Adventures in Boston, Castle Island, Anniversary, Hearnes Play Date, and Raw Zucchini Salad

On the plate:  Raw zucchini salad with corn and a chili lime vinaigrette

Soundtrack to cook to:  It's De-Lovely:  The Authentic Cole Porter Collection.  Soul warming classics to swoon to while you're dancing around the kitchen. :-)

We canceled our classes and made it a point to explore Boston this summer.  I love taking the boys outdoors as much as possible when the weather is nice.  Unfortunately our summer was so short, so we only got a few months to really get out there...but we made the most out of it anyways! ;-)

Alex wearing his shades, and getting ready
to explore downtown.

Me, getting some snuggle time in with William Billiam.

Cutie patootie!  Love that fuzzy hair :-)

Oscar, at any time of the day, can be found either snuggled in a blanket
or under a blanket.  (Which means that we always have to check blankets
before we sit down so we don't smash our little guy.)

I was speaking to one of William's teachers and she mentioned that she had visited Castle Island.  We unfortunately haven't visited any of the Boston Harbor Islands, and it's embarrassing because they're SO close to our house!!  Thus, on our free day, I lubed the boys up with sunscreen, dressed them in summer attire, and packed them up to check out Castle Island which is about 8 miles away from our home!

The boys, cute as can be, and ready to rock-n-roll!

Alex at Castle Island

He had a fun time walking the perimeter of the castle.

We checked out the inside of the fort, but
unfortunately it was closed that day, so we couldn't
do a tour.

Castle Island has an absolutely BEAUTIFUL
view of the water.

Breathtaking

It was a hot day, so William decided that he wanted
to take off his shoes and socks...and also because he
was slightly fussy that day.

I set the little man free and he had fun climbing
around the fort with Alex.

Muuuuuuch happier :-)

Watch out ladies!  Two heart breakers coming through.

Love these kids

I made some chocolate chip banana bread...
as you can tell, William approved.

William, randomly break dancing in our kitchen.
This kind of stuff happens all of the time.

July 2, 2014, my sister, her fiance (at the time - now husband), my little family and I celebrated the one year anniversary of our grandfather's passing.  We gathered our men and met at Legal Seafood's, which was Gramps' favorite restaurant to visit while he was here.  My sister and I ordered a Bloody Mary in his honor, and toasted to his life.
Later that evening, we had a delicious berry pie that Kristen and Pete bought (also one of Gramps' favorites), and reminisced about our favorite memories of him.  We love you, Gramps, and miss you every day. :-)  

Alex and William, hanging out in the booth.

William and Joseph - twins!!  :-)

Kristen and I drinking a Bloody Mary in our grandfather's honor.
*Y'know...because we couldn't stomach a Clamato and Bud light...
the Bloody Mary was his next favorite.  :-)

And here we are at one of our last few play dates with our beloved friends, the Hearnes.  We've known them since their oldest children were 18 months old (and now they're 4 1/2 years old) and have been on some fun adventures together.  Since they moved in July, we tried our best to get together as much as possible.

Our boy with the baby blue eyes ;-)

Love this little guy

I can't believe how big Alex has gotten.  Just
looking back at this picture makes me think of
how small he was when we brought him home
and how big he is now.  *sigh*

The Hearnes brought yummy popsicles as a delightful summer treat
for the kiddos to snack on while they were playing.  Here's Lucy, William,
and Sanders at Clark Park - one of our fave stomping grounds.

Lucy wanted to show Alex how she could pull herself up onto the top
of the monkey bars.  :-)

Two happy boys with popsicles :-)

Baby James (even though he's not a baby anymore)
enjoying a popsicle and kickin' back.

William Billiam enjoying his first popsicle.
He was the happiest little boy.

The two little ones :-)

The Hearnes also got Alex a birthday present since they couldn't make it
to his birthday party.  They're always so thoughtful.

Sanders showed Alex that this was one of his favorite books and began
to show him all of the cool pictures in it.  How sweet :-)

And now it's time to be silly!

Meanwhile, Sanders was whipping around the park like a pro without
training wheels!  This definitely encouraged Alex to want a bike.

Little baby pow-wow.

I wonder what their conversation was about? :-p

Group picture!

Alex and Lucy were walking together, arm-in-arm, and Alex tripped and fell.
Lucy immediately picked him up and embraced him while Alex
melted like a little puddle into Lucy's arms.  She was so sweet and
comforting to Alex.

Awww!  This just warms my heart.

High five for the big boys and a hug for Lucy and William. :-)

And now a super sweet hug for the big boys as well.  It's been so sweet
to be able to watch these kids grow up together.

And now for a quick recipe that was my obsession for this summer:  Raw zucchini and corn salad with a chili and lime vinaigrette.  So delicious, healthy, is whipped up in less than 10 minutes and requires no cooking whatsoever.  SOLD! :-)

Ingredients:

• 2 ears of corn - grilled or cooked (or 1 bag of frozen corn, cooked according to directions)
• 2 large zucchini, spiralized with the smallest blade
• ½ large red onion, diced
• Salt and pepper to season corn

• Vinaigrette:
• .5 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Juice and zest of 1 lime
• ½ tsp chili powder
• ¾ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp honey

I got this awesome kitchen tool called the "Vegetti" and you simply
insert a zucchini into it and twist it and the zucchini comes out like this!
It even spits out all of the seeds and pulp, too.  So simple and you don't
have to work hard to get it done.

I like to cut the strands up, otherwise they can get pretty long and tricky to eat.

Then mix up the vinaigrette!

I use a whisk and stream in the extra virgin olive oil so that the vinaigrette
emulsifies into this beauty right here.

Toss in the cooked corn, vinaigrette and any other greens that you'd like.
(I added in some fresh cut basil and spinach.)
It was an absolutely delicious and refreshing summer salad that pairs
well with any kind of protein that you'd like.

We're working on exploring more of Boston as we speak and are enjoying every minute of it.  This summer treated us well and I can't wait to share the rest of it with y'all!
Until next time...

Love and kisses,
Nikki