Summer Days

Summer seems like a blur!  Every year when summer arrives, my husband and I always  comment about how quickly it will fly by--and it always does.  This summer was a great one filled with several trips and many good times.  Here's a short list of how we spent our summer (and my excuse for not posting!):

• We started the summer off by spending a week at Myrtle Beach with our oldest son and his wife.   Love the beach!!
• We were blessed to be able to attend the international youth convention for the Church of God in Orlando, Florida, with our youth.  On the way home we got spend the afternoon at Daytona  Beach.
• We hosted my brother and sister-in-law for a few days and took them to see Cinderella at Jenny Wiley Theatre (which was great), we spent one afternoon out on beautiful Paintsville Lake, and did some siteseeing.
• We attended a reunion in our hometown of my youth group's sharing group.  It was a little bit of heaven!
• I was able to visit my parents a couple times during the summer months as well.  An added bonus.
• We spent our anniversary in Columbus, Ohio, to see Wicked which was absolutely fabulous.  I highly recommend it if you haven't seen it.  We had dinner with some dear friends.  Wonderful food and fellowship.
• We went to Tennessee for a very quick (but great) visit to see our sons and their wives.
• I attended a Beth Moore conference with the ladies from our church and one of my sisters in Lexington. Spiritually refreshing!

As I reflect on these special days, I am recalling some special meals and treats as well . . .  penne carbonara, homemade peach ice cream, salty caramel ice cream, and fresh catch Pontchartrain at Landry's in Myrtle Beach. Often when I enjoy a special dish at a restaurant, I come home and do some searching on line in hopes of recreating it.  Sometimes I am successful at creating a similar taste, other times, not so successful. Another dish I had this summer that I loved was grilled tilapia with a mango salsa which I had at Cheddars.  Here is the recipe I found and loved.  The only change I made was omitting the jalapeno pepper.  I put it in at first but ended up taking it out.
 
I hope your summer was enjoyable, whether you spent some days away on vacation or found some fun and relaxing things to do at home.  The important thing is making the most of each day that the Lord blesses us with.  Why not make some homemade ice cream, grill some burgers, or spend the evening outside enjoying the sounds of summer before September rolls in?  It will be here before you know it!

By the way, here is the recipe for the strawberry cake I promised in a previous post.  It is Delicious!!