A Fun Trip to Carowinds, some Food Finds, and Roasted Zucchini!

This morning, someone climbed into our bed at 6:45 a.m.  Any guesses who that might have been???  Yes, it seems that on the weekdays when we HAVE to get up at an insane hour, she doesn't want to get out of bed.  But come Saturday, our little Sadie is quite the early bird!  A little coffee helped me to wake up!  I made some quickie muffins-- don't be impressed-- they were from a Betty Crocker pouch!  But they were actually pretty good!

We hit Carowinds as soon as they opened.  We took Sadie and her cousin, Jerry, who is the same age.  They were so excited! 

Sadie could not wait to show him all her favorite rides!  The two of them had a blast riding the Character Carousel, the choo choo train, the Sky Tower, Woodstock's Whirlybirds, Joe Cool's Driving School, and more. 

Check out the half-empty parking lot!

We rode every ride twice!  The parking lot was so empty!  We didn't have much line-waiting at all!  In fact, Ryan and I were able to run and hop on a couple of rides, ourselves.  Ryan and I both rode Afterburn (aka Top Gun) and I had to get on the Intimidator.  I am telling you... that ride is INSANE.  But so fun.  I REALLY wanted to go on Nighthawk-- still haven't gotten to do that one!  The line is always so long!  Maybe next time.

We had such a great time that Sadie passed out in the wagon before we could even make it back to the car.  She was in the middle of eating a cracker and just passed out.  Then on the ride home, Jerry passed out, too. 

I think Ryan may have wanted to go to sleep, too!

Don't freak out... he was just posing for the camera!

Ryan and I had a little lunch and then I had to run some errands to ULTA (aka Mecca) and to the Farmer's Market.  Look what I found... Salsa! 

Salsa is one of my favorite things.  It doesn't last long in this house, either.  I couldn't wait to try this salsa.  It was delicious!  So fresh tasting.  Check out that ingredient list!  You can pronounce every item!  I also grabbed a pomegranite. 

That's the first time I have had one since I was around the age of 5!  I also got a mango, but it needs to ripen before we can enjoy that. 

I also grabbed some zucchini today.  I intended on steaming it, but then I decided maybe I would try roasting it. 

Everything always tastes better roasted.  And I have to say... YUM.  I will do this again.  Click here for the recipe for this zucchini.  It's a great side dish.  We had it with some grilled salmon and potatoes. 

After all the fun today, I am not sure how we can top that tomorrow.  Is it weird that I want to go back and ride more rides???

Rainy Sunday... Sandwiches, Turkey Burgers, and more!

So, did you guess that we went to...

last night?  If you did, then you were right!  We went with our friends Wendy and Kevin! 

On a ride waiting for take-off (about 5 minutes after this pic was taken, Ryan lost his hat!)

Wendy and Kevin

The hubby and me

How cute is this pic of Wendy and Kevin on Thunder Road?

We had lots of fun riding roller coasters at night, and seeing ghosts, goblins, and more jump out at all the guests!  (We LOVED watching the guy with the chainsaw scare everyone!)

This morning started with a fried egg, more fresh peach slices, and the last piece of the Morningstar "sausage".  Guess I need to restock!  I love fried eggs.  I love to poke the yolk and let all the yellow run all over the plate!  (Did I gross you out?)  My grandmother used to always cook "Sunny Side Up Eggs" for us in the morning.  It was always my favorite. 

Then Ryan tried to get the grass cut and bushes trimmed before the rain came.  We've really been needing the rain!  Ryan finished just in time.  Meanwhile, I did some much needed grocery shopping.

We had lunch with Ryan's family-- sandwiches!  I am telling you, I don't know how we survived before these round sandwich breads hit the shelves!  It's all we eat!  They are only one point!  (You may see them again today, as a matter of fact!)

I had to run some errands this afternoon-- Best Buy, Target, and I couldn't resist making a quick stop at Starbucks on the way home.  Can you guess what I got?  I bet you can...

A Pumpkin Spice Latte!  YUMMMMM!  It tasted so great with the weather being cooler and gray today.  Much more fall-like!

For dinner, we had some quick turkey burgers and some cheesy broccoli rice.  I LOVE these steamer bags of veggies.  I don't use them all the time, but they are awesome when you just don't feel like cooking. 

These turkey burgers were on sale about 2 weeks ago.  They were already formed into patties.  All I did was season both sides and cook them in a skilley for about 5-6 minutes on each side.  They were delicious!  I topped mine with lettuce, tomato, muenster cheese, a little light mayo, and some ketchup. 

Remember how I said this week I was going to have to do better about drinking water?  Well, I am doing better today!  I stocked up on lemons and mint.  This makes it taste so refreshing.  I've already packed lemon slices and mint leaves for work tomorrow!  Sometimes I like to make a whole pitcher of it, but I really like the lemon slices and mint leaves in the glass because it looks so pretty.  I think when it LOOKS refreshing, it makes you want to drink more of it. 

I do have an experiment baking in the oven... a peach crisp!  We'll see how it comes out... Hopefully yummy!