The Mother's Nest: A Poppa Red Barn Project

In December, the Red Barns set out to build a new nest for the baby boy they were expecting in April. The baby's current room was acting as a closet for random items without a home after the June move. Once they hid all that junk in the attic, it was time to attack the bright yellow walls and ceiling that the previous owner had experimented with.

After about 10 different paint samples and a few breakdowns, the Red Barns finally settled on a neutral, sandy-brown color that would provide a nice base for some wall murals. Phillip spent about a week priming the entire room, painting the ceiling and rolling the walls a few times. After the paint dried, he installed the new fan.

Next came furniture. The Red Barns got thrifty and used a 20-percent-off coupon from Babies R Us to purchase their crib and dresser. Soon-to-be-great Grammy and Grandpa purchased the new rocker for Claire to feed him in. Putting all of it together was a real breeze.

To add some life to the walls, Aunt Patti spent a few days with the Red Barns to give her niece's baby boy some animals to play with. Patti spent two days drawing and painting a giraffe, a couple of monkeys and a tiger. She did a fantastic job!



The finishing touch came when Phillip finished staining the new book case. Claire stressed out for weeks looking for the perfect book case when Grampy suggested going to an unfinished furniture store. Sure enough, they found it. Since it was unfinished, Phillip spent two days sanding, conditioning, staining and sealing the wood, killing millions of brain cells along the way. It was the last piece to the nursery puzzle, and it allowed Mama Bear to relax a little before the baby arrived.

Pregnant Claire: There She Grows

In order to capture Claire's growth, Proud Poppa Red Barn decided to take a picture every few weeks to chronicle the change. Overall, the little boy growing inside her didn't stop her radiant beauty from shining like the sun.

The First Trimester:

Second Trimester:



Third Trimester:

A Branson Christmas Special

Global travelers? Hardly. The Red Barns prefer to keep it to the 10-hour radius around the DFW area. It just so happens that if you drive through the hillacious Ozarks, you can get to Branson, MO pretty quickly. With Claire 23 weeks pregnant, the two jumped at the chance to spend a few wintery days under the bright lights of Branson.

On the first day there, the couple journeyed to Silver Dollar City, a Christian-themed amusement park that resembles Log Cabin Village if it had a few thrill rides. SDC had more than a million lights around the park, some of which were synced to the music. While preggers wasn't able to ride any roller coasters (Phillip only rode a couple), the Red Barns took in a few shows, watched some glass being blown, sipped on some cocoa and did some people watching. The cocoa was pretty amazing!

The next day was Claire and Phillip's favorite. While Claire was pretty skeptical about Big Cedar Lodge, the two ventured out to the Bass Pro-owned resort that rested right on beautiful Table Rock Lake. The Red Barns started with an awesome outdoor lunch at Truman's Cafe. Claire had scheduled a mani/pedi at the Lakeside Spa while Phillip was going to explore the grounds on horseback. After the activities, the two watched the sunset from a couple rockers on the lodge patio and headed down for a beautiful dinner at The Worman House, a railroad tycoon's old house that had been converted into a restaurant. Phillip and Claire had another amazing view overlooking the lake.

That evening, the two finished the Acrobats of China show. It was one of the only things in Branson worth seeing, unless you wanted to watch washed-up comedians, tribute bands or family singers. Overall, the two had a great time and would highly recommend it to anyone over 40.

Fried Fall Goodness at the State Fair

While it's not something the Red Barns do every year, this particular fall they decided to take advantage of Richardson Fair Day and attend the State Fair of Texas. Their mission: Gorge on Fried Goodness. Phillip and Claire rode the DART Rail Line down to Fair Park and started their morning with a Fletcher's Corny Dog and some chicken fried bacon. Fortunately since it was a Monday, the lines were not long, which allowed for more eating opportunities. Next, it was onto roasted corn, a Red Barn favorite.

One of the hottest fried items at the 2009 Fair was fried butter (a wadded ball of frozen butter wrapped in dough and flash fried). Claire was skeptical but Phillip just had to clog his arteries with it. While ordering his garlic fried butter, Phillip noticed the Master of Fried Goodness, Abel Gonzalez, so he made sure to get his picture with his latest creation. It was delicious and even Claire loved it! Before the day was out, the two gobbled down a fried Snickers and a pretzel. It was a nice way to spend the day.



Later in fall, the Red Barns decided to carve their first pumpkins as a married couple. Claire carved her school logo, while Phillip did the more traditional spooky face. The pumpkins looked great for the first couple of days until a rain storm soaked them and caused them to mold and mildew. The "plumpkins" were thrown out a week later.

Friends, Mexicans, Countrymen ... Lend me your Sombreros!

Phillip was fortunate enough to snag tickets to the first football game at the new Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Unfortunately, it was European football, but it still gave the head honcho a chance to see the stadium before the real football season kicked off. Phillip joined CJ and a few of his friends at work for the late July soccer doubleheader that featured Costa Rica vs. Guadaloupe and the featured match, Mexico vs. Haiti.

Phillip had great seats and a great view from the lower level, but still chose to watch most of the game on the gigantic, center-hung scoreboard. The thing is ridiculous! Anyway, Phillip had the chance to bust out his broken Spanglish when some real Mexicans, not half like Phillip, sat down next to him. They were fairly impressed with his attempt and formed a bond in rooting for their home team. The Mexi-friends even let Phillip borrow their hat for a few pictures. Everyone had a blast, and Phillip made a few Mexican memories along the way!

Error Proof Test Makes First Error, Conveniently Corrects itself One Week Later

Well Claire hadn't been feeling too well and before the Red Barns went out to the ranch on Aug. 8, Phillip made Claire take a second pregnancy test. In the first test, the results came back negative and the two went on their merry way. I mean, it was an Error Proof Test, right?

The Red Barns got the surprise of a lifetime. Phillip was in the kitchen munching on an ice cream, and Claire enters the room with a panicked look on her face. "I'm pregnant!" she said. Phillip could only laugh hysterically as excitement and fear engulfed his thoughts. Nonetheless, when the hysteria settled, the Red Barns were super excited and anxious to confirm the test. Claire would soon find out that she was almost seven weeks along.

Summer Drought Doesn't Stop Family from Finding a Little Water at Lake Buchanan

At the beginning of August, the Red Barns joined up with the G Clan to rehash some old memories at Lake Buchanan in Central Texas. Claire booked her family into the same cabins they stayed in during their many vacations in the '90s. Unfortunately, a summer drought made it difficult to launch the boat. Mark had to drive 500 yards into the lake just to launch from the shoreline.

One afternoon, the gang found a nice little cove near the dam. It was filled with large boulders that usually hide underwater and a nice little beach to have a picnic. Phillip and Sam were able to do a little boulder-diving just before the park ranger decided to crash the party. According to the megaphone, the dam was restricted area and the group was "subject to arrest."

While the Red Barns were lucky to make it out of there unscathed, Mark and Sam weren't so lucky. Mark suffered a neck injury after he took a nasty tumble when the ski rope broke. Sam's aerial wakeboard antics ended when he overshot a backflip and sustained a knee injury. Despite the injuries, everyone enjoyed being back at the lake and hoped to return when Buchanan, and their health, returned to normalcy.

Red Barns' Anniversary Helps Set Chicago Ablaze

After St. Louis, the Red Barns made the five-hour trip up to Chicago to celebrate their 2-year anniversary. In keeping with their theme of seeing great baseball rivalries in historic stadiums, the Red Barns purchased tickets for the Chicago Cubs-St. Louis Cardinals Sunday game at Wrigley Field. As soon as they got to Chicago, the duo loaded onto the "L" and rode it to Wrigleyville for a bite to eat and the purchase of a couple Cubbies shirts before the game. The seats might have been a little high, but the experience of being in Wrigley for a rivalry game was magical. After the game, the two walked the Magnificent Mile for a look at all the action.



The next day, it was on to the Shedd Aquarium and Field Museum near Lake Michigan. The Field Museum had an awesome pirate exhibit that followed the career of a real-life swashbuckler. There was a lot to take in, but the two had to hightail it over to the Shedd before it closed. It was by far one of the best aquariums the Red Barns had ever experienced, and they were fortunate enough to get a sneak preview of the new show "FantaSEA." After the aquarium, Sherri K. told them about an awesome pizza place called Gino's. The Red Barns gorged on some thick Chi-town pizza.



Their last day there, the Red Barns took a river cruise that outlined the major architectural feats of Chicago. The two checked out Millenium Park, walked around downtown during a typical work week and said their goodbyes to the Windy City with a drive down the lake.

To cut the trip in half, the Red Barns stopped in Springfield, Illinois for a look at the home of Abraham Lincoln. Talk about a town that has thrived off the history of one man ... Geez. It was pretty cool to see where he lived and worked though.