Mooo!

Vivi has a small obsession with cows.  She LOVES them!  Sometimes I wish we had a pet cow so that she would have constant entertainment.  The excitement would probably wear off pretty quickly though, and cattle tend to stink.  So, instead, we will take regular trips up to the ranch so that Vivi can get her moo fix.

We spent Saturday night at the ranch with Sarah and Matt and their kids.  It is always a lot of fun to be outdoors with kids and let them roam free.  Trey and Vivi and I stayed at the Spring House and I think it was our last stay at that house until Vivi and Cade are both older and more stable on their feet.  The steep steps and the spring make it a little bit stressful for all of the parents around.  The Ranch House is much better suited for small children.  We made our favorite fajita recipe for dinner and went to see the cows that were in the pasture north of the Spring House.  Vivi wanted to get as close as possible, but the mommy cow was not thrilled about that idea.

On Sunday, we woke up and drove over to the Ranch House for a full blown pancake, biscuit, and bacon breakfast.  Breakfast just happens to be Vivi's favorite meal of the day and she devoured 3 pancakes on her own!  After filling our bellies we took a drive up the windmill road and spotted a herd of about 50 elk, which is always such an exciting sight to see.  Then we headed back to the houses to pack up and head home, but not before taking another stroll.  We had such a great time as a family and look forward to our next trip!

Foodie Fridays

Here is another Cooking Light recipe that is fast, delicious, and easy!!  I served it with a side salad and wild rice.  It was delicious and great for a weeknight meal or even to serve to company!

Chicken and Shiitake Marsala

Ingredients

4 chicken breast halves

Cooking spray

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

7 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup marsala wine

2 green onions, finely chopped

2 tablespoons butter

Preparation

Pound each chicken breast half to 1/2 inch thickness.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Coat with cooking spray.  Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.  Add chicken to pan.  Cook 5-6 minutes on each side.  Remove chicken and drippings from pan, set aside.

Using the same pan over medium-high heat, coat with cooking spray and add mushrooms.  Cook 2 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.  Add wine and onions.  Cook 30 seconds over high heat.  Reduce heat, add butter, stirring until butter melts.

Add chicken and drippings to pan, stirring gently.

Fort Worth Zoo

Today we made a trip into Fort Worth to go to the zoo with Sarah, Beth and all the kiddos.  It was a great way to spend President's Day, since the kids did not have school.  The weather cooperated perfectly and though it was a little chilly in Wichita Falls it was in the upper 60's in Fort Worth.  Vivi was extremely interested in the monkeys, she thought they were so funny!  She also loved riding on the carousel in the Texas Wild! exhibit as well as petting the baby longhorn.  This was the first time that she had ever been to the Fort Worth Zoo, and the first time for me in a very long time.  We were able to walk through the Museum of Living Art exhibit that focuses on insects and amphibians.  It was very interesting, though not my favorite.  Hope y'all enjoyed your President's Day!

Foodie Fridays

I thought it would be fun to start sharing some of the great meals we have been making lately. Staying at home with Vivi has allowed me to make a weekly meal plan as well as experiment with different recipes instead of falling back on the same old thing night after night like we used to. Each Friday I will post the recipe for the best meal we had that week. This week my favorite recipe was Apricot Lamb Chops from Cooking Light. I served it with couscous and roasted carrots. It was delicious and quick and easy enough for a weeknight meal. Enjoy!

Apricot Lamb Chops

Ingredients

1/2 cup apricot preserves

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 cloves minced garlic

1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 (4 ounce) lamb chops

Cooking spray

Preparation

Combine first 5 ingredients in a small bowl; set aside. Combine salt, cinnamon, and pepper, and sprinkle over both sides of lamb. Heat a large nonstick skilled over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add lamb to pan; cook 5 minutes on each side or until desired degree of doneness. Remove skillet from heat; add apricot mixture, turning lamb to coat. Place 2 chops on each of 4 plates; spoon remaining apricot mixture evenly over chops.

Date Night

Tonight we had a date night with Sarah and Matt. Our sweet babysitter came over to our house for a night of fun with Vivi, Lizzy and Luke while we enjoyed some adult conversation and an awesome movie. After an early-ish dinner at Pasqual's we saw The Kings Speech, and boy was it good! I think it is the best movie I have seen all year. There is a lot of Oscar buzz surrounding the movie and the actors, and with good cause. If you haven't had the chance to see it I would highly recommend it. There is a little bit of something for everyone. I personally like period movies, but it is also very witty and smart. Not to mention the actors did an incredible job, and I would be shocked if Colin Firth did not get an Oscar for his performance!

Before our date night out we spent some time playing in the back yard and enjoying the gorgeous 81 degree weather. I am so ready for it to be spring and for the weather to be consistently like this I can barely stand it!

Spring has Sprung?

It seems that spring is upon us in North Texas! The past two days the temperatures have been in the upper 70s so we have been spending a lot of time outside. Vivi has been having a blast playing in her half assembled Cozy Coupe that she got for Valentines Days. Has anyone ever attempted to put one of those together? Nearly impossible. We also made a little trip up to the neighborhood park to play with some other kids after she took a 3 hours (?!) nap this afternoon.

Girls Day Out!

Today Vivi and I took a day trip to Southlake for a little shopping with my sister in law, Sarah, and her little girl Elizabeth. I am crossing my fingers that spring is on its way! The weather was so perfect for shopping at the Town Square. We had a delicious lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and found some great things for this summer for us and the kids! I am also looking forward to some of these things to fitting a little bit better. I forgot my memory card so I don't have any pictures to share but here are a few things that we came home with. From JCrew, Anthropologie, Janie and Jack, and Gap Kids.

Happy Valentines Day!