My First 5K on my 35th Birthday

picklewart.blogspot.com

In an effort to make up for some lost time and very late blog postings... I ran my very first 5K race on my 35th Birthday which also just happened to be Thanksgiving day. Me and about 7000 other totally crazy people piled up in Springfield and ran in the bitter cold (and soon became a heavy misty morning!). I survived. I alternated running and walking. My guess is that I ran half and walked half in the end. Oh well. My time will get better someday. Maybe a race in the spring will prove better endurance. HA!

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November Local Events

picklewart.blogspot.com

November is here and so are more fall, Thanksgiving, and pre-Christmas season events!

Nov 11th: Monett - Festival of Flavors
6 - 8 pm, First United Methodist Church
Tickets $12
Call Monett Chamber @ 235-7919

Nov 12th: Monett - Broadway Nights
To 9 pm, Downtown Monett

Nov 13th: Cassville - Christmas Open House
Throughout the day, Chamber and merchants

Nov 24th: Monett - Festival of Lights
5:30 pm - 9:30 pm daily
Light display in the South park through Dec 26

Nov 25th: Springfield - Turkey Trot
8:00 am, 5K run in Jordan Park and MSU area
...not to mention it's also THANKSGIVING!
I'm running this one! WHOOPEE - my first 5K on my 35th birthday!

*If you know of more around here, let me know and we'll get those posted too!

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Princess Birthday Bonanza

picklewart.blogspot.com

Well, my little girl will soon turn 4. My tiny little sweet baby girl... my sweet baby that I rocked each night, my little angel.
Tomorrow, the 12th, at about 12:30 PM, my little girl will be four years old.
Tonight we celebrated with friends and family.
Earlier this month this same sweet little girl told her Mommy (who would do almost anything for her) that she wanted a castle cake this year... almost a predictable request for a 4 year old birthday party... but then she added that she also wanted it to have a volcano behind it!
Say huh?
She continued with this same request for the next several days and weeks. Obviously she was serious. So, Mommy made it happen in accordance as the little princess deemed it.But there was more "princessing" to do... frog kisses anyone?
And how 'bout glittery play dough... or "royal dough"!And Garrett wanted in on the present action.But there was one present at the end that Grace never expected...
A dollhouse taller than her!
We had a good time at the party tonight... and I look forward to many more with my sweet little princess!!
Pictures here by my friend Kara Guffey of Kara Guffey Photography - serving southwest Missouri!

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My Baby Boy is ONE!

picklewart.blogspot.com

My baby boy is now officially ONE YEAR OLD. It's the end of a "baby era" here at the Goff house. At least, we believe it's the end of an era!
Garrett had his first birthday party here at the house with lots of friends and family! We indulged in cake (my first attempt at home-made marshmallow fondant) and ice cream, had fun with presents and playing, and then went off for naps so that everyone could return that evening for grilling out and some firework festivities!!

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Practice with a Fondant Cake

picklewart.blogspot.com

Garrett's 1st birthday is coming soon, and I decided this year that I would make his first cake using fondant... I guess that makes two firsts. I've been told home-made marshmallow fondant tastes sooooo much better than store-bought, and it's much cheaper too... especially if you're making a lot of it! Today was my first go and it went OK. Dyeing fondant seems to be the biggest challenge though (thus the tie dye pink ;-).

I used a home-made marshmallow fondant and here's how it goes:

*Grease counter with oleo (Crisco).

1. Pour out 1/2 a bag of powdered sugar onto surface.
2. In large greased bowl, pour a full bag of marshmallows (reg or min) and 1/2 Tbsp of water.
3. Microwave in 30 sec increments stirring between until marshmallows melt (usually around 2 min).
4. Pour melted marshmallow onto powdered sugar surface.
5. Grease hands and knead. (This is a very messy process but also a little fun. Who doesn't love pla-dough!?)Work until pliable. If it becomes sticky, add more powdered sugar).
6. Roll into ball, grease the ball with oleo, and wrap in saran wrap.
7. Refridgerate to firm 4+ hours.
8. Buttercream crumb-coat your cake before laying on fondant. Refridgerate an hour or so. When you remove, rub the edges to remove any excessive roughness.
9. Roll to 1/4" thickness to lay over cake.
10. Lay over cake. Gently rub and pull down to smooth out the sides from overlap. Trim bulk to aid in this process. Set aside bulk for dyeing later.
11. To dye, knead the heck out of it with your gel dye (or reg dye). This will seem neverending. Mine never really did become a smooth color!

Below are pictures from our process:

Some handy tools to have around.

Sorry, no pics of MY fondant process... too messy. But here's the finished product ready to go to the fridge. Here's the YouTube How to video link I used though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9rlJeJsJR0

My favorite icing... Wilton's Buttercream below - for my filling and crumb coating above.
Grace picks out the practice cake colors. Pink and green of COURSE!
My white base layer of fondant layed on and tucked in around the 9" double layer cake.
Grace helped out cutting shapes and rolling balls!

The finished product:

Ready to eat!!

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Jeepin' Pics

picklewart.blogspot.com

It was pure Jeep happiness... Jeep bliss? Well, as blissful as it can get with a 3 yr old and a 10 month old in the back. But it WAS fun. We took the Jeep out (side curtains off) for a very mild Jeeping adventure on the Sugar Camp Scenic Byway down by Roaring River State Park and Eagle Rock.
It was an exquisite Memorial day for sure!

Normally, when you see a big red trail blocking post, you turn around, but not Courtney. He just went right on through.
Grace was attacked by a tree - and there was much squealing.
Garrett enjoyed his open-air ride.

The two wee ones in the back seat of the Jeep.

The Sugar Camp Scenic Byway has some beautiful vistas of the Ozarks!
Swimming at Roaring River

Garrett was starting to tucker out a bit...

Roaring River monkey bar time. Grace got a little help from Daddy since she's a little small for these!

And this was Garrett at the park. That boy was T-I-R-E-D!

Fun day for everyone. It was good to be in the Jeep again.

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Memorial Weekend Exhaustion

pickleawart.blogspot.com

Due to recent flooding rains, we had to re-plant our pit-style garden... not exactly my first pick for Memorial weekend festivities! I also got some clothes hung on the line Saturday and Courtney managed to do some construction on the big chicken house so that we could move in the wee little ones... that's right. ALL the chickens are shackin' up with one another. Oh mercy.

We did manage to fit in some time to play this weekend as well. Days of swimming, grilling, running, chasing, and garage saling wore a few of us out. Grace was so tired she passed out right there at the dinner table. Even Zelda started feeling the call of the sandman.

And then there was Garrett's first experience with watermelon. That boy LOVED watermelon and was a sticky mess head to toe when he was done... which meant he went straight to the bathtub (for MORE fun of course!). Grace enjoyed her's as well but had to fight off Zelda for it. And then there was Courtney... who is just a ham. 'Nuff said.

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Hopping down the bunny trail.

picklewart.blogspot.com

Easter weekend here was filled with quite a variety of things. We decided to do Easter bunny baskets and egg hunts on Saturday so that Sunday could focus on Resurrection day! Well, we did a pretty could job, and I think Grace managed to sugar herself up pretty well Saturday. There sure was a lot of excitement over those baskets and all the goodies inside them

We also sat down to a nice brunch of whole wheat flax pancakes with Courtney's own blackberry sauce for the top... made from our own balckberries from last season. It was divine... ambrosia. Really.

Resurrection Sunday ushered in the opportunity to torture the children by dressing them alike... well, at least in coordinating colors. Someday Garrett will hate that, so I'd better take advantage of his inability to protest while I still can. We had a very nice morning at church starting with a nice fundraiser breakfast then on to regular Sunday services including an Easter cantata.

After church, a bunch of us hit our homes for a quick lunch and costume change and headed down to Roaring River for a day fishing and playing. Courtney even caught his first trout!

Hope your Easter weekend was as blessed as ours!!

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