Summer List, The Drive In, & Herbed Baked Chicken

We are hard at work around here enjoying our last days of summer.  School starts in just 2 weeks and there is still plenty on our summer list to check off.  So our days have been planned to be able to check something off.  What list??  Way back at the beginning of summer, Landon and I made a list of all the things we wanted to do this summer.  Some were already planned and in the works but the majority of the things listed were easy excursions that we could all do during the week.



Since Landon helped make this list, we don't check anything off unless he was a partcipant.  Our list is tacked up on our message board in the kitchen and is a constent reminder that there are plenty of things to do.  And so far, the list has been a hit both with the kids and me.  I have been more conscious about our days and more diligent in our activities.  And I haven't heard to many "I'm bored" complaints.  Anyhow, we still have some more checking off to do.  And the weekend is always a perfect opportunity to tackle some of the bigger things.  This weekend was no exception.  Late Sunday afternoon,  I got the hair brain idea to go to the drive in...in Harpersville...40 minutes away.  (All of that should have been a great big blinking red light warning me to rethink the idea)  But I was set on it.  Plus, we saw a rainbow on our drive...how could the night be anything but perfect!?  :)



Anyhow, we left the house after dinner and baths, with popcorn and a cooler in tow, along with a big quilt and pillows, and our "big" bag full of diapers, wipes, bottles, formula, popped popcorn, sippy cups, and bug spray...I had it all planned!!    Right before the drive in theatre there is a Dollar General on the left so we made a quick pit stop for drinks and movie candy, and drove another mile or two to the Harpersville Drive-In Theatre.  We hadn't told the kids anything so far, so they got very excited when we pulled in.



Well the website said that the movie would start at 7:30...40 minutes later it finally did.  In the meantime, we got all situated...





again...



and again and again...










...and got hot and sweaty, and sleepy and fussy.  I have no pictures after all of this, because that is when I realized that I should have thought about this idea a little more.  :)  Honestly, the first 30 or 40 minutes were fine, but then the baby started getting fussy because she was tired...it was afterall way past her bedtime.  And then about 20 minutes after that Lucy lost interest in the movie.  She started climbing all in the van and kept turning the channel so it would go from the movie to rap (I guess that was the next channel up :))  and we had the volume turned up, so everyone got a nice little dose of club music in the middle of 'Cars'.   And then Lynlee would start crying, but it was so dark, I couldn't see anything or anywhere around me, so I just tried to rock her on the car.  Ashley figitted in the dark trying to find a bottle and we ended up breaking something, and you can't turn the interior lights on without interfering with the car behind us trying to watch the movie.    And goodness gracious, leaving didn't seem like an option because you would have to turn your headlights on to wind around all the cones that are supposed to make a road through the gravel lot....AGHHHHH!!

 Landon, however, was oblivous to all of this and was happily watching the movie that he had already seen before.  :)  He had a great time and we did indeed get to check the drive in off of our list...whew! 



In all honesty, this is a great thing to do with your kids.  I would definitely not recommend bringing any kids under 2 though, but if you do bring the pack in play!  :)  And it was cheap.  Our Dollar General drinks and boxed movie theatre style candy was $5.45 and the drive in is $5/adult, $2/kids and free for those under 3.  I would recommend going when the temps cool off a bit too.  It would be super fun date night for adults!

And just to be random, I have a really good Herb Baked Chicken recipe that I made the other day.  My friend gave this recipe to me a while back and I had forgotten about it!  Its easy to make and is a hit with the kids! 

So first, you need 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into quarters....



Next take 4TB olive oil and 3/4 cups teriayaki sauce...



1/4 tsp dried oregano, 1/4 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp ginger, and 1/4 tsp cinnamon...



1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper



and mix in a large ziploc bag...add chicken to the bag and shake.  Let marinate 1 hour if you can.  (I often forget this part and usually only have 10 min to spare for marinating.)  Pour contents of bag in a casserole dish and bake 350 for 35 -45 min.

Not sure why I thought to take a picture of raw chicken and not the finished dish, so I had to borrow this one from google images, because thats exactly how my chicken looked and my presentation too, of course! :)




Have a good day friends!