Dempsey Family

Five?  Really?  It seems crazy to think that I have a kid that old.  I mean, it's not really old, but the fact that 5 years has gone so quickly is kind of scary.  We celebrated early in the day with Alice's first gift--a bike.  Of course, Roxie wanted to try the bike out first and when she didn't get her way she threw herself onto the sidewalk.  Like a good mother, I took pictures.  I have zero patience for tantrums.  Besides, it wasn't her birthday--back to Alice, the girl of the day.  No more than one minute after hopping on, Alice crashed and burned.  She got a little too cozy with the sloped curb and toppled over--it was pretty bad.  I was holding Roxie so I didn't have any hands to grab her bike before she went down.  Both knees were pretty scraped as well as her wrist.  No tears--she's a tough one.  She was ready to get right back on so she rode the bike back to the house to get her wounds cleaned up.  After that, it was straight back to riding.  She chose to go out to dinner at Red Robin for her birthday.  I'm not sure what attracts her to that establishment.  Near the end of dinner, Alice asked to be taken to the restroom.  On our way back to the table, we could hear clapping.  As I peered across the restaurant, I could see the Red Robin staff gathering around our table, gearing up for the birthday song.  As the folks at our table informed them that Alice wasn't there, I overheard one waiter say, "Well, that was embarrassing!"  When we got back to the table, they came back to sing and give her a sundae.  Good times.  As dinner was wrapping up, Shannon was able to secure our table a free milkshake.  All it took was a coaster, a nice waiter, and a couple of hassling questions, and viola!  The manager gives her a shake on the house.  She has a gift, that woman.  It was a memorable day.  We are so glad to have Alice in our family and couldn't imagine life without her--anyone who knows her might agree that it would be rather dull.  She's a good kid, amazing even.

A lot has been going on lately, but I have been pretty lazy about writing it down.  Where to begin…

 

First off, our garden is out of control.  This year we took the plunge and planted a garden at our friends’ farm—Christmas tree farm.  There are 5 or 6 families combining efforts.  We each get a large row to ourselves and then we share the rest—like the pea patch, corn field, beans, etc.  So far we love it.  The first thing we harvested was Jake’s radishes.  We left some in the ground a really long time and they looked pretty gross.  Our lettuce is going crazy, carrots are coming along, and the cilantro is ready and waiting.  I have a great dip that I will use that in next weekend.  We purchased some large pots for out patio this year in hopes of getting some tomatoes.  Last year was completely unsuccessful—didn’t know tomatoes needed lots of root space—and I only got 1 tomato which was picked off prematurely by my 3 year old nephew.  This year, my potted tomatoes are thriving and there are actual tomatoes starting to grow!  Who knew I could grow stuff?  Not me…

 

Alice and Roxie are nuts.  Jake and I have crossed over into that territory of not being able to communicate to each other by spelling.  When you don’t want small ears to hear things, spelling is the way to go.  That is, until the little stinker figures out what you are spelling.  Roxie is a pretty fun kid, but has recently gone through a biting phase—which we hope is over.  Twice Roxie chomped Alice on the head—once on her forehead (how does that happen?) and the once on her cheek.  She leaves pretty serious damage. 

 

Last week I made freezer jam with my mom and Shannon.  Good times, good times.  We purchased the strawberry slicers this year to save time and I can say that it definitely did that.  We have more jam than we can possibly eat—considering we dug a bunch of older containers out of Shannon’s freezer that we had left over from the last time we made jam.  It tastes so good though.  Nothing beats it.

 

I am gearing up for a service auction for the ladies at church.  It is going to be lots of work, but also lots of fun.  The whole idea is to give/receive service.  We are asking everyone to bring a handmade item or donate some kind of service.  At the auction, we will give out candy money that will be used for bidding.  It should be amazingly fun and bring the ladies closer together.  Helping each other is what it is all about.  We are calling it the “Scatter Sunshine Service Auction”.  So, get out there and scatter sunshine—help someone today.  Or just donate something for the auction.

I did it.  I made matching skirts for the girls using this tutorial.  Thank heavens for tutorials, you know?  I can't think these things up on my own.  I came across a couple more tutorials so more skirts are in the works.  A word to the wise for anyone thinking about sewing one of these up--they ended up longer than I had originally measured for.  I had wanted them to be knee length, but they ended up a little longer--more like hippy-style.  Since it would take some work to shorten them, they will stay as-is for now. 

So lately I have been feeling crafty.  Finding the time is sometimes tricky, but definitely worth it.  I made an easter dress for Alice and just finished a skirt for myself.  I am thinking about a couple of skirts for the girls in the near future.  I am always looking for a sewing challenge.  That means quilting is my next thing to tackle.  I know virtually nothing about it--but soon will.  I have heard people say that it is easier than sewing clothes, but I am not convinced.  It sound complicated.  Some ladies from church have put a quilting group together and I have joinned up.  It will be fun learning new techniques and using the creative side of my brain.  I also just finished up an americana sign for the 4th of July today.  It turned out pretty ok.  If I had it to do over again, I think I would paint the sign a shade of gray/grey and make it have a sunbleached look.  That could be cool.  Let me know if anyone out there wants any vinyl.  I love trying to think up fun things to do with it.

A sign from above.  It has to be.  Why else would Jake's face end up on the cover of CCC's summer schedule of classes catalog?  We had a good laugh at the fact that the last time he was even enrolled as a student there was Fall of 2008.  I guess they have to let him back in now that he's on the cover of their catalog.  Shouldn't he get free tuition for that or something?

This will all be pretty disjointed because I am just typing whatever comes to me.  It might all be about the pictures, it might not.  I added a slough of photos.  The first is the picture that was supposed to be in the Woodinville Weekly.  We got cut.  However, Ian was nice enough to forward it on to Shannon.  At least we ended up with a copy, right?  That's all I need.  Alice went through another round of swimming lessons a few weeks ago so there is a nice picture of her in her goggles.  There are some pictures of Isaac's birthday party at Chuck E Cheeses.  Alice had a great time as well as Roxie.  She walked over to a random stranger and wanted him to pick her up.  What is it with my kids and strangers?  I'm pretty sure they would be the first at the park to be lured away by a nice man in a car with candy.  Last week was spring break, so we decided to get some shots--as in immunizations!  Did you know that if you have kids living in the NSSD you can get them for free at LWTC?  Let me know if you want the info--you can't beat free.  Alice got 4 and Roxie got her first chicken pox shot.  They both go back in July for a 2nd installment.  The day after that, we went to Bellevue to walk around the temple grounds.  It was a beautiful day.  We ended up seeing two people we know.  Odd how that happens.  The rest of spring break was spent sewing an easter dress for Alice.  What is up with all the stores only selling sleeveless dresses at easter?  Easter around here is usually very chilly.  I couldn't find anything I liked, so I decided to make a dress.  I enjoy sewing so it wasn't too bad--I need to get some better pictures though.  Easter was great--Alice woke up at the crack of dawn (ok, 7am) and tried to get us up.  We made her wait until 7:30.  When Roxie found her loot, she did lots of ooooo-ing.  It's her big thing these days.  I will try to post some of the movies on my youtube page.  That's all for now...

Jake had to work today so the girls and I ventured out to Woodinville's annual All Fools Day Parade.  I think we have been to the parade nearly every year for the past 9 years--kind of a tradition.  I can only remember one or two of the parades where the weather was actually decent.  Today's weather was not decent.  It rained the entire time--plus, it was in the high 30's or low 40's.  Wet and cold!  Since we are seasoned parade go-ers, we knew exactly how to be most comfortable with the conditions.  We have a certain parking spot near the grandstand that we always try to get.  We back right up to the road and pop open the back of the truck.  All of us girls climbed into the back--out of the rain--and snuggled under blankets.  We enjoyed ourselves, at least until Alice decided she needed a bathroom break.  We had to leave our dry car and walk across the street to the city hall to find "facilites".  When we got back to the car, the marching band had just passed.  I think we must have missed the bassett hounds too--unless they weren't in the parade this year.  That would be unusual though since it has always been such a big part of the festivities.  In the past, owners bring their bassett hounds and walk them through the parade.  Some dress up (dogs and owners) and some don't.  Regardless, it is always fun to see that many squatty dogs in one place.  When we returned to the car, it was nice to climb in out of the rain.  As is normal for all parades, people were walking up and down the streets as the parade went by.  I kept thinking to myself, "Man, I hope nobody hits their head on our tailgate".  Sure enough, a few moments later, BONK!  Some guy wasn't watching where he was going, and walked right into it.  He seemed a little daized and embarrassed.  I felt bad--sorry!  Some of the parade highlights included the Dancing Ponies and Mariachi Band, Star Wars Storm Troopers, Mini Cooper Club, DeLorean Club, and the Seafair Pirates.  One of the pirates came up to Alice, asked her to say, "Argh!", and then gave her a pirate coin.  They didn't shoot off their incredibly loud cannon this year though.  We had a good time.  I always bring my camera, but am terrible about actually using it.  But I did take a few.  Lucky for us, the Woodinville Weekly newspaper photog was there.  He took a shot of us cozied up, so we might be famous next week.  Cross your fingers!  He knows Shannon, so I tried to use that in our favor.  We'll see... 

 

One more thing, Teddy's Burgers (from Hawaii) just opened in Woodinville--the first one on the mainland.  If you have been to Oahu, you might have eaten there.  If not, head downtown to get some burgers and shakes.  The fries are really good too.  Mmmm...