Thanksgiving Weekend Cliff Note

Thanksgiving this year was at the Fischer home. The boys went shotgun shooting in the morning and I stayed home with Claire. Brad came home grinning from ear to ear. He had his first experience shooting a real gun. Dinner was so good and of course we stuffed ourselves silly. After dinner we had a nice game of war. There are rules to the game but I couldn’t get to explaining them before Randy’s brothers seized my arrows and a full blown combat broke loose. It was funny. Brad thought it was great throwing arrows at his uncles. Even Nanny and Papa got in on the action.







Randy’s family has always gone and cut down their Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We have been lucky to be able to continue the tradition with our kids. We headed up to Woodland to find our tree. There was just enough snow to make it fun but not deep enough to be a pain. Brad was so excited to have some snow to play in, and Claire was not sure she enjoyed feeling like the stay puff marshmallow. She was a good sport.








Tonight our family was invited to a sing along at Hale Center Theater. Our good friend Tammy and her husband started a tradition to get together with friends and family and sing Christmas carols. Her husband Scott passed away last year. We could definitely feel him there singing with us in spirit. There were some very tender moments. We sang songs and each family brought goodies to share. Scott’s dad IS the real Santa and Brad could not believe he would take time out of his busy schedule to come sing songs with us. He insisted on a picture with Santa in his “NORMAL” clothes.

Reflection

I love this time of year because it gives us a chance to reflect on the things that are most precious to us. I love the feelings, the sounds and of course the smells of this Holliday.

Here are a FEW of the many things I am grateful for:

My wonderful husband and children
Our extended family and friends
The restored gospel of Jesus Christ
Our callings- and the blessings that come from serving
The Book of Mormon
Education
Jobs that put a roof over our head and food on the table
Freedom to worship
Sunday dinners
Diet Coke
Our trailer that has taken us all over Utah
Pre-School
Chamomile tea (even better when sipped in a tea parlor)
Long phone conversations with my mom
Waffles
Clean fresh sheets
Blogging
Cooking dinner
The biggest looser
Dishwashers (I don’t have one right now and boy I miss it)
Hot tubs
Carbohydrates
Nap time
Scented candles
Babysitters
Talking to Randy at night when he can barely keep his eyes open
Kami’s Oreo cookies
Core exercise ball
Sleeping in
Going out to dinner (even if it is just a quick stop at Wendy’s)
Campfires
Contact lenses
Bolt lock on the door
My kids first thing in the morning
Temple sessions
Movie rentals
Pajama pants
A good pediatrician
The mountains
St. Ives apricot face scrub
Deseret Industries
Temple marriage
Motherhood
The day after laundry day when it is done and put away
Change of seasons



I could go on and on but I have potatoes, stuffing and pie to make…..

Happy Thanksgiving.

Who's looking up to who?

(Height top-- Weight bottom)

Claire had her 12 month well baby check this morning. Dr Shakula looked at me and said “WOW, She is tall!!” I hastily replied “Yah, I know… I have to buy her new pants every 2 seconds.” He chortled and repeated “No I mean she is VERY TALL!!!! I have not seen a baby this tall for a while.”

$$$Cha-Ching$$$ At this rate my baby is going play for the WNBA by the time she hits kindergarten.

Pomp and Circumstance -- Flashback Friday

I am at my mom’s house dropping off the kids before I have to run to work. My sister Julie is watching my kiddos today. I was looking on my mom’s computer and came across this picture. This was my Nursing School Graduation ceremony in June of 2003. What a relief that day was. I am so grateful that I finished school so I could put Randy through school. Being a nurse has been such a blessing for our family. The hours are really flexible and I am able to support our family while Randy finishes up his degree. I am thankful to live in a land with so much privilege, freedom, and knowledge.

Counting down the days until we leave this city....

Whoever did this....



and this....





...had better run long, fast and hard. If I ever catch or see you, a good flogging will be in order.

My son is freaking out that a bad guy came to our house and stole our radio out of our car and broke the window. Ever since Halloween he has been scared at night...this is just the icing on the cake.

Happy Happy Birthday Claire Bear Dear...

The Celebration…



The gifts…



The cake…


Claire was born November 20th 2007. We were so eager to meet her. Randy and I scheduled a cesarean section for that morning and before we knew it she was here. Her cry brought tears to our eyes. After months of preterm labor and bed rest it was a welcome and reassuring sound.
Claire was blessed by her father on Sunday January 6th 2008. She was cradled by a circle of worthy family members and given her beautiful name, and a tender blessing. She has every single one of those men wrapped around her finger. It has been so fun having a little girl in the mix.
The day she was born she let the world know she had an opinion. The only thing that stopped her fussing was her dad washing her hair. The warm water was so soothing to her. To this day her solace is the water. She loves any kind of water: swimming pool, bath time, lakes, rivers...you name it. If there is water around she wants to be in it.
Claire acclimated to camping so fast. She took on our outdoor adventures with stride. I never had anxieties about bringing her along with us. She has been camping, horseback riding, 4-wheeling and even snowmobiling. She is such a trooper.
She loves her big brother. When Brad walks into the room her face lights up and she is smiling and clapping. Brad is her protector. He is always on guard watching her every move.
Claire has been a joy in our life. Her smile is contagious. She is our sweet sweet little princess. It has been the greatest year. Thank you so much for choosing our family to grace your beautiful spirit. We love you so much!!!
Happy Birthday darling Claire!!!

4th folder 4th picture tag

I was tagged with this post a while ago. It has just taken me a while to get around to doing it.

This is my fourth folder and fourth picture from my computer. This is Brad and his Uncle Matt right before Matt left for Scotland on his mission.





Wow that seems like yesterday and forever ago all at once. Matt and his friend Tori are living in Cache Valley going to school. They stopped by Sunday night to say hi on their way back to Logan. When they walked in the door, Claire jumped out of my lap and waved her arm around in excitement when she saw them. My kids have the greatest Aunts and Uncles on both sides of the family. They are so lucky.

I tag anyone who wants to play!!!

Flashback Friday

I was talking with my neighbor this morning about cooking. She asked me where I got my love for the kitchen. It brought back a flood of memories for me.

When I was little, my dad had us alone at night because my mom worked. At a very young age I was doing dishes, cleaning and cooking. I am surprised my memories are not bad. I make it sound like my dad was some sort of slave driver or something. Anyway I loved cooking for our family growing up. I still love to cook…I just hate cleaning up a mess afterward.

I really do appreciate my parents for teaching me very young how to be a good housekeeper. I am sure I would not have been so receptive had they waited until I was a teenager

Back to reality...

I don't want to bore you with the details of our weekend...well actually I can't bore you with the details because there are NONE. I am not kidding!!! We arrived and did absolutely nothing.

Randy reserved a really nice villa in Park City for the weekend. All I wanted to do was lounge around. He even offered to take me to dinner and I politely opposed and suggested eating in. It was heaven. I really truly needed the break. It was so refreshing.

I must admit it was awesome being kid less for the weekend... but, truth be told I really missed them. (Absence does make the heart grow fonder.)


I cut and colored my hair today. I needed a change for the fall. I left the length. Just a trim and some bangs. The bangs are already driving me nuts. I will start growing those out tomorrow. It is much darker than I am used to. Every time I look in a mirror I think I am wearing a wig. I do love drastic hair changes though.
**Annie I hope you are prepared to give me a touch up at Lava this year. **






Just a little FYI… Oprah had Snapfish on her show today. You can get a free 8X11 book if you go to THIS site. You have to request the book by Friday and have it completed by Sunday. There’s nothing wrong with FREE. I think you still have to pay shipping but still well worth it.

***TOP SECRET***

Randy just clued me on some very pertinent information. He plans to sweep me off my feet this weekend. He made arrangements for us to celebrate our anniversary. We are leaving this afternoon and coming home on Sunday. My wonderful, unbelievable, fantastic, magnificent, superb mother….(is that enough butt kissing mom??) is taking our kids so we can be alone. I have no idea where we are going. For anyone who knows Randy it is very difficult for him to keep a secret and it is near impossible to keep secrets from him. I am quite impressed!!!

I love you honey you are the best.

Lazy days are NOT just for summer...

Claire’s hair is JUST long enough to pull back into scanty pigtails. It looks more like horns really!!! It takes me half an hour to accomplish this hairdo and only 2 minutes for her to conquer and destroy it.


After the hair battle I bundled Brad up and sent him outside to enjoy our first big snow fall of the year. We did have one little storm a couple of weeks ago but if was a mere skiff. By the time Brad had his boots on it was melted.



I went to check on Claire after sending him outside because suddenly the house was quiet. I found her in the bathroom. I think putting her hair in pigtail horns brings out the devil in her. And NO…she is not sporting a huge tongue ring; she got in my elastic drawer as well. Good thing she only found a tiny roll of TP.




I went back outside to check on Brad and he was so content to just lie on his back looking at the flakes falling on his face. I watched him lay there for 10 minutes. When he grew tired of not catching enough snow on his tongue, he rolled over and just started shoveling the snow in his mouth. Good thing it was a fresh snowfall. Can’t be any worse that sucking out of a gutter or drinking from the toilet.



Claire was pretty jealous of her big brother being outside so Brad was courteous enough to pop in the back door every once in a while to peck a kiss on her cheek.


I love snowy days.

Peek-A-Boo

Just waiting for daddy to come home.

Help me PLEASE!!!!!!!

I have been stewing over a dilemma for a while now and have decided to throw it out there for all of you…sort of pooling my resources if you will.

How much should I pay a babysitter???

I know it is sort of open ended depending upon number of children, degree of behavior, feeding, getting ready for bed….etc

Anyway, I hire girls in my ward all of the time. Every time I ask them how much they charge I get the deer in the headlights look, big shrug of the shoulders, and a response like “oh, whatever you feel” So then I pay them and after they leave I freak out. It is such an awkward moment to pay them their nightly wage. I drive home and wrestle with myself over the amount. I don’t want them to tell their friends the next day…”Oh those Fischers are so cheap, that was like totally not worth it!!!”
It is so frustrating. When I babysat 15 years ago it was $2 an hour flat. It was so easy. I certainly know times have changed and factoring inflation, cost of living , yada yada yada. I am sure it has sky-rocketed. I don’t want to be cheap, but I don’t want to spend a fortune for a babysitter either.

So…how much?

Any input or suggestion would be appreciated.

Today we celebrate 7 years of matrimonial bliss.

Randy and I were married 7 years ago today in the Salt Lake Temple. The day was beautiful and perfect. I remember very vividly kneeling across the alter staring into his eyes knowing that I was the happiest girl on the planet. In that brief moment I saw eternity and wanted it more than anything.





I am so glad I found my perfect match. I have been blessed immensely. I have 2 beautiful children and an amazing husband. Can’t wait to see what this next year holds for our family.