clownfish and minions: our weekend shenanigans

I'm back! I'm back!

Vacation was so very wonderful, you guys. Seriously, I wish I could go back. I plan on doing one, or probably a few, recap posts in the near future... but I'm still going through the 4,000-some pictures we took! So crazy.

So, for now, I'll fill you in on what we did this past weekend! Granted, it wasn't super exciting by any means, but it was fun and filled with family-time.  Though, I am starting this recap on our last Wednesday evening because that night we crossed off one of the items on our Summer Bucket List!! {yay!} So, maybe this is more of a "what we've been up to" post rather than just a weekend dealio, but that works for me!


Wednesday:
We got ourselves a fish for our saltwater tank! Finallyyyyyyy. After 2 months of constantly checking salinity and nitrate levels and gathering our "cleaning crew" for the tank {aka: an emerald crab and a whole bunch of snails- including four "zombie snails"}, we could finally add some little fishies to it! So, Aunt Nenna and Rory joined us for a trip up to Petco where we made two little clownfish {and a teeny-tiny peppermint shrimp} our own!

Any time that Aunt Nenna comes over, I swear she is constantly plotting how she is going to sneak Rory out of our apartment and up to New York with her. {You can see them cuddling in the above picture.} :P

 

Blogland, meet our clownfishies. Clownfishies, meet Blogland :)

{Nick picked out Onyx and I chose Phoenix. Then, Peyton and Jen picked out the nicknames.}

 

 

 We spent the rest of the evening watching Despicable Me {preparing ourselves for our movie date to see the second one on Friday!} and eating ridiculously overpriced snacks from Sheetz {because we hadn't been to the grocery store yet since coming home from vacation}.


Thursday:
I broke down on the way home from work and purchased only the necessities needed to create some deliciousness in the kitchen. How did I do this, you ask? Well, by using Erin's recipe for Copycat Chipotle Corn Salsa and another copycat recipe for Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice. They were piled on top of each other to make magnificent chicken fajitas. Yum. Throw those together with some Rum & Coke with lime, and you have yourself a Mexican fiesta right there in your kitchen!

 

 

Friday:

via

Nick, Peyton, and I had a movie date! We went to go see Despicable Me 2, and it was so good! We snuck in snacks {popcorn, chips, and juice} and just enjoyed ourselves. The movie was super cute and I would definitely recommend seeing it! The only problem I had with it was that I felt that the movie referenced death/dying/killing a little more than I had expected, and Peyton is only 4. It just seemed a little too much sometimes.

 

After the movie, we went to SweetFrog for a sweet treat. Peyton picked the flavors and most of the toppings!

 

 

Saturday:

Saturday I had to work, but not til later that evening. So, for the morning, we all hung out together and just had a relaxing morning. Nick and I had thought about going to a bank to see how we would go about getting pre-approved for a loan... for a house!! That's right, you guys! We're gonna try to buy a house by the end of this year {key word: TRY}. However, since it was a Saturday and the banks aren't exactly open long if at all on Saturdays, we just didn't get around to doing that.

 

Instead, Nick, Peyton, and Rory went up to the pet store for supplies for our "zoo" of animals; and I stayed home to relax/catch up on True Blood/do laundry/etc. {aka: I just sat on the couch and watched True Blood, ha.}

 

Sunday:

I woke bright and early to go to a work meeting at the Pier, yay! Ha. After the meeting I had to stay to work for a few hours and then high-tailed it outta there to pick up my babygirl and go... grocery shopping! Just what everyone loves to do... not. Nick met us there so that made it a bit more of an enjoyable experience. This was the first time doing a legit grocery run since we got back from vacation... and we made it a big one!

After taking the groceries home, we headed down to my parent's house for yet another enjoyable night around the picnic table. I finally got a chance to see how my sister's garden has been doing. The last time I saw it was before vacation... It. Is. Booming. Like crazy. Check it out:

We then spent the evening eating corn on the cob, burgers and zucchini fresh off the grill, and drinks fresh out of the martini shaker. Also, my Grammy and my Great Aunt Margie {who lives in AZ} came up to visit!

 

 

Evening's like that are what being "home" truly means.

 

Ironically enough, my Dadda made a last minute decision to pack us all up and head to the local snoball/ice cream shop {it used to be a movie theater way back in the day} for a treat to top off the night. I say "ironically enough" because none of us were aware that Sunday was National Ice Cream Day!

Ps- I suppose this also counts as crossing off another one of our Summer Bucket List items - "Get a snoball, with marshmallow!" Although, I was the only one who got the snoball, while everyone else chowed down on ice cream. But hey, it works!

 

That about wraps it up, folks. We'll see what the future holds for us as far as loan approvals and house hunting! For now, I'll enjoy the moon-rises outside of our apartment: