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February 18, 2022

Hiking Fun + Valentine’s Dinner

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Hi friends! I hope you had nice weeks.

Last weekend, the weather was amazing – unseasonably warm – so Matt and I took advantage and met our friend Shane for a hike with the kids! 

Since it has been so cold it had been ages since we did a hike, and it was really nice to get out and do something active and be in nature. 

We went to Huntley Meadows Park, which is one of our local favorites. Cool boardwalk and fun things to look at in the water for Riese!

She did NOT want to go hiking and it was a whole thing to get her dressed and in the car… but once we got there she had a lot of fun, thankfully. 🙂 

hiking at huntley meadows park

About half of the main loop you can do is in the woods and the other half is on the boardwalks. 

huntley meadows park

Our little guy really enjoyed himself too!

So much so, in fact, that he skipped his nap – I thought he’d sleep in the carrier (I turned him around to face me when he got noticeably tired), but instead he just thought it was hilarious to try to grab my face/sunglasses/etc. 

It had been awhile since I had him in a carrier and I guess it was just too exciting to sleep!

Next time we’d bring the stroller, instead – we couldn’t remember if the trail was smooth enough for it or not, but it definitely was. 

Isn’t he getting so big?! He’ll be 9 months on March 1 which blows my mind.

He has the best smile – unless he’s teething or in a developmental “leap”, he’s a super smiley happy little guy.

His smile melts my heart – it’s so big and his tongue always sticks out, too!

When we got home, we decided an early dinner was in order to take advantage of the last bit of warm weather, so we walked over to Evening Star Cafe and snagged a spot outside. 

Burger + salad + some shared fries, yes please! Hit the spot.

burger with salad and fries

Right after we arrived Wes fell asleep in the stroller – he had such a big day and he was just done.

I was like “nooooo!!!!” because it was 5:20 and I knew that was too late/was going to mess with bedtime, but we also wanted to enjoy our dinner and knew he’d be super fussy otherwise soooo we let him sleep.

He woke up 40 minutes later super cheerful, and then as expected proceeded to stay up until 9p.m.

Oh well! Worth it sometimes to just go with the flow and enjoy a dinner without him crawling all over us or throwing food onto the floor. 🙂 

One other big highlight from the last week: Matt and I went out to dinner for Valentine’s Day!

We actually went out Tuesday night instead of Monday since that’s what worked with our schedules – we figured the actual day didn’t really matter and that way it might be less crowded out and about, anyway. 

We went to Il Radicchio in Arlington – it’s an old fave of ours that always reminds me of our younger years.

We used to live in an apartment building near it and went all the time for date nights, so it holds a lot of nostalgia for us as a younger couple, pre-kids! Feels like forever ago… 

We started by sharing a salad and the bruschetta two ways – garlicky tomato and mushroom ragu. (Guess I had mushrooms on the brain after sharing my Healthy Mushroom Recipes blog post!) 

All of it was absolutely delicious.

appetizers at il raddichio in arlington

For my entree, I had the sausage tortelloni which had a yummy sautéed pepper situation, more sausage, and some broccoli rabe with it. So yummy. 

sausage tortelloni from il raddichio in arlington

We hadn’t eaten there in years and it was a nice treat to be back! 

As for other food from this week, I’ve been mixing it up from my usual grain salad bowls and doing a lot of sandwiches for lunch. 

My favorite combo as of late has been turkey, sharp cheddar, guacamole, mustard (yes, both guac + mustard – good combo actually!), tomato, and spinach. 

sandwich with guacamole, cheddar cheese, turkey, tomato, and spinach

I had it in wrap form too one day to mix it up!

wrap with mustard, guacamole, turkey, cheddar cheese, tomato, and spinach

Have a great weekend and see you back here next week! 

What’s your favorite sandwich combination at the moment?

Have you gone hiking recently? Where and how was it?

- anne
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5 comments
  • AnA February 18, 2022 · 12:32PM:
    An egg salad sandwich is always good!
    Reply
  • Kris S February 18, 2022 · 12:35PM:
    The kids are getting so big! Glad you and Matt managed a date night :)
    Reply
  • Haley February 18, 2022 · 2:42PM:
    Love when life updates pop up from you! Wes is so cute. Love that pic of him sleeping in the stroller. Always appreciate the realness —like including that Riese didn’t want to go hiking. Glad she ended up enjoying it. They usually do!
    Reply
  • Cindy February 18, 2022 · 3:01PM:
    Such a cute, sweet family! Always fun to see how the kids are growing!
    Reply
  • Roadrunner February 19, 2022 · 4:59AM:
    What nice outings - and nice to see the smile of the little guy, in particular! Well done of getting out and taking advantage of the unseasonably nice weather.
    Reply
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anne mauney fannetastic food
Hi, I’m Anne! I'm a Washington D.C. based Registered Dietitian, mother, runner, and lover of travel, adventure, and the great outdoors. I've been blogging since 2009, sharing a mix of lifestyle content, recipes, and fitness tips. Come for the recipes – stay for the fun!
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anne mauney

I’m Anne, a Registered Dietitian and mother. I've been blogging since 2009 and love showing others that eating nutritious foods and staying active can actually be fun rather than overwhelming!

When I’m not writing or cooking for fannetastic food, you can find me running, coaching nutrition clients, or on an adventure with my family. Feel free to reach out - I'd love to hear from you!

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