Christmas Vacation Reflections

Christmas Jammies

Here it is, almost a week after Christmas and things have just started to slow down! December came quickly and is now almost over. We were in Cincinnati for almost 2 weeks with my family to celebrate Jesus’ birth and to be together. I enjoyed staying with my mom and seeing my sister most days and I enjoyed remembering and recognizing some of our family’s traditions.

We spend every other year with our respective families (and actually next year will be the first Christmas in our whole 14 years of marriage that we will not travel on this holiday, because we now live with our Wyoming Family!). This alternating family celebration was a tradition with which we have been very consistent and it has served us well.

Opening Stockings from Santa

This year we were in Cincinnati and that was super-fun on multiple levels. We arrived on Sunday the 18th and the week before christmas was full of cookie baking, decorating mom’s house (which we cheated a little and didn’t put up the tree but bought a big, beautiful poinsettia- it is gorgeous and worked well), celebrating Christmas with the other Mahoneys in Georgetown, visiting friends/family in Lexington and attending Christmas Eve services at Quest. When we got back to Cincinnati, the girls were delighted to find their christmas pjs were waiting for them!

Christmas Chaos

Christmas day was a flurry (only figuratively since there was no actual snow and it was almost 70 degrees) of activity beginning with stockings for our girls (they opened their presents before we left Wyoming) and then we went to my childhood church home with my mom. When we came back to my mom's house, my siblings and their spouses (along with the 8 cousin) arrived. It was CHAOS! So many presents, kids running around, food… We did manage to get a picture with all the girl cousins wearing their matching/coordinating dresses made by my super-talented mom. By the time 2:00 hit and everyone left, we were all ready for a nap!

Girl Cousins in Coordinating Plaid

The rest of the week was full of visiting and connecting with people we love- trying to squeeze every possible moment with meaningful connection. We were driving home from the grocery on Tuesday when I looked at Vic and told him that I miss the wide open spaces of home. If only the miles between Wyoming and Ohio/Kentucky were closer, that would be awesome! 
When we left my mom's house yesterday morning, we were all ready to be back home! After an early morning flight our of Dayton, we ran to our next flight in Minneapolis and made that flight in the nick of time! Once we arrived in Rapid City, we were tired! We had lunch (trying to keep Lydia awake so we could get her back on some schedule) and ran errands while in town (cannot miss the opportunity to run to the store because we may not be back for a week or so). We stopped to see Vic's mom and visited with her for a while then we drove the rest of the way home. When we pulled up to the house, our cat, Ninja, was was glad to see us and we all breathed a collective sigh of relief to be back on the ranch!
As I look back over 2016, I am so thankful for the adventure we started! It has been a good year. Full of sadness, joy and anticipation. I love our little life that we are living! We are entering 2017 with high expectations and joy. I pray the same is true for you!

Sunsets on the Ranch

I have lived in Wyoming for 6 Months now! On June 1, 2016, we arrived on the ranch with all of our things and we decided to stay. The time has flown by and I am finding myself more and more at home here. Over the past two months, I have traveled to Kentucky, Ohio and Georgia to visit family and some friends. It was so good to see people that I love and have connections with but the thing that most surprised me at the end of those trips, was that I could not wait to return to the ranch. It's quiet and peaceful here, entirely different than the hustle and bustle of city life (especially in Atlanta!).

One of the things I look forward to at the end of a long day (including car pool, kids, diapers, laundry, paperwork and cleaning) is the night sky. I love watching the process of the sun going down and the stars appearing. There are so many stars that are visible from the ranch! And, I have experienced so many beautiful sunsets from our front porch! The sunsets are coming earlier and earlier these days; I caught last night's sunset at 4:10 PM and the days keep getting shorter.

I've posted many of sunsets on my instagram account (@rachelmahoney) and those are some of my most liked posts. I'll share with you a few of my favorite photos... Follow me on Instagram and you'll probably see many more in the future!

This was last night's sunset...

We live about 30 minutes away from Montana and so every once and a while, I capture a bit of their "Big Sky." If you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of Devil's Tower!

Sometimes it looks like the sky is on fire!

I took this picture on the way home from Belle Fourche one night. You can see the bug spats on the windshield!

Another beautiful, bright sky.

This summer, we had many fires that came close to the ranch. This picture captures the smokey sky. We still need more moisture and are hoping for more snow this winter to help us out of this drought season.

Pretty Sky!

We have some RV hook ups in front of our house. Throughout the summer, we have many guests who come and stay with us!

On our way home from town 

(on the interstate in Wyoming which looks very different 

than the interstate in Atlanta!).

Devil's Tower view from the ranch. I was "helping" Vic do some chores one night and I captured this photo. 

A favorite view for sure!

This photo was taken when I got to the Rapid City airport on my way home from Georgia. I was so happy to see this sky!

Quiet and Peaceful

My Favorite Recipes... And my obsession with Pinterest

I think I forgot to mention in my last post that along with Facebook and Instagram, I am also a Pinterest junkie! For those of you who do not know, Pinterest is a website where you can collect websites (pins) into folders (boards). It’s very fun and very addictive. Currently, I have 81 boards and over 7,000 pins; I may have a problem! Recently I have been obsessed with pinning ideas for our new home (that we will build one day), I have a board for Floor Plans, Kitchen and Bathroom Ideas, Mudroom Thoughts, Decorating... Basically dreaming to keep me sane until that glorious day arrives! Until then, I’ll be content with where we are now (but it’s still fun to dream).

The boards I have had the longest contain my favorite activities- Crafting and Cooking! I love creating things to share with my friends and family. It’s like sharing a piece of myself with them when I make a friend a card, sew a pretty dress for my daughter or cook dinner for my family. Relationships matter to me and I try to communicate that to the people I love the most.

One of things that I have realized about myself since moving out here is that I love to go out to eat, not because I don’t like cooking (because I do) but because I HATE cleaning up after cooking or baking! Haha! So, one bowl or one pot meals are my favorite. So many of my go-to recipes have to include this one key common denominator.

For Vic’s birthday this year I made him a family favorite, Strawberry Pie. His mom has made it for

birthdays over the years but I have never tried to recreate this dream dessert for Vic, until this year. While the pie is very good, it creates so so so many dirty dishes (like 5 different bowls and several spoons) and requires so many steps to create! I’m glad that Betsy (Vic’s mom) had the foresight to only make it for special occasions because I’m sure I’d go nuts if I made it more often!


Simplicity is a core value of mine and I take it very seriously. I usually have no problem breaking down a complicated task to make it more simple (in fact, I rewrote the Strawberry Pie recipe in a way that makes more sense) I love cleaning out closets, organizing things and simplifying my schedule. But, it’s a huge plus when a task has already been broken down to a simple equation to complete! A few weeks ago, I made a loaf of Beer Bread and have been making it consistently ever since. The same for Rice Krispy treats… One Bowl, into the baking dish and voila, yumminess!

Here are a few of my favorite One Bowl/Pot Recipes that we’ve enjoyed recently (they can all be found on my pinterest page along with many other wonderful finds- My Pinterest Page)

Honey Beer Bread

http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/honey-beer-bread/

This one is yummy for anytime. I make it as a side for soup night or for breakfast with honey butter smathered all over it. So very yummy!

5-Minute Microwave Rice Krispie Treats

http://www.favfamilyrecipes.com/microwave-rice-krispie-treats/

Meaghan loves a sweet snack after school and these are so easy to make and clean up.

Slow Cooker Sausage, Green Beans and Potatoes

http://www.recipesthatcrock.com/crock-pot-sausage-green-beans-and-potatoes/

This is a go-to dinner when I know that we will be busy all day but need a satisfying dinner too. It’s really easy and surprisingly good!

Pasta with Tomato Cream Sauce

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/pasta-with-tomato-cream-sauce/

This one has 2 pots but it is good! When I make this, I usually bake some frozen garlic bread and steam some peas to make a complete dinner.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
http://pinchofyum.com/crockpot-chicken-wild-rice-soup
There isn't much better than a warm bowl of soup on a cold evening. This recipe is great to dump in the morning but does require a step at the end to make it creamy- it's worth it! 

Slow Cooker Roast Beef

No need for a recipe... Just cut up 2 potatoes, put them in the bottom of the slow cooker. Add some baby carrots and 2 quartered medium onions. Put a defrosted roast on top of the veggies. Add a cup or two of water and then season the top of the roast generously with salt and pepper. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. YUM!

Okay, I could keep going but... Here's the link to my Crock Pot Yummies Pinterest board. You should follow it!

About Me

Well, let’s start from the very beginning (a very good place to start)... My name is Rachel and I am from Cincinnati, Ohio- although I lived in Lexington, Kentucky for the past 19 years and recently moved to Alva, Wyoming. I live on a ranch in the middle of absolutely nowhere with my husband of 14 years and 2 girls, ages 19 months and 12 years old. I’m a stay at home mom but I just started keeping the books for the ranch operation, expanding our custom-cattle program and organizing my husband’s busy calendar.  

This blog is a huge, risky step for me but I cannot wait to share with you some of my new life here in Wyoming. Some of the things I love to talk about are: being a mommy, cooking, Jesus, my family and all the things ranch-life that I am learning!

On our most recent trip to Kentucky and Ohio, I was constantly asked how I am adjusting to this new life. That is when I started thinking about writing this blog. You should know, I am a city girl and never have spent more than a week (for holidays and vacations) on the ranch and it’s shocking for people to find out that I’ve never even ridden a horse or shot a gun. So, moving here was a big lifestyle change for me and the girls. My husband, Vic, grew up here and now works as Head Cowboy for his sister, who owns the property. There is rich family history on this land that reaches back to the late 1800s when Vic’s great grandfather homesteaded a piece of it. Through the years, Vic’s dad acquired and purchased more of the land adjoining the property and now the ranch is just shy of 10,000 acres. The history of this place is fascinating to me and I consider it a great honor to live here.

Here are some interesting facts about me...

• Favorite Color: Red (all shades including pink)
• Favorite Holiday: Christmas (followed closely by Thanksgiving!)
• Favorite Food: Pie and ice cream or cheesecake with a glass of wine…
• Favorite Movie(s): Steel Magnolias, The Sound of Music and any of the Hallmark Christmas movies!!
• Dream Vacation: A cruise up the pacific coastline to Alaska with 20 of my favorite people.
• Favorite TV Show(s): This is Us, Friends, Gilmore Girls, Designated Survivor, The Good Place and Nashville.
• Favorite Emoji: The Eye-Rolling one!
• Non-Blog Hobby: Crafting, designing/dreaming about our new house, cooking, hanging out with my friends playing games.
• Most Visited App: I’m an Instagram and Facebook junkie.
• I love organizing information and working with Excel.

I hope that you’re excited to join me on this journey of discovery! You can follow my pictures on Instagram (@rachelmahoney), Twitter (@rachelmahoney) or on Facebook (Rachel True Mahoney).