Pavlova

• This recipe is a family holiday favorite for Easter and Christmas!!
• (Recipe courtesy of Sally's Baking Addiction)
• 
  
• 4 large egg whites (use the yolks for lemon curd!)*
• 1 cup (200g) superfine sugar*
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar*
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. (Preliminary note: you will quickly reduce the oven to 200°F (93°C) in step 4.)
2. With a handheld mixer or a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar in 2 additions, beating for 30 seconds between, then continue beating on high speed until glossy stiff peaks form, about 2 more minutes. The peaks should be stiff enough that you can hold the whisk upright and the peaks won’t move. Add the vanilla extract and beat for 1 more minute. The peaks should still be very stiff. If not, keep on mixing on high speed. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the cream of tartar and cornstarch.
3. Spread the pavlova mixture into an 8-9-inch circle (see note for mini size). You can make decorative peaks with the back of a large spoon if desired. Make sure the edges are relatively tall and there is a nice dip in the center.
4. Place pavlova in the oven. As soon as you close the oven door, reduce heat to 200°F (93°C). The pavlova will stay in the oven as it cools down to 200°F (93°C). Bake until the pavlova is firm and dry, about 90 minutes total. Rotate the baking sheet if you notice some spots browning. Try to limit how many times you open the oven as the cool air will interrupt the baking.
5. Turn the oven off and let the pavlova cool inside the oven. Once the pavlova is cool, you can store it covered tightly at room temperature for up to 2 days. Or serve right away.
6. Once cool, top the pavlova with whipped cream and assorted toppings. Slice and serve.

Easter 2014

We began Easter with our traditional church pictures.  Quite the little photo shoot with these goof-balls! :)  

Grins' did this with his eyes at the last minute!! :)

Can you believe it? No snow on the ground!!!

Another silly one - I'm pretty sure we take more silly pictures than 'normal' ones! :)

After church, we enjoyed a lovely Easter dinner at our friends, the Pfaff's, home.  Decorating easter cookies was a special treat!

Easter 2013

We had quite an eventful Easter in Oregon this year!!

Saturday, we started out with a picnic lunch and an egg hunt at the park with family and friends.  The children enjoyed playing with Grandpa and cousin Ryan while Grandma hid the eggs.

(And Aunt Abbie and Nani, of course!)

Wiggles was pleased as punch to be able to walk Nani all by herself....until Nani spotted a squirrel and pulled Wiggles along the grass for several yards! :S

After lunch, Grandma passed out baskets and the fun began! 

Of course, baskets are also fun as hats!

And they're off to find the eggs!

Wiggles finding an egg!

Angel and Grins working together...

Angel and Ryan doing a little trading....

It was so cute how they all stayed together for the majority of the hunt!

Taking a little break from searching to do some dancing on the stage:

Of course, this girl refused to keep her barrette in her hair, so she has crazy hair, but I loved the dance she was doing, and had to snap a few quick shots!

After all the eggs were found, the kids all sat down to enjoy their spoils!

Some of their eggs contained some water balloons - so a water balloon fight began!

After our egg hunt and water balloon fight, we headed over to "G-G and G-G-Pa's" house for an Easter Carnival.  GG and GGPa live in an Assisted Living center, and when we arrived, the elderly residents were all passing out eggs at their rooms.  They enjoyed seeing all the children, and the children (naturally!) enjoyed receiving the eggs, so it was a win-win situation for all involved!  After collecting eggs, the children got to jump in a bounce house and see and pet a variety of different animals.  It was a lot of fun! 

I believe Wiggles is petting a capybara here.  There were all sorts of unique animals - including snakes, insects, and even an alligator!!

Easter morning, Uncle Micah and Aunt Jenn surprised the children with a super fun egg hunt!

There were some eggs in some pretty tricky places!  Uncle Micah had to help! :)

I love this shot - Grins is literally jumping with excitement!

Aunt Abbie had to come over and help us with some of the more difficult ones!

After the egg hunt, we enjoyed a wonderful brunch with the family.  It was delicious!  Then we headed off to church for a beautiful service.  On the way home from church, we stopped to get some pictures of Grins with Mt. Hood - since he was studying Oregon in school and had done a project about Mt. Hood.  It's difficult to see the mountain in the pictures, since it's white and was such a sunny day, but it's just to the left of his head as you are looking at the picture.

Of course, we had to get a shot of all of our beautiful children! (As well as Izzy, Angel's doll, because Angel was so proud of their matching dresses!)

After church, we enjoyed a delicious dinner with Grandma & Grandpa, and GG and GGPa.  GG is in the advanced stages of Alzheimer's disease and doesn't always do well with pictures - but she was in a fairly good mood this day.

We snapped a quick shot with GGPa too, while the Mr. took GG to the car.  How I love this man!  He is such an inspiration to me!

Funny story I don't want to forget: Grandpa was nibbling on Wiggles ears for fun.  She said "Grandpa, do you love eating ears?" And he said "Yes, they are yummy!"  She then pointed to GGPa's large (hairy) ears and said "Why don't you eat those ones then?"  We all got a good chuckle out of that!

Easter evening - Angel, always the animal lover, enjoys some time with Bella.  Some day I will break down and allow her to have a pet....