Sunny Thanksgiving

We were able to take a week off to go to Arizona for Thanksgiving this year. We arrived in the middle of some substantial rain, which always makes me excited and filled with dread. Excited, because I get to be entertained by south westerners freaking out about these weird drops from the sky--and dread because every person I see who finds out where we are from asks if we brought it with us. It cleared up in time to eat Thanksgiving outside, which is always wonderful. Theo rode a donkey at Jon's aunt's house and Jon touched the rope, a big deal for someone very afraid of equines. All equines. Probably also mini-horses.

Among the highlights was a visit to a butterfly farm (technically called butterfly "experience"). The actual butterflies swarming around you was pretty amazing, but the best part was the 3D movie beforehand. I have vivid memories of watching Captain EO at Disneyland and it being so awesome that I reached out my hand to touch that weird little furry dude. I was six at the time, but I still had a high standard. This movie totally fulfilled it. We were in the front row of the main section of the theater, and Theo and his cousin Paige were standing up, hands in the air trying to touch the swarms of butterflies. I hope he remembers this in the future when he is disappointed by Avatar 11 in 3D in 15 years.

I was pretty busy prepping things to open my Etsy shop, but while I'm in Arizona it seems I can always find time to watch random people look at houses on HGTV. I used to watch other things on Cable but that's about all now. The only bad thing about Thanksgiving in Arizona is that we always eat around noon, which means I always miss the dog show after the parade, which is my favorite. And I always forget to record it. I really only want to watch the Toy category, so it's usually not that big of a deal.

Theo was so busy having fun with cousins that he hardly ate any food the whole time. I don't know how that works out but it somehow does. Margot ate a ton of food and really warmed up to everyone around her. She loves to be a little ham and make people laugh. She also has really taken to shrieking and being very assertive about what she wants. Before we got off the plane on the way home, Theo and Margot started randomly giving each other huge bear hugs, the kind that made you want to laugh and sob at the same time. I love how those two are really starting to have fun together.

Bow ties out in the world!

If anyone ever sees Theo at church, he is usually wearing a bow tie. When he was a baby Jon found an amazing clip-on one at an estate sale that seemed to magically grow with him--he still wears it. Inspired by the vintage one I had and not being able to find anything like it, I started making my own. Several prototypes and about a year of testing them later, I couldn't find the specific patterns I was looking for so I decided to make my own. I applied paint to some of my favorite cotton solids and I was excited with the result. These bow ties have been a staple in our lives, so I have been excited to share them. They are easy to attach to a wiggly toddler, stay in place, and will be worn for years (and years!).

Now that Jon is done with school, we wanted to find more ways to become involved in charitable giving, especially charities benefiting Cystic Fibrosis. This cause is close to our hearts as Jon's brother passed away from its effects five years ago. We will be donating 20% of the proceeds to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which funds research and medical advances with the goal of curing Cystic Fibrosis.

Here's a link to my shop!