Balance
7 years ago
Monday, September 28, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Tummy Tingles and Police Chases
So here we are at Surfside for our annual Labor Day Weekend at the Beach. We look forward to this every year and somehow, every year, it sneaks up on us.
The good news is that we've been doing this so long that we have it down to a science. We keep the menu pretty much the same each year. We have our packing list in a spreadsheet that gets updated with what we learn each year. The same spreadsheet keeps an outline of the menu and the grocery list. So, a few days before it's time to go, we pull up the spreadsheet, make a few more tweaks and, voila, we're ready to start getting ready. And this year, we did make more than the usual tweaks to the menu, but we left the important parts alone.
First, what's different about this year is that there is no hurricane or tropical storm in the Gulf that we need to worry about. Of course, the forecast for the weekend did call for isolated thunderstorms. So far, we have made it through two days without rain.
Oh, and that's a second thing that is different...we shifted our weekend to start on Thursday evening instead of coming down on Friday. Last year, we stayed over until Tuesday but found that Monday was a very crowded day at the beach. So we decided to try and let Friday be our extra day. And it has turned out well. We practically had the entire beach to ourselves. The only downside was that the ice cream truck didn't come by.
The first tweak to the menu occurred for our very first meal. Since Leslie was recently given a fritata pan as a gift, she decided to actually make a fritata with it. It was received with a chorus of yums and there were no leftovers. It was made with ham, mozzarella and cilantro.
Afterwards, we headed down to the beach and hung out all day. As I mentioned, there were few people there. The weather was perfect...not too hot and not too cool. The water was calm, clear and warm. We enjoyed swimming, playing in the sand and playing ladder ball. Aunt Nada thought she might even dip her toe in the water (but she never did).
For dinner, we had one of our beach staples...one that probably will never change. It was Nada's night to cook and we had the yummy chicken pockets, macaroni and cheese, and salad. Every bite was more delicious than the one before.
After dinner, we wrapped up the evening with a good game of Jokers and Pegs. We played teams of Henry and Mama, and Nada and Leslie. Whooo Hooo, Henry and Mama won!
We woke this morning and Nada was up again with cooking duties. She made crepes that we smeared with nutella and stuffed fresh strawberries. Yum Yum!
From that point, our day at the beach was pretty much a repeat of yesterday...fun in the sun and sand. The only difference was that the ice cream truck was running today. Yippee.
Tonight was my turn to cook. Again, it was one of our standard meals that was born on our first weekend at Surfside many years ago: bratwurst, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes. Nada says I need to mention here that my meal was delicious. (I thought that went without saying!)
Tonight, we are planning on playing a round of farkle. I wonder who will win. Probably Henry.
And, I almost posted this without explaining the title. When Henry and I go out deep in the water and ride the waves, he tells me that it makes his tummy tingle...like roller coasters. I thought that was so cute.
And we witnessed a police chase as we sat at the beach. It was an unlikely suspect, though. Someone's donut floatie had gotten away from them and was rolling down the beach. It rolled past the patrolling police car. We laughed as we watched the police man maneuver his patrol car to cut off the runaway floatie. He missed the first time and took another stab at it and was able to head it off at the pass. We were waiting for the helicopters to show up for live coverage.
The good news is that we've been doing this so long that we have it down to a science. We keep the menu pretty much the same each year. We have our packing list in a spreadsheet that gets updated with what we learn each year. The same spreadsheet keeps an outline of the menu and the grocery list. So, a few days before it's time to go, we pull up the spreadsheet, make a few more tweaks and, voila, we're ready to start getting ready. And this year, we did make more than the usual tweaks to the menu, but we left the important parts alone.
First, what's different about this year is that there is no hurricane or tropical storm in the Gulf that we need to worry about. Of course, the forecast for the weekend did call for isolated thunderstorms. So far, we have made it through two days without rain.
Oh, and that's a second thing that is different...we shifted our weekend to start on Thursday evening instead of coming down on Friday. Last year, we stayed over until Tuesday but found that Monday was a very crowded day at the beach. So we decided to try and let Friday be our extra day. And it has turned out well. We practically had the entire beach to ourselves. The only downside was that the ice cream truck didn't come by.
The first tweak to the menu occurred for our very first meal. Since Leslie was recently given a fritata pan as a gift, she decided to actually make a fritata with it. It was received with a chorus of yums and there were no leftovers. It was made with ham, mozzarella and cilantro.
Afterwards, we headed down to the beach and hung out all day. As I mentioned, there were few people there. The weather was perfect...not too hot and not too cool. The water was calm, clear and warm. We enjoyed swimming, playing in the sand and playing ladder ball. Aunt Nada thought she might even dip her toe in the water (but she never did).
For dinner, we had one of our beach staples...one that probably will never change. It was Nada's night to cook and we had the yummy chicken pockets, macaroni and cheese, and salad. Every bite was more delicious than the one before.
After dinner, we wrapped up the evening with a good game of Jokers and Pegs. We played teams of Henry and Mama, and Nada and Leslie. Whooo Hooo, Henry and Mama won!
We woke this morning and Nada was up again with cooking duties. She made crepes that we smeared with nutella and stuffed fresh strawberries. Yum Yum!
From that point, our day at the beach was pretty much a repeat of yesterday...fun in the sun and sand. The only difference was that the ice cream truck was running today. Yippee.
Tonight was my turn to cook. Again, it was one of our standard meals that was born on our first weekend at Surfside many years ago: bratwurst, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes. Nada says I need to mention here that my meal was delicious. (I thought that went without saying!)
Tonight, we are planning on playing a round of farkle. I wonder who will win. Probably Henry.
And, I almost posted this without explaining the title. When Henry and I go out deep in the water and ride the waves, he tells me that it makes his tummy tingle...like roller coasters. I thought that was so cute.
And we witnessed a police chase as we sat at the beach. It was an unlikely suspect, though. Someone's donut floatie had gotten away from them and was rolling down the beach. It rolled past the patrolling police car. We laughed as we watched the police man maneuver his patrol car to cut off the runaway floatie. He missed the first time and took another stab at it and was able to head it off at the pass. We were waiting for the helicopters to show up for live coverage.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Weekend in San Antonio
Last weekend, we made a roadtrip to San Antonio. We left after work/school on Friday and returned home on Sunday evening. Our reason for the trip was to watch the San Antonio Silver Stars play against the Detroit Shock, and mostly so Leslie could watch her favorite WNBA player in action, Katie Smith.
We spent Saturday morning lounging around the pool at the hotel. It was a nice pool, and for the majority of the time that we were there, we had the place to ourselves. It even had a swim-up bar. After it opened, we had to be their first customers of the day, of course. Henry enjoyed a strawberry smoothie, while Leslie and I enjoyed more "adult" concoctions. Henry thought the whole concept was pretty cool.
There was a water area for kids. In true Star Wars fashion, this particular feature got named the "deflector shield".
We spent Saturday morning lounging around the pool at the hotel. It was a nice pool, and for the majority of the time that we were there, we had the place to ourselves. It even had a swim-up bar. After it opened, we had to be their first customers of the day, of course. Henry enjoyed a strawberry smoothie, while Leslie and I enjoyed more "adult" concoctions. Henry thought the whole concept was pretty cool.
There was a water area for kids. In true Star Wars fashion, this particular feature got named the "deflector shield".
After a few hours of playing in the pool, it was time to head off to the basketball game. Here are a few pictures of Henry at the game.
I thought I was going to have to separate them!
Gotta love those eyes!
Just too cute!
An interesting way to eat gummi live savers, for sure.
And the funny thing is, at the last minute, they decided Katie was injured and she didn't get to play!
I thought I was going to have to separate them!
Gotta love those eyes!
Just too cute!
An interesting way to eat gummi live savers, for sure.
And the funny thing is, at the last minute, they decided Katie was injured and she didn't get to play!
That night, we found a local Mexican restaurant (since we didn't get to eat at Gringo's on Friday night). On the way in, I got Henry some facial hair in the gumball machines in the entrance.
Sunday was dedicated to Sea World. It was a bit warm, but there was a nice breeze blowing. The park was rather empty meaning we didn't have to wait long for the rides and we had prime seating for the shows we attended.
Us on the Texas Splashdown
Henry with Shamu and Mrs. Shamu?
Feeding the dolphins
Posing with the scuba diver
Just looking cuter than cute should look
Nose-to-nose with a green tree frog
Family photo
Henry on the Shamu Coaster, posing for the camera that snaps your picture during the ride
Us on the Texas Splashdown
Henry with Shamu and Mrs. Shamu?
Feeding the dolphins
Posing with the scuba diver
Just looking cuter than cute should look
Nose-to-nose with a green tree frog
Family photo
Henry on the Shamu Coaster, posing for the camera that snaps your picture during the ride
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
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