Apple Crisp

Good Tuesday morning!

The one and only Gallery Pic this morning is of Roxie and Courtney after their first official volleyball practice. That glow didn't come from $30 worth of cosmetics! No, sir. Let the games begin!

Sandestin - Day Three - Seaweed and Sandbars

We never saw a single tarball, and the water was various stripes of bright blues and emerald greens. However, on Day Three, there was a large, thick strip of brown separating the white sand beaches from the beautiful blues and greens. That's right. Seaweed had arrived.

It was the soft, tickly kind of seaweed. The kind of seaweed that gets into your bathing suit and your bathing suit lining. The kind of seaweed that when you come out of the water it looks like a baby threw up on your shoulder or back just a little. The kind of seaweed where jellyfish live and thrive.

I don't DO seaweed.

But just beyond was the clear water with waves breaking on a sandbar. And there were about 50 of so people standing and playing on the sandbar. There was little or no undertow. You couldn't tell if the water was deep on the way to the sandbar because of the SEAWEED, but it looked very "doable."

Mikie, Austin, Josh and Roxie decided to play on the sandbar. Seeing the multitude of people on the sandbar (all ages) made me feel okay about the decision. I even stood on the beach and played with the idea of joining them, but my hatred of seaweed won and I stayed on the beach... watching... waiting... thinking everything was okay.

When the four of them walked to the beach umbrella 30 or 40 minutes later, I knew something was wrong. Austin and Josh were fine, yelled they were headed to the pool, and RAN up the beach. Mikie was walking with head down and Roxie's legs were visibly shaking.

Roxie sat down on the water's edge and Mikie sat beside me. "That was a huge mistake," he said softly.

"Why? What happened?"

"It was solid swimming for everyone to reach the sandbar. No one could touch the bottom. Austin and I kept dog paddling to stay beside Roxie, and she was really struggling at the end."

"Was the sandbar okay?" I was starting to get a little sick at my stomach.

"Yeah. It was fine, but as soon as we got there, everyone was talking about how hard it had been to get to the sandbar. They were all just resting and getting ready to swim back."

"It just doesn't look that far out," I said, looking at the group of people still playing.

"It's very deceiving. And as soon as you step into the water it drops off. You don't even walk out part of the way before it's over your head."

"Were you nervous?" I asked, because Mikie never gets nervous the way I do.

"Well, like I said, it was a huge mistake... and we won't be doing it again. But Roxie doesn't know. She just knows she's tired. The boys are oblivious because they had no trouble swimming to and from. The hardest part was dog paddling and staying next to Roxie. She's just not as fast a swimmer because she's so much smaller."

Well, that was too much information for me. I didn't like it. I didn't like it one bit! And being the overreacting Mother, I said, "We're not coming back to the ocean. We're staying in the pool the rest of the trip. That's it."

"Or maybe tomorrow the seaweed will be gone. Or maybe the sandbar will be closer. Or maybe we can use floats and just leisurely kick our way to the sandbar. Maybe, just maybe, we don't have to put the entire ocean in a time out." I hate it when he's practical and right.

"You could have all been killed." The overly-dramatic Mother was making an appearance now.

"Nope. There were people with floats all around us. I said it was hard. I said it was a mistake. I didn't say a great white shark was on the sandbar picking swimmers off one by one. Josh was in more danger yesterday when you sat on his head for five minutes and held him under water than we were today." The practical Mikie was starting to get on my nerves.

And then Roxie walked up to us. "If we do that tomorrow, we need to take the boogie boards and floats."

"Yeah. That's what I was thinking, too," Mikie replied.

"I'm just not as fast as The Brothers," she muttered. (She hates to admit it, but it's true.)

And we packed up our beach paraphernalia and walked to the pool (which had no seaweed, by the way), and enjoyed the rest of our day in the 5 foot area (not the 8 foot).

Needless to say, this was the only drama portion of our trip. Well, unless you count the "sitting on Josh's head in the ocean" thing as drama. I put that under "comical." (Everything can't be funny, you know!)

AUGUST SPECIAL GUEST - LAUREN PATRICK - PART TWO - Here's a little more of Lauren's in-depth interview...

10. What is one thing you couldn't live without?

Family.

11. What is the hardest/best thing about being your age?

The hardest thing about being my age is pressure about the future. But the best thing is I don't pay bills! (Enjoy that part, Lauren!)

12. Describe your all-time best day ever.

My wedding day! (For those of you who don't know Lauren, that's a day she's looking forward to WAY, WAY in the future... and I'm sure it will be spectacular!)

13. What would be the worst job/profession to have?

Garbage man. (When Austin and Josh were in preschool, they wanted to be garbage men because they got to ride on the back of a truck and hang on with one hand. Just saying.)

14. What do you think you will be doing in ten years?

Working and making lots of money. (You go, girl!)

15. Who is your hero and why?

Mommy. She's my best friend! (Ahhh. But I'm a close second... right?)

16. What do you like best to do with your family? Why?

Play games because we act so bad! (We may be related.)

17. What instantly puts a smile on your face?

My man.

18. How many siblings do you have, and where do you fall in the mix?

One brother, and I'm the oldest.

19. Where is your "happy place?"

At home.

Dale and Joan have done something right, haven't they? Lauren's an exceptional young lady. I'll share Part Three of her interview first thing tomorrow morning!

Apple Crisp

This is an OLD Betty Crocker recipe. It's easy, delicious and it makes your house smell divine!

You will need the following:

4 medium Granny Smith apples (sliced, 4 cups)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
1/3 cup butter (softened)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease bottom and sides of 8" square pan.

2. Spread apples in pan. In a medium bowl, stir remaining ingredients until well mixed. Sprinkle over apples.

3. Bake 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown and apples are tender when pierced.

4. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

It takes about 10 minutes to prepare, and it is good stuff! It's a good reason to turn on the oven!

Have a great Tuesday. On Wednesday, I'll be sharing Wisdom, Traditions, Part Three of Lauren's interview AND a story or two about Day Four of our Sandestin Trip. Come back, won't you?

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda