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!