Golf

Rylan really loves to golf so he's been excited to take lessons this summer and to golf with Daddy at the Country Club more often.  His golf coach is one of Nick's friends since being little and he said it's eerie how much Rylan not only looks like Nick but also golfs just like him.  I think it's cool!

A Sister Visit

A couple weeks ago the kids and I went to visit my sister, her husband and their sweet, sweet daughter, Elliana!  We haven't seen them since April so Elliana changed a lot!  My parents were there at the same time so we had a lot of fun even though it was kind of a quick trip.

Sylvie and Mackenzie checking out the backyard.

Cuddling with Lady

Elliana is a little stinker about nap times so I tried to get the kids out of the house whenever she was sleepy.  We went to this awesome playground one day!  We named it the Lincoln Log park because it was made of all wood - and these awesome climbing nets.

Such a goof ball!

It was actually quite busy there that day, so I'm not sure how I snapped this photo with no kids on it?!

My kids LOVE to swing and this tire swing made swinging even more fun!  Good thing they don't even ask to push me, or I would have barfed.

All around the park there were also hiking trails and paved bike trails.  It was such a fun place!  Mackenzie looks less than thrilled in this one because she didn't want to leave the playground for a hike.  Rylan was all for it, so we had to compromise and do a short hike.

Later we went back to Rachel and Andrew's to blow bubbles.  There are a lot of these, but I love them!

I'm not sure if Elliana knew what to think about her crazy loud cousins, but she seemed content to watch the action. 

And we had another photo op with Grandma and Grandpa with all their grandkids!  Elliana sure was hamming it up!

More Phone Randoms

More randoms!

At the circus - no Mackenzie isn't dirty or growing facial hair, I think it's just a shadow from her wand.   We had such a fun time and there were no tantrums!

A view of all Mackenzie's babies - all those cribs and she wanted them to sleep in a box.

Our first picnic outside after a really long winter!

Buried in the sand

A huge chair at Menards - they thought this was hilarious!

Mother's Day mini golf

I love rain when I can wear my rain boots!

At a park after the last day of school

First day of baseball - Rylan running to first base after a good hit!

Mackenzie's first day of T-ball!  She has been desperate to play since Rylan started 2 years ago and even though she's still not quite 5, they let her on the team.  She loves it!  Here they were practicing catching in a cone before they used their gloves.  

Picking dandelions for me while Rylan plays baseball.  So sweet!

Our Story Teller

The other night I was telling the kids a story from before they were born and right away Mackenzie had a story to tell as well.  Here it is:

"One time when we were at the Ranch my baby was playing in her crib and then my dog, named Russell Creep, came over and licked her all over the face and she was covered with dog slobber!"

She laughed and laughed and laughed.  I about died because her dog's name was Russell Creep!  I have no idea where she comes up with this - she didn't pause or think about the story at all, it all just rolled off her tongue!  But the best part is how she says everything.  Go back and read her story, but replace all the R's with W's.  Wussell Cweep - I love it!

Sweet Cousins

Mackenzie loves cousin Ella so much (Rylan does too, but Kenzie is just so much more motherly). I was trying to take a picture of them and Ella was being stingy with the smiles. Mackenzie helped me out.

It worked and for a split second they both looked at me and I managed to capture this gem!

Sweet sweet girls!

Favorite Salmon Recipes

Have you seen those huge salmon filets at Sam's Club? They are delicious! But they are huge so you either have to serve a crowd or eat salmon for a couple days. Here are my favorite salmon recipes.

The first one is easy - cover a baking pan with foil, place salmon filet on pan and sprinkle generously with this awesome seasoning mix (also found at Sam's Club) - rosemary garlic!

Bake according to the package - something like 400 degree for 20 minutes - it always says on the package, so I just do that and it has always turned out great.  YUM!

The first night we'll just eat the salmon like that with a side of veggies but the next two night are just as yummy!

The first is my favorite Tuna-Noodle Casserole recipe, but instead of tuna, I add salmon - I think I like it better with the salmon!  When I make this, I make double the noodles and double the sauce and use the extra for the kids.  They don't like the salmon, so they just get noodles and sauce with their peas on the side.  It's a delicious homemade mac n cheese!

Salmon Noodle Casserole

1 1/4 cups uncooked medium pasta shells or elbow macaroni

2 Tbsp butter or stick margarine

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

3/4 tsp salt

2 cups milk

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup frozen (thawed) green peas

shredded salmon 

(if making tuna version, use 2 cans tuna, drained)

crushed Club crackers

1. Heat oven to 350.

2. Cook and drain pasta according to package

3. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a saucepan over low heat.  Stir in flour and salt.  Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly; remove from heat.  Gradually stir in milk.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly.  Boil and stir 1 minute.  Stir in cheese until melted.

4. Mix pasta, peas, salmon and sauce in ungreased 2-qt. casserole.  Cover and bake about 25 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Sprinkle with crushed Club crackers and bake uncovered about 5 minutes more.

The second recipe is for salmon patties (kinda like crab cakes)

Salmon Patties

1 large egg

2 Tbsp milk

15 oz salmon, flaked (I have no idea how much I used, I just eyeballed it)

2 medium green onions, chopped (about 2 Tbsp)

1 cup soft bread crumbs (about 1 1/2 slices of bread)

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp vegetable oil

1. Beat egg and milk in medium bowl with spoon. Stir in remaining ingredients except oil.  Shape mixture into 4 patties, about 4 inches in diameter.

2. Heat oil in nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Cook patties in oil about 8 minutes, turning once, until golden brown. 

They are good with this sour cream-dill sauce too.

-1/3 cup sour cream

-3 Tbsp mayo

-3/4 tsp dried dill weed

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate.

Both of these recipes I found in my favorite cookbook, Betty Crocker Cookbook Bridal Edition.  The link shows the exact edition I have but there are newer editions which I'm sure have even more great stuff.  I got this cookbook for a bridal shower gift and it's so awesome.  Not only are the recipes delicious, but it's organized so well and there is so much other helpful info about cooking/baking.  There are measurement conversions, meal plans, recipes ideas for leftovers, tips for food presentation, a glossary of cooking terms, emergency ingredient substitutions, and great charts for cooking every different kind of meat imaginable. This cookbook is such a great shower or wedding gift, I would highly recommend it!

Zoo!!!

While visiting my parents we headed to Omaha for a day to hit up the Henry Doorly Zoo.  It was one of the best zoo's I've ever been too!  We were there all day and didn't see it all.  It was a overcast day with occasional sprinkles, but it turned out to be perfect - not too hot and sunny and there were plenty of indoor exhibits to see while it was raining.

First stop was the indoor jungle - perfect for my two monkeys!

Mackenzie was the map reader.  She walked around with that map telling everyone where to go like she was the tour guide, it was hilarious!

The butterfly house was so cool - I couldn't believe how many butterflies there were!

Taking a break with grandma in the insect house - she was getting tired and I was doubtful that she would make it, but we mentioned ice cream and she got a second wind and managed to stay awake the whole time.

With grandpa on the butterfly bench

There is an amazing aquarium there too.  This was one fish I thought was pretty cool.

The world's largest indoor desert is at Henry Doorly - and when we first walked in I thought we'd be disappointed, but it ended up being one of my favorites.  Especially underneath the desert - there was the Kingdoms of the Night exhibit - the world's largest nocturnal habitat.  The bat cave and swamp were so cool!  Obviously you couldn't get good pictures walking around in the dark, but this beaver was busy eating right next to us, so I snapped a photo of him.

They have an amazing gorilla house too, but my only pictures were of my kiddos.

Of course the highlight for Rylan and Mackenzie was the carousel.

We had such a great time and would love to go back and see the rest of the zoo we missed.  We will definitely stay overnight and spend 2 days there next time!