Spring Break Getaway in New Hampshire

This week Brad was out of school for late spring break, so I took some time off work and we drove to New Hampshire for our first big road trip in the Northeast! This was our first time going anywhere east past Rochester. We stayed at the Indian Head Resort in Lincoln, NH in the White Mountains.

Our room had a balcony with a view of the lake and mountains.

Thank God there was an indoor pool and hot tub, as well as an arcade room...

We were more than a little disappointed to find out when we got there that literally everything we wanted to do was closed. Evidently because it's in between ski season and summer, the area shuts down and nothing is available until almost June. No mountain tram, no off-road tours...even at the resort there were several things advertised that were not available.

Nonetheless we made the most if it and drove around to see the beautiful scenery and nearby towns. I'm sure it's a hopping place in the middle of summer...

Jacob is 4!

A late post, but here are the pics from Jacob's 4th birthday party on April 12. We had a fun party at home with lots of presents, cake, and ice cream! He got lots of neat toys and played with them all evening.

We also threw out his pullups, and he is now FINALLY 100% potty trained! He can't wait to start preK in the fall.

Cheddar Broccoli Soup

If you love the combination of tender broccoli and melted cheddar, then this is the soup for you! It is an excellent imitation of the cheddar broccoli soup from Jason's Deli.

I based it off a crockpot recipe I had and added my own spin on it. I made a double batch for my family of 4, and it was a huge hit!

1lb broccoli florets

1/2 diced onion

1 can condensed cheddar soup

1 can evaporated milk

1c chicken broth

1/2 tbs minced garlic

1/2c shredded cheddar

Salt/pepper to taste

1tbs olive oil

*Optional* bacon bits for topping

Sauté broccoli and onion in oil x5min. Add garlic and saute x2min. Increase heat and add broth, milk, and soup. Stir and bring to boil. Reduce heat and gently simmer x20min or till broccoli is very tender. Add cheddar and stir till melted. Taste soup and add s/p as desired.

You will love it! It doubles easily and is great to make when broccoli is on sale or in season.

Rochester Science Museum and Strasenburgh Planetarium

Today Bradley and I went on a fun (and FREE) excursion to Rochester! Our community offers many outings during the year, and this was one of them. They provided transportation and admission to the Rochester Science Museum and Strasenburgh Planetarium. We were allowed 3 hours to explore the museum and have lunch, then we enjoyed a 45 minute show in the newly renovated planetarium.

The Science Museum was very informative with 3 floors of exhibits both informational and interactive! Brad had a great time exploring. We ate our packed lunch then met the group for the show.

This was both of ours first time to a planetarium, and I thought it was amazing! We reclined back and the narrator informed us on the current night sky stars and constellations, as well as planet positions. The bulk of the show was with new modern projectors, but at the end they brought out the original 50 year old star projector to show us what it could do!

This was a great precursor to tonight's activity....Due to a large solar flare earlier this week we are predicted to have a good chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis here tonight! I am meeting some girlfriends on a beach of Lake Ontario for a viewing so wish us luck!!

Michael Bublé in Buffalo

There 2 singers I will ALWAYS buy tickets to see if they are within a few hrs driving distance of me---Bryan Adams is one, and Michael Bublé is the other! Well last night I had the pleasure of seeing Mr. Bublé for my 3rd time in concert and it was as magical as always. He was in downtown Buffalo and my favorite friend Brigid went with me.

With wonderfully bad timing we also got about 6 inches of snow so the drive to Buffalo was awful and took me 2hrs, but thankfully I did not wreck or get stuck so success! Brigid's fiance has an SUV so he most kindly dropped us off and picked us up.

We grabbed a bite and cocktails at a bar then walked to the event center and enjoyed the show!! His voice is like silk and he's easy on the eyes--I can't complain.

I won't lie--I was mighty jealous of the front row people who got to touch him and get autographs. One day I will loosen the purse strings and splurge on the bougie tickets!

Family Bowling

This week the kids have been out of school for early spring break, so yesterday we all tried out the bowling alley in our town! We had an afternoon of fun. I won the first game, but Jacob swooped in after and won the second game.

Oklahoma Visit

Last week I was able to take a quick trip to Oklahoma to visit my family and friends! I went by myself and managed to *almost* finish a 870 page book on the flight! I flew in on Sunday evening and enjoyed a casual dinner at my mom's house with my brothers as well. Braums is my favorite burger place and I didn't get a chance to eat there last visit, so this made up for it!

I stayed at a nice hotel (that I got a sweet deal on thanks to connections) so I would have a home base to decompress, and to not be a burden on anyone! The hot tub helped too.

The first day I was there the weather was sunny and around 70...but I guess a cold front came through because every day after was foggy, wet, and COLD. When I left on Thursday it was 20 and snowing there! HA.

I got to see an old coworker for lunch, and I got to visit another friend who just had a baby. I didn't take many pictures this trip!

I had a couple breakfasts with my dad and brother, and also with my dad we ate at the BEST Greek place called Athena's. I've been eating there for probably over 20 years and thankfully nothing has changed! So good

It was great to see my family again, and I even got to squeeze in an unexpected extra day! I was supposed to fly out on Wednesday but in Buffalo there was an ice storm all day. Between flights getting delayed/canceled and the awful roads, I decided to reschedule the flight for the next day. I had to tie up several loose ends for it to work, but everything came through in the end and it all worked out! Nick and the boys were happy to have me home.