Blast from the past

     Since my brother moved to town, we have been nostalgic over movies we used to watch as kids, or sometimes even movies we watched when we lived together in college. It’s been so fun finding these movies and forcing Barry to watch them with us! Last night, we watched “Surf Ninjas”. (Anyone remember that one?) Well it was hilarious! And it’s definitely something I recommend to everyone, (Not surf Ninjas, but watching movies from your past). Nothing is more therapeutic then going back to childhood for an hour and a half!



   
     New topic: I have naturally bad teeth, so I have had to visit the dentist, EVERY Wednesday this month for some work. While there, I got to talking about little baby girls with one of his hygienists, and she mentioned that she loves hair bows. So, I mentioned that I make them. She told me to bring some in and although I’m sure she was just saying that I decided to actually bring some in. So I brought in a few, and by the end of my visit the box had been passed throughout the entire office! And they all begged me to come back with more tomorrow, because tomorrow is pay day! So I came home and made a bunch of bows, and tomorrow we’ll see what happens! I guess it pays to go to the dentist… hahaha! But it’s nice to do hair bows again. Jaye refuses to wear them right now so I stopped making them. Needless to say, I have reeeeally needed a hobby! I’m working on writing a musical, but that’s just a- whenever I get a chance to sit down and fiddle with the piano, and I’m also helping to decorate my brother’s upcoming wedding, but I’m searching for a HOBBY. Anyone? Ideas? (Have I asked for ideas before?)


Anyway, here is the recipe I made tonight. We thought it was scrumdidilyumptious so I thought I would pass it on. I LOVE easy meals so here it is:


FIESTA BEEF ENCHILADAS:


1 lb. ground beef
½ c. sliced green onions
2 tsp. minced garlic (or garlic powder)
1 c. cooked white or brown rice
1-1/2 c. chopped tomato, divided
¾ c. frozen corn
1 c. shredded cheese (Cheddar or Mexican Blend)
½ c. salsa or picante sauce
Corn tortillas
1 can (10 oz) mild or hot enchilada sauce
1 c. shredded romaine lettuce


1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray 13x9 dish with cooking spray. (I covered mine with tin foil and then sprayed, EASY CLEANUP)


2. Cook ground beef in nonstick pan until no longer pink; drain. Add green onions and garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes.


3. Add rice, 1 c. tomato, corn, ½ c. cheese and salsa to meat; mix well. Spoon mixture down center of tortillas; roll up. Place enchiladas seam side down in prepared dish. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the top.


4. Cover with foil; bake 20 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, and bake until cheese melts. Top with lettuce and remaining tomato.


(I filled enough tortillas to feed us, then put the rest of the mixture in a freezer bag for a rainy day!)

I'm back!

A friend of mine told me I needed to blog about all the fun and/or crazy things we do as a family. I’m really grateful for her little shove… it’s been way too long since I have blogged. I have no excuses this time, I guess I just fell off the bandwagon.



But I have had a wonderful summer! My brother’s girlfriend/ fiancé decided to get baptized! That has been the most exciting news of the summer! My parents rented a twelve passenger van and carted us all down to San Antonio for the big day! It was a lot of fun, and I can’t wait for her to join our family in October!


I am taking a math class at the college! All of the assignments are done online and I misread the due dates, so I spent an entire day working on my homework (I thought the due date was during our trip to San Antonio) but then I figured out the REAL due date. So I accidentally finished the 5 week class three weeks early! Only Krystle Ricks would manage a blunder like that! But at least I passed!


I’m trying to get all my credits done by the spring, because (DRUM ROLL!) I will be able to transfer it all up to Western Wyoming Community College and finish my degree from there. YAY! And then my goal is to finish a bachelor’s BEFORE our ten year high school reunion. So I can have bragging rights! 


Anyway, so that’s where life has placed me right now. I really like life.


So Ricks family adventures:


For FHE on Monday, we took the kiddos to see “Toy Story 3” at the drive-in theatre. About 20 minutes into the movie, our car battery died! So we all creeped up to the car next to us and asked if we could sit next to their car and listen to the movie! Luckily, they were really nice, so we laid a tiny fleece blanket on the ground and squished together. It didn’t go as planned, but was a lot of fun!


And for FHE on Tuesday night, we called a lady in town who has a swimming pool and asked if we could “borrow” it. I made a Ham and Cheese braid to take with us, and we had a picnic by the pool and swam for an hour. It was soooooooo fun! They had a big blue fish like Dory painted on the bottom, and for a while Grayson was scared of it. At one point, he floated over it, and said, “The fish is going to bite my bum-bum!” I don’t know where he gets this stuff! Haha!


So that’s it for now! I mentioned on facebook about making pretzels for FHE, so here is the recipe:

PRETZELS:
1 tablespoon yeast
1-1/2 c. water
1tablespoon sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 c. flour
1 egg, beaten
Coarse (Kosher) Salt


(the batter was a little thick so we added a little more water to make the dough more shapeable)

Ham and Cheese Braid (One of the Ricks FAVORITE meals!)
1 loaf Rhodes bread dough
1 stick butter
1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not generic)
3/4 thinly sliced ham
1-1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. poppy seeds


(the Rhodes bread is in the freezer section.) thaw loaf on a floured surface. Roll dough out into rectangle shape so it's approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Melt butter; combine Ranch mix. Spread about 5 tblsp. of mixture on rectangle. Layer ham and cheese down the center of rectangle. Use a pizza cutter to cut strips along each side of dough (even numbers on each side). Starting at bottom, take each piece, cross and twist. Continue criss-crossing until your dough is braided. Carefullly place on greased cookie sheet. Brush remaining butter/ranch mix over top. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.


(This is a good freezer meal too! Instead of baking, wrap loaf in plastic wrap and then foil. )


(You can also use marinara and pepperoni to make a pizza braid! And if you combine two loaves to feed more people, use a BIG cookie sheet. It grows pretty big!)

Family Home Evening

     We've been having a frustrating time potty-training our two year old. His potty days fluctuate from total independence to refusing to mention needing to go potty. As I was perusing the aisles of Dollar General, a favorite past-time of mine, I noticed this Potty Training activity book from Sesame Street. Grayson isn't familiar with Sesame Street but the book came with a huge fold out Potty Chart complete with big Stickers. I bought the book and decided to have a Potty lesson for F.H.E.

   I read Grayson a little book (we found in the dollar bins at Target) about how the potty works. Then Barry read through all the pages from the activity book. Then we showed Grayson the poster, explained the stickers, and as a family went to the bathroom and ceremoniously had him help us tape up the poster. We made it a big deal. And guess what?!? It WORKED!!!!!!!! It's been about three weeks, and now he runs to the potty all by himself, does his stuff and shouts "I went Pee Pee (or the other business), I get a sticker!" And then we do the sticker dance. I'd say Grayson is about 95% potty-trained!!! So for you other mothers out there, trying to think of a way to potty-train: This is what worked for the Ricks Family!!!

HALLEUIAH!!!

Evolution of Grayson and the garden hose

Grayson: fully-clothed

Five minutes later...

Ten Minutes Later...

Plug...

  Hey friends and family! I'm just putting in a little plug for my other blog! For those of you who don't know, Barry and I have made a goal to walk on a new sidewalk every day (Sundays excluded) for the summer. This challenge is based off of my new favorite quote:


           “Many couples permit their marriages to become stale and their love to grow cold like old bread or worn-out jokes or cold gravy. These people will do well to reevaluate, to renew their courting, to express their affection, to acknowledge kindnesses, and to increase their consideration so their marriage can again become beautiful, sweet, and growing. While marriage is difficult, and discordant and frustrated marriages are common, yet real, lasting happiness is possible, and marriage can be more an exultant ecstasy than the human mind can conceive.”

~Spencer W. Kimball~

   So in trying to avoid a stale marriage (and watching too much t.v.), we started our challenge on May 11.
So the blog has started. If you are interested in following the journey, I'll try and make the journey interesting! So, pop on over and leave comments- especially comments on what you are doing to enrich your own marriage!!!


THANKS!


http://www.sidewalktherapy.blogspot.com/

Out of the Mouth of Babes...

     My husband is a big Star Wars fan. I can't even describe to you how excited he was to find a "Chewbacca" shirt in the toddler section at Target. He looked at me with pleading, puppy-dog eyes, and without saying a word, I knew the shirt would be coming home with us.

   Barry pulled the shirt out of the target bag, and ceremoniously presented it to Grayson. "Look Grayson!" he said, pointing at the picture, "who is that?"

   Grayson studied the shirt, looked at Daddy and sweetly answered, "Jesus".

  

smile.

Several months ago I mistook a pair of Barry's pants for my own and quickly discovered my mistake when the jeans wouldn't go past my thighs!

Just wanted to say... Today I intentionally tried on a pair of Barry's pants.

And they fit!!!

It's a good day.