Easter Day

Easter dinner is the one holiday meal my Mom still makes. Let me tell you, it's fabulous. A standing rib roast, incredible spicy twice baked potatoes, asparagus with a shitake port sauce...mmmmmm. Mom, you outdid yourself again!

We got to my parent's house early so we could hide eggs for Kylie, who is not quite 3. She came in with a big, "Hi guys. See my booful dress!" I actually bought this dress for her last summer - I think it's fitting her better this year! She loved twirling around to make the dress flare out.

Kylie really likes my Dad, and my Dad just thinks she's a hoot.

I'm happy to see that the Disney Potato Head we brought Kylie is still a big hit.

When Travis arrived, we headed outside for the egg hunt. What a difference a year makes. She was really into it this year. She was just all smiles as she gathered the eggs. Yeah, she knew what goodies were hidden in those eggs!
Oh man, is that ANOTHER egg there?
Kylie had quite a haul from the Easter Bunny. She was pretty good about only eating a few pieces of candy before dinner too.
I am so sad to say that this was the point where my camera battery died. I am so upset that I wasn't able to capture Kylie's after dinner show. I think we laughed until we cried! With her little microphone, she announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls! Now presenting Kylie!" She proceeded to dance and when we all clapped, she bowed in every direction saying, "Thank you, thank you, thank you," in her cute little high pitched voice. I don't know if we'll every be able to recapture that adorable moment.

Easter Egg Hunt With Gwen

Saturday morning was just plain ugly. It was raining, a bit foggy. Certainly not conducive weather for an outdoor egg hunt. Since Kera and Gwen were coming over for an Easter egg hunt and dinner, it looked like we were stuck hiding eggs indoors again this year. Brent and I had all 50 eggs hidden inside and sure enough, the sun came out and it got a bit warmer. Figures. So, we gathered all the eggs...at least the 48 we could find...and Brent hid them all outside. He did a great job!

Gwen was very excited to dress up in the beautiful dress her Aunt Stacy bought for her birthday. She accessorized with a beautiful pink pearl bracelet that had been Kera's as a little girl and a pretty pink necklace. Topped off with the cute bunny ears she made at school, she was beautiful!

It was time for some serious egg hunting.

Grandpa Brent did such a good job hiding them that, after we counted the eggs and knew we were short, so we came back outside to hunt for the stragglers.
You can tell Gwen is really having a great time!

Then, it's back inside to open all the eggs and see just what the Easter bunny put in those eggs. I think Gwen enjoys this part just as much as hunting the eggs!
We finally found those 2 missing eggs that were hidden indoors. I think you can tell Gwen had a really good time.

Moon Dancer Winery

Once a month we go out to dinner with some friends affectionately known as "The Gang." In March, Drew and Ginny Bitner made arrangements for us to tour the Moon DancerWinery. What we didn't realize was it was the weekend of some big wine event in York County and the winery was packed. That didn't stop us from having a great time though.

There was a band playing so we moved up to the porch trying to get closer to the chiminee.

Hey, a little music, a little wine, and who cares if it's a bit nippy!

Gwen Turns 5

Oh my. Where has the time gone? It doesn't seem possible that this little girl is already 5. It seems like yesterday when I stood in a hospital room and watched her being born. Hard to imagine that she'll be starting kindergarten in the fall.

We planned a small family celebration at our place, and you know, it's not a party until there are hats!

One of Gwen's favorite meals is pizza - and that certainly made things easy for me! I ordered in some pizzas, made rootbeer floats, and had some chips and it just doesn't get any better than that. I made the cake. When I was a little girl, I had a little figurine with a lamb that always sat atop my cake which was white with white coconut icing. My mom bought this figurine to use for Kera's cakes, but I can only remember one or two years where I used it. I decided to bring it out of storage and use it for Gwen. I'm not much of a baker, but it turned out pretty cute I thought.

For some reason, known only to Gwen, she wasn't too keen on blowing the candles out. But, after a rough start, she finally made an attempt. Then it was on to the best part...the presents! She enjoyed the cards and loved ripping into the gifts.

If you've been following Kera's blog, you know that Gwen is really into bird watching. She has a little guide book where she looks up the different kinds of birds that come to her feeders and birdbath. We got her some binoculars so she could check them out from afar.

One of the best gifts Gwen received was a beautiful aquamarine (Gwen's birthstone) that my Dad faceted and set. He's been looking for a good piece of rough to facet for her for quite some time. It was worth the wait. The stone is absolutely gorgeous.

And of course, there's just one in every crowd isn't there.

A Little Swim

Brent headed for the gym and I popped in to take some pics of family time in the pool. Gwen's doing great and she was having a wonderful time.

Gwen doesn't really like to get in her eyes, so throwing the ball and splashing each other is a great way to get her accustomed to it without much trauma. She was having fun throwing the ball in front of grandpa and splashing him.

She didn't put on her goggles until she decided to jump into the water. I was so proud of her.

You've come a long way, baby!

My Grandpa Will Do It

We kept Kylie while Trav & Allison had a date night. Allison made us a wonderful dinner with baked salmon, oven baked potatoes and fresh veggies. What a treat! Kylie ate a few potatoes, but was really focused on butter. Not her bread, but the butter on her bread. After scarfing the butter down, she wanted more butter for her bread. Yeah, fool me once......I was wise to her tricks! Is she cute or what?!

We played some games, and Kylie seemed to enjoy the Disney potato head we brought back from WDW. We made some crazy critters then Ky decided the potato head belonged on her dresser. Hope she didn't have nightmares!

The DVD player was broken so the computer genius - that's Kylie - showed Grandpa how to work the Mac so we could watch one of her cartoons. Kids and computers - just amazing.

I suggested we put some jammies on and Kylie ran to get them. I grabbed a diaper (she didn't have anything on - she had apparently removed her day-time pull up before we arrived) and she accepted the fact that her Mommy said she needed a diaper. What she didn't accept was Grandma changing her clothes. "No Grandma. My Grandpa will do it."

Heheheh. Yeah. Deer caught in the headlights. Grandpa has only ever changed 2 diapers in his life. I have to give him credit though, he did a good job. He really enjoyed being the favorite grandparent of the night.

Let Me Entertain You

We like to invite friends and family for dinner. At Christmas Brent brought home a lovely 3-rib standing rib roast that he found on sale at a stupendous price at the Weis Market. We popped it in the freezer and finally had time to make it a few weeks ago. We invited Mom and Dad along with Matt and Kim to enjoy our little feast.

We started with a really simple appetizer I found using prosciutto and feta cheese and crescent rolls. Nothing fancy but pretty yummy. I also found a recipe for a layered cobb salad. I put it in a clear bowl and it looked nice and was a big hit. I couldn't believe Matt went back for seconds, and then finally just gave up and emptied the bowl. Brent grilled the rib roast to perfection. Brent paired this with a Joseph Phelps Insignia, a great California bordeaux-style blend he'd been keeping "down cellar" for some time. Kim made a fantastic potato tart, and Dad made his famous chocolate chip cheesecake (with just the right amount of chocolate chips in it). It was a fantastic meal.

Of course, then there's always the morning after.