State of Hockey... Right Here in Iowa!

      After years of coaching hockey, Dave finally has a hockey player! Arabella is officially signed up for the Des Moines Youth Hockey Learn to Play Program.  She's had skates for a while, but we got all the rest of her equipment this weekend.  She could not be more excited... and Dave cannot wait to see her out on the ice in all her gear.  We tried it all on today in the living room to make sure it fit... I decided this is the perfect time for a photo session... now we'll never forget the first time she ever put on her hockey equipment!

She seemed very excited about the hockey gloves... not really sure why, but she spent a lot of time just looking at them on her hands... turning her hands over and over and pulling them on and off.

 

The stick was too tall for her, so Dave (being the super smart hockey guy he is) just measured and sawed it off... and here I thought we'd have to get a new stick!

She doesn't actually have a mouth guard yet... but this is her showing me what it would look like if she did.   

 

Clearly some of the equipment is too big for our little peanut... She didn't seem to mind... even after her breezers kept falling down.  The helmet is an extra small and is on it's tightest setting and it's still too big for her... Room to grow I guess!   (This is the point where Dave decided this photo session is getting a bit ridiculous... note the "this is serious hockey business and you're taking pictures" look on his face... Come on Dave... someday you'll be glad I took these (well maybe not this one - haha)!

Once we put the skates on her with all her gear, she found it quite difficult to stand up... either that or she realized how much fun it is to fall down when you're protected by all the padding.  Lots of giggling went on during the *attempts* to get her to stand for pictures.

 

 After Dave sawed off the top of her stick, he taped it up... then told her that we could write her name on the tape so everyone would know it was hers.  He was less than thrilled that she wanted to use pink sharpie... but he was eventually worn down by the cute begging of a four year old girl.  Once that was done, she decided she wanted a heart on her stick... Poor Dave... you don't stand a chance with this kiddo!  She's got you so wrapped around her little finger!

 

I think the heart looks nice.  And it shows her where the front of the stick is.

 

She still can't fit into these 'gently used' skates... and has to wear the adjustable skates we got when she was two... but someday, these will be her skates!

Leighton Family Movie Night

We try to do wholesome, family activities once in a while... tonight, we had Leighton Family Movie Night!  It's not a whole lot different than any other night except we eat pizza in the living room and watch a movie together and usually I come up with some sort of special treat...

Tonight it was frozen pizza, Care Bears gummy snacks, and 101 Dalmatians... which totally made someone's night!

Care Bears Gummy Snacks

She set this up herself

I Can't Hear You!!!!

Lately, Arabella has been doing this...








And as annoying as it is, it is also too cute! I can't help but giggle (usually I am able to turn away so she doesn't see me laughing at her). Just look at that cute face and tell me you could keep a straight face as you tell her it's not respectful to cover your ears when Mommy is talking.

So today she does this and I decide it's time that she learns that I know this trick... I practically invented this trick! So she stands there with her ears plugged and I say, "I know you can hear me." She shakes her head no. "Arabella... I know that covering your ears with your hands does not keep the sound out. I did that when I was a little girl too and I know you can still hear me." She looks at me, tries to hide her smile, and says, "I can't hear you." By now I'm laughing so hard I can't go on with this lesson. So I decide to take her picture instead. Someday, we will both laugh about this.

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!