Marlee Lands Safely In The Apple Orchard

Once again, Marlee has shown her family that her ideas are not only exciting, but so much fun! The balloon trip was cold, noisy, and especially fun because her mama and daddy surprised her by being in the balloon to accompany her to the apple orchard.
When they landed, it was a bit scary because the balloon didn't go exactly where it was supposed to. For some reason they landed just outside the apple orchard. They landed gently though. There were lots of people there to make sure everyone on board was okay. Marlee is finding out at a very young age, that people are generally there to help her even if they don't know her.



They were taken to the orchard by a special fire truck that was used only for very special people. The driver even had the siren go "ooga ooga" since it was so old it couldn't make a "wee ooh, wee ooh" sound. Marlee was a very special person, of course. All of Marlee's family laughed and laughed. Such fun it was to ride in an old fire truck.
Soon they arrived at the apple orchard. Much to everyone's surprise there were

lots of people there. There were grownups and children. There were grandmas and grandpas. There were babies and there were children that could walk. There were also people that lifted their children way up high so that they could pick their own apples.

There was a person there that gave a little talk. That person told the group that there had been a theft. A theft is taking something that doesn't belong to you. Well, it seems that someone had stolen the Magic Green Apple. That particular apple was extremely important to anyone that wanted to make apple pie. This apple mixed with red apples made the pie taste just perfect. Anyone knows that perfect apple pie is extremely hard to find. If you look very very closely you can see the Magic Green Apple mixed in with red apples.
There seems to be two people that are competing to find the Magic Green Apple. One is very young and one is not. The young people live close to the orchard, the older person has a long trip back if he has sneaked the Magic Green Apple in his pocket for the trip back home.
There are two other people that are very wise and also know about the Magic Green Apple. Oh, I think that their names are Grandma and Papa. They are friends of Grandma Lu's. If they took it, they are destroying the evidence, aren't they? Just look at all of those apple peelings. Using an apple peeler is so much fun. The apple goes round and round and it comes out just perfectly peeled and sliced for a pie.

Marlee Can Go High In The Sky

Sure to his word, Orion got Marlee's message to his cousins, Justina and Teslee. The girls were older and a bit worried that they shouldn't help Marlee for fear of getting themselves in trouble. They were absolutely right, weren't they? So what they did was call their mom and then she called Marlee's mama and daddy. This is a crazy story! Marlee's idea is getting everyone involved in this. Why? Because they are friends and family and want to keep her safe, but also want her to have fun. So Marlee's mom and dad decided to have a little fun with their little
mischief maker too. They just happened to know someone that was a balloonist. They were sure that he would take them for a ride. They called their friend and then they called Grandma B. They were all in on the surprise for Marlee. She was going to the apple orchard and for a balloon ride. How fun is this?
Grandma B got Marlee all dressed up in her warm pink sweatshirt because when you go up high in the sky it is colder than it is on the ground. Isn't that interesting?
Soon there was a knock on Grandma B's door and two little boys, Justin and Tim asked if Marlee was ready to go on the balloon ride. Grandma B just smiled and said, "She sure is! Have fun you three." And away they went. I wonder why Grandma B didn't go?
Marlee's parents were already in the field with the balloon waiting for her. I think they were as excited as they knew that Marlee would be.
As soon as Marlee saw the balloon she got a little nervous. It was really really big. The heater made a lot of noise too, especially for a little girl's ears. But she was grinning from ear to ear. She did not see her mama and daddy. They had their backs to her. There were a few more people in the balloon too. They all wanted to go to the apple orchard.


Would you go on a hot air balloon? No, no wait a minute, this isn't the balloon that Marlee is going on. She is going on a balloon that has a Tweetie bird on it. It's a little dark outside yet. They were leaving really early in the morning.
While Marlee is getting ready to fly high in the sky there are some children already at the apple orchard. In fact, there are a lot of children and grown ups there.
 There is something not right going on, but no one knows about it yet. It has something to do with a missing Green Apple. Hmmm.

Marlee Has An Idea!

Marlee really really wanted to go to that apple orchard. She just needed a way to get there. She could only drive the Ranger when Grandma B was with her, so she had to come up with something else. She was so disappointed, but she decided to think it over, and probably talk to Stashia about it when she woke up from her nap.

Marlee looked around the living room for something else to look at to take her mind off going to the apple orchard. Well, there on the couch was a magazine with a huge balloon on the front. She had had a bad experience in floating up in a huge bubble one day, and Stashia had saved her that time. She kinda got into trouble too. So she crawled up on the couch and decided to look at the pretty balloons. As Marlee turned page after page a little idea started to form in that cute little head of hers. It was major trouble. Once Marlee gets an idea, it's just pretty hard to stop her. Look at that face!

Marlee remembered that there were two girls that were tour guides when she was prospecting for gold. They were pretty nice. She kind of tilted her head to one side and said, "I wonder if I got a message to them somehow if they would get me on one of those big hot air balloons. The magazine pictures showed that even little kids like me could ride on one. (Probably should have an adult with you, Marlee, ahem...)
Marlee found her colors and started to write a message to the Texas cowboy that helped her on her gold prospecting adventure. He could get the message to those girls. She just knew it. She just told him to get those two girls to help her with a balloon.  She knew exactly where B kept her envelopes and stamps and drew a picture of a balloon on it and got on her horse and took it out to the mailbox as quick as she could.
Soon after she got back in the house, her mama came to pick her up to take her home. As they were driving out onto the road, the mailman was picking up the mail. Marlee's letter was on its way to Texas.
Well, my dear Marlee, I don't know how, but Orion actually did get that letter from you. He was at school with his Grandpa Brian having fun. He had taken the letter to school with him so he could give it to the girls. They were older than him, but he saw them at recess some times. Because they are good friends also, help is on the way.
As for Marlee, she is home thinking about a hot air balloon ride even more than those apples I'm afraid.

Marlee Wanted To Go To The Apple Orchard

One day when Marlee was in the living room, Grandma B was telling Grandma Lu that the deer had broken through the fence and had eaten all of her apples from her apple tree. Now she couldn't make an apple pie. She told Grandma Lu that Marlee was old enough now that she could have helped her make it. She was so disappointed about that. She loved having Marlee wear her apron and help her in the kitchen.

Marlee was listening to the conversation while she was looking at one of B's magazines. Marlee had never eaten an apple, but she had seen pictures of them and also knew that if her Grandma B made pie with them, that they would be good. She loved pie and peach cobbler too.
While she was listening, she turned the page of the magazine and there was a picture of a man with his back turned from her in an apple orchard. She knew that apples grew on trees of course, but this was a great big field just full of apple trees. "Oh, Stashia, look there are two girls and one of them is riding in a wagon and they are having fun. I want to have fun too. How am I going to get there?"
Marlee looked and looked at the pictures.  "Oh, Stashia, look how big that apple is. I bet that would make a whole pie!" and she chuckled and Stashia made a low noise in her throat.
Stashia had been friends with Marlee for two years. In the two years that she had been Marlee's friend she had seen Marlee get into all kinds of mischief in her many adventures. She didn't even want to think about this one. She just knew that there was trouble brewing. Then she just sighed and thought, "Well, I don't think she can get into any trouble just by looking at a magazine. She'll be alright. I think I will just go lay down and take a nap." So she did just that.
Marlee was a little disappointed that her friend went off and left her. It

seemed to Marlee that Stashia was never up for a little fun. She always tried to stop her from going on her fun adventures. "Oh well, thought Marlee. I am going to finish looking at these pictures and then go see what Grandma B is doing. All of a sudden she saw this picture of these two pretty girls and a bunch of apples. She wanted those apples. There was enough there she figured to make at least two (2) pies! Oh and she would love to ride in that wagon too.
I think Marlee has a plan. She's got her favorite pink sweatshirt on because it is chilly where she is going. I think she may ask for help from two older girls that helped keep her safe when she was prospecting for gold. We shall see.
 Maybe she will just stay home and play with her toys and Zoe and Stashia. But then again, just look at her face. Oh oh!

Marlee Learns That Friends Can Like Different Things

The last time we read about Marlee she had accepted a job as a taste tester. There was a question about a cafe that was serving sour pickles instead of sweet. That was not acceptable to Marlee. She had blown her cover by taking off her black hat and sunglasses. She didn't know what to do. She didn't think she wanted to lose her job. But her mama and daddy whisked her out of the cafe and took her home. They explained to her that some jobs just were not right for her while others were.
True to form, Marlee decided she knew more than her parents so she decided to sneak back in again. This time she dressed in clothes that she hadn't worn to that cafe before. Sure enough they did not recognize her.
Marlee acted just like a lady and ordered once again, a hamburger and french fries and a glass of water. She told the lady who waited on her that she wanted a sweet pickle on her plate, not on her hamburger. She told Marlee that was fine, she would order it for her. When Marlee got her pickle she made a bad face. Then she said, "No like it!!" She went on to tell the manager of that cafe that she was going to write them up for poor service.
A few tables away, there was a pretty little girl that waved at Marlee and said, "Hi, remember me, I'm Hannah. I was at the surprise party the other day. I had to leave to help at the shop. Well, I'm on my break, and I would really like to be your friend. Don't you think that you are pretty hard on these folks?  Some people really like sour things. In fact a lot of people do. See, I love to eat lemons just like this!" When Marlee saw that she made a face, but you know what?
That made Marlee really think things over. What Hannah said was true. Even her Grandma B liked sour pickles. "Hmm, maybe you are right. What do you like to do, Hannah? I'm already tired of this job. I think my mama and daddy are right. Some jobs just aren't right for me. You seem to like your job though, don't you?"
Hannah grinned and said, "I sure do because I get to spend time learning new things and sometimes my mama and daddy are both there too. But do you know what I really really like to do? I love to sing. Do you like to sing?"
 We all know that Marlee loves to sing. Do you remember this picture? And here is one of Hannah singing too. So you see, friends don't have to like the same food. They don't even have to like the same clothes, or music. But good friends should like to do a lot of the same things. You know why? So when they get older they can laugh at themselves at the fun they had and the silly things that they did together. Oh and look at fun pictures when they were little.
Oh wait, Marlee is waving goodbye to Hannah. I hear her say, "Don't forget, let's go out for ice cream soon. My Grandma B is waiting for me out in the car. I sure hope that you like ice cream, 'cause I just love it!"

Marlee Goes Under Cover

Things had settled down for Marlee. She was back from vacation, and the surprise party was fun. Now Marlee needed something new to do. You know what that means, Marlee is going on an adventure again.
Marlee was contacted by the Division Of Taste Testers to do some taste testing. Well, Marlee accepted immediately because food is her specialty. She knows what is good and she knows what is bad. She was perfect for the job.
The first place she had to investigate was a cafe not too far from her house. She had to find out if in fact they were using sour pickles instead of sweet pickles. Sour pickles just would not do. There were other items on her check list, but pickles were her main check today.
She needed some kind of disguise. She found something at her Grandma B's house that would be just perfect. Marlee wears sunglasses sometimes when she's outside, so people wouldn't be suspicious she didn't think, if she wore some on her first job as an undercover inspector of pickles.
 She was rummaging through some old clothes of B's and found another old hat. She was set. She had on a black hat and black sunglasses, no one would know who she was, she was sure of that.
When the waitress delivered her food, she was immediately on alert! She had coffee on her tray! Oh no, that was the first red mark that would be on her report. She took her hat and sunglasses off and said, "Hey there, I'm an official taste tester undercover for the D.O.T.T and I'll have you know that your coffee is too hot! And besides that, I ordered water!
Well, Marlee had blown her cover within just a few minutes. Now what was she going to do? She looked just like a regular two year old girl now. She had to think...
Marlee looked around the cafe trying to decide if she should leave or if there was something else she could do to make up for her goof up. She should never ever have taken off her hat and sunglasses.
She really wanted and needed this job. She just had a feeling that things were not up to par at this place. She couldn't see back in the corner very well. She thought she saw someone she knew.
All at once there was a ruckus at the cafe door. You will never guess who came to rescue Marlee! Of course, it was her mama and daddy. You can always count on your parents in most cases to help you if you make mistakes.
 Now the next question, do you think that Marlee is going to give up this job, or do you think that she will try doing it one more time? Or do you think she will give up after only one mistake? What would you do?
I think we will find out tomorrow.

Marlee Didn't Know There Was Going To Be A Party

What Marlee didn't know while she was at the zoo, was that there were plans for a surprise party going on. Oh, I just love surprises. A new friend had missed Marlee and her family so much  that she couldn't wait to get together. The only sad thing was that daddy had to go to work and couldn't join the party. He had to go into work on his last vacation day.

Well, while Marlee was making goofy faces for the camera and loving the monkeys and giraffes in the zoo, Marlee's new friend, Joann was getting things all ready for a little get together; a party!

In the meantime Marlee was on her way back to town and boy was she hungry! What a lucky day for Marlee's new friend because she had planned her little party not only for Marlee, but also for her mama and Grandma B and Grandma Lu.

 How fun.
 Oh Marlee, someday when you read this to your children I'm sure you will smile. You were such a good little girl that day. Here are some pictures of your party.

There are pictures of you and Joann getting acquainted! She even gave you a nice new book which you really liked and played with that day.  It was a really fun book that opened up in the middle of the page so you could see all the different pictures. How nice of her. You fed Grandma Lu ice cream and it was so good! Chocolate, of course.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye. Marlee gave her new friend a hug goodbye.

Marlee Had Fun At The Zoo

Marlee and her family were so happy to finally be back on the road and headed for home. They had gone on vacation and had a great time, but Marlee thought about her toys at home and her very own bed. She had missed her own little bedroom. She missed Grandma B's bed too, because if she smiled just right and said, "Tom and Jerry," Grandma B would let her lay on her bed and watch that cartoon. She would even let her eat some snacks in her bed once in awhile. Stashia just loved it when Marlee ate Rice Krispy bars in bed.
Marlee's daddy said, "We only have one day on the road until we get home again. I just can't wait to sleep in my own bed again. Then the next day we will have a day of rest before we go back to work. Marlee's mama said, "Yes, and there is a lot of laundry to do. We were gone almost a week longer than we thought we would.
They drove until they got hungry for a late breakfast. Marlee's daddy pulled into a parking lot that had a nice looking cafe. Everyone was busy getting out of the car, when they all heard, "I can't believe this, there is Uncle B's car, Marlee. I wonder if your Aunt Naynay is here too. They all rushed into the cafe and sure enough there they both were. They were just ordering their breakfast. They got tables pushed together and they all started talking at once. They talked mostly about the terrible blizzard that they got stuck in. But they also talked about what Uncle B and Marlee's aunt were going to do that day. Guess what, they were going to go to the zoo! Marlee had never been to the zoo. Of course, Uncle B and  her Naynay wanted to take her with them. They asked if it was okay and of course, it was.
The zoo had lots of people visiting that day. It was a beautiful sun shiny day.

Marlee liked to have her Uncle B carry her sometimes. She liked to be up high so she could see and besides that sometimes her little legs got really tired. She had lots of fun being silly with her Uncle and her Aunt and pretending to be a monkey even! Here are some pictures of their day. Have you ever been silly and had fun when you had your picture taken? It's lots of fun and when Marlee gets older she will laugh when she looks at these pictures, won't she?

Marlee Makes A Really Bad Decision

When big people and little people get bored they sometimes make really bad decisions. Today Marlee is going to make a really bad decision. No one was paying any attention to her. It seemed to her that every time she went to do something she was told "No no!" So she decided to go outside and look around for something to do.

The first thing she saw was her mama's big horse, Comanche. He was a really big horse. He was so pretty standing out there in the field. Marlee decided that she would go out in the field to say hello.
Her daddy had put her on a big horse's back before when she was little. It was really fun to sit up high on the horse's back. She could see clear over into the neighbor's yard.

Before Marlee went out to the field she saw something so funny! She stood and watched and watched another horse. He was their neighbor's horse, his name was Chopper. The neighbors said that he chopped down all of their flowers one time when he got out of his pen. So they named him Chopper. That was a fun name, wasn't it?  This horse was big too! But he wasn't eating hay. He wasn't eating apples or carrots, he was eating birdseed! She watched him for the longest time. She had an idea. She was going to go to her mama's bird feeder and put some carrots in the bird feeder for Comanche. Marlee thought it was a great idea! Remember some of Marlee's ideas haven't turned out so well..
The first thing she had to do was go into the house and get into the refrigerator. She had never done that before all by herself. But she was big now. She was two years old and could reach the refrigerator door. Boy she sure hoped that mama had gone grocery shopping.

I think that Marlee knew that she shouldn't be doing this because she was very very quiet and kind of sneaked into the kitchen while her mom and dad were talking out on the porch. Yes, her parents were outside too. This was going to make Marlee's adventure a bit more difficult. They were used to Marlee's adventures and kept a close eye out on her. But they made a mistake. The telephone rang inside the house. Marlee was in the kitchen, they were in the living room. Oh oh...
Marlee stretched and stretched. She finally opened the refrigerator door and guess what she saw? Not carrots, not apples, but Jelly Beans! A whole great big bag of jelly beans. She had hit the jackpot today. She took that bag of candy and hurried outside around to the bird feeder. She thought if the horse, Chopper, could eat birdseed, Comanche would just love Jelly Beans. Why? Because she did too! Grandma B had gotten her some before. They were good and they were pretty. They were pink, green, yellow, red, and one time she even saw a black one. The thing was, Marlee had a problem. A problem is something that stands in your way of an adventure or in this case a good idea. When you are two and about to get into mischief you sometimes have some trouble. This time she couldn't get the bag open. Then she had another really bad idea. She was going to ask LaRue to help her. This was easy beans; Jelly Beans.
Of course, LaRue was eager to help and took a great big bite out of the bag. The thing is when a bag of Jelly Beans is open and you have a dog and a little girl that likes candy all kinds of things could happen.

When Marlee's mama and daddy came running out of the house to see what she was doing they found a dog and a little girl with mouths that told the whole story. Marlee's mouth was purple and green and a whole lot dirty. LaRue's mouth was all sticky with chewed up candy. They got into so much trouble. Marlee was told one more time, "No no no, Marlee. Jelly beans are not good for dogs. LaRue could get sick and so could you. From now on you ask before you get into the refrigerator, okay?" Marlee nodded her head, because she knew she had to, but thought that was a silly rule. Do you think that Marlee will remember to ask before she gets into the refrigerator again?