Go Karts, Pizza, Mae and Pop

This weekend included lots of springtime sunshine, go kart racing, pizza two days in a row and my parents in town, so I think it’s safe to say this weekend was a good one. Weekend visits with my family always seem to pass by way too fast but we made the most of every second we had with Mae and Pop!

The fun kicked off on Friday evening and we spent the majority of the night hanging out in our backyard. We ate dinner outside and chatted on the back porch until it was time to put the boys to bed. We were actually all a little tired on Friday so it wasn’t a late night but that worked well because we woke up bright and early on Saturday and ready for some action!

Saturday

Our Saturday began with a delicious English muffin breakfast casserole (stay tuned for this recipe on the blog soon!) and we dug in as Ryder took his morning nap. Once he was up, we headed north to Mooresville and spent the morning go karting!

Ryan was on a mission to find kiddie go karts that Chase could drive himself and his search lead him to The Pit, an indoor go kart racing facility featuring go karts, a peanut track for kids, an arcade, laser tag, bumper cars and more. The peanut track is for kids over three years old (and under 90 pounds) so Chase made the cut!

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Chase’s first go kart experience but since he’s never driven anything like a go kart before, I thought there would be a pretty steep learning curve. Boy was I wrong! He took to that thing like a fish to water and barely needed any instruction at all. He was in heaven on the peanut track and it was adorable to see him so into driving his go kart. Just look at his mischievous little grin…

Ryan and I are now thinking The Pit will likely be the place we have Chase’s birthday party this summer because it was such a hit and I can only imagine his excitement and enthusiasm if he had his friends on the peanut track racing along with him.

After Chase was done on the peanut track, we took him for a spin on the bumper cars which was another big-time win in his eyes. We had so much fun bumping each other and Chase loved helping Ryan steer his bumper car in to me and my dad. His face absolutely lit up and it was a blast to see!

There was no way my dad and Ryan were leaving The Pit without driving go karts themselves and I couldn’t resist joining them, so the three of us hopped into go karts and took on the 1/3 mile track together! I don’t think I’ve ever driven go karts as fast as the ones at The Pit — they could go up to 45 mph — and the twists and turns on the track were intense!! I felt like I was flying and yet my dad and Ryan both ended up lapping me. However, according to Chase, Mom won the race because I parked my car first so V-I-C-T-O-R-Y was miiiine!

After our morning at The Pit, we were all ready for some food and made our way to Alino’s our all-time favorite pizza spot for some pizza and gelato. Alino’s never disappoints and we left feeling full and happy!

By the time we made it home, Chase and Ryder were both ready for naps and my parents wanted to relax for a bit and encouraged me and Ryan to take advantage of their visit and enjoy some solo time. The gorgeous weather outside called to us so we leashed Sadie up for a 4 mile walk and absolutely loved having some uninterrupted time to chat and enjoy each other and our favorite furry lady in the middle of our Saturday.

Once we were back home, we hung out with my parents for a bit until Chase and Ryder were up and then we spent the rest of the evening close to home. We played in the backyard, made some black bean burgers and a squash casserole for dinner and dug into bread pudding for dessert before settling the boys in for bed.

My parents, Ryan and I all share an odd fascination with Dateline, so we hung out on the couch for the remainder of the night, chatting and watching Dateline until we were all ready to go to sleep.

Sunday

Sunday began with collagen baked oatmeal and church! It was a dreary morning but thankfully the day turned around and ended up quite sunny! After church, we made our way to Daylight Donuts for half a dozen doughnuts and I was in heaven with my pineapple doughnut.

The flavor was very similar to an apple fritter (my all-time favorite) but the shape was pineapple-esque and I love the way it pulled apart and tasted like cinnamon sugar heaven. Yum!

After church and doughnuts, we drove home and spent the rest of our Sunday relaxing together. We bundled up for an evening boat ride which was a little bit chilly but we all agreed it was really nice to get out on the water despite the wind.

Our Sunday night concluded with pizza and ice cream. Not too shabby!

We had such a nice weekend with my parents in town and I’m so, so glad they were able to make it up to Charlotte to spend a few days with our crew. We’re already counting down the days until our next visit when we head down to Florida for a weekend in May!