Wyoming Trip: Roadtrip, Fourwheeling, & Canoeing

We left on July 31st for the 1500 mile trek to Cody, Wyoming. About 60 miles from Austin, just outside of Lampasas, we had a flat tire...

We headed back to Lampasas to see if we could get the tire fixed but unfortunately, it was irreparable. As it was still under warranty, we decided to head back to Austin to get a new tire. Originally, we left our house at 9:00am but after turning around, we didn't get out of Austin until 1:00pm. Needless to say, we had a slow start. Eventually (after two LONG days of driving) we made it safe and sound.

Our first day there, Dave and my dad took the kids four wheeling at Red Lake...

~Carter, Lauren, Dave, & Taylor~

~Dave, Lauren, & Carter~

Dave had Carter and Lauren on a four wheeler with him and my dad had Taylor. He was letting Taylor drive. They were climbing a hill and Taylor gave it way too much gas, causing them to flip over backwards. My dad cushioned the fall for Taylor. Dave ran over and rolled the four wheeler off of them. Luckily, they were both OK. I think my dad was bruised and sore for a few days. I'm glad I wasn't there to see it and that they are all OK! The first thing Grandpa did was tell Carter not to tell me but it was too late, as he had already texted me! :)

~Taylor, Grandpa, Lauren, & Carter~

That evening, we headed to the lake with family and friends for a little canoeing...

Taylor & Lauren with my dad's friend Hardy, and his boys...

My brother Chad & Carter...

And then, a cookout!

Hardy helps me make the hot dogs...

My Dad (a.k.a. Grandpa) helps a little...

My girls (a.k.a. Lauren & Taylor) wait patiently...

...while my Mom (a.k.a. Grandma) enjoys Sun Chips!

~Lori (a.k.a. Chad's Fiance), Chad, & Dad~

Then, we headed back to Grandpa's...It was a good day. As you can see, safety is very important at Grandpa's house! :)

*Disclaimer: they only rode in the back of the truck for a minute (like 50 feet-just while we pulled the canoes out of the lake) before we made them buckle up in the back seat of the van. Please don't turn me into Child Protective Services. :)

Wyoming Trip: Taylor's Adventures

We went to Wyoming to visit my parents for a week and boy did we have fun! We flew Taylor down a few days early to spend some one on one time with my parents. They did not disappoint...and spoiled her rotten! :) It was the first time she has flown alone so I was a little nervous but she did great. Due to the large volume of pictures, I am going to divide our trip into several posts. We'll begin with Taylor's time. She absolutely LOVES riding horses. So, my dad took her on a day trip horseback riding in the mountains...

She loved every minute!

And he took her through Yellowstone National Park on his motorcycle...

On the way home from Yellowstone, they stopped at Sunlight Basin, and got to feed these friendly little fellas...

Evidently, they are used to people feeding them and will come right up to you. This was definitely a highlight for Taylor!

(Taylor hand feeding the chipmunks)

Not to mention, she got to stay up as late as she wanted, eat lots of treats, enjoy back rubs from Grandma, and talk Grandpa's ear off! Does it get any better?

I asked her if she missed us, and she said, "Not really, but I did miss Lauren." :) Well, we missed her...especially since she had been gone at girls camp the week before! Carter told her he was "really jealous" that she got to go all by herself and that he "can't wait" until he gets a turn! Thanks Grandma & Grandpa...you're the bomb! :)

Happy Anniversary Babe!

Can you believe it's been sixteen years since this beautiful day? Me neither! Time flies when you're having fun! :) I can't wait to see what the next sixteen brings...I love you, babe.

Since we got home late last night from our trip to Wyoming and were sick of eating out (shocking, I know!) I cooked a nice meal for the family and then Dave and I went to see the movie Inception. It was good. I'd recommend it if you haven't seen it already.

Greetings from Wyoming...

...I have lots of pictures to show you. I bet you can't wait until I get home, huh? Me too. Well, not really, as this vacation thing is pretty great. But, I am excited to show you all the pictures we've been taking. Soon. I promise.

My Baby.

Can you believe that she... ...is my baby.

When did she grow up?
I really love her... Can you blame me?

Annie Oakley

I had to renew my Concealed Handgun License which required me to take a refresher course. The classroom portion was from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. followed by a shooting test at the range. There were three of us in the class and I was the only woman. One of the other students is an ex-military police officer. Would you believe me if I told you I scored higher than either one at both the written exam and the shooting test? You better believe I did! Yeah baby! (I have to gloat when I can, as I'm never the best at anything. Never mind the fact that had it been a full class, I probably would not have had the highest score.) Want to see my target?

Hey, they didn't call me "Annie Oakley" for nothing! :) O.K. I'm done gloating now. Please forgive me.

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi

Dave has a terrible thing called gout, so we rarely eat red meat at our house as it causes him to have flare ups. So, I've been trying lots of new fish recipes, as chicken gets a tad bit old, and found a fabulous one tonight I thought I'd share...not to mention it was super easy!

Ginger Glazed Mahi Mahi

3 TBSP honey

3 TBSP soy sauce

3 TBSP balsamic vinegar

1 tsp grated fresh ginger root

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tsp olive oil

4 (6 ounce) mahi mahi fillets

salt and pepper to taste

1 TBSP vegetable oil (I used coconut oil as I've read it's really good for you, unlike vegetable oil)

In a shallow glass dish, stir together the honey, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, ginger, garlic, and olive oil. Season fish fillets with salt and pepper, and place them into the dish. If the fillets have skin on them, place them skin side down. Cover, and refrigerate for 20 minutes to marinade.

Heat vegetable oil (or coconut oil) in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove fish from the dish, and reserve marinade. Fry fish for 4-6 minutes on each side, turning only once, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove fillets to a serving platter and keep warm.

Pour reserved marinade into the skillet, and heat over medium heat until the mixture reduces to a glaze consistency. Spoon glaze over fish, and serve immediately.

*I served it with a green salad, corn, and whole wheat blueberry muffins. It was a hit at our house...Enjoy!

Girls Camp

This morning, I dropped this girl...

...off at Girls Camp. She will be gone until Saturday. She was very excited and has looked forward to it all year. The theme this year is, "There's no place like home" from The Wizard of Oz. As they arrived, they took their pictures with props. She's a 2nd year, so she is a very cute lion...

We will miss her but know she'll have a great time!

Even if it is 95 degrees outside!

Wall Art

When I saw this...

I loved it. I've had my eye on it for quite some time, so you can imagine how thrilled I was when it went on sale. I knew exactly where I wanted to hang it. See...
It's perfect, don't you think? Even if it was a HUGE pain to hang (according to Dave). Thanks honey! :)

Just the Girls

Carter's been going to a camp this week. He's gone from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. My friend, Darlene's boys are also at the camp. So, she invited the girls and I to the lake so that Taylor could try skiing again. She was SO close the other day but with 5 kiddos and 2 mama's wanting turns, she didn't get a whole lot of time. So we dropped the boys off, then headed to the lake. This time I got video of her skiing...

She did so good! Now that she's figured out how to get up she needs to figure out how to stay up! :) That part usually comes much quicker.

Lauren was also much braver today and got up on the knee board! Yippee! She looked so cute knee boarding and was really pleased with herself. She did awesome!

I love summer!

A Day at the Lake with the Kids

Last Friday, my friend Darlene and I took the kids out on their boat for the day. We were beyond excited! They all got to knee board and Taylor even tried water skiing! They've been on a boat before but never gotten to ski, knee board, etc. so this was a first for them! I loved watching them do one of my favorite things! I spent a lot of time boating as a kid, so it brought back so many great memories. I got to ski too, which was an added bonus!

~Miles & Carter~

Initially, Carter didn't want to get in the lake, as it looked "too dirty". He's kinda irritating funny like that. It's a very clean lake, he's just not used to lake water. All the kids jumped in, except Carter. But, he soon joined them, after I threw him in! :)

He doesn't like swimming without goggles, even in a lake! :)

Taylor tried water skiing for the first time. She got up on her second try, but fell shortly after so I didn't get any pictures of her up. She did awesome and I was so proud of her!

Carter was the bravest of all my kids on the knee board. He was a natural and even tried doing a 360!

Carter's attempt at a 360...

...and a wipe out!

It was pretty choppy when it was Lauren's turn to knee board so she didn't try to get up on her knees. She just enjoyed letting the boat pull her around the lake! She was the most cautious of the kids.

Taylor also loved knee boarding...

Carter got to drive the boat which was definitely a highlight for him!

Thanks Darlene! We had a blast!

~Taylor, Miles, Austin, Carter, & Lauren~

A Visitor and New Arrival

Last week, my friend Liz came all the way from Colorado to visit and she picked to stay with me! Yippee! I felt so flattered as she's quite popular here and had many places to choose from. She got here on Monday night and left Friday morning. We went to lunch at Chuy's, shopped at Costco, took a little road trip to Six Flags, saw the movie Grown-Ups, and went out to dinner (at Chuy's again...we REALLY love Chuy's! In fact, if you come and visit me, I'll definitely take you there!) I am kicking myself for not taking pictures of our visit. Oh well...here's one from last year when she stayed with me (she's still just as pretty). Next year I'll be sure to snap a few pictures. :)

And, almost just as exciting, we finally got this... Luckily it came before Liz arrived, although I really didn't cook for her as we were too busy eating at Chuy's! There's always next time! ;)

Take a peek inside...

the freezer...I am loving all the extra space. It's quite a bit bigger than my last refrigerator yet the same dimensions on the outside. Pretty cool, eh?