Know I Know My ABC's

Arabella decided she wanted to make an ABC book. She chose the paper and asked me to fold and staple it. I then wrote the letters at the bottom of the page and she went to town working on it. She sounded the words out all by herself! I was so proud of her. Here is a picture of the G and H pages. I especially like the pink hockey puck and stick.

Homemade Caramel Apples

While we were at the farmer's market, we saw numerous stands with caramel apples... but they were all outrageously expensive (read: four dollars per apple)... so we stopped at HyVee on the way home and bought caramel and apples and made our own!  Homemade is better anyway! 

So Arabella got our her markers and drew a picture of all of us making caramel apples while I washed the apples and put the sticks in them (not an easy task... I may have injured my hand)

 I'm never in pictures... so I made Dave take a picture of Arabella and I unwrapping all the caramels (and eating some)... He was not all about being the photographer, so I only got this ONE picture... not the best, but ya get what ya get.

 So after you wash the apples and put the sticks in, you unwrap all the caramels in a 14 ounce package and put them in a saucepan with 2 tablespoons of water.

 This job is perfect for a four year old... and she took it seriously and was great quality control!  I got a teeny tiny scrap of wrapper in the pan and boy oh boy was that problem taken care of quickly!

 Heat the caramels on low until they are all melty... then take the apples for a swim! 

When you are done, put them on wax paper
(I sprayed the wax paper with Pam because I really dislike stuff that sticks)
Then chill them until the caramel is hardened

Don't they look so delicious?! (They were!)

Arabella thought the finished product was "oh so yummy" and devoured her entire apple
I was honestly hoping she wouldn't be able to finish it so I could have more...

There's nothing better than a...

Farm Boy Breakfast Burrito at the Downtown Farmer's Market!

There really isn't anything better than a Farm Boy's breakfast burrito from the farmer's market on a chilly Saturday morning... unless of course you are a picky four year old that doesn't like her eggs to touch anything but cheese. :) Thankfully the Farm Boy's stand is amazingly thoughtful and gave Arabella a little cup full of nothing but eggs and cheese.
She was in heaven. She even insisted on standing to eat so that she could do it "just like Mommy and Daddy." Then when Mommy and Daddy spilled a little egg on the ground (because they load those burritos sooooooo full there's no way to neatly eat one) she spilled a little egg too.
If you've never been to the Downtown Farmer's Market and tried one of these amazing burritos, I would highly recommend it. There really isn't anything better! (No pictures of the actual burritos... I was too busy devouring it to think about taking a picture!)

Fall Soccer

Arabella started Fall Soccer this week.  She was REALLY excited about it and has been counting down the days.  She had a great first game... 2 goals (in the right team's net) and 4 assists!  Super proud Mommy here!

Arabella at her first soccer game of the fall season

Arabella making a great assist to her friend Brolan who scored!  Way to go Red Team!