Another crock-pot hit!

I'm so glad to have a mother and sister who love great recipes as much as I do!  This week's hit comes from my awesome sister Megan.  It's a lemon chicken recipe that 's been floating out in Pinterest land.....I'm so glad she tried it out!

Crock-pot Lemon Chicken

In your crock-pot:  4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts (I used frozen tenderloins), 1 stick of butter (yes, it's not a typo!), 1 package of dry Italian dressing mix, and the juice of 2 fresh lemons.

Cook on low all day, or high for 4 hours.  Shred with a fork and serve over rice.

My family loved this one.  I even used the left-over chicken last night to make enchiladas.  They were super!

Soccer?.......Who knew....

So we signed Nate and Lauren up for rec league soccer this fall.  It's been at least 5-6 years since they have played (they were really little).  This made me a bit nervous to plunk down a lot of money for kids who may or may not even enjoy playing.  Needless to say, the practice schedule is grueling (someone is practicing Tues-Fri nights) and our Saturdays are consumed with games.  But we are thrilled that they are each enjoying it so much!! 

Nathan surprised us all with his new found love of playing goalie.  My stomach is in knots every time the ball goes near the goalie box.  But he stays pretty calm and is quick on his feet (and quick at diving after the ball).

Last week his spent each afternoon trying out for the middle school soccer team - and made it!  So now he will be in the goalie box up against those big 7th and 8th graders!  Go Wolves!

Lauren's games are great!  Boys are competitive, but girls bring the emotion with it!  Especially at this age (9-10 years-old).  Lauren is lightening fast on her feet and very determined, but can be a bit of a "loose canon" out there.....she is almost like a heat-seeking missile with the ball and essentially could care less about positions, rules, etc. - .......just.chase.ball........This is what her eyes say once that whistle is blown.

  

We seem to spent a lot of time in this position.....

Which then leads to a lot of this position.......

But our Lo is one tough nut.  She goes down hard and pops right up even more determined.  Her high threshold of pain has always amazed me.  Overall, she's doing great and having a blast.

Dad's "40-something" birthday....

We had a great time this week for Rodney's birthday!  We took everyone out to eat somewhere "fancy" (aka Carrabba's) and then came home for the celebration.  It's always fun just to hang out with the fam!

Happy Birthday Babe!

More Crock Pot Heaven

Trust me, if you are a buffalo wing fan, you will love this combo....

Cook boneless skinless chicken breasts in the crock pot - adding about a cup of water for moisture.  (I used frozen tenders and cooked on high for 4 hours)

Shred chicken and place back in crock pot.

Add:

3/4 cup buffalo wing sauce

3/4 cup ranch dressing

Mix well and continue to cook for an hour.

Serve in warm flour tortillas with shredded lettuce.

Super Yummy!

Long overdue vacation pics.....

Trying to finish posting vacation pics from our past summer's trip to Washington DC... (at some point I'll be up to date on this blog!)

 The only picture we were allowed to have someone take before the guards started screaming for everyone to cross the street.

 Brooke was a trooper - we walked miles and miles....this is her passed out in the stroller.

This stop was awesome and sooooo worth the miles of walking all day.  The kids loved it!

And this my friends was the best $20.00 spent all day.......after veering off the path we were too tired to walk back to the Metro station.  Luckily for us, there was a lone cab in the Lincoln Memorial parking lot.  It was the kid's first ride in a taxi and I thought I might even kiss the driver for being in the right place at the right time. 

When in DC, take the time to go to Mt Vernon.  It was one of our favorite stops!  If you have time go through ALL of the museums there - it was great!

The view from Washington's backyard - can you imagine? 

So many great parks and fountains around DC....

Nate under the Boy Scouts of America Memorial...... (I was thinking more boys might want to have their pic taken there if there were more clothes on the status.  I really had to talk Nate into it!)

The Metro.....many complain about it, but it was an adventure for the kids!

Air and Space Museum... 

Was tickled to see the son of my long ago 5th grade teacher on the wall there!  All we heard about my 5th grade year at Maple Elementary was Mr. Allen's son (Bryan Allen) who flew the Gossamer Albatross across the English Channel.  As a kid we didn't know the significance.....as an adult, I am impressed! 

Our stop at the Washington DC temple.  They have a great visitor's center that is open to all (Mormon or not)

At the end of our trip we spent some time in Maryland with Rodney's brother Brian and his wife Jessica.  We loved all of the greenery and beautiful lakes (unlike flat barren Florida)......the kids got to swim in a lake for the first time.