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.

Adventures in Doggy-hood.

I've been on a blogging hiatus. But I haven't blogged in a while because I have been so busy. That's nice. We have mostly been busy, because we were asked to choreograph the High School's Musical, "Once Upon a Mattress". (And might I add that I can't wait for Elise to move back to town because she was one of the few who showed genuine interest in supporting our theatricity {and yes I made up that word. It sounds cool though.}) Anyway, it has been really great to be working with Barry (even though we don't always agree) for the show. We have almost done every single number together and I wouldn't want to spend the day any other way than dancing with my best friend!

The second reason I have been extremely busy is..... DRUM ROLL...... we got a dog. Remember how I was blubbering about a little Blue Weenie. Well, we went back to the pet store weeks later (why do I torture myself?), and they were harboring more of those adorable little Blue Weenies, so we gave in a bought one. And it has a line right down the middle of its face just like the first one I fell in love with, so once again, we named it Harvey (after Two-Face from batman, get it?).

He is adorable.

And a puppy.

And certainly not house-trained.

Which is why we don't allow him in any of our rooms.

Which is why it was frustrating that Grayson let him in the house before I could stop him, and the little Weenie ran into Grayson's bedroom and hid in his bed as we were all shouting at him to stop.

And then I ran into the room and picked him up.

Little did I know he was peeing.

I guess it's hard to turn off the water hose, mid-stream.

I unintentionally aimed him straight at my poor son's face.

Grayson was wailing before I could turn the dog away to spray the rest of the room.

Barry took the dog.

Probably so I wouldn't kill it.

I took a sobbing Grayson to the tub.

He very well may be scarred for life.

But I'm still thinking we can use this. The next time Grayson is disobedient...

"Don't make me get Harvey!"