The Royal Wedding

We have been pretty obsessed with the Royal Wedding around here all week. Brittany has been watching the coverage on the morning shows before school. Last night we watched the 20/20 special together. Brittany is just about the same age I was when Princess Di and Charles got married. I remember being obsessed then too. VCR's weren't very old but I remember setting ours so I could watch it. Last night I did the same thing so Brittany and I could watch William and Kate together. So fun! Who doesn't love a good fairy tale? I sure hope this one has a happy ending. In our world so full of sad, tragic and distressing news it feels marvelous to celebrate with such a lovely couple.

Check it out Mormon girls! That is a lovely, modest wedding dress! With sleeves people! That is a big deal for those of us who marry in the temple. So lovely.

Adding to the fun was the fact that it was the fact that it was our wedding anniversary yesterday. My nice hubby sent flowers.

I suppose this was as close as we got to a balcony shot. Happy to report that our fairy tale is still having a happy ending!

Little Soccer

Josh is playing soccer! Mostly because most of the people he admires are playing soccer, like Matthew and his friend Gage. In fact we had to teach him to try and follow the ball not Gage or he just runs around being Gage's shadow. I have to admit it is pretty cute.

Look! He is going right for the ball!

Look at that! Actual contact with the ball was made! Here is to Spring soccer!

Easter Saturday

I love when we approach a holiday and there are a few things we must do. Traditions that are well established. Easter is one of our best. First up, the Dopp family Easter egg hunt. Fabulous! Here are the kids with their "baskets" waiting to be filled.

The woman who makes it all happen. My friend Circe is one of the best party-throwers I know. She does it right, low-stress lots of fun. We are seriously thinking of getting her one of these megaphones to use in her real life.

They are off! Can you spot all four of my family member racing down the hill? Josh insists Dad help him.

Mission accomplished! Lots of loot. Lots of fun!

Then it is home to dye eggs. I really don't know why we do this. No one eats them. They don't even get hidden. But it is fun and I do always make them do a few blown eggs for me to keep. Maybe this time I will make egg salad.

Oh yeah, this is why we dye eggs. The cuteness factor!

Yep, lots of fun and pretty cute too.

Then it is off to Grandma's egg hunt. This one is really great because there are only five kids and you are guaranteed more eggs than your bucket can hold.

See, doesn't that look fun?!

This year we added a new feature. An original play written by Miss Brittany and acted out by the cousins. It was so great. Not sure it will be an annual thing though.

Hope your Easter Saturday was as much fun as ours!

Happy Easter!

Hope you had a lovely Easter morning!

Bagel Pillows

That cute girl over at Cluck Cluck Sew has another new pillow my friend Mandi and I had to try the other day. I think they sort of look like a bagel. A cute bagel. This one was supposed to be the one I was making for me but I think it might show up in the poor neglected etsy shop soon because...

This is the one I am keeping. I just can't seem to get away from these fabrics. There will be more of these to come I think.

A Yarn Message

Found this message on the floor when I checked on a sleeping Brittany the other night. Cute girl.

Pumpkin Bread

We have decided that pumpkin is Brittany's favorite vegetable. Pumpkin bread is her new favorite. She has it almost every morning for breakfast. This is our favorite recipe. 2 1/4 C Sugar 3 Eggs 1/2 C water 1/2 can of pumpkin-the large kind or one small can 3/4 C oil 2 3/4 C Flour 1/4 t. and 1/8 Baking Powder 1 1/2 t baking soda 1 t cinnamon 1 t salt Mix together and pour into two large greased pans. Bake 1 hour in glass pans or 75 minutes metal pans. I add 3/4 C of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips. I also substitute 1 cup of whole wheat flour.

Challah Bread

My friend Vanessa blogged awhile ago about the bread she had been making, Challah bread. I just had to try it. I love the yummy yellow, egginess. I have to say it is more work than my french bread recipe but it was really good. I used the recipe Vanessa used and her changes. This is her post and this is the recipe she used. If you feel like a little bread adventure try it!

The New Jane

My mom, sister and I went to see the new Jane Eyre movie Saturday. It was fantastic. Beautiful, dark, tragic and just perfect. The girl who played Jane, Mia Waskowska, was also Alice in Alice in Wonderland. I think it is definitely proof that the girl can act when she can be luminously beautiful in Alice and perfectly plain as Jane. Okay, it might have a little to do with the make-up and costume people but still, she is amazing. I am not usually a fan of darkness in a movie but lets face it, I think Charlotte Bronte would have loved it that way. Granted half the fun was getting to go with my mom and sister but this really was a great movie. I highly reccomend it if you can find it. It is a limited engagement so far and only available at one theater in our area but well worth the effort to find!

Mom's Birthday

It was my mom's birthday last week. My mom has us all perfectly trained. There will be a dinner, ice cream in meringue with strawberries on top will be the dessert, attendance is mandatory and so are presents. My mom is the smartest woman I know and her policy is the older you get the more presents you should get. Oh, and you should never have to go to work on your birthday. Automatic day off. This year we ended up postponing our dinner until a week later so ensure we could add one of our favorite traditions, Mom and I am my sister shopping and lunching. This was our present. This was the wrapping, there was a watch inside. A little odd I know but when you birthday is right before Easter this is what happens.

I snuck into my mom and dad's house while they were at church and decorated for the party. I made her a vintagey one.

This was my favorite part. That is my mom when she was one. Isn't she just the cutest thing ever? I think she liked her party, I hope so because she really is the very best mother in the world!

The Last Tree house Field Trip

A coupe of weeks ago Josh had a big field trip to the Treehouse museum. I have been to The Treehouses with each of my kids while they were in preschool. It is always a lot of fun. Josh had a blast. Check out his bull riding, arm in the air and everything. Not to mention the stance he is using to get maximum leverage on that xylophone. I started to get really sad, thinking this was my last trip to Treehouses. But then I ran into a neighborhood friend who was there with the kindergarten from our school. Guess it isn't over yet!