A Martha Moment

Sadie and I baked applesauce cakes last night for her preschool teachers, and I must say, I really feel like I had what I call "A Martha Moment" - referring to Miss Martha Stewart. If you know me well, you know I am not a domestic diva, though I would like to think I am one in training. My sister, Karalyn, is a domestic diva AND I have dubbed her "Martha" on numerous occasions, envious of her creativity and her (non-jail) Martha-esque qualities.

Anyway, I searched for a fun recipe that would be easy for Sadie to help me with and found it on my all-time favorite recipe site, AllRecipes. It even had the perfect title to lure me in: Easiest Applesauce Cake (be sure to read the reviews if you decide to try it - it makes only TWO cakes, not three...). Sadie and I had a ball stirring and baking and licking the beaters (which I fondly recall from my childhood and realize I truly have been depriving Sadie of wonderful memories by not doing this sort of thing earlier!). While they were baking, Sadie made cards for her teachers. When the cakes were finished, I let them cool then wrapped them in saran wrap, but felt they needed to be dressed up a bit and I was pretty proud of what I came up with.

My finest Martha Moment thus far

(hopefully there will be more to come!). I even added my photo to the online recipe page:

Her teachers were ecstatic when Sadie presented the cakes and cards to them this morning. I just hope neither of them are on a diet, because I do not think these cakes are diet-friendly... Let's just hope they tasted good!

Say Anything

The other morning, Sadie woke up and came into my bedroom and said:

Sadie: Remember when we went to that old house and we saw Urusula (the sea witch from The Little Mermaid)?

Me: Um, no...

Sadie: Remember? And Daddy was holding me because I was scared?

She proceeded to tell me a long, complicated story, then:

Sadie: Don't you remember?

Me: No, Sadie. I don't think I know what you are talking about.

Sadie: Remember? I dreamed it last night.

Me: Oh! Well, it makes sense then why I don't remember.

Sadie: Well, you can dream about it tomorrow night then you can remember, okay?

Then, about twenty minutes later...

Sadie: Do you remember yet?

***

We were out driving the other night, can't remember why, and I decided I really wanted a milkshake. Sadie decided she wanted an ice cream cone. Brad pulled in to the nearest fast food drive thru - Burger King. We searched the menu, but they didn't seem to have ice cream cones, so Brad just ordered the shake for me. When we went up to pay, I asked about cones - they said they don't sell them. As we started to pull away, Sadie noticed she was still empty-handed...

Sadie: (With a confused look on her face) But, I thought I was going to get ice cream?!

Me: Sadie, I asked. They don't have cones.

Sadie: (After a slight pause) Do they have cups?

Into the Woods...

Last weekend (well, Thursday, Friday, Saturday), we took a family trip to Mt. Magazine since Sadie had no school Thursday and Friday. Arkansas is known as The Natural State and there is definitely a reason why! We have so many state parks yet realized we have not seen them... We vowed to make this trip the first of several to tour our state and visit the parks!

We were fortunate to get a room in the brand new lodge up there. We had hoped for a cabin (they have one that is pet friendly and hoped to bring Tex) but they were taken for our dates and were a bit pricey. There were several campsites available, which I would love to try one day, but with folks who know what they are doing. Otherwise, I am afraid I would end up a bit like Harriet Oleson in that one Little House episode...

The lodge is beautiful! It was supposed to be full, but it never seemed crowded. We loved it and will stay there again, but we can't say many good things about the restaurant... It may just be worth it to spring for the pricey cabins, just to have your own kitchen...

The view from our room was spectacular (all rooms have views as you can see in the photo above). We were in the cheapest room, the standard with two queens but no balcony... There were no other rooms available when we made our reservations, but it was fine.

The view from one of our windows:

Sadie liked the view, too.

Someone only cared about finding the swimming pool... And was just a wee bit excited to see it! (Click on the photo and check out her facial expression).

Ready to go on our first hike,

just moments after settling into our room!

I cannot find our tripod anywhere, so we had to get creative and find flat rocks to use the timer...

I love this one because it kinda looks like I could fall right off the edge!

A better one.

And, of course, someone was more interested in the dirt than the beautiful nature surrounding her...

It was just beautiful out there! Though, next time, we will book our trip a little earlier to catch the fall foliage or we will return in the spring to see the flowers.

Sitting in the rockers and staring out at the view was one of my favorite parts of the trip.

But here are Brad and Sadie, already pooped from our first hike...

They were actually faking it.

They are pretty good actors, no?

(Click on the photos - Sadie looks zonked out!).

On Friday morning, we took a free guided tour up to Signal Hill, the highest point in all of Arkansas at 2753 feet. But first, we had to take some photos by the lodge's outdoor waterfall (the meeting place for those who wanted to go on the hike).

(photo by Sadie):

We reached the top (about a 30-minute hike). It was a bit anticlimactic, because you would think it would have great views and what not, but nope. It's just in the middle of the woods...

But the rock "floor" is in the shape of the state of Arkansas and is actually to scale (though I don't remember the ratio of feet to miles). There is a star pinpointing Little Rock and a mound pinpointing Mt. Magazine Park. Pretty cool.

(What's really cool - if you look at them on our computer and toggle the cursor buttons left to right, you can watch her "raise the roof!" She was amazed by that.)

I love this photo that Brad captured of Sadie and me on our way back down.

"Look! A bear!"

Such the actors, yet again!

We had a blast and did not want to weekend to end. If you have not checked out Mt. Magazine, you need to go!

Farewell Soccer Season

Soccer season ended last Saturday (Halloween). Sadie had her last soccer game and improved... not at all. But that is okay! She enjoyed herself, got some good exercise, and is already looking forward to the spring season. Sadie had one practice all season (the month of October), so it is no wonder she had no clue what she was doing. I tried to work with her at home, but kicking the ball around with me and dribbling between piles of leaves and scoring between trees... It just did not translate well on the soccer field! Brad is seriously thinking of volunteering to coach so we can actually have some practices and communication between coach and players... I just want her to learn enough about the sport to know if she really likes it. I definitely don't want her to turn into that one chick at UNM... Right now, we will just focus on actually kicking the ball...

Here she is with her trophy. She was so incredibly proud! You could not wipe off her smile for hours... She kept saying, "I did a good job, didn't I, Mommy?"

This was her favorite part about soccer games. In fact, if you asked her how to play soccer, I am sure "you sit and eat snacks" would be part of her answer...

Sleeping Beauty

Well, another Halloween has come and gone. By far, my favorite moments were seeing Sadie put on her costume, complete with wig, for the first time (her expressions were priceless!); carving pumpkins; and giving out candy (and watching Sadie give out candy).

Sadie loves to greet the trick or treaters at the door. Every time the doorbell rang, she would jump up, start running, and holler, "I'm coming! I'm coming!" She was very meticulous with the candy as well. Luckily, there were no scary costumes waiting on the porch this year. Costumes were pretty tame this year (thank goodness!). We ran out of candy around 8:15 which was perfect since that is Sadie's bed time.

Brad took her around the neighborhood but she didn't last long - perhaps due to her "glass slippers." Luckily, she had already scored a bunch of candy on Wednesday night at Trunk or Treat at our church (see photos below). But, I recycled a lot of that candy when we started running out! I kept her favorites, though...

Our little princess (Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty).

Probably the first of many princess costumes to come.

She loves to pose and get into character...

With Adi at Trunk or Treat at our church.

Having a little chat with her friends!

Bess was in awe of Sadie's costume. Or maybe just the hair...

Sadie and Avery (Barbie).

They are also in the same preschool class.

Cousins.

Bess was the cutest Tinker Bell, and Gus was the perfect Batman!

She insists on making a mean face every time I get the camera out...

Coloring a pumpkin during the church festivities.

Doing the cake walk.

I wish I had a photo of when she was playing musical chairs, but my battery died. It was her first time ever to play and all the other kids, mostly boys, were a bit older - ages 7,8,9 - and were playing strategically - arms out, walking slowly, caressing the chairs as they walked by... Sadie? She was staring off into space as she walked, twirling her "hair" with her fingers. Yet, somehow, she was one of the last two standing! Brad and I started to get so excited (silly, I know). She ended up in 2nd, but, boy, did she have fun!

The plot thickens...

First of all, you should check out OUR PHOTO GALLERY for some new October photos from the State Fair and from Sadie's preschool harvest party.

Secondly, and the reason for the title of this blog post:

If you recall, Sadie met and fell in love with David during summer school this past June. She has not forgotten him, though she has not seen him since (remember the song she wrote for him?). Well...

David's sister, Grace, is now in Bess' preschool class and my sister, Karalyn, found out their last name: Edwards. She shared this with Sadie during lunch on Sunday:

Me: Did you hear that, Sadie? Kay-Kay found out that David's last name is Edwards!

Sadie: (Grins.) Edwards? (Then looks concerned.) But what about his phone number?

Halloween photos to come...

BoBrook Farms

If you are on Facebook, then you have seen these photos already. I am trying to play catch up for my non-Facebook friends/family!

Last Sunday, we went to a local pumpkin patch, BoBrook Farms, with our church group. Somehow, we had the perfect weather despite the crazy rain that has hit us so hard this month! Sadly, though, Sadie's school pumpkin patch trip was cancelled due to rain. So we are glad we got one trip in!

Family photo:

Sadie and Emiley Morrison:

Getting her face painted:

The flower colors perfectly matched her dress!

In the hay maze with Adi MacKenzie and Emiley.

Sadie and Adi.

Saying hello to the scarecrow!

Ha ha.

Picking out a sugar pumpkin.

She said, "It's just the right size!"

Proud of her pumpkin choice.

I am not sure what Canaan Bell is doing...

So glad she didn't have to choose her pumpkin from over here.

Or here.

De ja vu.

Smiling like the huge jack o lantern!

A Great New Blog

My friend, Kimberley Morrison, has a great new blog showcasing her sewing/embroidery creations! Check it out and contact her if you would like to place an order. I have added a link in my list of sites on the right side of this blog and have added her to my blog list so you can see when she updates as well! Take It Persewnal.