Easter 2014

Last weekend was Easter, and we celebrated it on Saturday and Sunday.  On Saturday we went over to the grandparent's house here in Portland.  The cousins (Cy, Aimee, Jules & Zibby) also came over.  They had a fun time opening their Easter packages from Grandma and Grandpa.  Then we ate a yummy lunch of homemade pizza!  After that the kids colored Easter eggs while Jeff and Cy hid the other eggs to find in the rest of the house.  It was rainy that day, so we had to have our Easter egg hunt inside.  After coloring eggs, the kids were ready for a hunt.  We let the two younger cousins have a one minute head start and then let the other cousins join in.  Everyone found lots of eggs.  When the hunt was over, it was time to sit and look through all of the candy and things.  The kids all played together after that for a bit before it was time to go home.

Ready to Eat

Sam & Jules Coloring

Daniel Hunting

Zibby & Simon with the goods

On Sunday we went over to Aunt Debbie's and Uncle Todd's house for an Easter brunch.  Aunt Cheryl had also flown into town from Boston.  We had a yummy brunch and then it was time to find the eggs.  Uncle Todd had hid the eggs earlier.  It didn't rain that day, so we were able to look for eggs outside.  The boys had fun and got a whole bunch more candy! 

Cute Decorations

Simon & Sam in Bubble Play

The Boys on their Hunt

Simon takes it all in

We had a nice weekend.  And we hope you did too!

Cake Wars Part 2

This past week I attempted cake #2.  It is a chocolate cake with ganache and mousse fillings.  I started on the cake in the morning.  It took about an hour to make the cake, then I baked it and let it cool.  In the afternoon I made the mousse.  That also took about an hour.  I had to let it chill in the refrigerator.   Just before dinner I made the ganache.  Then I put the layers together.  It had to chill again before eating.  I opted out of the cashew brittle.  That seemed a little out of my baking range.  Overall, it tasted yummy.  Although it did take a lot of work and a lot of time, I was glad to have made it.  I won't be making it a lot, but I would make it again.  I think it would be fun to make the cake and put other layers between it such as a whip cream or frosting layer.

Saturday and Today

We've had some nice weather here lately.  On Saturday after church, the Grandparents and I (Jeff had to work) took the boys to the Rhododendron Gardens here in Portland.  They enjoyed running around, looking at the ducks and geese around the ponds.  We saw some baby ducks too.  It was nice to be outside.

Sabbath School with Simon

Peaking Out

Picnic

The Gardens

Today the boys had a half day because of parent/teacher conferences.  We came home and enjoyed some watermelon outside. 

Outside Watermelon

Bridge to Brews 2014

Today was the Bridge to Brews 10K Run here in Portland.  I did this run 2 years ago.  It's a fun run that goes over 2 of Portland's Bridges and the 10K is a nice distance to run.  The weather couldn't decide if it wanted to rain a little or let the sun break through, and in the end, it stayed dry enough to get the run finished.  This run also includes a kids 1/2 mile fun run.  Daniel did this 2 years ago and wanted to do it again this year.  He did great!  He finished 4th of about 30-40 kids!  We are so proud of him.  He is showing some interest in doing races, so it may be time to sign him up for a 5K.  I really enjoyed the race today.  The only con was that I had to go to the bathroom, so between mile 2 and 3 I made a quick pit-stop.  This run goes through downtown Portland, and as I said previously, goes over 2 bridges which is fun.  I was also pleased with my time.  I beat my time of 2 years ago by about a minute.  It's always fun when I can improve my time.  Here's a look back:

the boys playing before race time

pre-race photo

ready to run

finishing strong

mommy and son pic

yeah! did it!