The Best Summer Yet

Saturday, August 24, 2013

But the BEST is yet to come...

It is hard to imagine that this time last year I was still adjusting to a newborn and having 2 kids. The summer of 2012 was a life-changing 2 months as Chris and I had just had Baby Luke and welcomed him into our family!

The summer of 2012 was uneventful, besides the obvious, and we did not do much. Most of our days were spent inside hugging and loving on our newly born baby boy! On occasion we would go to the water-park or take a drive to get a "Treat" at Dairy Queen but most days and nights were spent indoors with our family. (This does remind me how HOT it has been this year, though) I remember thinking "Wow, we didn't even really HAVE a summer".

This thought was at the front of my mind as we came into the summer of 2013 and I wanted to make up for "lost time". Looking back on my summer, I definitely made up for the summer of 2012 and THEN SOME!

During this summer my family and I did SO much but these were my favorites:

Taking my kids to see their GREAT-Grandparents and extended family in Kansas

Wished Luke a HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY

Wished Chris a Happy 3rd Father's Day

Had a "Girls Night" with a bunch of friends and "Painting with a Twist"

Got a new Grill

Got new playground equipment for the kids(Thanks to my Uncle OD and his generousness)

Went to the Houston Zoo 3 separate times

Went to 2 Astros Games

Went to Galveston Beach with my parents and Cousin Curtis and his family

Met up with my College Roommate, Jessica, and her family in Galveston and had dinner too

Went to the Conroe Rec Center Waterpark about 10-12 times

"Dedicated" ourselves and Baby Luke to The Lord 2 times (Mims Baptist Church- Conroe and Arp Emmanuel Baptist Church- Arp)

We went to Tyler to visit my parents

We went to Dallas to visit my sister and SIL

Had 4 Thirty-One Parties (Way more than I expected... I am so proud of myself)

Ate at 2 "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" around Houston

Chris and I went on a cruise to The Western Caribbean and visited Baton Rouge and New Orleans

Wished Natalie a HAPPY FOURTH BIRTHDAY

We did all of this and we still got plenty of rest and relaxation. It was great to be able to run around and spend time with and friends. Mr. Luke turned 1 in June and he has been running around like he is 3 this whole summer. I know he wants to be able to get up and play with Natalie. This makes me wonder how he will be NEXT summer.

This reminds me of a story I heard in Sunday School once about the BEST IS YET TO COME! Even when looking back at all of the AMAZING things we were able to do this year, I am reminded that it will only get better as the years go by! In the summer of 2014 we will have a 2 year old and near 5 year old... OH THE POSSIBILITIES! I cannot wait! Just 187 school days... HAHA just kidding (Kinda!)

This is one of the joys of being a TEACHER and I am so grateful for MY SUMMERS!

God is good... ALL THE TIME!

You Only Live Once- By Way of Chris

The Carnival Conquest Western Caribbean Cruise 2013

YOLO, Especially if You Eat LIKE THIS... 

We loved the food selections and restaurants so much that we decided to EACH write our own post on what we ate during the duration of the cruise. This will be formatted by day and then a summary of our favorites at the end of the post. If you have never gone on a cruise and YOU LIKE TO EAT... You will more than likely have one booked by the end of this post!

BY WAY of CHRIS...

Sunday- Embarkation

Lunch

Cezzanne Restaurant/ Lido Buffet and Guy's Burger Joint

Tomato and Mozzarella Panini Sandwich

Mushroom Fritters and Mushroom Quiche (These were INCREDIBLE)

Cajun Style Shrimp Remoulade

"Plain Jane" Burger from Guy's Burger Joint

Dinner

Main Dining Room- Renoir Restaurant

Appetizers

Chips and Guacamole
 (It is not very original, but I do like guacamole)

 

Cured Salmon and Candied Tomato

("Uber" delicious)

  

Main Entrees

Sweet and Sour Shrimp

(This was excellent)

Linguini with Italian Sausage, bell peppers and mushrooms

( I had been looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint)

Desserts

Vanilla Crème Brule

(I enjoyed it but not as much as Kellie did)

Black Forest Gateau

(This was a pleasant surprise)

Late Night Room Service

BLT with Chips
(Not as good as I remembered them from last time)

Monday- Sea Day #1

Brunch at George Lopez Punchliner Comedy Brunch

Eggs Benedict, cheddar grits, side of bacon

(These were "eggcenlent")

Lunch

Cezzanne Resaturant/ Lido Buffet(I don't remember what was good and what wasn't)  

Dinner

Appetizers

Baked Stuffed White Mushrooms
(These were great, I could have had two orders)

Spicy Alligator Fritters
(Tasted like Gator)

Spaghetti Carbonara
(I got the smaller appetizer portion and it was very good.)

Main Entrées

Broiled Maine Lobster Tails and Black Tiger Shrimp
(Best meal of the cruise, I ordered 3 lobsters!)

Prime Rib
(This was very good, and was the second best dish on the cruise, I would have ordered more if not for the lobster.  I did eat more prime rib later in the cruise.)

Desserts

Caramelized Apples on Puff Pastry
(It was okay, but there were better desserts out there)

Cherries Jubilee

 (It wasn't great...)

Late Night Room Service

A New Yorker

Traditional Cheesecake
(This was good cheesecake and I enjoyed it a lot)  

 Tuesday- Sea Day #2

 Breakfast

Blue Iguana Cantina

Chicken and Egg Tacos with a Breakfast burrito

Brunch

George Lopez's Punchliner Comedy Brunch

Filet Mignon and eggs

(The steak was very tender and succulent) 

 

Eggs Benedict

  

Ham and Cheese Omelet

(The omelets on the cruise were very tasty) 

Late Lunch

Guy's Burger Joint

Pig Patty
(One beef patty and one patty made entirely of bacon I also put caramelized onions and mushrooms on it .)

Dinner

Appetizers

Chilled Cucumber soup with Dill

(Another pleasant surprise) 

A study in Sushi
(This was pretty good, best part of the meal.)

Main Entrée

Braised Short Ribs
(They were amazingly tender) 

Desserts

 Lemon Cake
(It was okay, but the Melting Cake was much better)

Carnival's World Renown Warm Melting Cake
(Disclaimer- I DON'T really like chocolate; It was not that good... Chris LOVED it)  

 Wednesday-
Mahogany Bay- Roatan, Honduras

Breakfast

Blue Iguana Cantina

Customized Breakfast Burrito

Lunch

Blue Iguana Cantina

"Chipotle" style customized Burritos

Dinner

Appetizers

Smoked Duck and Caramelized Oranges

(It was okay, but I have had better duck before)

Chilled Creamy Peach Soup 

(I love a good peach dish)

Shark and Langoustino Fire Cracker Roll
(I took a bite out of a shark)

Main Entrees

Assorted Seafood, Newburg Style
(I was not really sure what "Newburg" meant but it was pretty tasty)

Braised Lamb Shank in a Burgundy Sauce
(I don't normally eat lamb, and this didn't do anything to change that)

Desserts  

Tiramisu
(Definitely my favorite of all our desserts, I had 3 servings!)

Late Night Snack

Pizza Pirate

Margarita Pizza

(It was not very good... I should have stuck with Pepperoni)

Thursday- Belize

Breakfast

Cezzane Restaurant/ Lido Buffet

Bacon and cheese Omelet
(Just like last time, these are the best omelets I have ever had... yet they seem so simple to make)

Lunch

Cezzane Restaurant/ Lido Buffet
A Variety of "Comfort Food" and "Cajun Delights"

Dinner

Appetizers 

Lasagna Bolognese

(I am not a lasagna fan, and this did nothing to change that)

Oyster Rockefeller

(These were pretty good)

Main Entrées

Petite Filet Mignon and Braised Boneless Short-Rib

(Tender and succulent, one of the four times on the cruise I ordered filet mignon)

Grilled Red Snapper
(I have never had red snapper before, and this was great)

Desserts

Old-fashioned apple pie

(They should do this more often.)

Warm chocolate Melting cake

(This is like a brownie sundae) 

Friday- Cozumel

Breakfast

Blue Iguana Cantina  

Breakfast Tacos and Burrito

Lunch

Fish and Chips

Calamari Fritters
Seafood Bouillabaisse  

Octopus Salad

Fried Cod Filets

(I did not like the bouillabaisse or the octopus, but the cod and the calamari were great!)

Dinner

Appetizers

Escargots
(Much better than I remember, I didn't tell Kellie what it was until after we finished.)

Seafood Platter 

Main Entrées

Chateaubriand with sauce béarnaise
(This was so good, people around me started ordering it after they saw me eating it.)

Penne Siciliana

(This was excellent, I enjoyed it way more than Kellie)

Desserts
Baked Alaska
(This sounded wonderful and turned out to just be Neapolitan Ice Cream Sandwich)

Amaretto Cake

(This was really good)

 Sea Day #3

Breakfast

Cezzanne Restaurant/ Lido Deck
Customized Omelet

Brunch

George Lopez Punchliner Comedy Brunch

Eggs Benedict and grits
(Why change if it ain't broke)

Filet Mignon and eggs
(Again, if it ain't broke...)

Lunch

Chocolate Extravaganza Buffet

(I love chocolate, and this was tremendous)

Guy's Hamburgers
(I had a regular cheeseburger and added grilled onions...delicious)

Dinner

Appetizers
New England Crab Cake
(I had eaten most of it by the time I remembered to take a picture)

Frog Legs with Provençale Herb Butter
(I got two servings of these, they were pretty good)

Main Entrée

Prime Rib with Baked Potato
(What a great way to finish the cruise, I had Two!)

Dessert

Grand Mariner Soufflé
(Best dessert of the cruise, Save the best for last I guess)  

Summary

Kellie and I decided to pick ONE item from each category as our favorite:

Appetizer: Escargot

Main Entrée: Lobster Tail 

Dessert: Grand Mariner Souffle