Visit From Family, Part 2

~Monday (October 7)

On Monday we went in a couple of different directions. Ben, Uncle J and I left early that morning. My Uncle had several appointments scheduled with people in town, and Ben and I got to be his chauffer for the morning! It turned out to be quite an adventure, which you can read about here.

Meanwhile, the rest of them enjoyed a quiet day at home. They went on a long walk together, and came home and enjoyed popsicles to cool off.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

That evening we ate a delicious meal of garlic chicken, salad, and rolls.

Then we celebrated my Uncle’s birthday! Again! J Mom made him a turtle cake with the delicious frosting we make for Texas sheet cake. It was a hit!

The younger kids announced they had a skit to perform. It was pretty funny! These kids are great with one-liners. J

~Tuesday (October 8)

Tuesday was a fun and full day for us! After an early breakfast, we piled into our cars and headed out.

Our first stop was a little zoo in a neighboring town. This zoo is just perfect because it boasts enough variety to make it interesting, but it’s small enough that little kids don’t get too tired. J Our visiting cousins thought it was especially cool that they got to feed the giraffe!

Ruby feeding the goats.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

One of the highlights of the zoo was when the coyote started howling! That drew everyone’s attention!

All of us cousins together.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

We drove back over to our town and went to a little park downtown to enjoy a picnic lunch. The kids had lots of fun burning off some steam.

Adorable JJ.

Photo Credit: Roma.

Then we headed over to the old-fashioned soda fountain for a cool treat! This was a big hit with our visitors. J It’s hard to go wrong with malts, sundaes, and floats!

Next we went next door to the antiques and firearms store. We enjoyed browsing for awhile, and then took them to a western outfitters store where they did a little souvenir shopping.

We went home, rested a bit, freshened up, and then piled back into the cars for dinner. We took them to our favorite catfish restaurant.

My meal: steamed catfish, black-eyed-peas, hushpuppies, and baked potato.

We had such a fun day! It was hard for us to believe that our time together was coming to an end. But we were sure soaking up every minute of it!

To be continued . . .

Visit From Family, Part 1

~Saturday (October 5)

Most everyone enjoyed sleeping in on Saturday morning after arriving in Texas late the night before (coming back from Puerto Rico.) But we didn’t sleep in too late, because we were so excited to introduce my Uncle, Aunt, and cousins to the great state of Texas! J

They actually left late morning to go visit some friends in another town. The rest of us unpacked, settled in, and started catching up on the vacation laundry.

That evening, we took them out to our favorite BBQ place (just 2.5 miles down the road.) They loved it as much as we do. J

~Sunday (October 6)

Sunday morning, we all carpooled to church together. We went to first service, introduced them to a few people, and then left when the second service started. We drove home, grabbed some lunch, and headed out the door.

We were headed to the aquarium! Our family had never been, and obviously our relatives hadn’t either. So we had fun exploring it together!

It was almost like a combination of zoo, rainforest, and aquarium! We got to see all kinds of trees and wildlife.

The manatee was HUGE!!

I loved all the tanks of tropical fish.

A beautiful, almost glow-in-the-dark anemone.

The shark tank was probably the highlight for all of us. It was so cool to look up and around and see sharks everywhere!

We went up above and watched them feed the sharks. Don’t worry, no children were involved. J

By that time, we were getting hungry. So we took them out to our favorite Mexican restaurant: Pappasitos!

I had the chicken fajitas for dinner. Our relatives loved this place so much, they’re STILL talking about it! J

We also celebrated my Uncle’s birthday (for the second time.) They brought dessert out and sang for him.

After that, we headed home. It had been a wonderful day, and we were looking forward to more fun on Monday!

To be continued . . .

Texas Picture: October

We have so many gorgeous sunsets here in Texas! I love the beauty God has created, and the view He has given us to His display!

Every Eye

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.
So shall it be! Amen.”

(Revelation 1:7)

  

~ posted by Betsy ~

Recipe--Cube Steak Casserole

Earlier this year, we bought a freezer package from a local butcher shop. It included all kinds of meats, some of which we had never used. One of those was cube steak. After doing some research, I started using it in a few recipes on Tuesday nights when I cook dinner. This recipe was quite tasty, simple, and easy to prepare. We loved having it over a bed of mixed vegetables, but serving it over rice would also be good!

Note: I have included the original recipe from www.cooks.com below, but when I made it (and took the pictures) I adapted it for our family. I think I used 7 or 8 pieces of cube steak, 7-8 potatoes, and 5-6 carrots. I still followed the original sauce recipe, and there was plenty of it!

Cube Steak Casserole

6 pieces of cube steak

6 medium potatoes, sliced

1 can cream of mushroom soup

Salt and pepper (to taste)

1 large onion, chopped

4 carrots, sliced

1 stick butter

In a large Pyrex dish, layer cube steak on the bottom. Place onions, carrots, and potatoes on top of steak. Salt and pepper to taste. Heat soup with butter and pour over the steak dish. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Serves 6 to 8.

Puerto Rico, Part 4

~Friday (October 4)

Friday morning we were all up bright and early, eating breakfast, and doing last minute packing. We were sorry to be leaving Puerto Rico, but excited to have my Uncle and his family return to Texas with us for another fun week of vacation in our home state!

Thankfully we made it out the door on time and headed for the airport.

Photo Credit: Roma.

We all had different flights and times, so we just went to the airport in time for the earliest flight (ours.) Unfortunately, going through security was difficult for our family! TSA was being quite cautious that day. Out of the seven of us, three of our bags got searched, swabbed, and re-scanned!

We had a layover in Miami. The weather looked great outside as we landed!

Photo Credit: Roma.

Thankfully both flights were on time, and mostly uneventful. We landed safely and collected our baggage. Dad stayed behind at the airport with his car to wait for my Uncle and his family to arrive (they were a couple of hours behind us.) The rest of us grabbed dinner and headed homeward.

We stopped at Walmart to stock up on groceries for the week. We beat the rest of them home by about 30 minutes. It was so good to have our family under our own roof for the week! Next week, I’ll blog a bit about all the fun stuff we did with them. J

Puerto Rico, Part 3

~Wednesday (October 2)

Wednesday morning found us up early again! We had another fun excursion planned. Originally, we were supposed to go to El Yunque rainforest. The little guys had been REALLY excited about that. But it also happens to be a national park. So due to the U.S. government shutdown, the park was closed. L But Puerto Rico is filled with so much to see, it didn’t take long for us to find a substitute.

We ate our breakfast early and met downstairs. The hotel had packed box lunches for us, which we picked up. Then we boarded our tour bus!

As it turned out, our group of 11 was the only group he had that day. So we kind of got our own personal driver/tour guide! F was *hilarious!* He was one of the funniest, friendliest drivers we’ve ever had!

As we drove, he spouted off all kinds of jokes and facts about Puerto Rico. We actually learned a lot just on the bus ride! We also got to see some beautiful parts of Puerto Rico as we drove to Camuy.

We arrived at our destination after about an hour and a half: the Camuy Caves!

We paid our admission and then waited in line for the little tram which would take us down to the caves. Riding that was almost an attraction in and of itself! It felt like a rollercoaster!

Photo Credit: Betsy.

We met our tour guide and started into the dark caverns. The temperature was about 70 with the humidity at 90%. Very cool and damp!

Photo Credit: Roma.

The caverns were really neat! There were some HUGE rooms we saw, a river, bats, and a scorpion spider.

Photo Credit: Roma.

One of my favorite parts was when we came to the huge sinkhole. We got to taste some fresh spring water coming out of the cliff side. It was good!

We finished our tour and rode the tram up to the entrance building. We watched a short movie and then headed back to the bus. We ate our lunch while we drove through more back fields. We were on our way to the Arecibo Observatory!

Just the week before we left, we four older kids had seen one of Mom’s favorite movies: “Contact.” The movie is about space and a woman who is searching for ET’s. Arecibo Observatory is home to one of the largest radio telescopes in the world, and it was featured in this movie!

We looked around the museum and then watched a movie about the observatory and the building of the telescope. Then we got to go outside and see it!

It was definitely huge!

Photo Credit: Betsy.

After seeing the telescope, we headed back to the bus for our ride home. We were all pretty tired from being out-and-about all day. When we got back to the hotel, we headed straight to dinner because it was pretty late.

As we were eating, one of Mom’s cousins came with her husband and their daughter, S. It was so good to see them all again, and we enjoyed visiting for quite awhile before we went upstairs. We quickly crashed in bed from our happy exhaustion.

~Thursday (October 3)

Thursday morning we all enjoyed sleeping in. We ate a leisurely breakfast, and planned to spend our last day relaxing, enjoying the resort, and spending time with Tita.

It rained early in the morning, and this beautiful sight greeted us!

Unfortunately while we were at breakfast, we received bad news from my Abuelo. In the wee hours of the morning, Tita had fallen on her way to the bathroom, and broke both of her wrists. My Uncle and grandparents quickly rushed over to her condo. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital to be evaluated. Thankfully, she hadn’t hit her head when she fell, nor broken her hip.

While we waited for more word on Tita’s situation, we donned bathing suits and headed down to swim at the pools and beach. Later in the afternoon, our cousin S joined us.

Photo Credit: Roma.

All day, we were on-call waiting to hear how Tita was doing. If necessary, we were going to go to the hospital to see her. She was the reason we came to Puerto Rico in the first place! We wanted to make sure we saw her again, and said goodbye.

But partway through the afternoon, we received word that she was being discharged. Because of her age, they were not going to put casts on her arms. She needed corrective surgery which would take place the following week after she had seen an orthopedic surgeon. Meanwhile, she had splints on her wrists and was being sent back to take it easy for a few days.

Since she was coming back, we got out and cleaned up early. We had dinner early so that we would have time to go over and see her.

It turned into a mini family reunion in her room! 

Another cousin and her son joined us. It was great to see them again as well!

Then *another* cousin and her son showed up! I love having such a big family. J

We all visited for a LONG time before we said our goodbyes so Tita could rest. She was doing great and waving her arms around like nothing happened! J She’s such a strong-spirited woman. Each of us spent a few minutes with her, saying our goodbyes. She blessed each one of us before we left. I love her so much!

We were so sorry that our time in Puerto Rico had come to an end. L We returned to our rooms and started to pack things up before going to bed for the night.

To be continued . . .

Puerto Rico, Part 2

~Monday (September 30)

Monday morning, Ben and I got up early to work out in the hotel gym. Every time I work out in a gym, I’m reminded of how much I love the outdoors! J

After our workout, we enjoyed breakfast with the family. I splurged and ordered an everything omelet, coconut farina, watermelon, and passion fruit juice. Island food is the best!

Since Tita and our great-aunt wouldn’t be arriving at the hotel until late afternoon, we had the whole day to kill. We decided to bask in the beautiful weather (90 degrees and sunny most every day!) and enjoy the pools and beach again!

Having fun on one of the breakers at the beach. J

Photo Credit: Betsy.

Mid-afternoon, we cleaned up and got ready to welcome Tita. It was a happy reunion between all of us! She’s looking great for her age (98 years old!)

She had already eaten with our Titi L (her caregiver right now), so we visited with them during Happy Hour. At 6:30 p.m., we left for the hotel restaurant for our dinner.

This evening, I had a sampler. I ate bruschetta, chicken chicharrones, and coconut shrimp. It was all tasty!

For dessert, I had flan for the very first time (hard to believe, considering I grew up in a Puerto Rican family!) It was delicious, but I’m guessing my Abuela’s version is better. J

We went up to bed at a reasonable hour, knowing we had a long day on Tuesday . . .

~Tuesday (October 1)

We awoke bright and early this morning because we were going to Old San Juan! Our excitement was just slightly dampened by the news that the U.S. government had shut down. Because Puerto Rico is a colony of the United States, all the national parks and monuments were closed there as well. L We still went forward with our plans to go to OSJ, but we knew we wouldn’t be able to go inside the fort we wanted to visit. But at least we could see the outside and the rest of the city!

We ate an early breakfast, packed our day bags, and met our driver downstairs. He drove us over to the ferry.

We boarded and enjoyed the short ride over to the city!

Photo Credit: Betsy.

When we arrived, we started the long walk towards the fort. We began sweating pretty quickly, as it was 90 degrees out, with humidity that almost matched.

We passed by this fountain along the way, and some other tourists offered to take a picture for us. They were from the States as well, so we got to chatting about the shutdown.

Still walking along the outside wall of the city.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

 

Since we stopped along the way for pictures and to pet some of the stray cats, it took us 45 minutes to an hour to walk to the fort. We were pretty warm once we arrived, but the beauty takes your breath away. J

Castillo San Felipe del Morro.

The view looking from the fort to the city. We had fun walking around the fort, even though we couldn’t go inside. There were signs posted everywhere reminding us why the park was closed. J

We have a picture from our last trip to Puerto Rico (8 years ago) with all of us kids crammed into the watchtower. As we’ve grown, we don’t all fit anymore! (To explain Josiah’s face, the watchtowers smell *terrible* and he was a bit hot. J)

Photo Credit: Betsy.

Posing outside the citadel doors with our cousin, J.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

As we walked back to the city, we saw a news truck parked. They had been doing some filming at the fort because the city was virtually a ghost town with the government shutdown. They interviewed my Dad and he actually appeared on the 5 o’clock news!

What we had been walking towards was the sherbet stand! We bought cups of coconut, passion fruit, strawberry, and guava sherbet. It was *so* refreshing on such a hot day!

After our refreshment, we walked over to Casa Blanca (where many generations of Juan Ponce De Leon’s family have lived) to look around. It was open, but the tour guide doesn’t work on Tuesdays! So we gave ourselves a self-guided tour of this incredible mansion and its extensive gardens.

Then we headed off to find some lunch. I love the old cobblestone streets in Old San Juan!

My grandparents had wanted to take us to a restaurant they had dined at 2 years ago and loved. But unfortunately it had closed. A taxi driver recommended another restaurant, so we headed in that direction.

But as we walked, a waiter standing in front of a hole-in-the-wall restaurant convinced us to eat there. J We didn’t protest too hard, as we were ready for some air conditioning!

Inside, the restaurant was pleasantly spacious and very attractive. We enjoyed deliciously cool drinks and great Puerto Rican food! I had a chicken empanada with salad and tostones. So good!

Then they surprised my Uncle by bringing out a birthday cake! The chocolate cake was cool, moist, and refreshing and well-liked by everyone. It’s hard to go wrong with chocolate in this family!

We continued walking through the city, stopping anywhere that interested us. We did some souvenir shopping and also toured through a huge Catholic cathedral (pictured above.) This is where Juan Ponce de Leon’s remains currently reside.

Finally, we had to call it an afternoon and catch the ferry. The bus ride back to the hotel felt so good, and some of us conked out right away.

Everyone hit the shower once we arrived at the hotel. It felt so good to rid ourselves of the sweat and dust we had accumulated that day!

Then we went down for dinner. Since we had such a big lunch, we ate light for dinner. We sat in the lounge area with Tita and Titi L and ordered a few trays of appetizers.

Margherita pizza and quesadillas.

Photo Credit: Roma.

The twins with Tita.

Photo Credit: Betsy.

We hit the bed fairly early this evening, as we were exhausted. And we knew that the next day would be full of yet more sightseeing!

To be continued . . .