A new adventure

Last week, the kids embarked on a new adventure, the public library!

Now before you judge, let me explain. While we went to the library a handful of times when Megan and Zachary were very young, we had not been since as the school media centers and our own voluminous home library more than accomodated their reading needs. After a short discussion about what the library is and what purpose it serves in the community, George took Megan and Danny to two different branches on Friday. They got their own cards and everything!  I am hoping this is the beginning of a new reading adventure for this summer and beyond.  

Father's Day Weekend

Father's Day is always a special day for me, but this year it is even more special because George is not working this weekend. We began his Father's Day weekend with a date night at our local Publix Aprons cooking school. This was a special event night with guest chef Kevin Gillespie,

an Atlanta, Georgia-based chef who was a contestant on season 6 of Bravo's Top Chef and one of our favorites of all Top Chef contestants. It was a night of good wine and wonderful dishes, with a little humor and a bit of culinary education. We started by get him to sign our copy of his latest cookbook, Fire in my Belly,

and then it was on with the show.

Dinner's first course was a marinated turnip salad with oranges and goat cheese.

This raw starter salad was surprising in its combination of flavors, including curry and horseradish, but so delicious. The next course was Crispy Green Beans with Salsa Brava.

Oh...my...goodness. He then moved on to Stuffed Rutgers Tomatoes with Savannah Red Rice and Creamed Shrimp

and last but not least a dessert of Peach Melba Foster Jubilee,

a combination of the flavors of Peach Melba, Bananas Foster, and Cherries Jubilee. George and I were absolutely devouring each of the courses as they were delivered, as well as enjoying the different wines poured with each course, and the conversation with new friends we met there was a bonus. It was such a special evening, and I can't even describe the happiness that I felt in giving George this experience, as well as getting him to eat all of the veggies prepared!

The next day (Saturday) began with a beautiful morning walk with Harley, then brunch at Cracker Barrel. When I am super hungry for breakfast, nothing beats the Sunrise Sampler. We then spent much of the afternoon at the pool, relaxing and drinking margaritas. After a special Italian feast for dinner, we headed to the movies to see Man of Steele.

This newest Superman story is a wonderful pseudo-remake of the 1980's films starring Christopher Reeve, but this version is a bit more realistic and human. It stars one of my faves, Henry Cavill (who played Charles Brandon,

1st Duke of Suffolk in The Tudors) as Cal/Clark Kent/Superman

and Amy Adams as Lois Lane.

The movie was totally enjoyable, and we all had a blast watching it.

The final day of the weekend, Sunday, has been a most relaxing Father's Day. After church, I made George these Darn Good Ham and Cheese Sliders, which are now tied with Croque Monsieur as his favorite sandwich, and Zachary served ice cream that he had bought for the occasion.  We relaxed for a few hours, saw Mom and Dad Creamer when they stopped by, and then we took him out for a nice steak dinner. One of the highlights was his gift from Danny, a matching t-shirt pair for them from the National Law Enforcement Memorial that had George's favorite quote on it.

Topping off the night will be the season premiere of True Blood. George said it was an "awesome" Father's Day. We hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day weekend, filled with much love and happiness!   

My favorite kids!

This week, George was back on weekday shift, so every night I got to spend some time with my favorite kids. Here they are on Wednesday night, eating with me at Taco Bell.

Their beauty moves me sometimes, but I digress.

Last night, we went to the end-of-vacation-Bible-school (aka Adventure Week) celebration at our church. After a full week of play, Danny was excited to show me what he'd learned and all the fun he'd been having. Megan, on the other hand, was a worker, and she had less fun. She spent all week setting up snacks for all of the classes, and she was pooped by the time she got home (not to mention walking home in 95-degree heat). But here they are looking oh-so-refreshed as we went in for the last night of fun.

For a treat afterwards, I took them to Sweet FROG, a new fro-yo joint in town that gave them coupons at Adventure Week. FROG stands for Fully Rely On God, and they support all of the local VBS programs. They also have some of the best tasting fro-yo in town. The kids loved it!

I'm so glad I got to spend the week with them. They are super kids, and I love them so.

Summer has officially begun!

Summer in the Creamer household has officially begun. The first week was a week of leisure for the kids. Danny went to a birthday party at Skateworld on the 1st,

officially partying on the first day of June. Then they went swimming, and Danny, who was still basking in the glow of this Memorial Day 2nd place finish,

got to bring his friend Chase along.

When he wasn't racing Chase or diving for items at the bottom of the pool, he was showing off his muscles.

Then the kids got to stay the night at their grandparents' house, and we missed them so much. Here they are arriving home, having had a wonderful time.

Then, over the weekend, we worked in the yard and did some gardening. Our hydrangeas are in full bloom, and I had to pick some of these beautiful blooms for the house.

After a day of hard work, George and I had a date night at the Country Club, where they were having a Cuban-themed party by the pool.

Then we made it out to Bradfordville Blues Club to see Victor Wainright and the Wild Roots.

The band was terrific, and it was an awesome night. I don't have video of the performances, but here's a clip of one of his performances. If he's in your area, I highly recommend seeing him live.

So far, June has been a blast for us. We hope you're enjoying your summer as much as we are!

It's June already?

May absolutely flew by for us, and I barely had the chance to take any pictures. Since my last post was from Cinco de Mayo, I'll give a quick recap of May's activities.

For Mother's Day weekend, Danny and I travelled to Jacksonville to celebrate with Mom Gilbert and Granny.

While it was a short visit, we had a great time. On Mother's Day, after George took me out for a special brunch at Coosh's Bayou Rouge, we spent the afternoon with Mom Creamer.

Another nice Mother's Day visit, followed by a light dinner at Newk's made me a very happy Mother.

The rest of the month was spent trying to finish up school, attending birthday parties, and other various activities. Danny and I managed to get a date night in at Jason's Deli,

and the kids each got the chance to go to the movies with friends.

May also included lots of swimming

and a bit of tennis for the Creamers,

and the last day, we celebrated the last day of school by having ice cream with friends.

It was a great month, and it went by too fast, but believe me - we savored every moment.