A full, fun, weekend!

We had quite the action packed weekend...My husband doesn't have many weekend off, so when he does, we always try to do something fun. Saturday we ventured to the local Zoo over in Norfolk. We last went there during my maternity leave with Emily in 2008, so the kids of course didn't remember that adventure. The zoo visit was a blast. The girls were so excited to see all the animals. We definitely wont go so long between trips this time. We had a nice lunch out, and then later that evening took a trip to a local ice cream store for a treat.

Sunday, my husband decided he wanted to fix ribs with his new smoker that he got for his birthday. I have come to the conclusion that a smoker is simply the male version of a crock pot... I'm not complaining though, as I appreciate a day off from cooking just like anyone else, plus everything he's made so far has been very good! While he was playing chef, I ran a bunch of errands with Laura, took her to a classmates birthday party, and went to a Kelly's Kid party. Speaking of Kelly's Kid, there kids clothing is AMAZING. Expensive, but well made, and OMG adorable! I got the girls coordinating madras plaid outfits. I can already picture them wearing them this summer....I got both of items on the cover of the catalog, plus the same print in a romper for Emily.

We had friend over to eat the ribs, which were AMAZING! He did a dry rub on them, and we used my standard BBQ sauce that I had made. I also cooked up some baked beans to have with it. I usually make a baked bean casserole, but I found a new recipe and it was a hit! (and much easier then the one I usually make)

This recipe is from the Junior League Cookbook " Atlanta Cooknotes"
Beach House Baked Beans
2-3 tablespoons of butter
1 green pepper diced
1 medium onion diced
2 16 oz cans of pork and beans
1 18 oz can of regular baked beans
1 tablespoon of maple syrup (in honesty I just used some store brand pancake syrup)
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
2 strips of uncooked bacon (I used 5 because two just didn't seem like enough lol)

Saute the onion and green pepper in the butter for about 8 min. Then combine all ingredients in a dish including the peppers and onion, then lay the bacon on top and bake for 30 min on 350. Remove bacon and eat!