April Round Up

Things have ramped up around here and somehow two weeks have gone by since the end of April!

So what did we do in April?  Well, our cabin is FINALLY complete-ish so we have been heading out there on the weekends.  We spent three weekends in all out at Bryce last month and slowly but surely we're putting the place back together the way we like it.  It is a painfully slow process when you are also caring for 4 small children, as you can imagine.  Basically we are either preparing a meal, feeding someone, cleaning up, changing diapers, doing laundry, putting together furniture,  and/or cleaning AT ALL TIMES.  There isn't much sitting around and relaxing going on but if we can just push through this phase we'll get there soon.  I cannot wait to head out to the cabin on the weekends and have nothing to do but hang out with the kids, read, swim, do puzzles and play cards.  It. will. happen. I know I keep promising this, but this time I mean it - a post dedicated to the cabin project is coming soon.

June looks out the window at Bryce from her rocking chair

The boys on a box

June

Dylan

A walk in the woods

The last weekend in April, Matt and I traveled to Tennessee to stay at Blackberry Farm.  If you haven't heard of it, BB Farm is farm to table concept resort in the Smokey Mountains.  Amazing food. Amazing views.  Amazing spa. We had a wonderful time exploring the property, hiking, paddle boarding, getting massages, eating and drinking our faces off and playing with puppies. Yes, they had no less than 15 puppies on property that you could just go play with whenever you wanted.  Oh, and we hung out with Michael J. Fox, one of my best star sightings ever. If you ever have the chance to visit this place, go go go.

Kids are good.  Hank and Gus seem to have evolved their relationship beyond one of constant bickering and fighting over toys to one more like a friendship.  They are getting along very well and I think that Gus had really come into his own, which in turn has caused Hank to respect him more as a person (not just as an antagonist).  The girls are slowly starting to say some words and June has been taking some tentative steps.  The boys play very nicely with the babies which is always a pleasure to watch.

June with her baby

Gus

Dylan on the left, June on the right

Hank selfie (I have hundreds of these on my phone)

Dylan

Matt is super busy at work but it's all for a good cause so that makes it tolerable.  Between the house renovations, school activities, a couple of trips, and a nasty flu virus that worked it's way through every member of our household including the nanny, I've had my hands full this month.  I cried over Prince, bought my Woman Card from Hilary and continue to watch in horror as Trump keeps making his way towards the nomination.  It seems that there are more idiots in this country than I had initially thought, and that is saying something.  Speaking of idiots, these are the words now being said most frequently by my boys:  idiot, stupid, shut up and what the f*!k.  How did we go so wrong so soon?

Last but not least, recipes for this month included:

Pad Thai Salad from The Londoner - Really flavorful and healthy meal, now frequently in rotation.
Soba Noodle and Grilled Chicken Salad with Miso Dressing - from Goop.
Tarragon Chicken  - Food and Wine
Grilled Chicken Stuffed with Mozzarella and Sage - from Williams Sonoma Grilling

That's all for now - more from me soon! xoxo