What I've Been Up To Lately ...

Things have been a little busy around our house.  Lots to share!  Sometime this summer, my dear friend Genevieve and I began to dream the dream of having a shop.  At first, we wanted this to be an actual shop ... where gals could come and take classes and learn how to make fun things with their families.  A place to buy wonderful fabrics and patterns.  A spot to pick up the latest creation if you didn't have time to make it yourself.  And over time, that dream got scaled back a bit ... but out of all the talking and praying and planning came ... The Red Dutch Door.  We launched our blog a few weeks ago ... around the same time we were accepted into Crafeteria.  Immediately, our plates got quit a bit busier!  But ... we were THRILLED!  Our dream was no longer just in our heads ... it was real! 

 So for four solid weeks ... we created.  Scarves.  Subway art.  Pom pom wreaths.  Birds sculptures.  Hair pins.  Brooches.  Pillows and more pillows.  Bunting.  Our fingers were busy!

And all our hard work paid off!  (and ALL the hard work of our husbands and moms!!!  Ben put the website together, James built the backdrop for our "shop" and a great shelving system to house the scarves, my mom sewed and sewed pillows together while we were in CA for Thanksgiving and Gen's parents were total lifesavers when a serger picked the wrong time to break! It takes a village, right?!!)

 We arrived ... set up ... squished everything in (we thought we had a bigger space than we ended up having ... but it all worked out) and had the best time!  My hands were so cold I could hard open bags for people ... Ben was the sale master chatting it up with the customers ... the evening was a total success.  And it was so great to have so many dear friends show up and support us!  What a treat!

 

We loved every minute of it!  (Except my feet ... my feet were not loving it after five hours of standing!!) 

And now ... now we're just continuing to dream the dream.  We'll see where it goes.  Follow along if you like.  You can get to our blog and shop at www.thereddutchdoor.com .

 As for the crew ... they survived Mom in the craft zone.  The house has never been messier ... and the meals ... well, thank goodness for takeout!  But they all survived!  And lived to tell about it!

So excited to see where God takes this ....

The Offspring. An Update.

Joshua Howard.  Our resident expert on almost anything.  Ask him about animals, Angry Birds or Legos and he will have an answer.  He loves kindergarten.  Is taking the math world by storm and spends his spare time drawing and coloring at the kitchen table.  He is an artist.  His eye notices things that mine skips over.  He just finished up his first soccer season and is already making plans for his sixth birthday party.

 Eli Bennett.  Our fun loving FOUR year old who still prefers to roam the house in his unders.  He loves making donuts and eating M and Ms.  He collects rocks (picks one up in every parking lot we walk through) and when his container gets filled to the top ... he has big plans to paint them all.  Each night when I tuck him in, he makes me says "his words."  "Race cars go like rocket ships.  Turtles go like Texas cars and Texas ants.  Your tummy feels better.  Daddy is in his office and you can keep your eyes open but you need to close them to get some rest."  Um.  Don't ask.  And my favorite thing Eli says ... "You're my best.  I love you my best." 

Audrey Elizabeth.  Perhaps the cutest and most determined 17 month old to walk the planet.  She walks, climbs, runs, jumps, opens cabinet doors and finds toilet plungers.  She calls Joshua "Sha, sha" and Eli "Bubba."  This girl has moves ... her favorite thing to do is blast music and dance, dance, dance!  Don't turn the volume down or she might give you a piece of her mind.  And if you need your dishes washed, she could stand at the sink for HOURS playing in water.  Find her a pair of cute shoes and give her a purse and she is good to go! 

How is it possible that my crew is growing so fast?  I sense driving and college are just a blink away! 

Halloween: How It Really Went Down.

8:30am:  Sent Joshua to school.

9-11:50am:  Scooped guts out of pumpkins.  Tidied house.  Kept 2 other children occupied.

12pm:  Picked Joshua up and grabbed Chickfila for a quick lunch.

1pm:  Put Audrey down for a nap and remembered that I had forgotten to sew the dog collar onto her shirt.  And needed to make a headband for the dog ears.  

3:30pm:  Eli and Joshua are carving pumpkins.  Angry Bird pumpkins.  Turn out cute.

5pm:  Chili party is starting at the end of the block.  Our children are still in their normal clothes.  Well.  Most of them are.  Eli can't find his shorts.  Typical.

5:15pm:  I am beating the heck of out of the icing for the banana cake to take to the block party.  It's not thickening.  Stick it on a block of ice while I go find Audrey's leggings and flashlights for the boys.

5:45pm:  We try to leave the house but the wheels of the wagon are flat.  I leave with the kids.  Ben comes later.

 6pm:  Boys are eating chili and pb and j sandwiches I brought.  Audrey wants nothing to do with food and I am starting to feel very queasy. I have no time to get sick ... so I take a sip of water and go trick or treating with the crew.

6:15:  Stop back at our house to get Eli's bag.  10 zillion children arrive on our front porch.  I think they bused people into Mayberry this year.  I have never seen so many people!  Ben asks if I bought any more candy.  Negative.  1 piece per child.

6:17:  I ask the kids to get together for a picture.  Clearly, they were thrilled.

6:18:  We hit up 3 neighbor houses and Audrey is having the time of her life.  Oh wait.  Scratch that.  Our Audrey was screaming her head off and getting very sympathetic looks from random mommies and daddies.  I ask Ben to take her home and I can regain my hearing.  

6:23:  It is still 85 degrees outside and the boys can't wear their fireman coats without sweating to death.  They look as though their mother forgot it was Halloween and just put them in a t-shirt and shorts.  At least I ironed on a fireman patch to the shirts.  You can't win them all. 

6:40:  I returned home with the boys.  2 blocks and they were tired and wanted to hand out candy instead.  Audrey was captivated with a neighbor's cell phone and was thrilled at her new job ... saying "Bye, bye" to every person who walked by.  EVERY.  SINGLE.  PERSON.

6:50:  Our friends popped by.  Joshua wanted to go trick or treating with them.  So we hit up the same 2 blocks again.  Then Joshua got lost in the crowd for a minute.  I was surprisingly calm.  Joshua, on the other hand, not so much.  We trekked home.  Again.

7:30pm:  Our Dalmatian hadn't had any dinner and is evidently not a huge fan of Halloween, costumes or skipping meals.
7:40pm:  We run out of candy.  Our neighbor gives us more.
8pm:  I am now pretty well convinced that the flu is coming.  I am getting hot and cold and feel awful.
8:30pm:  Put the kids to bed.  Crawl to the couch.

9pm:  The house is quiet.  The doorbell has stopped ringing.  And the night is over.  At least the pumpkins looked cool.  Oh.  And I spent the next 24 hours in bed.  Sweet. 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!  

September.

Is it gone already?  YIKES!  Here's a quick recap of what the Crew has been up to ... 

Football Day at Joshua's school.  And the team his class decided to cheer for ... THE STEELERS!  We just so happen to have an abundance of Steeler gear at our house.  And we gifted Mrs. Errington our Steeler apron.  She was thrilled! 

I had to convince Joshua to wear his Steeler boxers.  He was POSITIVE they were "jammers" but since they technically have never been worn before as jammies ... he agreed to go all decked out in them to school.

(A few extra photos of the Steeler field and jersey for the Pittsburgh in-laws) ...

Then one of my best friends came to town ... and we crammed 3 of our 4 children in the van and hit Last Chance for a thirty minute whirlwind shopping adventure!  SUPER IMPRESSIVE!

And it randomly rained during the middle of the afternoon one day ...

And these two couldn't get enough of the splashing and the puddles ...

And when you are trying to entertain the crew and it's still over 105 outside for the fourth month in a row ... you get desperate.  You bust out the new play dough and apparently encourage standing on the kitchen table and redecorating the chandelier.  It's all about survival people ... survival!

These two have been spending a lot of time together ... with J at school ... and they've become really cute buddies!  That is ... when Audrey isn't stealing his underoos ... or breaking down his fort ... or swiping his snacks. 

And then it was Grandparent's Day ... and Joshua invited my grandparents ... GiGi and How How to participate in the special day. 

I forgot my camera ... and trekked back home to grab it and take some pictures of the fun.  How many times are you going to see your 87 year old grandfather sit in a kindergarten chair?  I needed documentation.  And what a blessing for Joshua to have his GREAT Grandparents there on that day!  So cool!

And let's see ... what else.  My grandpa had eye surgery.  The look on Audrey's face when she saw him for the first time is priceless!

The boys made cards ...

And Audrey attempted to take off with the remote control ...

Several times!

And finally ... we got a new lens for our camera in September ... and a new flash ... and I have been LOVING IT!!!!

Goodbye, September.  We are ready to welcome in Fall!!!

The Rest of the Adventure.

How can I possibly still have pics to share from this summer?  I must be on slow speed these days.  

Confession:  We did not just go to San Diego for the free day at the children's museum.  However, that fun event did manage to get our bodies up and at 'um a lot earlier than we normally make it out of the desert.

We went to CA for about a week ... to see all our CA family ... Cake, Pap Pap, Aunt Jenn and Uncle Bob.  The whole crew joined us for a day at LegoLand and the boys couldn't have been happier.  

 Aunt Jenn took J. How on the water ride ... 

 And Uncle Bob won Eli a blue angry bird ... 

 Audrey spent most of the day in her stroller ... most happy to pose when asked!

 The boys took me all over the world on these airplanes.  There was no one in line ... so we rode it again and again.    

We did have a bit on an unhappy boy ... who desperately wanted an angry bird of his own.  Pap Pap, Uncle Bob and Ben tried way too many times to win one at the other game and Joshua wanted to try one more time on this crazy contraption.  I have never seen a kid so determined in my life!  He made it two rungs from the top!  (And to keep him out of therapy ... we bought him an angry bird at Build a Bear on our way back to AZ!)

We also spent a day jammed full of fun with some friends from Mayberry ... who were visiting their family on Coronado Island.  

Mr. James wowed the crowds and caught a baby shark seconds after we arrived ... 

Then we went out on the water and the boys got a chance to show us their boating skills!

My two favorite boys!

Then it was off to the beach to bury treasures ... and kids!  A lovely way to keep everyone contained :)

Until they managed to escape!!!

Audrey missed the beach adventure and stayed home, riding her pony, with Ben's parents.  I think she might want a real one???

And on our way home, we saw this.  300 plus miles from the ocean.  In the middle of nowhere.  In 115 degree heat.  Shrimp and Lobster for sale on the side of the road.  YUMMY!

Oh ... and since I'm into confessions these days ... Eli also got his haircut.  I know.  Everyone was digging the longer do.  But he caught wind of himself in the mirror one day and started crying, "I don't want to wook wike a Mommy!!!"  So the long locks are gone.  Just wanted to break it to you gently before you see the proof in the pics!

Superhero Jam

Me and free go hand in hand.  Kind of like bread and butter.  Or chocolate and graham crackers.  We were made for each other.  So when I spotted that the San Diego Children's Museum was having a Superhero Jam ... FREE to anyone who dressed like a hero ... we were there!  (Or course it helped that the crew were superheroes for Halloween!)  We woke up extra early, grabbed breakfast at Einstein's and trekked across the desert.  

We arrived in CA in record time and busted out our hero wear!

 The kids loved this table covered in wood blocks.  

And the bubble station was a total hit!  

The fabulous ocean breeze made it all the more enjoyable! 

The three heroes getting their hands covered in bubbles! 

Then it was time for a Superhero Snapshot!  

 Here we come to save the day!!!

 Then it was back outside for a little clay creation ... 

And little Miss Hip Hop cruised back inside to dance with her fellow hipsters ... if only I had video!

And finally ... after all the shows and classes had cleared out ... Joshua was able to ride the chariot!  We need one of these in Mayberry!   

The day was fabulous!  This one ... was right in the mix and had probably more fun than her brothers!  She has zippo fear and bounced around in this tunnel with all the big kids and loved every minute of it!