Belated Easter 2019 Post

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter with their families this year! Ours was a bit split up due to my work and our vacation.

The boys got to have some fun at our library and see the Easter bunny (Jacob was too scared).

They got their baskets on Easter morning at home, but we saved the egg hunt and big dinner for after our New Hampshire trip!

They both helped me color eggs, and Nick helped me with the food. We had glazed ham, deviled eggs, mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, and corn. Plus a delicious carrot cake for dessert!

It was rainy and muddy, so we improvised and hid the eggs inside. They loved it!

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!!