Hi everyone I hope you all had a great weekend and are feeling ready for a brand new week. Do you feel the same as me that the weekends fly by just way too fast? I always long for more time to relax and enjoy my free time. But Monday just rolls around in a blink of an eye. Anyway, I’m so happy that you have stopped by today. I’m linking up with Holly and Sarah to share a few highlights from my weekend of family fun.
Monthly Family Dinner
It’s always so great to spend quality time with the family and this weekend was no exception! Saturday was all about good food, laughter and catching up. One of my cousins hosted our first monthly family get-together for the year at her house. She went away to Hawaii for a couple of weeks with her husband and two kids. And It was so great to see them looking all tanned, happy and relaxed after their fun holiday. I could hardly believe that we hadn’t seen each other as one big group since Christmas. Time does fly by so fast!!
We started the evening by toasting with Prosecco and enjoying some cheese and crackers.
Then we all sat down together for a lovely meal. And enjoyed some delicious chicken, chips, mac and cheese, corn on the cob as well as cornbread.
My cousin’s husband is from America and he introduced us all to cornbread. It’s the first time that I have tried it and it was just so delicious! Thankfully they have shared the recipe with us because I can’t imagine my life without cornbread ever again!
A Surprise Birthday Cake For Me!
It’s not my birthday until later in the month but my littlest cousin who is nine years old surprised me with a beautiful cake and everyone sang me happy birthday. It was such a lovely gesture! She baked the cake all by herself with a little help from her mum. The cake was so delicious and moist with vanilla frosting and sprinkles.
Ocular Gaming System
After dinner, it was time for some more fun and my other cousin pulled out the Occular gaming system that she brought over for us to play with. The ocular gaming system is a virtual reality headset designed for gaming. I had a turn and it is such an amazing gaming system. It transports you to a different world and you interact with the game using hand gestures. Ā It was absolutely mind-blowing and I would love to buy one. But they don’t come cheap so I don’t think that I will be getting one anytime soon.
Sunday
It was such a joy to walk to church on Sunday morning. I loved feeling the warm sun on my face and looking at the brilliant blue sky.
As I walked along it was different to my usual walks to work when I am usually in a hurry and going at a fast pace. This time I soaked in the beauty of my surroundings and the peaceful quiet of the neighbourhood. It was a big change from the noise of the weekday traffic and I could even hear the birds chirping!
I snapped a quick photo of this quirky garden that is a few houses away from the church building. The front lawn is full of garden ornaments, plants and whirly things that move with the breeze. I always wonder who lives there.
The fun continued on Sunday evening as my oldest son and his lovely fiancee came over for a visit. We sat down together for another family dinner and it was wonderful to see everyone having such a great time and enjoying more lively conversation.
And just like that, our fun family weekend came to an end all too soon. We’re already looking forward to our next big family catch-up as they are always the highlight of every month.
I hope you all enjoyed a great weekend.
Happy Monday!
This birthday cake looks delicious and beautifully decorated too. So nice of your cousin to bake a cake for your coming birthday! This garden looks different,but it still looks interesting too.
Have a great week!
#MMBC
What a wonderful weekend! I love that they surprised you with the cake and the singing, but how sweet is your niece?! I love a thoughtful gesture like that. I love quirky gardens too, so I know you enjoyed your leisurely walk to church yesterday. Cornbread is the best! I make mine in muffin form, with a muffin tin, and I only use the white cornmeal mix. It’s not sweet, but it’s even more delicious than the yellow kind!
Sounds like some great family time! And that garden is really cute!
The weekends don’t last long enough, they always fly over here too.
The family dinner sounds lovely! I have never tried cornbread but have of course heard of it. It looks so good. Aww! What a fantastic cake, how sweet of your little cousin to make it.
What a gorgeous walk to work you have, that garden really is quirky. x
Family time is the best! We got to see our family this weekend too. I love that my kids have cousins close in age. I had no idea that cornbread was just an American thing! I love cornbread (my husband doesn’t care for it so much). I hope you have a great week!
How nice to have a homemade cake prepared for you! What is in your prosecco?
It was a great big round ice ball made of pink lemonade I think my cousin said.
What a great idea!! I will think of that for summertime.
When I was a kid, I loved Friday night with the whole weekend ahead of me. Sunday morning was a little sad and somehow Sundays fly by really quickly. Then it’s Monday with a whole week of school ahead of me. Happy Almost Birthday! Cute cake. Family fun during the weekend is just wonderful. #MMBC
Aww Happy Birthday Ruth! What a nice surprise! Love that you loved the cornbread- it is one of my faves š
Aw, that birthday cake is so sweet!! It sounds like you had a wonderful time with your family. We just made cornbread this past week to go with our white chicken chili soup. I don’t usually like cornbread but I found a really delicious and moist recipe and now I love it.
So glad you had fun this weekend! And yay for family time! And yay that you tried cornbread! š I live in the South in the US and it is a staple here. Your cake is so cute! My son has one of those Occulus headsets and my husband and I are constantly amazed at how real everything looks in there. Hope you have a great week!
What a wonderful family weekend, I love your cake, what a sweet surprise. That garden is really quirky I love all the engines.