Watermelon treats

My summer is quickly coming to an end...so I decided I needed to make some summer treats :) Over the past couple of weeks I have become an honorary "pool mom." I go to the pool with Bryn while her kids take swimming lessons from Lyndsey and then get to hang out with all of them and relax (or play) at the pool. It's a pretty great set-up, but tomorrow is the last day of swim lessons, so we are having a party. And that was my treat making excuse!

Watermelon rice krispy treats (recipe shown here, but I have a few pictures here of my process...)

Marshmallow, dyed green with lime Kool-Aid (for the rind)- the recipe calls for extra butter and less cereal, but I just used the original recipe plus the drink mix

Strawberry marshmallows then flavored with watermelon-cherry Kool-Aid. Again, I made it the normal recipe with those exceptions.

I greased 2-9x13 pans, and first pressed the green around the edges, and then when the pink was done, pressed that in the middle.

Add chocolate chips as the "seeds" (and for a little sweetness because the Kool-Aid makes them a little bit sour)

And then...slice them up, just like you would a watermelon. I cut each into 12 pieces :)

I have to say that I definitely prefer the taste of the original rice krispy treat to these...but I think they are SO cute. I might try to just use food coloring next time to keep the taste the same, but hopefully the kids will still like them :)

Boston, MA

I have been meaning/trying/wanting to visit Boston ever since my friend Rachel moved there to go to college 9 years ago! I thought that when we moved to Kentucky, that I was at least moving in the direction to make this happen, and with this opportunity, we decided to finally seize the moment and although it was only for a day, we had such a great time!

Saturday morning we woke up early and drove up to Boston. We parked at Boston Common and started our day of walking, and walking, and walking. By the end of the day, my feet hurt SO bad...blister on the bottom of my foot and feeling like my metatarsals were broken. But it was so worth it (and has given me an excuse to not workout for the next few days :) We started the day off walking the entire Freedom Trail. I am not a big history buff (and actually wish I knew/remembered a lot more from all those history classes I took in school), but it was interesting to see these buildings where monumental decisions, etc took place in the foundation of our country. We pulled up a map on our phones, but it was neat because this brick path went along the entire trail so it was easy to follow.

We made our way through Quincy Market which was a beautiful building with lots of fun food and vendors.

Along the trail, we went through the North End, and enjoyed some delicious Mike's Pastry.

We shared a pistachio canoli (the best one we've ever had...not that I've had a lot of canolis-but it was delicious) and a Boston Creme Puff.

At the end of the trail is the USS Constitution, the Navy's first ship which defeated Britain and showed the world that we were a force to be reckoned with. It was a pretty remarkable ship and in hearing the stories of the crew, I have an even greater appreciation for the effort and sacrifice that goes into securing our freedom, then and now.Grant at the scuttlebutt...where the sailors were rationed their water (1 gallon per day that had to be used for drinking, eating, and bathing). Needless to say, there were a lot of stinky sailors.USS Constitution

After our adventures on the Freedom Trail, we headed back to Boston Common to meet up with Rachel and Lee. We went shopping on Newbury Street. I LOVE shopping like this. It was such a cute little street, such a variety of shops, boutiques, etc. and walking and talking with good friends. We took a little break about halfway down the street for some ice cream and Pinkberry.

And then we continued on, shopped the rest of the street and then headed to the Prudential Center after a snack break at Trader Joe's where we picked up some coconut water and honey wheat pretzels (my new snack obsession).

As we started to get hungry, we discussed varied options and decided upon seafood again (had to let Grant get his fill while we were on the coast!) We decided to go to Legal Harborside which was both delicious and beautiful. Unfortunately there was a 2.5 hr wait when we go there (something I am not accustomed to since living in Lexington), but since we were in a beautiful location, we decided to wait. We walked along the harbor for a little bit and then went up to the roof top bar (much shorter wait) to sit and enjoy the view until our buzzer went off! It was the perfect place to wait.
And finally, around 9 pm...we got a table downstairs, and the food and atmosphere did not disappoint! Grant got this seafood stew which he loved, and I enjoyed a lobster roll.After our wonderful dinner, we walked to the T, took the subway back to our car and headed to their home to spend the night. Rachel and Lee live on the first floor of a beautifully restored old home, but with a modernized kitchen, etc. I love the look of old architecture with an updated inside. And Sunday morning, we got up early to leave and they headed out for a 16 mile run along the beach...maybe I'll be inspired enough to do a marathon one day when I can go on long runs around the beach instead of just a neighborhood.

We were flying out that afternoon, so we headed back to Rhode Island so we could be closer to the airport and we made it our beach day.
It was a beautiful day...we spent some time walking around some tide pools and cooling off in the water. The water was a little bit cold, but I was surprised by the fact that it at least felt as warm as a southern California beach. Then we went back to Scott and Stef's to shower and headed to the airport.
Although I was sad our trip was so short (Grant started his externship here at Urgent Care on Monday morning), it is nice to have him home again, in our normal life, and I have been sleeping better again with him by my side :)

Newport, Rhode Island

After graduation, we grabbed some lunch and then headed to the "cliff walk" which is a beautiful path along the ocean. To one side is the ocean and the other side are beautiful mansions. It was a little bit warm, but for the most part the weather was perfect and we thoroughly enjoyed our time here, getting caught up on the events of the last 5 weeks and marveling at the gorgeous views of the coast! Who knew Rhode Island was so pretty?! (unfortunately there are several unpleasant winter months, but luckily we aren't there to endure those :)

I want the house on the left of this picture! It was gorgeous and had quite the view!After walking around for a couple of hours, we met Scott and Stef in downtown Newport at the Red Parrot for a fresh seafood dinner. It was SO good. Grant got a huge plate of muscles and clams while I enjoyed a coconut mahi mahi, yum!

And finally, for the evening, Grant planned and bought tickets for a sunset sailboat cruise. It was really the perfect end to our first night back together.
When we got on the ship the sails were down. The crew raised the first one and then asked for volunteers to do the remaining 2, so I decided to get up and give it a try. It definitely required some muscles and I was actually a little tired at the end, but it was a fun experience :)
The sail took us by several insanely large and luxurious yachts, other really cool sail boats, etc.
They had blankets we could use if we got cold (which I grabbed in the beginning just in case) and complimentary drinks which was a nice touch.
The clouds in the sky added to the beauty of the sunset. We lucked out with this sail. The wind was strong enough to get us going a pretty decent speed, which allowed us to go farther and see more.

Thank you Grant for planning a perfect evening.

ODS graduation

Grant and I debated for awhile in deciding whether or not I would go up to attend his graduation. It was not a cheap flight, but we decided that it would be worth it since it would be the only vacation we'd have together this summer. We changed his flight home from Friday to Sunday and I left Thursday afternoon so I could get there for a dinner that night at the Officer's Club. I will spare you the details, but let's just say my flights that day were less than ideal and I ended up in Detroit for over 6 extra hours and therefore missed the dinner I had already paid for, and didn't get to see Grant that night :(

I love that we have so many friends in different areas of the country right now! Scott and Stefanie were the resident managers at Raintree when I was the manager there, so we got to know each other very well during that time. They are now living south of Providence (only about 25 minutes from where Grant was in Newport) where Scott is getting his PhD, and they were kind enough to let us stay there for 2 nights! It was so great to see them again and made it financially possible for me to go up there for graduation.

I didn't get to their house until almost midnight on Thursday night and then had to be on base by 5:15 the next morning! Grant's class had their last morning of PT (run and workout) and families were told they could join (lucky me :) So, I got there and went on a run with them (in formation listening to them all yell out their cadence chants) and then was told to get "on your face" and we then did some pushups, "Our backs are...STRAIGHT!"

After that, we cleaned up and got ready for graduation. This is Grant with his chief, who had done a lot of yelling at them the last 5 weeks, but he still had a good relationship with him.
Grant was in the color guard for graduation, which I really liked because it was really easy to see him during the entire ceremony :) I can't even imagine how hot they were in their uniforms, having to stand for the almost hour long ceremony. It is reported that people pass out almost every time at graduation, and there was only one person during their graduation, so that was a pretty good feat :) Something should obviously be changed if they are constantly having people pass out!The speaker at graduation was Admiral Wagner, chief of the Dental Corp, so here are all the dentists/dental students from Class 11080 with her (Grant's relative lack of height proved advantageous in all pictures, as he is almost always front and center).After the ceremony, they do a "first salute" with their chief. They walk up, salute, shake hands, and then give the chief a dollar coin. Grant gave him a Ulysses S. Grant coin (for obvious reasons :) although he had to tell him that his name was Grant, because they all only know each other's lasts names!

Larsen and Grant...I was glad that they were be able to become good friends early on. I was relieved the first weekend that I was allowed to talk to Grant, as I heard that he had made friends and was enjoying his time there for the most part. Larsen is a clinical psychology student in Hawaii and is also married, so him and Grant would hang out together on weekends when people went out and spent crazy amounts of money, trying to be more economical :) Thanks!And finally...me and my sailor!

Loving my "man in uniform!"

Grant's company name was "Oscar" and here are all of them together at the end of their accomplishment of graduating from ODS. Most of them had also just graduated from med/dental school and were going to their assignments. Grant was disappointed that he had to go back to school, but it's only a year!

And as we left the base... (here we come weekend vacation!)So happy to have my husband back!

ODS adventures

Grant was definitely very busy during the weeks, days lasted from 4 am until late into the evening, but luckily for the last couple of weekends, they were given off base liberties to get a break from the base and recharge for the next week.

For their first weekend of liberty, they were allowed to go to the Blue Angels airshow. Because of their position in the military, they were allowed to get up close and personal with the planes and the pilots.
Seafood dinners were a favorite activity for the weekends...they went to downtown Newport and did part of the cliff walk this Saturday.

A day out in Newport, trying to deep their bright white uniforms clean.

For 4th of July, Grant's company was chosen to march in the longest standing Independence Day Parade, in Bristol, Rhode Island. This city has red, white and blue stripes on their roads. Here they are lined up in front of their dorm (ship) before getting on the bus. Random fact: Whenever they entered their building when coming home, they had to stand at attention and report that they had been commissioned to be on this "ship" and wanted to be allowed aboard :)
Here they are marching, in step, for 2.5 hours. When they are "in formation" they are not allowed to wipe sweat, scratch an itch, etc. Must be perfectly like everyone else the entire time!The Newport Navy base is home to the tallest flag pole in the United States, here they are raising the flag on their assigned day.
And for the final weekend, they were allowed to go anywhere within 200 miles and could wear civilian clothes (for the first time in over a month!) While many others went up to Boston, Grant decided he wanted to wait until the next weekend when I was going up to spend the money and see the sites, so Larsen and he went up to the Factory Five factory in Massachusetts to look at kit cars. I am fairly certain that a cobra like this one will be Grant's first build when he finally gets some time and money. He had a great time here! And to top it off, there was a car show on base that day that they got to enjoy when they got back :)