill 2026. ❤️ 

For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way to loving our neighbors as ourselves. 🙏🏻

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

I am so grateful for the gift of family. And I consider my good friends (like you) family I get to choose to have in my life too. 😊💗 

Blessings on your week Friends!

I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.

Happy Homemaker Monday

 

Happy Monday Peeps!

How are you doing this lovely August summer day? The sun is shining and it's been clearer weather here, which has been lovely.

We had such a fun weekend. I sure hope you did too! 

Ours was very eventful. Friday some relatives on my Dad's side were in town and Matt and Annie & I went out to dinner with them. Then later in the evening my son came into town and we all hung out and played some games Friday night. Saturday his Jill was busy, but Aaron and Annie came with Matt & I to run errands for the surprise 80th birthday party we threw for my Dad. 😊🎉 We also went out to breakfast Saturday morning and saw some old besties of my former in-laws. It was so nice to visit with them and for them to see me so happy with Matt and how much my kiddos just love him too. Then Saturday night was my Dad's big party. He was so surprised and it couldn't have been better!!

Then Sunday morning Matt & I went to church. That afternoon we hung out with the kids. Then all of us went to a favorite local pizza place for dinner and met some of my cousins there (from my Mom's side of the family actually). Then they came back to our place and we played games, had dessert and sat out and had a fire on the deck until late into the night. Such a full and very fun weekend!! 

This morning I went out to brunch with my cousin and her hubby before they headed back home. I'm so grateful for the amazing family I have and getting so much time with my kiddos. Squeezing every minute out of these wonderful summer days while we have them. 

 

 

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS:

ON THE BREAKFAST PLATE THIS MORNING:

Just some iced protein coffee before I went to restaurant to meet my cousin

ON MY TO DO LIST THIS WEEK:

brunch with cousin, my Mom's MD appts, groceries later in the week, projects, hospice work

THINKING ABOUT:  

my grateful heart to be born to the family I have and how very much I love my relatives and our bonds 

 

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY:

summer nights by a fire with the wind in the trees and the peepers and summer sounds all around - visiting with loved ones and laughing lots

CURRENTLY READING

I've been terrible about reading and have been outside a lot lately and active and too tired to read at night. Lol

ON THE TV TODAY:

 Americas Got Talent, And Just Like That, The Gilded Age, The Office, Big Brother,The Last Kingdom, American Pickers, The Pitt 

ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:

    MONDAY - Annie will be out tonight so not sure what Matt & I will do?

TUESDAY - going to make Annie's faves this week - this night veggie lasagna and bruschetta, melon

WEDNESDAY - blueberry french toast bake, breakfast potatoes, fruit

THURSDAY - lemon pasta, caesar salad, garlic bread

FRIDAY - maybe out to a favorite of Annie's choice

*I'm also going to bake zucchini bread this week - another Annie fave ;) And going out for a sushi lunch with my Dad one day this week too (she loves sushi like we do) 

TO RELAX THIS WEEK I WILL:

go for walks, hang with my girl, maybe golf? play games

TIPS OR SOMETHING TO SHARE:

FROM THE CAMERA:

It's so crazy to me that my Dad is 80 already! Especially when I'm only 38 (wink wink) Lol But it was so fun to cook up this idea with my step Mom months ago. I told her I wanted to do something extra special and then that got us talking about a surprise party. I took the reigns, per her request, and handled the venue, decorations and dessert. She handled the plan to get him there. Lol We held it at a local steak house that they often go to with friends (so that wasn't weird to him). My step Mom and my Dad come from big families, so we needed a bigger venue than my house. We had about 30 to 35 people there. 

 My step Mom and I always tease my Dad that gnomes remind us of him. He has a gray mustache and beard and kind of a "not small" nose. 😂 

So we went with a gnome theme. I found gnomes that reminded me of him (a GB Packers one, a bird watching one, and a golfer). I got wood bases and put a gnome on each as a centerpiece and embellished with fairy lights, moss, mushrooms, acorns, pinecones etc. On the tables we put funny gnome props for photo ops. We also had lots of "80" themed decorations. Matt, Annie, and my Aunt Mary Jo helped me get it all set up and it turned out really cute. He came into the room and was so puzzled and then so surprised and got overwhelmed and emotional. It was really sweet. There was lots of fun joking and teasing, lovely toasts to him, we sang to him, and of course lots of visiting and family photo ops. A lovely milestone in the books. 💗

The venue kept the cupcakes in their fridge for us until after dinner and I forgot to get a pic. So I took a pic of the leftovers when I had them home. They were so yummy and made by a local pro. The flavors were: gluten free white chocolate strawberry (as we have several gf folks in the crew), lemon cupcakes with lemon filling & fresh blueberry frosting, white almond, and hostess cupcakes dupes that were awesome! 

And it was so fun to have my cousin Susie and her hubby, Steve, in town visiting yesterday. We went out to dinner with them and with another cousin of mine and his wife. And that cousin had to leave but Susie and Steve came over to our house and we all hung out (my kiddos too) and played several games. And then when it got dark Matt put on a fire outside and I took this pic from the house while I was putting dessert together. I made this dessert that I've made before and it's so yummy. It's a Pioneer Woman recipe and so good for summer because it's a frozen pie. And who doesn't love chocolate and raspberry? 😋 It was so fun gabbing late into the night just enjoying each others' company around a cozy fire. 

PRAYER LIST:

 For an end to the conflicts all over the world and anyone living in war & fear. For peace and unity in this country, especially from hate and shootings or violence.  For anyone sick, suffering, in pain, fear, loneliness etc ... that God bring them comfort and peace.  For my Dad's 80th year to be such a blessing to him. For all my relatives traveling today. 

For Christ's Light and Love to cast out the darkness everywhere and help the world find its way. 🙏🏻

PRAYER, INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE OR DEVOTIONAL:

Wishing you all an amazing week ahead. 💗

I'm sharing this with Sandra of Diary of a SAHM for Happy Homemaker Monday.