Day 210: My son the princess

Fell asleep before posting yesterday--as sometimes happens!  But here's a photo.

What with one thing and another, I was able to spend the entire day with Adam.  Meryl was at drill and there was a technical glitch that kept me from work soo...

We had FUN!

The most requested game?

Pretty Pretty Princess.

This is one boy who will definitely grow up being in touch with his feminine side.

Isn't he lovely? 

Day 209: Military portrait

A couple of photos that I took of Meryl today in his uniform.

And with the goofy looking beret...

Yeah, you can tell he's trying not to laugh.

If anyone knows of any good resources so I can learn more about studio lighting, I'd appreciate a nudge.  There's something no quite right about these, but I can't quite put my finger on it...

Day 208: Corner View "Vending Machines."

This post is part cheat, since I took this vending machine photo at the beginning of March!  But I didn't see any machines today, and this one was very cool.  I wish I had a better shot of it--this one is a bit tight.  But anyway--it's a neat, old-fashioned machine.  If I drank coke, I would have loved to get one from this machine.  But since I don't, I just took home a photo instead:

*****

For today, though, here's a photo of Adam at Julia's soccer practice.  They both LOVE soccer--he can hardly wait to be old enough to play on a team himself.  When we got to the field, he asked me if I'd be on his team, and was tickled when I said of course I would!  He loves kicking the ball around--and does a pretty good job controlling it, too.  But this picture is of him watching Julia practice with her team.

Now grab a couple of quarters and check out other vending machines with Jane at Spain Daily.

Day 207: Forsythia blooms

I just LOVE the colors of Spring!  Forsythia doesn't bloom up north, where I grew up, and before I moved to Vancouver, I had never seen it. Now I wait in anticipation for it.  Forsythia brightens everything up with its cheerful, delicate blooms, bringing sunshine even on the sometimes cloudy days of spring, and reminding us all that their buds, although just the beginning, herald all other blossoms of the season.

 

Day 206: Warning: Bare Belly Ahead

A friend of mine who is now living in Utah is in town.  She is expecting her first child in June, and for her shower gift I took some tummy pictures.  I can't believe she's going to be a mummy!  When we first moved here, she was our #1 babysitter, and now she's expecting a child of her own.  She's going to be such a great mom--I'm so thrilled for her.

Although I've taken maternity photos before, the style of some of the ones we did here (you'll know what I mean!) was completely new to me!  It was something she really wanted to try, though, so I did a quick scrounge for fabrics and things, and away we went.  A scrap of sheer something-or-other and an old curtain can go far!  Since I've known her for ages, it wasn't awkward--we actually had a lot of fun, and it was great having an excuse to hang out with her for a good portion of the morning. 

Day 205: First leaves

Today while watching General Conference, I looked out the window and saw this across the street:

GREEN!  Isn't it the most beautiful color you've ever seen?  I thought we'd never see it again around here!

***

Did an Easter egg hunt today with the kids between conference sessions.  Twelve eggs, each with something inside to symbolize Easter and a little scripture on a strip of paper. The kids had a ball racing around the yard finding the eggs, and it was nice to sit in the sun on a beautiful Easter Sunday reading about the first Easter.  If you're interested, you can find the directions here.  The directions do it as more of an advent type thing, where you start 12 days before Easter.  But we do it as a hunt.  They gather all the eggs and put them in a pretty basket, and then we open each one in order.

Easter bunny comes to our house tonight.  Anticipation reigned at our house at bedtime tonight.

**

Made bunny bread today:  For someone who doesn't bake bread, there has been a lot of bread in the oven the last couple of days.  This was from frozen loaves, though.  Cheated, yes--but there was still rising involved.

Didn't realize the dip was so washed out. Live and learn/.  You can find the recipe here.

Day 204:

Hot cross buns.  It was a comedy of errors, but in the end, they turned out.  I'm so not a bread baker.  I do the dough in the machine, although I rise and shape by hand.  I've always been frustrated by the rise, though. Never seems to work out.  But anyway.

After an hour, they weren't even beginning to rise.  So I decided to try again--different recipe.  By the time it came out of the breadmaker, 2-1/2 hours after I started the initial rise, the first batch desided to get a move on and rise.  I guess it just needed a little competition.  So into the oven it went.  Turned out pretty nice, actually.

Meanwhile, the first batch also was taking it's sweet time to rise, but I didn't worry this time.  Just let it sit there, in the slightly warm oven, for hours.  Finally, they were doubled.  Stuck 'em in to bake, and they looked gorgeous.  Big and fluffy and warm.  Just want I wanted.

Until I took them out of the pan, and they deflated.  They hadn't been baked enough, and that was that. Half their height in a matter of seconds.  Drat. But at least now I know that things WILL rise.  It just will take all day.

In the meantime, we have the first batch.  And, although they taste pretty good, I am convinced, yet again, that  yeast is my personal enemy.

Oh--and Adam?  I opened one up to put butter on it for him, and he said, "nose goop."  Eh?  Golden raisins.  Even after I ate one, he was still convinced I baked with boogers.

Nighter.