High Five for Friday

Today I'm linking up with Lauren and Jennie to share some of my favorite stuff from the past week.

1) Friday, the 4th of July, was the last day of my running challenge. The two previous days I had gone for walks instead of running but I really wanted to finish with a run. Knowing we were going to watch the fireworks that night, I decided to run while Husband & Grant took their mid-day naps. Bad idea. It was so incredibly hot. But I did finish my challenge - yay!

2) Friday night we found a decent spot away from downtown to watch the fireworks. It was obvious that we missed some of the good stuff because of our location but we still got a good show without having to go downtown. Seeing Grant's reaction was totally worth letting him stay up far too late past his bedtime.

Waiting patiently for the fireworks to start!

Grant really liked all the shapes they made with the fireworks.

3) Husband's aunt was in town for the 4th so Saturday night we all went out to dinner. We followed that up with snow cones and some time on the playground nearby  

So happy :)

That static hair was cracking us up when he came down the slide!

4) We once again tried the ice cream in a baggie thing - I think we're a bit obsessed with this. This time I tried to make it chocolate. It didn't turn out as chocolatey as we would have liked but it was still really good.

5) I went for my first post-challenge run this week and felt surprisingly good. It was also my longest run this summer. I didn't even mind so much how hot it was because there was a relatively decent breeze. I've been a little lazy this week with my running and all the rain we're getting is really helping me justify staying inside. But hopefully this weekend I'll feel a little more motivated.

Happy Friday!

Have a great weekend!

High Five for Friday

Happy 4th of July! Today I'm linking up with Lauren and Jennie to share some of my favorite stuff from the past week.

1) Friday night for dinner I made chicken gyros for dinner with a homemade version of that yummy cucumber dressing stuff. It was a really yummy summery type meal and we had some great corn on the cob with it. Gotta love a meal that pleases all of us! (I used the recipe in THIS POST for the tzatziki sauce)

2) On Saturday we went to a birthday party at a place called Jumpin' Jax for one of Grant's school chums. He had such great time and it was so fun to see playing with so many of his friends from school.

If there is an inflatable slide around, Grant will find it.

Winning tickets on the basketball game!

3) Saturday night, Grant spent the night with his Gramma & Grandpa. So Husband and I went out to dinner, ate too much, went home and rented Monuments Men (and then caught up on NCIS that we've had recorded for months). We're real party animals, huh? 

4) After checking it out several times on Pinterest, I bought stuff to try out ice cream in a baggie. Grant has only recently become an ice cream eater but I thought he'd have fun shaking the bag at the very least. I followed THIS RECIPE but used a quart size bag and doubled the recipe (since I had planned on the three of us digging into it). I couldn't believe it actually worked! Grant was excited about the whole process (especially the eating) and it was really yummy ice cream! We decided to just eat it out of the bag instead of being polite with a bowl and what-not. This weekend we may give chocolate a try!

5) For a couple years now I've been on a hunt for a Derek Jeter jersey that wasn't too expensive (I'm cheap about stuff like this). We don't go to too many baseball games but I thought it would be fun to wear when we go, especially now that Grant has a Yankees jersey. With Jeter retiring this year, I know I won't get to see him play in a game but I still wanted one of his jerseys. Wednesday evening when I got home, there was a box on the table and inside was........a Jeter jersey! Husband surprised me :)

I can't wait to go to a baseball game with it! 

Happy Friday!

Happy 4th of July!!
Have a great weekend!

New Recipe: Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake

I decided to try another new recipe for our Father's Day cookout. Husband is not a big fan of ice cream cake. This I do not, and never will, understand. I loooove ice cream cake. It's my favorite kind of cake :) Since it was going to be a warm day I was on the hunt for a cool dessert. I remembered a recipe that I'd seen years ago in a Kraft Food & Family magazine (love that magazine, by the way!). It's called Oreo & Fudge Ice Cream Cake (click it for recipe - there's even a how to video if my pictures don't do it for you). How much easier does it get than an ice cream cake made with ice cream sandwiches??

Ingredients



Mix up your "filling"



Assemble your layers, wrap it, and stick it in the freezer.

When it's been in the freezer long enough to set, take it out and put it on a serving plate. Spread on the rest of the whipped cream and I threw a couple of crushed Oreos on top to make it pretty. Then cover it up and stick it back in the freezer until you're ready to serve it. 

Looky there! A homemade ice cream cake!

Notes/Suggestions:

• You could mix it up a little bit if you wanted a different flavor. I want to try to make it with the birthday cake ice cream sandwiches. And use caramel in the filling instead of fudge and vanilla pudding instead of chocolate. And maybe the vanilla Oreos in place of the regular ones. YUM.
• No need to let it sit before serving. It cuts great straight from the freezer.
• If you can find reduced fat sandwiches that come in boxes of 12 you could do a lower fat version. Using reduced fat Oreos and light or fat free whipped cream.

Enjoy!