Dress Ups

Claire has been into dress ups lately. It is impossible to get them off of her. She wants to wear them all day. Yesterday I had to draw a bath (her next favorite thing) just to get it off of her. She has all ready begun feeding and taking her baby for walks too. It is fun to watch her transform from a baby to a little girl. It is happening too fast!!!

Only 30ish more sleeps until Halloween

Brad and I lugged the Halloween Decorations out of storage. I don’t know which of us was giddier. He told me to make a sign for the front lawn that said “spooky house” so his friends would know that our house was haunted.

We can’t wait for Halloween.

Mediocre Mom

My friend is launching a new website called MEDIOCRE MOM. She is having a contest to launch her site. Check it out. You could be the big winner.

Last Call!!!

Just a little reminder that I am going private this week. If you missed it go HERE.

I know I am missing some emails.(This is mainly directed at my family!!!) So leave it here in the comments or email me at baygetter@msn.com.

Whew

Randy started his new job this week…(whew)…. I got to cut back my work hours to only 3 days a week…(whew)… I found a GREAT babysitter for my kids…(whew)…

I think we now have a small routine.

I must say things are really starting to fall into place, which is great because our life for the past 10 months has been far from routine. I am so relieved that we found a great babysitter for our kids. That was the BIGGEST stressor for me. She is fabulous and my kids really like going over there. I love it because she thinks the same way I do and I know she will do for my kids what I would.

Randy got a little antsy being home near the end of the summer and thus took on a TON of projects. This is what he has been up to …





Building a shoe shelf in our master closet…




Building shelves in our cold storage…
I know we would only last about a week on what we have so far. Baby steps. Hopefully or neighbors are willing to share in a crisis.



Working in the yard... Our house sits on a 1/2 acre which = a TON of yardwork



Pulling the weeds out of the yard…
Our property used to be an old alfalfa field. If you look at some of the pictures you can see the weeds in the empty lot next door. That is what we have been battling. Look at the roots on those suckers. It took forever to get rid of them.



Leveling the back yard and making a retaining wall…




Has anyone else had to buy these stupid rocks?? I swear they have gold nuggets inside. They cost a fortune.



Assembling the rock wall…



Trenching for sprinklers...

We almost left the yard sloped. After a lot of thought we bit the bullet and decided to make the majority of the yard level and build up a garden space on top. I am so glad we did it. I think it will be totally worth it. I now have a new appreciation for a PRE landscaped yard. However, it has been really fun to watch our yard transform.


Randy has been so productive this summer. I don't feel like I have much to show for my summer. I did the laundry for the first time since we moved here. Don't worry I didn't forget how to do it. Unfortunately it is like riding a bike.
I had 2 days off this week so I got to take Brad to Kindergarten and back. I know it sounds stupid but I felt awkward doing it. I wasn’t sure which door to take him to, or exactly what time I was supposed to pick him up. Luckily Brad is well seasoned and he coached me through it. It was so fun to see his face after school when I was there to pick him up. I got a little emotional. He is so grown up.
My kids are so precious in the morning. I love being home when they crawl into our little tiny queen bed. Claire is a snuggler. After a good snuggling we head to the kitchen. One thing I really enjoy is making breakfast. I think the kids are so happy to get something besides cold cereal at least twice a week. I had some over ripe bananas on the counter so instead of tossing them I added them to my pancake batter. They turned out awesome so I am including it at the end of this post.
I did notice that I am a little rusty at being a stay at home mom. It was fun to be home but by the end of the night I was staring at the clock hoping that bedtime would come sooner than later. My patience was worn so thin by the end of the night. Hopefully my motherly instincts will kick in soon. I forgot how hard it is to stay at home. Way to go Randy for doing it all summer. Not to toot his horn…but my husband is seriously amazing.


I Can’t wait for more snuggly mornings, walks to school and back and amazing pancakes.

Banana Pancakes
3 dark ripe bananas (mashed)
2 eggs
1 ½ cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbs oil
Whip all this together then add:
1 ½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp cinnamon
Mix just until blended (don’t over mix)
I used my electric skillet for these. I set the temp at 300 degrees. I made smaller than usual pancakes because the batter is not firm when you flip them so they were easier to turn.
Lightly butter and sprinkle with powdered sugar or spread with jam.

Bear Lake

We were invited to spend some time at the Hodges' cabin in Bear Lake over the weekend. We love going there. It is always relaxing and a lot of fun.

Friday night after we put the kids to bed we indulged in some tasty fondue. I really am trying to get back on the health wagon but I am a sucker for chocolate. Not only did I fall off the wagon again...I was ran over as well.



On Saturday morning the men went and cut firewood and the girls and kids lounged and played at the cabin.



The men had worked up an appetite cutting wood and I just wanted to eat something because I was on vacation. We went into town and consumed a huge pizza from a little place that we visit often.



We headed home after lunch and I got a little teary eyed at all of the leaves changing in the canyon. I LOVE FALL. It is always a welcome change after the hot summer.

Deutschland Chapter VI

***Just in case you missed the previous chapters***
(it has been a while)

Deutschland Chapter I
Deutschland Chapter II
Deutschland Chapter III
Deutschland Chapter IV
Deutschland Chapter V

Wednesday May 20th

After a somber day of concentration camps and the hustle and bustle of Munich we headed to Austria for the day. We drove just across the border to Salzburg. Salzburg is famous for “The Sound of Music” and was also the birthplace of Mozart. Austria was so different from Germany. You could tell we crossed the border. The buildings looked different, the people looked different, and even the smells were different.
We got to the city square before noon so we missed the afternoon rush of people. It was so quaint to stand in the middle of a HUGE square and listen to the street performers and smell fresh bread.


I can’t even put it into words how romantic it was to stand in Randy’s arms in Europe listening to this....



…It literally took my breath away. It is a moment I will never forget.



We found Mozart’s childhood home then wandered the streets a little bit. The streets in Austria were different. The walkways were narrower and the buildings were so tall. I felt so small inside the walkway.


We wanted to see the Hohensalzburg Fortress. (The HUGE castle on the TOP of the HUGE hill.) As you can tell we were tired and didn’t want to hike the HUGE mountain. We forked out 20 bucks to ride a little tram to the top. WORTH EVERY PENNY. From the top we could see all the way across the city, and also the Alps. It was beautiful.




We had a tight schedule to keep so after a quick street corner Weisswerst (white bratworst). We headed back to Germany. We wanted to go and see Koning See (King’s Lake) in Barvaria right inside the border.
On the way there we had to stop and take a picture of the gorgeous rivers that run off the glaciers. The water was pure turquoise. These pictures don’t even do it justice. I have never seen anything like it.




We rented a canoe with Morgan and Tiko. The water was clear and beautiful. On the hillside overlooking the lake is the Eagle’s nest. Nazis built this retreat for Adolf Hitler as a 50th birthday present. We didn’t have time to go and see it but we hear from Randy’s grandpa that it is amazing inside.
















(You have to look close at this picture. The Eagles Nest was on the very top of this mountain. We had to super zoom our camera to even see it)

I left Randy for a minute to find a bathroom and came back to find this...The little old Germans loved to hear a young American speak German. He was a spectacle. They could not help but flock around him. This happened a few times on our trip.

After our canoe ride we walked to the old Bobsled track from the 1972 winter Olympic games in Munich. It was kinda fun to stand inside the track.





We ate dinner at a little bistro café on the Lake. I had spatzle noodles dripping with yummy cheese. (Europe seriously has the BEST food)

That night we stayed in Bad Toltz in Frau Schafer’s apartment. At twilight Randy and I took a walk down the city square. It had been a long day and in could not have ended in a more perfect way. I loved the way the streets lit up at night. We sat by the river and ate our ice cream cones with super sore feet.


(Thanks Annie for gently reminding and motivating me to finish my Europe trip)

I am going private

After weeks of consideration and deliberation, I have decided to go private. I am embarrassed to say it, but I have been tormented at the thought of going private. I worry that with the extra step of signing in will quickly make people lose interest. I really had to reflect on the reason I started blogging in the first place

- I wanted to keep a journal
- I wanted to record pictures and fun stories about my kids
- I wanted to share my favorite moments with my family and friends
- It is my time to do something for myself ( my way of winding down)

I have noticed since moving that I have not been as careful about keeping details about my kids and where I live undisclosed. Then I realized I DON’T want to leave out all those important particulars. The only way I can record and share all those moments without making the details fuzzy is to go private.

If you are still interested in hearing our FISCH STORY, please leave me your email address in the comments, or you can email me at baygetter@msn.com and I will add you to my list of honored guests at our family site. I really enjoy sharing my life and I love hearing about yours. Please promise me that you will still follow our journey.

(We recently had to replace our computer so I am not sure I have everyone’s email address. I figure I will make the change in about 2 weeks.)

Labor Day- Jackson Lake Wyoming

We spent Labor Day with the Fischers in Jackson Hole this year. This has been an annual trip for us ever since we were married. It is one of our favorite places to go. We usually stay in Colter Bay or Hoback Junction.


This year we stayed at Colter Bay at Jackson Lake in the Grand Tetons. It is the perfect place to camp. There is so much to do. Float the snake river, go shopping in Jackson Hole, Bar J Wranglers, Yellowstone, just about everything you could imagine.
Jackson Lake is THE most beautiful lake I have ever seen. It is so clean and the water is like glass. Not to mention that it is nestled next to the Grand Tetons.
I have been looking forward to this vacation all summer. It was nice to have some cooler sweatshirt weather. Brad loved riding his bike all through the camp and Claire was content playing in the dirt and finding squirrels.






The weather this year has been so hot that we have not had a fire all season. It was nice to finally stoke up some nice flames. This was Claire’s first experience with a fire and she didn’t really know if she liked it or not. I tried to help her roast a marshmallow and she just covered her face and said “too hot, too hot” it was cute. She did enjoy the finished product.


On the way to camp we pointed out the window of the truck and said “Brad look those are the Grand Tetons”. Brad looked out and said “What…the Grand Croutons…like the salad??” We laughed. It was the running joke for the rest of the weekend. Then on the way home he pointed out the window and said. “Look mom and dad it is the Grand Crunchies”. – What a ham.

May I have you attention please....

I have a very important bit of BUSINESS to announce...



You are looking at the new OPERATIONS MANAGER for Bank of Utah!!!

YEA YEA YEA YEA YEA YEA YEA YEA YEA!!!

Congratulations Randy on landing such a great job. We are so proud of all the hard work sweat and determination it took to get through school. Not to mention the grueling interviews and fighting against thousands of other applicants in the worst job market EVER. We love you and feel so blessed.

Family +Vacation= lots and lots of pictures

Lake Powell August 2009






THINGS THAT WERE FUN
- seeing the newlywed couple for an hour before they had to head back to Salt Lake

-watching the pure joy in my kids face while they played in the water


-brad with enough courage to jump off a cliff and ride the tube just like his daddy


-convincing Kendra to jump off a cliff and hearing her cute squeal as she did it

- Watching everyone else jump off a cliff. ( I had to live vicariously through them…there was no way I was going to jump off!!!)


- Claire (my little water baby dare devil) riding on the tube with Uncle Steven

- Steven and Kari trying a one man tube together. (thanks for the entertainment)

- Watching Kari being dragged on the tube all pooped out after a bumpy ride

-Ice cold Diet Coke
-My hero Randy who was willing to jump in the water to put on my ski for me (I was a damsel in distress. I could not get the stupid thing on)

- Claire having a mud bath. I would pay good money for that!!!



- Self portraits of Brad

- Claire losing the battle to stay awake on the boat.

- The anti-gravity chair that we fought over the entire weekend

- Otter Pops out of the trailer freezer

- Watching Randy teach Brad how to steer the boat

- Having my cousin Alexa there. (She was so fun and saved me on this trip…she helped so much with my kids. I am so glad she came)


- Stopping the boat in the middle of the lake to take a dip and cool off.






THINGS THAT WERE NOT SO FUN

-100 degree weather. I was not make for intense heat
- Red sand…EVERYWHERE!!! Somehow it even made it back to my house and I still find little traces of that red sand.
- scorpions (thank you Steven for pointing that out to us girls on the last night…I liked it better when I didn’t realize they existed in Lake Powell. We even had one drop out of the trailer hitch when we got home. I am not such a big fan of desert creatures)
- Fixing a trailer axle in the middle of a desert. (Thank goodness we had Steven there to rescue us. We owe you)

- Gaining an extra 5 pounds of vacation weight. Look at all the food we packed in. Even Claire needed to help drag it all out.




Looks like the good outweighed the bad… I think I’ll do it again…only not in August!!!