The Ranch

We spent a couple days at the ranch and we had a great time - the weather was perfect and there was lots to do.  Here are a few of my favorite photos.

Watering the garden with Grandma

Nick was doing some weed whacking and Mackenzie was bored so she waited patiently on the top of the truck.  She also tried my coffee and hated it.

Feeding Sprinkles the horse

Chickens!

Growling at the chickens!

My girl, Pearl.  I wasn't going to ride a horse named Rocket or Wild Fire - sounds dangerous.  Pearl is a much safer name!

She was perfectly behaved for me too.

Mackenzie got to ride a horse by herself for the first time.  (while Nick led her, so I guess not totally by herself - but close enough for this nervous Momma!)

She loved it!

Plenty of these guys around.

 A few pictures of the new babies this year.  I have no idea what their names are anymore - there were six of them and they were adorable with their mohawk manes!

I love this photo!

I don't have many pictures of Rylan because he was with Grandpa most of the time.  They were treasure hunting - for rocks, gold, meteorites, arrowheads, cannonballs, and anything else that looked cool.  They had a great time together!

Jack, Rylan, and Ace - hanging out on the deck after a fun day! 

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

I pinned this recipe on Pinterest because it looked interesting, but mostly because it came from a site called The Girl Who Ate Everything.  I've gotten other great recipes from that site and I knew it would be a good one.  It didn't disappoint - everyone, did you hear that, EVERYONE in our family liked these and if you know my kids, that is no easy feat!!!!!

It got both Nick and I thinking though - what is the difference between a chimichanga, burrito, and enchilada anyway?  I started looking and found a few answers.  I guess a burrito is made with a flour tortilla and an enchilada is made with a corn tortilla.  Then I found out that a chimichanga is just a deep-fried burrito.  So technically we didn't make chimichangas, since ours were baked, but the kids like the name and they liked the meal so we're sticking with it!

Baked Chicken Chimichangas

• 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
• 1 cup of your favorite salsa
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 green onions, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• 6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• diced tomato, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and shredded cheddar cheese for topping

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Mix chicken, salsa, cumin, oregano, cheese and onions. Place about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla.
3. Fold opposite sides over filling. Roll up from bottom and place seam-side down on a baking sheet.
4. Brush with melted butter. Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
5. Garnish with desired toppings and serve with salsa on the side.  They are SO delicious with homemade guacamole on top!

I made the chicken mixture in the morning and kept it in the fridge all day, so it was super easy to quickly assemble them later and pop them in the oven.

Mackenzie - 5 year old favorites

Here are Mackenzie's answers to these questions.  I asked the kids these questions on their own, so neither was influenced by the other's answers, but some of their answers were the same!

Mackenzie - beginning of Preschool - 2013 - 5 years old

My favorite food is: chips

My favorite sport to play is: Tball

The best show on television is: Dora

The coolest person on Earth is: Me

My favorite thing about school is: playing with friends

The thing I do most awesomely is: spinning on my butt

If I could change my name it would be: just Mackenzie

If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to: to Santa

My favorite color is: purple

My favorite toy is: my blanky

When I grow up, I want to be: fireman

My favorite movie is: Cinderella

My favorite song is: Christmas songs

Three words that describe me are: (she didn't understand this one)

When I was little, I used to: I don't know

My favorite season of the year is: winter

The snack I could live on is: goldfish

One food I really don't like is: corn

My best friend is: Lola and Gracie (friends from preschool last year)

If I had one wish, it would be: to see Lola and Gracie again (she almost got teary!)

My best memory is: the Minnie game (she didn't really understand this one either - we have several versions of the game Memory, and so her favorite is the Minnie Mouse version!)

Mackenzie's First Day of Preschool!

This may be the third post with this title, but this time, it's her last first day of preschool.  Mackenzie has been in a special needs preschool the past two years for a speech delay, but after being dismissed from all services this past February - she is at a new preschool this year!  She was bummed last week when Rylan got to start school and she didn't, so she was totally ready to go to school this morning!  And I'm really going to love our morning routine!  We bring Rylan to school at 8am, play on the playground at his school, then walk the few blocks to Mackenzie's school which starts at 9.  Hopefully we can continue to do this until it's way too frigid, then we'll have to drive.  My little Miss Independent told me she knew where she was going and didn't need me to go in with her - yeah right sister, like that's happening yet!  She could have shot through the roof with all her excitement - and despite uttering a quick "love you", I'm pretty sure she didn't even notice when I left.  When I picked her up, she couldn't stop telling me about everything - her new friends, what they played with, music time - oh my!  She had such a great day and I know she's going to have a great year!  We love you so much Kenzie-Girl!

In her classroom - she's in the rainbow class - you can guess how excited she was about that!

Rylan - 7 year old favorites

Here are some questions I asked Rylan last year and I intend to keep asking him every year.  I have a hard copy of the answers from last year, but I can't remember if I put them on the blog or not.  I searched a little, but sometimes my (not so) clever titles don't help when I'm looking for something in particular.

Rylan - beginning of 2nd Grade - 2013 - 7 years old

My favorite food is: cheesy bread

My favorite sport to play is: tennis

The best show on television is: Dragons of Berk

The coolest person on Earth is: Mom & Dad

My favorite thing about school is: art

The thing I do most awesomely is: reading

If I could change my name it would be: I don't want to

If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to: Africa

My favorite color is: teal

My favorite toy is: iPad game

When I grow up, I want to be: banker

My favorite movie is: Ducktales

My favorite song is: Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Three words that describe me are: forgetful, handsome, nice

When I was little, I used to: eat dog food

My favorite season of the year is: winter

The snack I could live on is: goldfish

One food I really don't like is: eggs

My best friend is: Evan

If I had one wish, it would be: to have our family live forever

My best memory is: meeting my new teacher this year

2nd Grade!!!

Rylan is in 2nd grade!  He has been so excited to go and was up and dressed by 7am the first morning!  I'm so thankful for this excitement and hope he always has a good attitude towards school.  We are so proud of him!

Here he is on the first day of 1st grade - what a difference a year makes!

Ready for 2nd grade - and looking much more grown-up!

Forts

My siblings and I were big into building forts as kids - both inside and outside.  My mom had a great stash of old sheets and blankets that we used to drape between the swing-set and monkey bars to make the most awesome fort in our sandbox.  So this morning when Mackenzie asked if we could make a fort, I decided we were going to do just that.  After we picked up Rylan from school (his 2nd day today - check tomorrow's post for that update) we dug out the old sheets, found some clothespins I've never used, but kept just in case, and we made a great fort in the backyard.  The kids loved it and played there all afternoon/evening.

Good thing I had my cape dry-cleaned last week.  ;)

  

More Lake

It's been such a great summer at the lake!

One weekend Mackenzie wanted to try skiing on a friend's ski board.  She was ready but every time we started to go she leaned too far back and just ended up sitting down.

Then she wanted to try knee-boarding and we weren't sure how she'd do since it's harder to control, but she did great!

First time - like a pro!

Our sweet friend, Owen, kept telling her that she was doing a good job - love him!

She did eventually fall (and I didn't even see how or why because I was trying to get my zoom lens on the camera for a close-up) and was pretty upset and scared about falling and going under.  She popped right back up, but we figure she must have felt a little trapped by the strap on her legs even though it was quite loose.  When she calmed down she was proud of herself, but she hasn't asked to do it again.  

Rylan and Daddy playing UNO.

I think she would have fallen asleep like this had we left her there long enough.

Our sand castle fortress!

The sand birthday cake Mackenzie made all by herself.

We were trying to put a smaller castle on top of the bigger ones.  You can see it worked on the right, but not on the left.  Love the look on Rylan's face!

More fishing!  Rylan caught thins nice Northern one morning - he's in our freezer waiting to be eaten!

Mackenzie was complaining of being hot - so with her permission, Nick dipped just the top of her head in the water to cool down.  She loved it!  Wish I could have gotten a picture of her face!

We fished into the evening this day - our sweet girl was tired, so she laid right down and went to bed.  Thank goodness she'll fall asleep anywhere!

Nick caught this little sunny a very different way.

Another sunny for Rylan.

He did catch another big Northern that night - bigger than the first photo above - but as Nick was taking it out of the net, it wiggled and slipped out of his hands.  Rylan was so bummed that we didn't get a picture of it, but we knew it was the biggest fish he'd ever caught!  If you ask him he will tell you all about it (and I'm sure his arms get a little farther apart each time he demonstrates how big it was) especially the part about it being all Dad's fault that he got away! 

The sunset was just gorgeous that night and this has become one of my all-time favorite photos I've ever taken!