Memorial Day Weekend

We had a lovely three-day weekend. The weather was hot and sunny, so much of it was spent outside and on the porch.
Saturday we did our grocery shopping. Eric wanted some time to himself, so he went into town to shop at Wegmans and I stayed close to home and shopped at the commisary on base. I was given a lovely surprise when Eric brought home some things for our porch. He bought two chairs to use on the porch, because up until now we just brought out our uncomfortable wooden kitchen chairs. He also bought two sets of white rope lights, which he strung up all the way around the inside of the porch. It looks so nice all lit up at night. He also got an American Flag to hang outside of our porch; and he got a new light fixture as well, to replace the one that came with it that is old and outdated. It looks so nice! Such small changes make a big difference in the atmosphere. For dinner we had steaks on the grill. New York strip steaks with carmelized onions and sauteed mushrooms with baked potato and pasta parmesan for side dishes. It was delicious! We of course ate on the porch. It was lovely :) After Becca went to bed we watched Avatar on Blu-ray, our newest Netflix rental. It was a really good movie, I liked it a lot.
Sunday we had a nice big breakfast out on the porch...eggs, biscuits, bacon, sausage, coffee. There is something so peaceful about eating on the porch...feeling the fresh air, smelling the trees and flowers in the air, watching birds and squirrels scurring about, as well as people walking their dogs or pushing their child in a stroller.
Eric went to the store real quick while I cleaned up breakfast and came back with another surprise! He bought a birdfeeder and some birdseed to hang outside of our porch so we can watch the birds while we're out there! I was so excited! I've been wanting one for a long time, but it's been low on the priority list of course. Becca loves to watch and feed the birds at my mom's house in NY when we visit, so I'm excited that she can enjoy that here in her own home :) So we hung it up and it looks so nice! As I sat on the porch watching the birds, my mind began to drift to thoughts of my grandmother. She passed away when I was a teenager after losing a long battle with breast cancer. She loved to feed her birds. When I went over to visit at her house we would go to her backyard and she would sing and talk to the birds. She had several birdfeeders and different kinds of birdseed to attract a variety of different kinds of birds. Within seconds of her calling out to them, there would be a dozen different kinds of birds all around her feet and gathering on the feeders. They loved her. They would bathe in her bird bath......it was home to them. It was a very special thing that I will always remember. :)
Back to our weekend......We brought out Becca's little blow up pool since it was almost 90 degrees and sat outside with her in our new chairs while we watched her swim and splash in the pool! She had a ball! It also made her sleep really well for her nap, which made us really happy :)
After her nap we went across the street to Eric's friends' house to watch the Nascar race. There were a bunch of other families there. We had a nice time :)
Memorial Day we spent the whole day home as a family. We brought out the pool again for Becca and this time I put on my bathing suit and laid out by the pool with her. I even got a little tan! We had hot dogs for dinner with homemade macaroni salad...yummy! I made the salad with this new macaroni that I saw in the store and it's made with carrots, spinach and tomatoes.....one serving equals your daily serving of vegetables! It turned out really good! I made a berry shortcake for dessert. It was homemade shortcake that I used cookie cutters to make it shaped like a star for the holiday. I added fresh strawberries and blackberries and topped it off with homemade whipped cream.....it was one of the best desserts I've ever had in my life! Yum!
After Becca went to bed we watched another Netflix movie.....Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs. It was a cute movie :)
What a great weekend with the family. I have so much joy in the little things. Like making small additions to the porch to make it more our own. Sitting outside as a family together and watching my little girl splash around and swim like a fish! My husband surprising me in little things like getting me a birdfeeder which he knows I've been wanting for a while. I am thankful for my beautiful family and lovely home....and my wonderful husband who provides me with all that I have.