Weekly Menu

 This weeks menu has one of THEE most important dates of the entire year . .. . what is that, you ask?  Well, my mother's birthday, of course! HA!  Yep!  That's right!  My mom's birthday is this coming week and that is always exciting because birthdays are well earned! 

Here's our plan for the coming week:

Friday - Our Take out night!  

Saturday - Our night at my mom's :-)  She just LOVES cooking for us LOL 

Sunday - Quesadillas - a variety.  Chicken, Shrimp, and Cheese :-)  

Monday -  Street Tacos - we had these in Florida - we bought kits from Publix Grocery store and they were amazing!  Hoping to make them even better at home! 

Tuesday - My mom's birthday!  Her requests are:  Ribeye Steak, Crash Potatoes, Cole Slaw and Strawberries and Ice Cream for Dessert!

Wednesday - Shrimp Alfredo and French Bread

Thursday - Spaghetti and garlic bread 

Pensacola Beach Vacation Day 3

 Monday was our first full day in Pensacola and we woke up to a beautiful view! Our condo was 11 stories up and we have just the perfect place to enjoy the sun and the ocean. 

Our balcony - I think I spent most of my time at the condo sitting outside.  I read alot and just enjoyed relaxing.  

Our plan for our first day was to relax and that is what we did!  I made amazing street taco's (from Publix) for lunch and then we headed to check out the pool.  Our condo sat right between the Gulf of Mexico and Pensacola Bay on a little strip of land.  From our balcony we enjoyed the Gulf and from the pool, we enjoyed the Bay. 

The pool was COLD HA!  I mean it was Lake Michigan cold LOL  We did all get it but it took a lot of courage to do so :-)  

Josh and Nate both tried out the hammocks.  Nate was not a fan but Josh hung out in his hammock for a bit and relaxed. 

Part of our "relaxation" on the first day was to do a little exploring.  We took off for a drive into the Gulf Shores National Seashore and were just blown away by the beauty.  We also saw quite a bit of damage left over from hurricane Sally.  Thankfully the things we wanted to do/see were open.  At the very end of the road/island sits an old civil war fort and it was amazing.  We hadn't planned to explore it until Tuesday but we did a little looking around on Monday. 

Nate loved the fort! 

It was just humbling to think about the men who served at this fort from as far back as the civil war through the world wars to protect our country from attack.  

As we headed back the other direction we pulled off at one of the many beach areas and enjoyed some time at the ocean. 

It was a little chilly (but we are used to Lake Michigan, right?) and the waves were amazing.  My kids were a little concerned about the sea creatures - especially jelly fish - but we saw nothing exciting HA!  The beaches are just amazing.  The sand is white and cool (we are used to tan and HOT) and it feels like flour.  We also noticed it doesn't stick to your skin like the Michigan sand does which was great for clean up! 

Once back at our condo we all cleaned up and headed out to dinner.  Our resturant of choice was called Red Fish Blue Fish.  It sat right on the beach so we were able to sit outside and enjoy the wonderful summer air!  Our dinners were so good - lots of shrimp and fish!  

We had some wonderful sunsets every night too!

After dinner, we went gift shopping before we finally headed back to the condo for the night.  

We had a glorious first day in Florida.  I think it met all of our expectations and then some!  The weather was perfect and we even got to see dolphins swimming by the condo while sitting on the balcony!  

Strawberry Lemon Parfaits

 

This year for Mother's Day I wanted to make something light and summer inspired for our dessert.  Nothing meets those two qualifications more than lemon and strawberries! 

I found a great recipe over at Pretty.Simple.Sweet and it did not disappoint.  Now, her recipe includes the recipe for making a homemade lemon curd which I did not make.  

What did I do?  I bought a butter pound cake in the freezer section of the store and cubed it up.  I used canned lemon pudding instead of making lemon curd.  (Lemon curd is wonderful but it also needs time, which I didn't have HA!).  I DID make homemade whipped cream!!  

Just layer the cake, lemon pudding, whipped cream, and strawberries in as many layers as your glass dish/cup/glass will hold.  It was SOOOOO good!  

This could also be made as a full size parfait in a glass bowl to take to a summer picnic or pot luck. 

Weekly Worship - Good God Almighty (Lyrics) - Crowder

This is a song that makes me stand up and dance (almost  - I am Baptist after all :-) ) every time I hear it!  Enjoy! 

2021 Week in Photos #15

 Welcome to a normal week :-) 

Saturday - My three men took me to the beach for Mother's Day.  It's become a little bit of a tradition.  Some years it's so cold we can't even get out of the car, some years it's so warm that everyone puts their feet in the water.  This year was about in the middle.  We started out with our favorite pizza from Bernie O's before heading to our favorite beach! 

I love the waves on the sand.  It's so beautiful! 

We ended our night with a visit to our sweet little ice cream shop, Ruth Anne's.  It was super yummy and Dash even got a treat! 

Sunday - We celebrated Mother's Day with my mom.  Darryl cooked on the grill for the first time this season.  

Me and my boys - they are both catching me on height.  Despite what the photo shows - Josh still has about an inch or two until he passes me! 

I made this yummy dessert for Mother's Day lunch - I'll share the recipe soon (and it is SUPER easy!) 

Monday -Thursday . .. .basically just school.  We are about 3 weeks out form finishing and would like to finish in two but it will be tough!  

Friday - Today we had Co-Op and Nate had TKD. 

It was a fun week and we accomplished a lot but I will be honest, Josh, Nate and Mom are ALL looking forward to being done with the school year! 

Weekly Menu

This week I'm focused on using stuff I have because my freezer and cupboards are full!  

Friday - Our weekly "Take out" night! 

Saturday - Dinner with my mom :-) 

Sunday - Burgers on the grill - per Josh's request! 

Monday - French Toast Sticks, Sausage and Bacon 

Tuesday - Spagehtti with homemade spaghetti sauce and garlic bread

Wednesday - Baked Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops, Mashed Potatoes and COrn

Thursday - Leftovers from the week or things from the freezer like corn dogs, frozen pizza or chicken nuggets. 

 

Pensacola Beach Vacation Day 2

We were t.i.r.e.d. to be honest so that 7:00 alarm was hard.  Our goal was to leave the hotel by 9:00.  The hotel did an amazing job with breakfast.  We had to turn in "order" forms the night before and pick up our sack breakfasts in the morning.  They provided juice, Sausage and Egg Muffins, Blueberry Muffins, Granola Bars and Apples.  The rooms all have microwaves so it was perfect for eating up the Sausage Muffins.  I actually preferred this breakfast option to the normal breakfast that you have to "attend" and pick your things . .. .except I did miss my bagel and cream cheese!  

We pulled out a little later than planned - at 9:30 - but that was ok,  We weren't really feeling too rushed.  Our first stop of the day was Nissan Stadium - where the Tennessee Titans play.  A fun thing is we got to drive through a tunnel just before our exit. 

Then, we hit the road!  We traveled from Tennessee into Alabama. 

Nate took some great photos along the drive.  We played lots of rounds of the ABC game which was fun and listened to lots of music.  

We finally made it to Florida!!  We were so excited to see the sign! 

The bridge!!!!  This is the bridge that made me realize that I have a slight fear of bridges that cross the ocean HA!  I can handle the Mackinac Bridge any day of the week but this bridge - wow.  Maybe because it was so low and close to the water - I'm not sure - but it was crazy.  This was the first bridge we had to cross - we had one more to go before we got to "our" island! 

Our condo!  We were all the way up on the 11th floor - just one away from the top.  It was amazing! 

And, our view.  After a two day drive, this view was breath taking.  It was warm out, with sand and palm trees.  Finally an amazing vacation with the family!

So, we had to unload a TON of stuff into the elevator and get everything into our condo.  We were starving so we headed back across the smaller bridge to a Waffle House.  Yep, that's right - when in the South, eat at Waffle House HA!  It was perfect for our night.  Our breakfast for dinner was amazing and filled us up!  Our last stop was Publix so I could pick up the fresh/fridge items for the week.  Publix is pretty cool and has some fabulous prepped food (Like Street Tacos with all the fixin's!)  

Once back at our condo, we could finally relax and I enjoyed sitting out on our balcony, watching the moon reflect on the water and listening to the waves.