Sweet Potato Cupcakes

I will have to confess first about how I got this recipe.  I was riding with two other coach's wives to the last out of town football game.  When we got back to town one of them left some magazines in the vehicle saying she was just going to through them away.  Well I scooped them right up because I saw this recipe and was really excited to try it.  Whew!  Don't you feel better already?  Now on to baking.  I actually baked the sweet potatoes the night before and kept them in the fridge until we were ready to bake.  Xavier is my ever ready baking assistant and quality control expert.  He found this particular batter to be fantastic.  I think he actually liked the batter better than the finished product. 

  The really fun part for me was tucking the Hershey's kisses in after the cupcakes had baked a few minutes.  I had another handsome assistant who came home for 2 seconds on his lunch break help me unwrap the candy, but he didn't stick around long enough to get his picture taken.

                      The cupcakes turned out so well and this chocolate frosting was wonderful!

                  I won't even tell you how much butter the whole thing required.  It was just worth it.

"Pumpkin Patch"

Notice the quotation marks.  We set aside a Saturday to visit a pumpkin patch in a town far enough away you don't want to drive that far unless you have fairly big plans.  Saturdays during football season are hard to come by, but the team was playing in another town about an hour and a half south so Xavier and I made the drive together.  We got to the pumpkin patch town (much bigger than the location of the football game.  We play 6-man football.  That means all our games are in tiny towns like home) really early so we could do some shopping.  Xavier had received some birthday money so we had fun picking out books and clothes together.  First, though, we ate lunch at McAlister's Deli. Yum! Daddy doesn't like that place so we have to save it for Mommy/Son dates.  They have great kids meals and some locations only charge 99 cents! We made it to the football game in time and J.J. drove us back to our hotel on Friday evening.  Well, it has not rained here in ever so long.  The summer just stretched on and on with heat and drought.  I was never so happy to feel the arrival of Fall as this year.  Needless to say the weather was perfect this Saturday morning for rain and who was I to complain when we needed it so desperately.  Both pumpkin patches in this town were closed due to the weather.  We ended up visiting a stand near a grocery store.  Xavier didn't know the difference and he did get to pick his own pumpkin and ride in a wagon.  I guess we'll try again next year.  On a side note, our own little pumpkin patch that I had written off as a beautiful mess of huge vines is actually producing some pumpkins now.  Stay tuned for more adventures as we attempt baking from our own garden!

Lunch at McAlister's

Being pulled in the wagon

Pulling the wagon

Choosing the perfect pumpkin

I love this picture! We didn't even tell him to grab the pumpkin.  He did it all on his own.

Picking out some baby pumpkins

Taking the wagon back to the lot

Snoozing on the drive home with bear

Homecoming

Homecoming week was a very busy time at the school.  Since Xavier and I only stop by the school once a day to bring Daddy tea, we missed out on most of the excitement.  I mean I probably did wear pajamas on Monday, but that isn't too much different than any other Monday. =)  We let Daddy have all the fun of dressing up, decorating the school, and painting the football field until wee hours of the morning.  We did attend the parade and the football game so I got a few pictures.  Congratulations on another win Panthers!

 Daddy and Xavier at the parade

 Momma and Xavier at the parade

 Having fun at home waiting for the game to begin

Reading a book with Grandpa and Granny at the game