Happy Tuesday! Thank you for all of the anniversary good wishes yesterday. I’m sharing our weekend today and joining the Share our Lives ladies for their monthly linkup.

Friday was a busy day. Jeff left for the beach from work early. He went to get our favorite chicken salad at the beach. It really is the best! He spent some time on the beach and got the condo ready for us – beds made, AC on, etc. Luke and I left for the beach after he got home from school. We dropped Jack at the pool to lifeguard and hit the road. I was ready to hit a bunch of traffic, but we didn’t. It was slow in some parts, but kept moving and we made pretty good time. My parents were picking Jack up after work and he spent the night with them.

We went for a walk on the beach after unpacking the car. It felt good to see the ocean, smell the ocean, hear the ocean, and feel the ocean!! I could feel all the stress and tension slipping right out of my body! Luke made friends with a fisherman who caught this skate/stingray! It was big!!

After our walk, it was early to bed because Luke had three lacrosse games the next morning. Luke plays on a rec team and they were scheduled to play three club teams so we knew it could be a tough morning. The boys played hard and should be proud of how they did. They lost all three games, but there were a lot of positives in each game.

The games were over a little after noon, so we packed up our stuff and headed back to the condo. Jeff hopped in the ocean for a bit and then packed up to head home. Luke and I met up with a few families from the lacrosse team on the beach. The weather was PERFECT!! The boys played in the ocean and on the sand all afternoon and evening. We had pizzas delivered to the beach and hung out after dinner.

We were up early again on Sunday to play our final game. This game was close, but the other team came out on top. Luke wanted to stay and watch some friends play the game after his so we did. It was great to be able to do whatever Luke wanted and spend some time with him!

After that game, we headed back to the condo and hit the beach. My friend Kourtni and her son, Luke’s friend, Collin joined us. We spent over four hours on the beach before some dark clouds started roling in. Luke and I cleaned the condo, packed up, and hit the road. We had some traffic on the way home but never stopped driving. We got home around 8:30 and quickly got ready for our last two days of school.

Jeff and Jack left on Sunday morning for North Carolina. Jack is volunteering at the US Open and so excited about it!

We had a great summer feeling weekend and Luke and I are powering through our few days of school. Yesterday was our last full day. Tomorrow is a half day and Luke’s last day. Wednesday is a work day for me. I have two more work days next week but they don’t feel quite as much like work, more like a visit to school to get some things done.

The Share Our Lives ladies (Jen, Joanne, Sarah, Dara, and Adrienne) are sharing food that you like to make for other people.

My go to food to make for people is tacos. I usually use ground chicken for the taco meat. I include disposable containers of black beans, salsa, cheese, sour cream, lettuce, corn, tomatoes, rice, guacamole, taco shells, and tortilla chips. That way the recipient can have tacos, nachos, taco salad, or a buritto bowl. I send enough for one meal and lunch leftovers, it reheats well and will feed the pickiest of eaters.

I have made King’s Hawaiian ham and cheese sliders with a salad and chips. They reheat well, feed a crowd, and are delicious. Even if someone isn’t very hungry, one slider will put a little food in their belly.

I’ve also prepared a snack basket full of trail mixes, Chex mix, granola bars, little snack bags of Goldfish or Cheez Its, fruit snacks, and drinks (juice boxes, seltzers, etc.) I find that they are good when there are going to be a lot of meals coming into a house or a lot of people visiting. That way the host doesn’t have to worry about the time between the meals.

If I am sending a meal, I always include a dessert. My favorite is Ghirardelli brownies. I add mint chips or peanut butter chips for a little something extra.

I have enjoyed reading what others like to make for people. There are a lot of good ideas on the link up and I might add some of them to our summer meals. What do you like to make for others? I’ll be back tomorrow with my summer schedule. Have a great day full of sunshine and books!