Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

But first.....we had Diana's last ECE Cheer Comp of the Season.  It was Encore in Springfield MA.  We had fun with our cheer pals but we are SO HAPPY that this season is over...it was a challenging one!

A few pics to wrap up the season on a high note...especially since the girls placed 1st!!

and the night before, we had an amazing dinner at Adolfo's and when we were hanging at the hotel after, we bumped into Cassie, one of the owners at ECE and the girls were starstruck so we had to take a picture of course :)

and Cheer Moms :)

and on to the Egg Hunt!

We hosted our first annual Easter Egg Hunt yesterday.

One family who used to live in "the hood" would host this every year.  We always said we would re-start this neighborhood tradition and we finally got to it this year.

Every family brought us 1 dozen filled eggs per child.  We "hid" them in the yard and the kids had a blast picking them up.  Every child got to find up to 12 eggs and I feel like they finished the hunt in less than 2 minutes- so funny!

Diana made a sign that welcomed everyone and shared our her goals :)

Ready....Set....Go!

The Hunt!

Enjoying the Loot!

 

and we had snacks for the kids and some refreshments for the adults.

Thanks again to Pinterest for helping me get creative!

For the kids....

and for the adults...

We all had a blast...we even got to meet some neighbors for the first time...and decided to put together a neighborhood (very casual) couples golf league!

The bonus of the day was having tractor rides by Mr. Chris- he is a legend in these parts for this tractor ;)

 

 and after hanging with our "neighborhood peeps", the girls wound down with a little time on the swing set....had to snap a pic of Diana pushing Eva...warmed my heart :)

and last night, since it was Palm Sunday, we continued our tradition of watching The Passion Of The Christ- we let Diana watch it with us this year too- she understood and remembered parts from the gospel at church.  This movie always reminds me to simplify things- think of others- and remember the suffering. 

 

Friday Favorites (April 7, 2017)

WOOHOO!!

I know I always say I am so happy to see Friday...and FRI YAY...and such :)

It was a crazy busy week albeit very fun one too.

I dont' know what it is about Springtime, however, that feels crazy busy.  I mean we are so busy with cheer and other activities in the fall but nothing feels as crazy as Spring....I will take it though...this is what life is all about...

As always, linking up with Erika, Narci and Andrea HERE for Friday Favorites!
and Katie from Cup of Tea for High Five for Friday HERE

 

PTA Loves

I think I have mentioned before that I LOVE this PTA.  I feel like making new friends there is an added bonus of being part of a group that does so much for the schools.  We have agreed that we have become friends and now our "working lunches" have become even more fun.  

Cheer Comp

So we had a snowstorm last Friday night into Saturday.  Our original plans were to go down to Providence on Friday night and stay over for Diana's cheer comp.  Well, the girls weren't competing until the afternoon and that coupled with the awful weather, we decided to make the trek down on Saturday morning instead and it worked out well.

Robby B drove us all down and kept us safe in the process (yes of course I had to snap a selfie) ;)

The girls got to meet one of our "Cheer Gods" from UMD, Eric.  He has his own cheer equipment company now called "Stunt Double."  He let the girls try out some of the equipment before they had to meet up with their team- they had a blast.

Eric now works for the Boston Celtics and several cheer teams across New England.

When it was time for the girls to compete, they rocked it.  They placed 3rd- not too shabby!

 After the comp, a group of us hit PF Chang's in Providence.  I haven't been there in so long and the chicken lettuce wraps are still amazing!

Visits with Mimi and Papa

The girls love spending time with their grandparents.  When Mimi and Papa came up last Sunday, I made us a great "Greek Dinner".  We had grilled lamb and chicken, Greek Salad and this Spring Risotto.  If you missed my post yesterday, you can check out this easy recipe HERE 

and the snuggles from Mimi weren't so bad either ;)

Favorite Memes of the Week

Red Sox Opening Day!

Well...in case you didn't hear...it was Red Sox opening day on Monday at Fenway...that means it is officially Spring- woohooo!!!

My fam got in on the action....

Robby B

Diana

and Eva (her work at school) just priceless :)

Big Little Lies

Okay...how come I just heard about this series this week!

O...M...G....amazing!

Lea told me to watch it and before she knew it, I not only caught up to her but watched the ENTIRE SEASON....Rob watched it with me and we both agreed, it was incredible!!!  I am sad it is over..I wanted it to last but all good things must come to an end.  It is based on the book by Liane Moriarty.  Have you watched it?  Do yourself a favor and get some popcorn..you won't be able to NOT binge watch it!

Favorite Eats of the Week

I kind of impressed myself with these fish tacos- I took coconut encrusted haddock and made a fruit salsa and a cilantro yogurt sauce...they came out so good!  I then used some of the left over sauce on my eggs the next morning- delish!

"Lea's Birthday Week"

I say this because her hubby Mike teases her and always says she celebrates all week.  

We did our fair share of celebrating for her

Her favorite, "Large Unsweetened Iced Teas"

Facebook Shout Outs

Virtual Golf at Aktinson Country Club- so fun!

(and Rob made me snap a selfie of my golf outfit- he loved it- I love it too- so comfy)

Long Overdue Spa Time!

and a bday lunch with the SPBs!  (No it wasn't my birthday but I got to benefit too- thanks Mike) ;)

The professional "Dotty Shots"

That is our nickname for the Daddy Daughter Dance because that is what Diana called it when she was little.  I LOVE the way this pic came out of Rob and the girls :)

Grammy Coming Home!

Rob's Mom got home from the hospital on Wednesday.  Everyone is happy to have her home...especially the kiddos.  It has been difficult and she was just diagnosed with Parkinson's so we are praying and keeping the faith.

Pidge jumped right in bed with her upon her return :)

There ya have it!  Hope you all have an amazing weekend!

Easy Spring Risotto

I am happy to be linking up with Allie again for her "Try It Thursday" Series.  You can find Allie over at "A Gal Named Al."

Stay tuned later in the month for a series that Allie has invited me to Co-host.  So excited to be co-hosting my first linkup- woohoo!!

For now, linking up with Allie HERE 

The recipe I would love to share with you today is

Easy Spring Risotto

What You Will Need:

2 quarts chicken stock
a quarter pound of pancetta, diced into cubes
1 shallot, chopped (or half of a red onion)
  2 cups Arborio rice

1 cup white wine (I used sauvignon blanc for an extra taste of spring)

about 1 cup of frozen peas

about 10 pieces of asparagus, diced into bite sized pieces (I used 1/2 box of frozen asparagus cuts)
the zest and juice of one lemon
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) and 

Salt and Pepper

How To Put This Masterpiece Together:

In a large pot, bring chicken stock up to low simmer

In a separate pan, heat a couple of tablespoons of EVOO over medium-high heat and add in your pancetta and crisp up for about 5 minutes or so.  Next, add in your shallots and cook a few minutes.  Stir in rice for another minute.

Stir in your white wine- the alcohol will burn off

At this point, take a ladle and add 1 cup of your hot stock to the rice.  Stir constantly for a minute or so.    

Stir continuously, adding stock every time the majority of the liquid evaporates.  

You will continue doing this for about 20 minutes.  Add stock, stir, wait for it to evaporate and add more.    

After the rice is tender, stir in your peas and asparagus along with about 2 tablespoons of zest and lemon juice. 

Continue cooking another 5-10 minutes.

Stir in cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

 

This is an absolutely delicious risotto dish and the lemon makes it the perfect main dish or side dish for Spring!

 

 

Blogging Slacker!

BLOGGING SLACKER- I apologize friends!

This week has been CRAZY busy with work, etc.

I promise I will make it up to you and do an EXTRA LONG Friday Favorites post...and it will be a good one!

Stay tuned XOXO