Happy Monday! I’m here with Holly sharing some fun from our weekend. I hope you’ll link up with us for Hello Monday!

We had a great weekend! It rained ALL DAY on Saturday. We had the wettest swim meet we’ve had in a long time, but the kids had fun and we won!

After the meet, we came home to warm up and I ended up taking a nap. We hung around the house and ate leftovers for dinner.

Sunday was GORGEOUS, but the grounds at the pool were a mess from all that rain yesterday. We went over a little after 10 to clean up from the meet and stayed until almost 5. Dinner was choices from the fridge and we had a quiet night.

I am also linking up with the Not Just A Mom girls. The topic is family food traditions. I made a quick list at the pool yesterday and I am sure I will miss something, but here’s what I gathered.

One of our family food traditions happens today! 7-11 day! We are certain to be found at a 7-11 for slurpees on July 11th! Cold treats on summer days are part of our family food traditions. We get snowballs at least once a summer. Hoffman’s Ice Cream is the gold standard for ice cream for me. I love it and we took my niece for her first Hoffman’s last week!

Steamed crabs are a FFT for us, too! We usually have crabs with my parents a few times a summer. I can count on having crabs on Mother’s Day and my mom’s birthday!

My grandmother made the best cucumbers and onions. Unfortunately, I didn’t eat them until the last 15 years. My mom is really, really good at making them just like my grandmother. I’m getting better, but I always think of my Mommom when I make and eat them!

We have a few family food treats. I’ve shared peanut butter bars and buttercream candy and they are Parsons (Kacmarski) family favorites. Another favorite is freckle bars. Freckle bars are one of the first things I remember baking on my own. They are so simple and delicious.

1 box of yellow cake mix
6 oz chocolate chips (I like to use more)
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease the bottom of 9×13 pan.
Stir together ingredients.
Bake for 25 minutes.

Holidays are full of family food traditions. We have a lot of the common foods – turkey, dyed eggs, etc. There are two foods that my mom makes that are mandatory for Christmas in my opinion! For Christmas morning, she always makes sticky buns. They are cinnamon rolls that cook a gooey, delicious brown sugar and butter creation. We do not ice them and they are perfection! On Christmas Eve, my mom and I make a rib roast with potatoes cooked around the meat. It is my favorite meal of the year!

We are a big crowd when we get together with Jeff’s family and we often have what I call the “Parsons’ Special”. We have hamburgers, hot dogs, Italian sausage, and grilled chicken. It’s great because Jeff’s dad is a great griller and everyone can have what they want for dinner.

We spend a few holiday mornings with Jeff’s family most years and Jeff’s mom always make pumpkin bread. She’s even perfected a recipe for gluten free pumpkin bread since a few family members are gluten free. I don’t know what I would do if we went for breakfast and the pumpkin bread was missing.

Jeff’s mom also makes all the kids’ birthday party cakes. She’s been making them for grandkids for 13 years and made her kids’ cakes for years before that.

Some of my friends have a running joke about my kids asking for treats or snacks at the pool. Apparently, I ALWAYS ask “Have you had any fruit yet? Have you had any veggies yet?” It’s true! I am all for treats and snacks, but you need to have your fruits and veggies first!

I am certain I will think of some more food traditions, but these are the ones that came to mind as I was enjoying the sunshine yesterday afternoon!

If you blogged today, be sure to link up below! We have a fun week planned and I am not sure how much I’ll be blogging this week. I haven’t properly prepared for Prime Days, but hopefully Summer Sarah can find what rest of the year Sarah might need. Lol! Have great day full of sunshine and books!