Double Digit Day (Happy Birthday, Penelope!)

Well it was bound to happen and I could not stop time. In a bottle or elsewhere. I know because I have tried! I even attempted to convince my little girl that we had made a mistake somewhere along the line, and she was turning NINE this year. Nope, no go. She was having none of it. Her sister had already sold her on the idea of double digits, and sold her good. She was so excited!

So in the spirit of thinking back over the wonderful and precious ten years I have had her in my life, and since I have been thinking about these all day, here is a list of things and moments that I miss, things she has left behind. A series of "last times" that I did not even realize had happened until they were gone.

- Always wanting to wear socks to bed

- Needing her tears wiped away with a tissue before she could feel better about something

- Jumping on the bed but saying "just bumping, mama!"

- Saying "No hing my hong, dat my hong!" (Don't sing my song, that's my song!)

- Wanting to wear a tiara all the time, or her Alice in Wonderland dress

- Playing with the faucet drips while I braided her hair

- Always wanting to wear her light-up Snow White shoes

- Backwards baseball caps

- Wanting to help "thow away them mail" (help me sort out junk mail)

- Needing to smell EVERY flower she ever saw

- Asking for nap time

- Stuffing her pockets with anything she could find that was tiny enough

- Saying "I see pitcha? I see pitcha?" when I tried to video her

- Making me read Freddie Spaghetti every single day

- Afraid to talk on the phone

- Asking for tea parties all the time, and dressing up for them

- Bringing in "calipitters" she found on a leaf outside

- Saying her bedtime prayers in her fuzzy purple footie jammies, thanking Jesus for her "hamily"

- Saying "me ready for dance dance!" on the way to ballet class

(she is on the far left on ballet class photo)

And this is my beautiful TEN YEAR OLD girl today.

- Loves American Girl dolls

- Asks me for spelling bees in the car

- Hates wearing socks

- Holds my hand all the time

- Still wants flowers in her hair

- Likes to memorize bible verses

- Crazy about her dog, Pluto

- Loves to ride and train her horse

- Still a packrat for tiny things she can put in her pockets (ask the laundry lady)

- Saves up money...then spends it on her sister or friends

- Has a bed piled with stuffed animals but her favorite is Amigo, the goat.

- Beats everyone at most card games

- Brave but tender hearted too

- Can make a mean guacomole dip

- Hates raisins

- Is a Mommy's girl

MAKES ME HAPPY EVERY DAY JUST TO BE WITH HER!

Fairy Houses!

The other day I wandered outside to check on the girls, and found them utterly engrossed in building projects on the edge of the lawn. "Come look at our fairy houses!" they shouted eagerly.

It was so neat! They had carefully built the most fragile little worlds, complete with bridges, cobblestone roads, moss covered roofs, and tiny fences. If I were a fairy or a gnome, I would have moved right on in.

Oops, demolition crew....keep away!

Dandelion In the Snow!

Do Dandelions flourish in the snow?

Watch and see the little snow blossom for yourself.

Signs of the Times

Our homeschool had a different kind of social studies class last Friday. We stood out on a street corner for four hours, holding signs during the local mayoral elections! It was TONS of fun. Even during the snowstorm. (and afterwards, the kids made a snowman who helped hold up signs!)

Ya see, it all started when my folks hosted a meet n greet coffee/cake get together at their home, to invite the community to get to know one of our candidates for mayor.

We all enjoyed being able to ask him questions about local issues, and really have the opportunity to be heard, and to get a feel for where he would take us in the future, if he were elected borough mayor.

I liked what I heard, and decided to do my best to help him win. And that is how we came to be sign-holders at the polls on the big day.

I think it was important for the girls to see how politics work, how you can get involved on a small or big level, and why our concerns matter. Plus it was just super neat and plain old fun to wave at everyone we knew as they went by. In our small town, we know just about everyone! And they all smiled, waved, honked their horns, or even stopped to say hello. From, across the street the owner of the gas station walked over with some hot coffee and real creamer. When we went into the fire station on the corner to use the restroom, the firemen there offered us hot chocolate and smiled and joked with the kids.

I just love our little town, and I am happy I am able to raise my girls to know that their opinions matter, and how even getting involved on a small level can make a difference. And ya know, our guy even won! He is the new mayor!

Fall Yummyness

I really don't care if that is a word or not. Just had to say that up front!

I know, I know, there are people who actually think you can take a circle of caramel called a Wrapple, awkwardly press it around an apple and call it good. Eat it even.

NO WAY! we stand in defiance against such an artificial attempt at creating a caramel apple.

In this family, we take caramel apples very seriously. Got to be the real thing, baby! I mean, accept no substitutes and power on. Ya gotta know the good stuff! It takes sacrifice, hard work, and dedication to get the perfect caramel apple.

First, the season has to be right. So you can just forget summer caramel apples, spring, or anything besides a brisk fall day. And its okay if some snow has fallen, but if you are into November or Christmas cards have started to arrive, you missed your shot. Too late, its like wearing white shoes after labor day or something. I dunno. But just don't do it. As my favorite line from the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang goes..."Too late, had your chance-muffed it!"

So, if you have your season right, now its on to the perfect thing to put into your shopping cart. Choose beautiful shiny apples. Don't even think about Red Delicious (which are red but never delicious) and Goldens are out. Granny Smith could be acceptable but why lower your standards if you have something really good to grab...like my personal favorite, the Honey Crisp. Or the Pink Lady but the Honey Crisp just sounds like a foundation of a special treat. Its got it all-the gorgeous red/green color, the juicy sweet but not too sweet taste, and the perfect name to boot.

Move on down the aisles. Time to get your caramel. Now to my mind a caramel apple is not fit to eat if you did not spend a minimum of 20 minutes just peeling candy wrapper by wrapper and putting them into a bowl. For pure perfection, you would have wrappers everywhere...on the floor, on the counter, in your hair, and possibly even be finding them for weeks here and there.

The bag of caramels (we prefer Kraft) should come with sticks. We always buy two bags, because there is nothing worse than having naked and neglected apples left to sit there wondering why some of their friends are now coated in yummy caramel, while they have to sit nude and rejected. So as you can see, extra caramel is just fine and running out may incite a riot. :)

Once home, wash and dry your apples, and peel wrappers off caramels. Put the lovely brown squares of candy in a saucepan with a few tablespoons of water. Melt on stove slowly....stir often and do not let scorch.

Once smooth, put a stick in each apple and hold apple over the pan. Use a spoon to drizzle the caramel over each apple until completely coated. DO NOT leave even a smidgen of apple showing without caramel. I will be ashamed of you for life, plus I guarantee that poor apple will be eaten DEAD LAST. Don't say you have not been warned. Cover every bitty bit of skin.

Transfer covered apple to plate covered with wax paper. Allow some of the caramel to drip from the apple onto the counter. If you don't get the whole kitchen sticky you are letting me down. Leave a generous trail of brown yummy gloppyness. (don't get me started on words again! I thought we went over that)

Once you have every apple on the plate, put the whole beautiful thing in the fridge for one hour to harden. Set the timer so the children are not opening the fridge every five minutes, firmly pressing their already sticky fingers into each apple to "test" it.

Enjoy!

(Oh, and don't forget that once the children are tucked in bed you can sneak back to the stove and eat the leftover caramel in the pot using a spoon and a seared conscience)

A Mini Field Trip

This past week we had the wonderful opportunity to visit a miniature horse farm called Triple M Miniatures, in Sterling, Alaska. I have a crazy love for mini horses, and I discovered the little ranch when browsing online one day.

We went with a few members of our 4-H horse club, and we had a blast!

There were thirteen minis on the farm, and as we tried over and over to name our favorites. But, it was just too hard! We played with them in the field, brushed their coats, and delighted in their soft nuzzles and curious gazes. Lets see, there was Roscoe, Firefly, Vienna, Vanilla, Wishes, Rocky, Cocoa, Streak, Dandy, and more!

The baby of the farm is tiny Cheyenne Monarch. She has a cute little butterfly pattern on her hind end, thus her very pretty name.

At the end of the visit, as we stood up by the gate, somebody asked the owner how in the world she manages to round up all the little ones from the field at the end of the day. "I just call them in" she said.

I was dying to ask, and finally could not stand it. "Is it time for them to come in? Can we see you call them up?" I asked.

Look at those cuties fly!!!!!!!!!

Just One Night

Just one night at our lake. With some unexpected blessings of beauty.

I am glad I had my camera because we really just went down to the lake to do a so-not-fun fall task: clean the paddleboat and put it away for the season.

But, as the evening went on the sky grew ever more glorious. And God smiled at us from heaven and told us to rejoice in every small (scummy snail trails) and big (pulling big boat out with small muscles) job...and praise him! He wanted to remind us he is there, even as we scrub off leaches, get cold and shivery, and struggle to bale out a few feet of icky water with a leaky old milk jug. Smile! Find joy in labor! Grin through grumpiness, and Laugh through long-faces! (can you tell my girls just loooooove this annual chore? :)

Dandelion, you are simply not helping here!

C'mon Chena, keep baling and keep smiling and I will let you push your sister in for not helping as much. (Just kidding...sorta)

Our neighbor suddenly appeared in his Super Cub and landed on the lake, then turned straight into the stream of sunlight. I love the reflection of the clouds, almost made me think I could step out on top of them and not sink at all.

Well, it was a LOT of work, but we got that baby shiny and clean, and even had a pretty good water fight along the way. And dad will be proud of us...so its all good.

Besides, we can look forward to more paddleboating next summer!