Saying Goodbye

I've come to a point in my life where I've realized it isn't very practical to hold on to everything I've ever owned. Now, I've known this fact for awhile, but when it comes to objects that are close to my heart, or have special memories attached to them, I have a VERY hard time letting go. Usually I refuse to give it up no matter what.

Well, Sunday was a break through for me. I have a dear friend who is about to deliver a sweet baby girl. Instead of buying a rocking chair she chose to go with an air conditioner for the baby's room. Makes sense with heat wave we're experiencing. As I was thinking about her impending delivery I realized there was a way I could help. I have a chair that I used with both of my girls. We bought it when Miriam was born and I used it to rock, nurse, cuddle, sing, and comfort both of my girls. I hadn't intended to ever get rid of it, but when I asked Doug if we were moving it home he said no. Instead of fighting over it, I decided he was right and that I'd rather give it to someone I love and know that it will be put to use with another sweet baby, or risk leaving it on the side of the road as we pull out of town.

Lindsay, I hope you create as many wonderful memories with your baby in that chair as I did.

Doug rolled his eyes, but I HAD to have a picture of me and my girls in OUR chair before I let it go.

The Benefit of Having a Sister

I've found that one of the great benefits of having a sister is that you can share clothes.

Even if they don't fit quite right!
(Miriam is wearing Shay's shorts and vice versa)

Getting Braver

As some of you may know, I am a VERY picky eater! I don't do onions, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, etc. There isn't much that I do like so I'm pretty restricted in what I make. Lately I've tried to branch out and try some new recipes. It's made dinner time a little more stressful because Miriam (who has my same eating personality) refuses to try new things. However; in the process of trying new things I've found some new recipes that I really like, and some that I know I don't need to make again.

I've decided to put a list on the side of this blog with some of the sites I've used lately. I HIGHLY recommend Excellent Eats. It's a blog my friend Rachel has done. She has some really great pictures to go with the recipe. She's an amazing mom of three and I'm not sure how she does it all, but she sure does know how to cook. There are some recipes I'm sure I'll never try (sorry Rachel---see above mentioned dislikes), but I'm sure the rest of you will really enjoy them. Maybe someday I'll be able to enjoy a pepper, but for now, I'll just enjoy the basics.

Some of the few I've tried from Rachel's site are: Breakfast Casserole, Baked Ziti, Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole, Inside-Out Bacon Cheeseburgers, and Cheddar Ham Soup. So far I've enjoyed all of them. Doug has enjoyed some more than others, and the girls haven't eaten any of them. All of these recipes make a lot so either make it and plan on freezing some, or have plenty of people with an appetite.

Miriam as Jasmine

Miriam's First Talk

Miriam gave her first talk in Primary yesterday. I have to admit, I found the talk on the internet, but changed it a LOT so it fit into our time frame, and so it would sound like a 5-year-old was giving it. Miriam loved being able to talk into the microphone and it was extra special that Daddy was able to come in and hear it. I helped her with the words and held the pictures, but she did all the talking. I was so proud of her! Since you couldn't be there, I thought I'd share her talk with you.


Heavenly Father has sent each of us to a family.
When we die, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ want us to live again as families in Heaven.

Inside temples we make special promises to Heavenly Father and He makes special promises to us.
In the temple, a husband and wife can be married by being sealed so they can be together forever. If they keep the promises they make there, they can live together with their children for eternity.To receive the blessings of the temple we must be worthy by living our lives the way Heavenly Father wants us to.

As primary children, we can prepare to go to the temple by following the commandments of God and the advice of our living prophet.
We should do things such as keep the Sabbath day holy, treat others with kindness,
be honest, follow the Word of Wisdom,
pay our tithing,
obey our parents, and serve others.

I am thankful that Heavenly Father has sent me to a loving family. I am happy that Heavenly Father has provided a way for us to become an eternal family.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Fun Night With Fun People

Last night we went to a Barbecue at one of Doug's friend's house. There were a few other people from Doug's school in attendance. It was so fun to be able to put a name to a face and a PERSONALITY. These are all people Doug comes home and talks about, but I hadn't met some of them. It was so much fun, and we ate SOOOOOO much good food. I think Mike makes the best grilled hamburgers I've ever eaten. Sorry Doug, but it's the truth.

We had to take some pictures so we could post them for Carolyn. Since you are an admitted stalker to our blog, we need to pay a little tribute to you. :)

Let me break down the group for you. The fellow PCO students (or brainy people) are Ryan, Trisha, Carolyn, Michelle, Mike, and Doug. The rest of us are the significant others. Heather (Ryan's better half), Jeff (Trisha's lesser half---kidding Jeff), Tiffany (Mike's soon to be better half), me, Miriam, and Shay.

Oh, Carolyn---the song was picked just for you. :) Doug said you loved it SOOOOO much the last time I had it playing first on my list!

From left to right: Ryan's legs, Miriam, Mallena, Shaylynn, Trisha, Jeff, and Carolyn

L to R: Ryan, Michelle's head, Tiffany, Heather, and the rest you know. Oh, that's Trisha's cute head on the right side of the picture.

Griller Mike

Another shot of Trisha and her main squeeze Jeff. Aren't they cute?

The girls had a blast!

Somehow we managed to leave without getting a picture of Michelle. Sorry Michelle! We'll have to do this again sometime and we'll make sure to get you posted on here. :)

Oh, and Ryan, just so you know, I did NOT come home and start packing boxes! However; that's not to say that I won't on Monday. :)

Where did the week go?

It was so great having Doug home last week. I've been trying to think of specific things we did, but other than kite flying there really wasn't much of interest happening around here. We went shopping and bought some things so I could start preparing for Miriam's Kindergarten Homeschool Extravaganza. We also hit the grocery store to stock up on nonperishables for the month. Exciting, I know.

Even though it sounds like a blah week, we really did enjoy ourselves. For once it didn't seem like Doug's vacation flew by without us. It was great! In fact, Doug was ready to hit the books again yesterday when it came time to go back to school.

On Sunday we went to Valley Forge (aka Fort Hall, if my brain isn't working). It was a great way to get out of the house and the weather couldn't have been better, but I don't think it is something we'll do again. At least I can say that I've been and I won't feel guilty moving without making the 45 minute drive. If I were to recommend it to someone I would tell them to buy the audio tour (don't have a clue how much it costs so don't ask). It was a beautiful drive and we had a nice picnic, but we weren't really sure what happened in what spot. I think if you were to walk the whole thing you would be able to see a few more plaques and signs describing the events. We read what was in the small map and then just quickly toured through the few buildings there were. The one thing I learned was that there was never a battle there and they were spread out pretty far. When I thought of Valley Forge, I figured they were all in one spot close together. Not so, they were in different parts of a very large amount of land. The British did show up at one point and there was a small skirmish, but it only resulted in one death and one injury. Not that the death and injury weren't important, but you can see why there really wasn't too much to see. We are really glad we went though, and if we are desperate to take a drive somewhere, we may just go back---but this time we'll buy the audio tour.

Miriam was mad because I made her lay down on the bunk for a picture, especially when Doug put Shaylynn on the top bunk, SITTING!

See, all better!
I made Doug get in this picture so I could prove he came with us. Isn't he cute?
This is me, trying to teach my girls how to load a cannon. Good thing it wasn't loaded.

This picture was taken inside the arch. There isn't much in the picture, but it's the only one we have from the trip with Shaylynn smiling.
When we went to Gettysburg last year we loved all the statues and things there were to walk around and look at. Well, here is a picture of a statue for you. It's of Anthony Wayne. Sorry, I don't know anything else about him.We wouldn't truly be a Ricks family if we didn't throw in a wildlife picture. While we were driving through the park Miriam spotted a "reindeer" on the side of the road. After a closer look we found several deer sitting and grazing in the wooded area. Miriam was very proud that she spotted the "reindeer" first.

Oh, if you're still wondering about the Fort Hall comment---those of you that are from Eastern Idaho know that Fort Hall is our local Indian Reservation. For some reason whenever I am referring to Valley Forge, I always call it Fort Hall. I've really confused more than one person who either doesn't know what Fort Hall is, or knows, but just can't figure out how an Indian Reservation fits into what I'm talking about. Sigh. I'll probably move back to Idaho and start referring to Fort Hall as Valley Forge.

On Monday the complex pool opened up. It was a warm day, but the water was COLD! It didn't really affect the girls, they both wanted to get in and play. Luckily Doug obliged them and I was able to stay outside of the pool and sunbath for a few minutes. I did end up in the water at one point, but didn't stay in too long. After our swimming adventure we went to a friend's house for the most amazing steak dinner I've ever eaten. It was good food and GREAT company!

When we first arrived at the pool Miriam quickly found a seat and sat down. When asked if she was going to get in the water she said, "In a minute Mom, I just got comfortable."