Abigail's "Stomping Grounds"

We took a little trip up to PA for Memorial Day weekend. We stopped in to visit David and Anita's, but most of our time was spent near State College at Abigail's parents' house. James and Leanna came along for the full childhood tour complete with an inside/outside tour of the first house I (Abigail) grew up in. It was a fun trip of nostalgia.

Dietrich reading to an uninterested Atticus

Checking out David and Anita's new peeps

 Atticus' welcome

Neighbors

Contemplating the taste of wounded butterfly.

Abigail's first house in Gatesburg

A nicely renovated living room

This was a bedroom my sister, Emily, and I shared.

 I pooped here...actually where i first learned to poop in a toilet.

 My parents' room

The attic steps

check out the size and length of these floorboards

 I lived in this house for eight years and totally forgot it was on Rhodes farm lane!

My beautiful nephew, Ethan.

I love these people. 

This was back when Dietrich was a little person.

An old family shot...nice mullet, Ezra.

The porch at my parents' house.

Just another day in the life of...

So, we've been pretty busy crafting and applying to Americorps positions around the country.  We have a few interviews set up, so hopefully something materializes soon.  This weekend Mom and Dad and Abigail and I are going to PA to visit with Anita and David and Sam and Sherry (Abigail's parents).  We are looking  forward to visiting Abigail's "ol' stompin' grounds."  I'm still holding it down at the ol' Sharp Shopper, making sure the veggies and fruits are fresh and tasty (I can't taste test everything, but if a watermelon happens to crack open I can't just sell it, right?:)).  This is really random, but I just have to include that we indulged in some artichokes last night (is eating 3/1.00 artichokes really indulging?).  We also have a cool new house guest, Emily, who is staying for the week.  She's a friend of a friend and it's been fun to have her stay with us!  Here's a wrap in pictures...

Our corner lamp 

Reversible dress (created by Abigail)

Messenger bag (designed and created by Abigail)

Leather wallets (designed and created by Abigail)

We headed to Showalter's Orchard in Timberville to sell our wares...not much traffic and no sales!

Picture Perfect

These next few pictures are called "Creme Brulee - A Guide to Bodily Expressions of Inanimate Objects"

Creme Brulee 1

Creme Brulee 2 (Our friend, Melissa Redd, helped us out with our sale)

Creme Brulee 3

...You can let us know which one resonates with you and your experience of creme brulee!

-Dietrich

New Camera!!

These are a few pictures from our newly acquired T2i Canon Rebel camera.  We've been crafting a lot around here.  More info and pictures to follow!

My babies are growing up...okay, Peter and Ilse's babies are growing up.

 

One of our favorite activities is playing eye spy through the window that faces the neighbor's window. Things we often see include, but are not limited to, grass, tall grass, a "green thing," a dog, a squirrel eating a blue tarp, tires, and occasionally a Robin. Simon is learning bird calls and the Robin is by far his favorite.

 

Simon looking innocent and sweet

 

Nina loves books. She likes to be read to but usually prefers "reading" to herself. Some favorites: Did you See the Baby?, Where Is Baby's Belly?, and Good night zoo. I'm telling you she may just be a genius.

 

This is the "I'd rather you hold me than talk to me" face.

 

Simon hates to eat most things green...unless they're still in the ground. Go figure. His favorite treat is fresh Rosemary.

 

She's usually as sweet as she looks.

 

So is he.

I've been having a pretty good time with these guys lately. Simon is now officially three. He is telling some interesting stories, is more willing to play "pretend," and likes to make silly faces and noises to make Nina and I laugh. Nina is more and more of a handful. She's sweet and snuggly, but she occasionally bites and scratches if things aren't going her way. She also seems to have no fear, none. She runs towards steps, roads, and strangers. She climbs couches and stairs with no hesitation. Needless to say we don't do a lot of sitting around.

Dietrich's Birthday...we don't have internet so this is a long time coming.

Surprise!

The crew minus Ben and Alyssa

I thought I would throw in these pictures of the comforters we made for Christmas.

A little home group Christmas partying...crocheted beard, check.

Santa's favorite, mine too.

Emily and Brandon's comforter

My mom and dad's comforter

TEXAS...why the caps? Everything is bigger in Texas.

We spent our first morning coloring eggs with Ethan, Ezra, Liz, and Sam. Once Ethan got the hang of it he wanted to make each egg a light orange..."Aww, bootiful!"

Ezra fancies himself an "egg portraitist"

Ethan's favorite game is to set the timer on the camera and then run back to be in the photo...this is one of those beautiful numbers.

And here we have the "look excited" face...his Dad's favorite party trick.

This here is what we call the awkward leaning photo. "Lean a little more. No, a little more. Perrfect."

This lovely lady graced the wall of Uncle Julios's, a delightful Tex Mex restaurant we went to. So delightful, in fact, that Brandon rented a 15 passenger van and drove us an hour so we could experience the delight.

Uncle Dietrich occupying a busy early bird.

We briefly considered this look for the big day.

But Emily out-did us with this look...or pre-look.

Everyone made it to the front okay...only a small loss(the groom's ring). A quick sly search and no one knew the better.

Here are some of our favorite Texas looks...

Well, this one was actually a British look as it turns out.

These lovely ladies graced the wedding, accompanied by a colorful, and un-photographed, short number. :)

Here are some famous, and lovely, hand-crafted cowboy/girl boots in Fort Worth. A set of custom made boots from this shop can top ten grand!

We'll end our photo gallery with some shots from our little front lawn craft sale...quite a success. It was great to work on this "little" project together. It was also great to visit with all the friends and family who stopped by throughout the morning.

Summer

Summer is treating us well.

We hiked up to the top of Hone Quarry for a picnic last night. It was great to relax and enjoy being outside. Wedding planning can be fun, but this break was welcomed. The evening was topped with Dietrich's reading of a short story by Flannery O'Connor entitled Displaced Person.