The Fish Bowl

This ONES for you Steve!!!

2009-07-16T04:55:00.000-07:00

FINALLY, my #1 Blog Fan will be excited to see that I have FINALLY posted pictures from our very fun Long Barn 4th of July Weekend! We had a great weekend with my entire family!

A definite highlight to our weekend was the Twain Hart 4th of July Parade. Uncle Steve entered his jeep into the parade for the first time and made sure he had the cutest FLAG WAVERS ride with him.

Tyler got to ride with Uncle Steve from Long Barn down to Twain Hart. What a fun experience for Tyler!!! This Jeep is extra special because it is from Steve's Grandpa. Then Steve in honor of my Grandpa painted his WW2 numbers on the front of the jeep.

"Bird hunting" first thing in the morning....

Lots and lots of swimming

On our way to the parade we went to a Pancake Breakfast at Miwuk's Firehouse.

4th of July Night - We head to Pinecrest Lake to watch the animated movie UP at their outdoor theater.

FISHING WITH THE FISH HEADS!
We love fishing at the Twain Hart Ditch. Everyone was able to catch at least ONE fish this time!

The funny story about fishing this year - Uncle Steve sent out an email saying to bring POWER BAIT, SALMON EGGS and WHITE GRUBS for bait. About 1/2 throught our Fishing Adventure I realize that our Uncle Steve isn't using any of that bait - he brought SPINNERS! No wonder he was catching so many fish. I guess the pressure is really on to catch the 1st fish and the most fish when you are a Fish and Game Warden!!!

CLEANING AND GUTTING THE FISH...
Uncle Steve is a really good teacher. Two summers ago he taught Tyler how to Clean and Gut fish for the Fishing merit badge he was earning for Scouting. Now Jake is earning his Fishing Merit Badge and it is his turn to learn how to Clean and Gut a fish (I should say, he's been a pro at chopping off their heads for years)!

Fish Fry and Dutch Oven Cooking in the Marino Family Cabin!!!
Another part of the Fishing Merit Badge is cooking the fish you caught. Thanks to Aunt E for teaching Jake FISH FRYING techniques!

Tyler's Dutch Oven BBQ Chicken...

Devin's Dutch Oven Potatoes (well, really Tyler and I did all the CHOPPING for this)!

Michael's YUMMY Peach Cobbler....

Cousins eating smores...

I love SWIM TEAM!

2009-07-15T04:07:00.000-07:00

For years, our school friends have been trying to talk us into join our neighborhood SWIM TEAM. I thought they were CRAZY! Who wants a busy schedule over summer and have every Saturday busy with a LONG swim meet (7:45am - 2:00pm). I finally caved in this year. Emily really wanted to do it cause all her good girlfriends have been on the team for 2 years. I never hear of swimmers breaking any BONES so I told Jake he needed to give it a try. So by default, Tyler got to do it too - heck, we were already going to be there so why not have him do it too!

I know this might be hard to believe (even for me) but I NEVER got a picture of ALL 3 FISH HEADS TOGETHER!!! The below picture is from their first ever Swim Meet in June. Tyler was at a Scout Campout. One of Emily's favorite things to do is write all over herself (and her friends) using SHARPIE MARKERS!

Jake practices are from 7:30am - 8:45am 5x's a week.
Emily from 9:30am - 10:30am
Tyler from 10:45am - 12noon 3x's a week because he has Water Polo 4x's a week.

I have to say - this has been the BEST summer ever! My kids have not said they are BORED (well, I take that back. Emily said it I'M BORED once but it was a Sunday - the only day of the week she isn't swimming laps). We should have done swim team years ago. It is so much fun and such a healthy sport. I can't believe how many laps they swim during practice....wow! And swim team consists of the nicest kids and families!

Emily and all her school best friends. Swim team for Emily was a SOCIAL EVENT!!! We barely saw her during the Swim Meets - she was always playing with all her girlfriends and their little sisters!

The REAL reason why the boys liked Swim Team - The Mister Softie ice cream truck!

Emily posing with Grandpa after she won 1st place in her heat for Breatstroke.

Tyler doing the backstroke.

Emily and her girlfriends cheering on Jake!!!!

Jake winning 1st place for Breastroke.

Jake told me to post this picture of his NICEEEEEE bottom!

Here's Emily (pink cap) doing the BUTTERFLY. This is the hardest stroke to learn.

Here is Emily getting read for her free style heat. Her coach kneeling down next to her with the orange shoes is Brian Tucker. If you can believe it, Brian and I have been friends since High School.

Emily won 1st in her heat for free style.

Here's Emily getting ready for the backstroke. I love watching her do the backstroke cause she SMILES the whole way across the pool!

Fun times with Judy, Dave and Rhyen!

2009-06-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

[Shopping with Grandma Judy. She bought them each a webkinz and matching flip flops for the girls]

[Last day of school. Rhyen got to Emily's last 10 minutes of class where they were celebrating Emily's birthday.]

[A fun day in San Francisco's Chinatown]

[I never thought I'd see the day with DAVE on a LAP TOP - I guess Devin has rubbed off on his Dad]

[Cousin Rhyen with her 2 BIG cousins]

[Jake was hoping to be TALLER than his Grandpa Dave while wearing his football gear!]

[Dance Party]

Emily's Baptism

2009-06-22T07:49:00.001-07:00

This month has been a busy one. I feel like my children are growing up too fast these days. When they were little I used to think "if only" they were out of diapers, or could sleep through the night, or ride a bike, etc. Now I'm wanting to FREEZE them at the stages they are right now! Emily got baptized on her 8th birthday (June 6th). It seemed to take Tyler FOREVER before he turned 8. And it is the opposite with Emily - it seems just like yesterday she was a toddler and now she is baptized and going into 3rd grade.

[The Alfano Clan]

[Emily with her grandma and grandpa]

[Emily with her Tooele grandparents and cousin Rhyen]

[GIRL COUSINS! We were soooo excited that Rhyen was able to come to Emily's baptism. We had fun with her]

[We love our Alfano cousins]

[The Alfano family]

[The "B girls" as Emily calls them]

[Super special friends]

[Emily with the Myer girls]

[Emily and Olivia]

After Emily's Baptism we headed to Livermore to play bocce ball. That was a lot of fun.

It' Official! There's a DON living in MY home!

2009-06-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

Those are hard words for a FALCON to say but it is true! Tyler just graduated from 8th grade and is now going to be FRESHMAN at Amador! Wow! After his 8th grade promotion we went to Hana Japan for dinner with grandma, grandpa, Uncle Michael and Cousin Joey! It was fun and extra special for me because we went to that same restaurant after my 8th grade promotion.

And JAKE is now a 6th Grader in Middle School!

Here is Jake on the last day of school with two of his buddies!

And Emily is a 3rd Grader! Watch out - there's a 3rd grade silly girl in our home!

Memorial Day Weekend Fun!

2009-06-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

Celebrating Memorial Day with our Veteran! As Emily recently said, "I'm so glad Mondo is still alive!" And I agree with her! Mondo turns any day into a special day! Here are Jake and Mondo (our two blondies) eager to dig into a cherry cheesecake!

Memorial Day Weekend fun at the Marino Ranch!!! This is paradise for my THREE Fisher Boys and we girls didn't think it was that bad either! Steve (and all his parent's amazing properties) are such a FUN addition to our family!

Easter Vacation Fun!

2009-05-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

We surprised the Fish Heads with an overnight trip to Windsor during Spring Break (thanks to Chad and Becky for their timeshare)! We were only gone for 2 days but it seemed much longer (in a good way). Just the perfect little get away. We had a scavenger hunt for them to discover that we were going on a road trip.

Here's a few of our favorite spots we discovered:

BODAGA BAY:

Sea anemones...Jake has always been our "discoverer." And since he had just gone on his 5th Grade trip to Pigeon Point he was quite knowledgeable on these creatures.

STINSON BEACH:

MUIR BEACH:
Old military bunkers.

IN SEARCH OF A PINK HOME:
To distract Emily through the curvy/windy roads of Highway 1 - we told her to keep her eye open for a pink house. We had no idea that a PINK and WHITE building even existed on our trip. You can only imagine how thrilled she was to come across this Emily Perfect Building!

MUIR WOODS:
Hiking, really "walking" through the Muir Woods. We realized we hadn't taken Emily there since she was a baby. We really should go here more often - such an easy hike for the family to do together.

Easter Sunday

2009-05-09T15:30:00.000-07:00

I finally had a LIGHT BULB moment - well, maybe it was finally coming up with a way to JUSTIFY ALWAYS making sure Emily gets a new Easter Dress with all the Fisher Boys complaining about! I mean, hello, every girl should get a new EASTER DRESS each year...right? So, why not include the boys in on the new wardrobe too. I bought them each a new tie and white sunday dress shirt. Hee hee hee - there was no complaining this year that THEIR SISTER got more items in their EASTER BASKET! I'm sooo smart!

Happy Easter!

2009-05-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

My Aunt Marie and Uncle Al found a box of handmade painted Chicks that my grandpa had made decades ago. In honor of their Great Grandpa Joe - Marie and Al put a $5 bill in each beak and presented it to the little cousins. That was a super sweet thing to do and a great flashback memory for me. My grandpa was known for giving these chicks to everyone (he'd even leave his tip in it's beak at restaurants for the waitress).

Cousin Justin "carving" the ham....hee, hee, hee.

Mondo anxiously awaiting his Easter Dinner.

Every little kid LOVES big Tyler!

Grandma entertaining Luke!

Baby Jackson and me!!!

Lukey-Luke...

Matty-moo...

Chick Races - THE OLDER 20-30 year old cousins vs THE YOUNGIN's....

Hula Hoop Contest....

Happy St. Patrick's Day 2009

2009-03-18T09:51:00.001-07:00

We had Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Mondo over for our annual GREEN dinner. Everyone had a great time and survived the HYPER, CRAZY 3 Fish Heads trying to dance the night away!

Check out FISH FOOD for other St. Patrick Day activities we did.

SNOW much fun!

2009-02-20T08:34:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's Weekend (and President's Day Weekend) we took off to my brother-in-law's family cabin! We wanted a SNOW weekend and that is exactly what we got! We literally had to hike in to the cabin with all our gear through 2 feet of fresh powder (untouched, beautiful white and clean snow)! Uncle Steve brought his snow shoes and made a "path" for us. Jake however wanted to make his own path.

The cabin to the left is NOT ours. So we had to hike up past that cabin another 30-40 yards? So fun for the kids!

THANK HEAVENS for THREE Pack Mules (Devin, Tyler and Jake)!

Snowball fights!!! BTW - everyone should own a couple of these snowball makers! They work great and are snow much fun!

Sledding!!!

Me and my Fish Heads!!!

You can't tell but the below picture was taken at 7:00am! Tyler (the boss) and Jake (the real hard worker) would fill up the sled 2x's each morning to get wood and start the fire! Good job boys!

Our spray bottle didn't want to work. So this was all we could make for our Valentine Heart. (Add a couple drops of food coloring to water in a spray bottle) and have fun painting in the snow!

Trying to head out! We had over a foot of snow fall during the night. We were 20 feet to the paved road - and got stuck!

Come check out FISH FOOD

2009-02-13T08:27:00.000-08:00

I've started another blog called FISH FOOD. It is still a work in progress but thought I should post what I have done already - who knows - it might never get 100% finished.

FISH FOOD has some of my Fish Head's favorite recipes and traditions. I have learned over the years that FAMILY, FRIENDS and FOOD equals FUN.

Enjoy!

What's for dinner?

2009-02-13T08:22:00.000-08:00

February 8th - 14th

Sunday: Cold Cereal

Monday: Tyler's BBQing Hamburgers!

Tuesday: Scrambled Eggs with Ham

Wednesday: Pancakes (chocolate chip or blueberry)

Thursday: Cheesy Potato Soup with Ham & Swiss Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Friday: Heart shaped pizzas

Saturday: Valoy's Taco Soup

My new favorite find!!!

2009-02-11T08:21:00.000-08:00

My mom bought these hooks and I was a little skeptical at first. But THEY TOTALLY WORK! Man, I wish I had these about 7 years ago - my walls are filled with large holes from all the picture frames I have hanging up.

You don't even need a hammer to use these. Just push and twist them in. They are really sturdy and amazingly, it really does hold. And my FAVORITE part - it only leaves a tiny hole behind (like the size of a push pin)!!!!

Jake is ELEVEN

2009-02-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

Last week, Jake turned ELEVEN!!!!

Emily and I surprised Jake and a Birthday Bowl of Cereal!!! Man, I should have been doing this for years! What an easy thing to do to make their birthday morning seem extra special on a school day.

Jake's primary teacher (Sarah Gasper) brought over this birthday cookie for Jake. Jake was so thrilled and truly enjoyed EATING it (he even shared some of it).

Jake LOVED his money bag from his Tooele grandparents.

Tyler didn't have school on Jake's birthday - I know, not fair! So Tyler brought Jake lunch at school.

We even put in those party paper blowers and he and his friends LOVED them!

It was a great day (birthday party at Super Frank's and two of Jake's cousins were in town - Joey and Matty to help celebrate)!

The Birthday group....

Cousins -- Matty and Emily

Jake and Alex teaming up against Devin

Cousins - Tyler and Matty

Cousin Joey

Birthday Ice Cream at Ice Creamery

2009-02-05T08:30:00.000-08:00

January Fun at the park with family!!!

2009-02-05T08:20:00.000-08:00

Thanks Aunt Nic for doing Emily's hair in under 2 minutes!

Luke LOVES Uncle Devin - especially when Uncle Devin pushed him all over the park on a scooter.

Football game with Uncle Michael...

Rock Climbing with the 11-year Scouts!

2009-02-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

What's for dinner?

2009-02-02T16:53:00.000-08:00

February 1st - 7th

Sunday: Super Bowl Dinner
Buffalo Wings, Steak Bites, Cheese and Olive Bread

Monday: Breakfast for Dinner
Scrambled Eggs and Chorizo

Tuesday: Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Wednesday: Mac-n-cheese (from a box)!

Thursday: National NUTELLA Day
Crepes with Nutella, strawberries, bananas and whip cream

Friday: Kim Miller's Yummy Crockpot Chicken

Saturday:

Last week's dinner menu for
January 25th - 31st was:

Sunday: Taco Salad (at our church's Linger Longer)

Monday: Jake's Birthday (and party)

Tuesday: Cousin Matty's Birthday (more pizza)!

Wednesday: Becky's mom Taco Soup
served over Frito Chips

Thursday: Left overs

Friday: Chicken Parmigena

Saturday: Out for Chinese
to celebrate Chinese New Year

got dinner?

2009-01-21T17:25:00.000-08:00

I'm going to start reposting my weekly dinner menus. It saves me a lot of time each week when I have planned our dinners ahead of time.

I'm also doing something new this year. I want my children to know a little something and/or remember their great-grandparents who have passed on. So on each of these special great grandparents birthday week we will make one of their favorite meals or memorable meals and talk about that ancestor. So far in January, we've already celebrated Devin's grandma England by making her famous Hash and Chocolate Chip Cookies. And this week was my Grandpa Reeve's birthday who was definitely known for his blueberry pancakes!

January 18th - 24th

Sunday: Pineapple & Cheese Enchiladas made by Devin!
We had "pineapple and cheese" enchiladas on our first date in Park City at Utah Coal & Lumber.

Monday: Taco Night
Devin made homemade carnitas with homemade chips! Delish!

Tuesday: All American Dinner
OBAMA burgers, BUSH baked beans, red and blue fruit kabobs and homemade cherry pie

Wednesday: Blueberry Pancakes & bacon
(In honor of my Grandpa Reeve's birthday. He used to always make us Blueberry pancakes when he came to visit).

Thursday: Roast & roasted potatoes

Friday:

Saturday:

got dinner?

2009-01-21T17:19:00.000-08:00

January 11th - 17th

Sunday: Kim's Crockpot Chicken & Grandma England's Chocolate Chip Cookies (made by Tyler)

Monday: SOUP NIGHT
Potato, Corn Chowder

Tuesday: Scrambled eggs and bacon

Wednesday: Roast and baked potatoes

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Grandma England's Hash -- made by Devin
(In memory of Grandma England's birthday week)

Saturday: Out to dinner with Grandpa Joe

What's for dinner?

2009-01-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

Sunday: Kalua Pork and rice

Monday: SOUP NIGHT
Split Pea Soup with ham

Tuesday: Meatloaf, baked potatoes & corn

Wednesday: Pizza (birthday party)

Thursday: Egg Salad Sandwiches

Friday: Top Round Roast with roasted potatoes and salad

Saturday: Date night (I hope)!

Ringing in 2009....

2009-01-07T07:49:00.000-08:00

We went bowling on New Year's Eve this year. It was a SUPER fun time for all of us friends.

The Girvans, the Fishers and the Highfills....

Emily LOVED hanging/bowling/dancing with the BIG GIRLS! She was is GIRL HEAVEN!

Purple boots

2008-12-30T11:28:00.000-08:00

One reason why I LOVE having a daughter - PURPLE BOOTS!

Emily and all her accessories pose for a quick picture before she leaves to go to work with Dad for the day - Is The Gap ready for Emily?

Chinatown SF

2008-12-30T11:03:00.001-08:00

Every Christmas we take BART into SF. It is a fun tradition with started with my Dad years ago. We take the kids on BART while Devin works a half day and then he comes and picks us up. This year Devin took Emily with him to work so it was just me, Grandpa, Tyler and Jake on BART - easy!

Tyler and Jake stock up on their favorite firework stuff....

Jake bought Emily a chinese fan - she loves it!

We stopped by Macy's to check out their store windows (Emily was DONE taking pictures - can't you tell?)

We actually hit two Dim Sum places yesterday. The first one was new to us. It was too "American" for our liking - white table clothes and too touristy. But it was fun that they brought carts of Dim Sum to your table and you just picked and choosed. And it was going to be way to expensive to fill up my guys on the "smaller" serving sizes.

So we ordered a few things to try and then headed to our favorite Dim Sum place....

Our last stop of the day....BEARD PAPA for cream puffs! Yummy!

Paul Reeve came to visit

2008-12-30T10:21:00.000-08:00

My Cousin Paul (who I haven't seen in 15 or so years came to visit us this weekend). He's spend 2 nights at my parents home. We had them over for dinner and Sunday. It was good to catch up with Paul!

He's FOURTEEN!

2008-12-29T10:57:00.001-08:00

Tyler turned 14 the day after Christmas. To start off his birthday - Uncle Michael and family showed up at 8:30am with McDonald's for breakfast and another morning of ROCKBAND! Good times!

Then we took some of his friends miniature golfing and then to the Ice Creamery for ice cream.

They WON the lottery?

2008-12-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

Jake found at a store a packet of 5 fake lottery tickets. In this packet each ticket is a winner (of $5,000 or $10,000). Mondo has given each kid in the family lottery tickets on their birthday for as long as I can remember. So Jake knew this would be a great Christmas present to give and he knew the five people he wanted to prank....Uncle Mondo, Uncle Michael, Uncle Steve and his two big cousins Jeff and Justin. Thanks Jake for adding a ton of laughs this Christmas!

We couldn't really trick Mondo...his an expert when it comes to lottery tickets and could tell the ticket was a little THICKER than usual. But he was still fun to prank!

Uncle Michael (well really Aunt Nic) was the FUNNEST one to prank! They totally fell for it! Aunt Nic already had her $5,000 spent when we had to break the news to her....

Run Jake run!!! Aunt Nic is after you!!!

Jeff and Justin thought it was a great prank! Good job Jake!

The Cottrell girls!

2008-12-29T07:57:00.000-08:00

We were sooooooo excited to have Chris stop by with his three girls! Emily was in GIRL HEAVEN! We love the Cottrell girls so much!

Christmas Day

2008-12-28T05:08:00.000-08:00

Everyone gathered around their favorite Deviled Egg Making Cousin - Jeff! He brought over 3 trays of eggs and they were devoured within a hour....thanks Jeff!

And Cousin Justin's SALAMI ROLL UPS! I've got the best cousins!

Emily finally got a sister - well sort of! This is the best present we have ever gotten Emily! Emily loves to dress her American Girl Doll Mia every day and is never without her! Thanks to Grandma Sharon for their matching nightgowns!

Uncle Devin hooked Joey up on his new laptop (installing games, movies and getting him going on email)

Our 1st ever "Build a Christmas Tree" competition

Days and days spent playing Guitar Hero's World Tour...

Sugar-cube igloo building contest....

My favorite Matty quote after he looked at his mom building an igloo, "Mom - you are sooooo talented!"

The contestants paraded around showing off their igloos or snowy mountains. Even Luke paraded around to show everyone his messy snowy mountain.

The judges...

We are lucky to have Uncle Mondo, Aunt E and Uncle Steve spend the night with us on Christmas Eve. It is really fun to have everyone. Mondo and Steve were happy to be able to sleep in until 8:30am this Christmas morning!

Devin made his EGG CUPCAKES for breakfast. Well he gets all the credit (I prepped all the food for him)! That's the least I could do - his one and only present from Best Buy didn't arrive for Christmas (guaranteed shipping between 12/22 - 12/24 DOES NOT EXSIST)! Poor guy.

Jake found these "shotgun lighters" that he knew his Uncle Steve would love!

Little did we know that Uncle Steve had other ideas for these lighters. Uncle Steve, "Look Emily. These guns are the perfect size for your new doll Mia." And Uncle Steve even showed Mia how to properly hold the gun. What a n-i-c-e Uncle!

Christmas Fun...

2008-12-27T10:03:00.000-08:00

Here we are on Christmas Eve. Every year we act out the Nativity and each year provides it own "special" uniqueness. Last year, all the shephards held nerf guns and this year we had Tyler as an angel who "fluttered" into the room! Our "star" tried to beat up the "angel" and luckily Uncle Steve caught everyone on video! It's good to be part of a loving family!

Jake was so happy to be a shephard with Luke!

The cutest littliest shephard ever....Lukey-Luke!

Finally, a picture with all the cousins. Pretty impressive considering I was the only one home with all SIX of them. We were getting dressed to go to church when I realized how cute they all looked so I stood them infront of the tree and we LUCKED out with this picture!

Bob's world....

Dad is the BEST dad ever! Every year he'll take Emily to Bob's World countless times! However, we do miss the Andros family and their hot chocolate afterwards!

got crab?

2008-12-21T12:25:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of our DECEMBER FUN photos! We bought crabs for dinner on Friday night and Jake said, "This is a great way to start off our Christmas vacation!" Luckily Grandpa came over to help us dissect the yicky part of the bodies!

This was our coldest morning yet at school this year....it was about 34-degrees out and we were frozen!

The Alfano boys were back in town! Good times!

Downtown Pleasanton Holiday Parade......

me and my kids

2008-12-20T23:20:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving vacation fun

2008-12-17T08:30:00.000-08:00

We haven't been home during Thanksgiving vacation for years. So we had fun doing some local things and just hanging out at home. FINALLY my kids have started to SLEEP IN (just this week)! So we are not crawling out of bed until 9:30am! Hallejuh!!!

Thanksgiving Day pictures with Grandma and Grandpa!

Cousin Jeff made deviled eggs! Yumm-o!

Mondo and his first plate of food!

Chase, Logan and Johni Schmidt came to visit us for one day! I haven't seen them since they were babies! They are so much fun to be with! I wish we lived closer!

We went to the San Jose Tech museum....

The Bass Pro Shop just opened about 40 minutes from our place. It is very similiar to Cabellas so you know my family had a great time there!

Emily and Devin...

Jake learned how to make an egg fritatta all by himself! Good job Jake!

Go, fight WIN!!!

2008-12-08T08:07:00.000-08:00

November was a fun month for football! We had a great time at the Foothill vs. Amador football game - yahoo!!! The Falcons totally BEAT the Dons! And then Devin surprised us last minute by purchasing the package to watch the BYU vs UofU game!

The Hoxie crew....

What's the matter Tyler Morley...afraid to SHOW your face after the FALCONS destroyed the DONS? hee hee hee

Hanging out with our favorite Veteran on Veteran's Day!!!

2008-12-07T07:30:00.000-08:00

We went to Kennedy Park on Veteran's Day with Uncle Mondo. I'm grateful my kids still aren't too old to want to go on the carousel, train ride and petting zoo. This time the petting zoo animals were starving! Poor little Emily got attacked by the goats...luckily Mondo and Tyler were near by to save her!

Jake sporting his "candy corn" cast....

I HATED it! I HATED it! I HATED it but had a BLAST!

2008-11-21T13:02:00.001-08:00

Except for Cheryl (and maybe Maressa) everyone gave this movie TWO THUMB'S down!

The best part of Twilight (for me) was having a really great time with my girlfriends! The movie itself was the WORST movie I have ever seen - and I am being serious! From horrible MAKE-UP, ACTING (if you can even call it acting - Edward is just so dang freaky and Jasper is some non-blinking pyscho) and not including or messing up my favorite parts of the book! Not to mention - the Cullen Family is completey UGLY! Well, I'll take that back - I did like Alice and Emmett is a crack up!

This movie has definitely turned me into a TEAM JACOB fan however! I did like a group of boys in our theater who wore homemade shirts saying VAMPIRE SLAYERS! That was great! It is safe to say we were definitely some of the oldest movie goers there last night! The place was filled with teenagers in their twilight/team edward/team jacob clothing!

I sat between Kourtney and Cheryl which was so much fun! My favorite quote from Kourtney last night during the movie, "I didn't know this movie was a comedy!" We just laughed & gagged our way through it!

We showed up at 10pm and the line for the IMAX went all through the back of the theater and led us to the freezing OUTSIDE! We had to wait outside for about 1-1/2 hours but the time flew by!

I've bought my ticket!

2008-11-12T06:52:00.000-08:00

I would have bet a ton a money one year ago that:

(1) I would NEVER, EVER read one page of the Twilight Books (let alone read all four of them) and

(2) NEVER become one of those wacky gals seeing the movie - let alone the MIDNIGHT one!

But look at me now - a lot can change in ONE YEAR! I am so excited to go see the movie. I will say that my expectations are set really low for it 'cause I am not all at pleased with who the actors are - please give me a break - the Cullen family is suppose to be this incredibly beautiful family - from the movie posters that I have seen - none of the actors are even nearly 1/2 as good looking than I had imagined!

But regardless - it will make for a very fun Girl's Night Out!

Jake FOUND it!

2008-11-10T07:33:00.000-08:00

My camera had been missing for EIGHT days! We had torn my house apart looking for it. Seriously, I've spent HOURS looking for it. It had pictures on it of Devin's 40th birthday. Yesterday, I was at my parents house when Jake called me and said he had FOUND it! He actually FOUND it! It was in Devin's backpack. Devin's backpack....hmmmm....Devin swears he checked his BACKPACK 2-3x's for the camera! Thankfully Jake was about as obsessed as I was in finding my camera! THANKS!

This was the picture I was most worried about loosing. Emily took Devin out on his birthday for his first ever pedicure and manicure! He loved and she loved it too!

Some of Devin's biggest fans.....

Happy 40th Devin! And THANKS to Linda for providing him with a very yummy homemade chocolate cake!

Our trick-or-treating crew.....

Bowen (left) and Tyler (right) spent half the night sitting on our front porch SCARING the trick-or-treaters!

Emily and Catherine....

I took this picture from Michelle's blog - thanks! I wanted to remember our fun family home evening at the park carving pumpkins.

Get out and VOTE!

2008-11-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

Rain couldn't even stop us last night with our last effort of showing support to the "Yes on 8" campaign.

School Halloween Parade

2008-10-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

Jake's Arrow of Light

2008-10-29T23:39:00.000-07:00

What did you do on Friday night?

2008-10-28T21:47:00.000-07:00

We had a fun time showing our support for Prop 8!!! We had ice thrown at us and Cheryl even had a water bottle thrown at her. Besides an old Grandma flipping us off, I'd say it was pretty positive experience.

Can you find Devin.......

Halloween Fun!

2008-10-27T08:41:00.001-07:00

The Italians gathered over the weekend to help Devin begin to celebrate turning FORTY! We watched Emily play soccer, had dinner at our place and went TRUNK or TREATING! Dave, Lisa and their two kids spent the night with us Saturday night! Good times! Baby Jackson barely had a chance to crawl with the Fish Heads passing him off to each other!

Cousin Justin as a ROCK STAR. Emily loved being Justin's #1 fan - thanks for being a good sport about that Justin! Jake and I also joined in on the fun as his groupies!

Tyler holding Baby Jackson...

My Uncle Al (Indiana Jones), Aunt Marie (Witch - she is way too nice to ever be a witch) and their granddaughter Sophia (Ariel)...

Counsins....Ninja Joey and Cheerleader Emily!!!

Thanks Camille for the edible "ghost" cookie idea...

The ONLY girl cousins around...thank heavens for Sophia!

"Look at us, look at us.... we are TWINS!" And the scary part - they didn't even plan on it - what are the chances of two italian guys showing up wearing their favorite SNL COWBELL tshirts and shorts - man, it's a good thing we love these two guys!

Lukey-Luke being a shy monster.

Emily's fan club....

Gavin Newsom, You're My New Son, Like It Or Not!

2008-10-25T07:52:00.000-07:00

Looking for Lady Babies

A new twist for "Yes for Prop 8" advertising...

2008-10-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

Everyone's favorite STEVE MCKINLEY put his talented fingers to work to design his own special "Yes on 8" logo. I think it explains itself!

The GOOD and the SAD!

2008-10-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

THE GOOD....
Tyler and Annie (and Bowen and his swing dance partner) made it through the first FIVE days of their Swing Dance competition. Probably 65 couples have been eliminated already.

THE SAD....

Jake ran for Student Body PRESIDENT last week. It was fun making posters and stickers (for him to pass out). Jake told me that, "If I am President mom, this will look really good on my college application!" I love that kid!

13 kids ran for "President." Friday they had their big speech day and vote. Unfortunately, Jake didn't win but we parents sure had fun watching all these kids give their speeches.

I'm obsessed! I'm addicted!

2008-10-16T23:55:00.000-07:00

Okay - so I am probably the last person to jump on the Twilight Series band wagon but I'm so glad that I did! I am so hooked! I'm reading the 4th book right now! What a fun read it is - something for me to totally escape in! I would have never thought I'd be reading about vampires and werewolves. I also have really enjoyed the playlists for each book that you can find on Stephanie Meyers website! Okay - I'm sounding like a crazy addict right now - but this is just what I needed!

I can't wait for the movie to come out - so let me know if you want to go see it opening night with me!

got dance?

2008-10-15T16:19:00.000-07:00

For a better quality video go here

This has been a really fun week for me! Tyler is participating in his school's swing dance competition. What a hoot! I love it! The first 6 weeks or so of school the PE teachers teach the square dance to the 6th graders and the swing dance to the 7th and 8th graders. Then if the students want to they can find a swing dance partner and enter the school's competition (they come up with their dance routine and practice it during lunch for two weeks and then the competition begins). There's around 120 couples I believe. Tyler didn't do it last year so this is our first experience with it. It is so much fun. His partner (Annie) is super friendly and has made this such an enjoyable event for us. They've made it through the first three days of elimination - yahoo!

Annie twirling...

Tyler #114 and Bowen #21 -- Tyler doesn't make eye contact with us at during the 30 minute daily competition but someone he always ends up dancing at least one dance right in front of me - thanks Ty!

Mondo came on Tuesday to watch. As soon as the girls walked into the gym he leaned over to Jake and said, "Oh me me - this is just like my childhood school days Jake! See those girls with the hair in just one pig tail and wearing those skirts - those were the days!" I had to take the above picture of Mondo cause he was saying, "Can you believe it - he won't even look at me. I'm his great uncle!"

My Dad has been to 2 elimination days and the dress rehearsal - it is so much fun to watch! After each dance they have to find a new dancing spot and then sit down. The judges then announce about 5 couples who just got elimated. Then they dance again, rotate and eliminate. They do that about 3 times each day. Linda and I just sight there stressed out trying not to freak out!

This time - 96 eggs!

2008-10-10T11:33:00.000-07:00

I'm 39! This week I celebrated my birthday! Wow - 39 sounds so old! Where do the year's go? Devin surprised me and took the day off from work. And he did projects around the home for me - I LOVED THAT!!!! If only it was my birthday once a month! When I came home from my afternoon of pampering with a Bea Devin said," Wow, your day really goes by fast when you are at home doing stuff!"

Emily bought me some make-up (girls ALWAYS know what to get a girl)! And my boys picked me out a really cute pair of jeans! Thanks to Maressa and her baking fingers I probably won't be fitting into my jeans for long!

We went out to dinner (to also celebrate my Mom's birthday which is this week). The kids were being lets say NAUGHTY at the end of dinner. All my mom and I wanted was a picture with the three kids in it but dang - I tell you - could they pull it together for us - heck no! Jake brought along some of his own money - originally he had thought about paying for the entire dinner - isn't that so sweet?!!! Then I told him he could buy some birthday doughnuts instead by Uncle Mondo's home. So Jake bought all of us doughnuts!

When we came home from dinner we were all tired and got ready for bed. We kneeled for family prayer and Jake said the funnest thing that I want to remember:

Devin - "Christine why don't you say the prayer tonight."

Christine - "Ahhh - on my birthday?"

Emily - "You get blessings every time you say a prayer."

All of us start to giggle and agreed with Emily.

Jake - "Every time you say a prayer mom - your husband will get cuter!"

Devin and I looked at each other and just chuckled. Devin ended up saying the prayer.

And the end of the prayer Jake says, "Mom, apparently you haven't been saying your prayers cause Dad still isn't cute. He's ugly. But I can tell that Dad prays all the time cause you are so beautiful!"

Times like that just make up for the below picture - Tyler kneeing Jake where it counts right before their picture with Gma and Gpa!

This past weekend was General Conference weekend. Devin had the Young Men over for breakfast during Saturday morning's session. And man, can these guys eat! Last April we used 60 eggs and there was NO FOOD left over so we bought more - we used 96 eggs, 4-1/2 loaves of bread and at least 3 of those large packages of pre-cooked bacon that you get from Costco!

5th Grade Fieldtrip - Hyde St. Pier in San Francisco

2008-10-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

Jake's class went on one of the favorite 5th Grade fieldtrips last week to Hyde St. Pier. Thought I'd post the pictures for all of you "one time Pleasanton natives" so you can enjoy pictures of SF.

Alcatraz island...

Ta da!

2008-10-01T05:24:00.000-07:00

He's done it again!

And NO, it wasn't from TACKLE FOOTBALL!

Luckily, he broke his ankle at school (again, yes playing KICK BALL)! I say LUCKILY only because when am I going to be reported to CPS?

What are we going to do with this kid? For those of you who are keeping track of the number of bones Jake has broken (and remember he's only 10 years old) it is a whomping FIVE!

He's broken both ankles (once while jumping roping and now TWICE while playing KICK BALL during lunch recess)! And he broke two bones in his arm less than a year ago playing football at the park with friends!

Thanks for playing our guessing game with us - it was the only thing that made Jake smile last night - reading your comments! This has been a really sad thing for Jake 'cause he is in the middle of football season and he just LOVES that sport. He tried to look strong infront of the doctor but Jake just couldn't keep the tears in when the doctor said, "You've chipped your ankle and you'll be in a cast for 6 weeks." Jake knew that meant no more football. When Tyler found out he said, " Why couldn't I have broken my ankle? I hate football practice and Jake loves it!"

Come play a GUESSING GAME with us!

2008-09-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

Lets see how many smart friends Jake and I have.

Can you tell us what the below picture is?

We'll give you a few hours to try and figure it out!

Weekend proves - I'm still a Guillable Republican!

2008-09-23T11:09:00.000-07:00

Saturday night Greg Clark took Tyler, Jake and Jayden to the Stanford and San Jose State football game. Around 10pm that night Devin sent Tyler a text message asking if the game was over and what time they'd be getting home. I was in the kitchen when Tyler's response came in via text...."We are just leaving some guy's house name Steve Young - we'll be home soon." Are you kidding me? SOME GUY named STEVE YOUNG! If Devin had taken the boys I'd know for sure it was a farce but it was Greg - and the chances are good it could be true - infact - for 30 seconds I KNEW FOR SURE it was true! Tyler said he had been playing and tickling Steve's younger kids and they were so nice, etc, etc. So I quickly dialed my parents and was telling them that their GRANDSONS were just leaving SOME GUY named STEVE YOUNG's home with Greg. And then I heard those too familiar words - Devin saying, "Christine, they are TEASING you!" I should have known better - between Greg and Tyler - THEY TOTALLY got me! Am I not the most trusting guillable person you know!?! But, they did met Steve Young that night. Greg introduced my Fisher boys to Steve and they shook hands. When the boys got home I pretended not to be a Steve Young stalker and played cool until the boys went to their rooms for bed - I went up to each of them individually and said - let me just touch your hand that touched Steve's! They both looked at me weird but that's just me!

My dad went and picked up Mondo so he could come see the Fish Heads games on Saturday. On their way to the games my dad got a flat tire and the funny story about that is that my dad was laying on the ground trying to unloosen the nuts and was having a hard time with that when Mondo said something like, "Move over Joey - let me try!" That is so dang funny. But my favorite Mondo QUOTE for the weekend was.... "BUSH IS GOING STRAIGHT TO HELL!" One of my favorite things to do is talk politics with my very Democratic 80-year old Uncle! While listening to him rant and rave about Bush we were watching a music video by Kenney Chesney. We were trying to remember the actress Kenney was married to for a brief time.

And the conversation went like this....

Mondo "Her name starts with an R."

Christine "Yes, she has blonde hair and was those two movies - Jerry McGuire and Bridgette Jones Diary."

Mondo "What's her name? It begins with the letter R." (we are mumbling back and forth until I finally remembered her name)

Christine "It's Renee Zellweger!" We were pleased that we had figured that out.

Christine "See Mondo, Republicans and Democratics REALLY can work together!"

Weekends are flying by!

2008-09-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

With two football games and one soccer game each Saturday there is no time for anything else! And I had no idea that football games are two hours long and that they have to be to their game 1-1/4 hours early for a full practice - crazy! But Devin and I both agree - FOOTBALL is the sport to watch! It is so fun. And then all these dads are crazy old school football guys who take the sport way too seriously - you know they "eat, breath, live football" and it's great to listen to them live through their 10 or 13 year old sons! This weekend was especially fun cause my 3 nephews were in town. We only kept Luke for one night at my home cause he was being a STINKER about sleeping - yes, my perfect nephew woke up 5x's by 3am! There was no more love for that kid! Luckily, grandma took over!

Joey was able to sleep over for two nights. He and Emily stayed up late reading books together.

Luke kept lifting up his shirt and show us his BODY BEAUTIFUL abs! Of course, Jake was in on the fun too! Luckily, these two guys will never be college roommates together!

Lukey-Luke was back in the house making for a ton of laughs! He is a character. He loves riding on Tyler's shoulders and then riding on his back for a horsey ride. But he really likes tackling Tyler and Jake. He also always had to have a ball in his hands. His favorite one was a football - he'd stand on it and fall down and wait for us to laugh with him.

Joey LOVED seeing his cousins play football this past weekend. From practices to the games his eyes where WIDE OPEN just soaking it all in. "Aunt Christine, can you get hurt playing football?" and in a soft giggle "those guys are REALLY big." He tried on Tyler and Jake's gear twice. The first time he wore the helmet and pads all the way to grandma's house to show her.

After the football and soccer games we headed to the Chicago Deli for lunch. Then a favorite treat - soft served ice cream dipped in chocolate - yummy! However, Matty was not impressed at all by this treat 'cause it was messy and he doesn't like his hands messy at all. He told me, "Aunt Christine, maybe I shouldn't have ordered this."

Emily and her "Minnie Mice" soccer team mates at the Pleasanton Soccer Parade two weekends ago. Nothing like having to be in downtown p-town at 7am on a Saturday morning!

Luke was so funny his first day at our home. As soon as we came home from football practice Luke marches right into our home and climbs on up the kid's chair and sits at the kitchen table. Apparently, he remembers this is where he gets fed! It was so dang funny!

got sports?

2008-09-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

The past month has been filled with lots of sport practices and fun. I haven't taken any pictures of Emily yet during gymnastics or soccer but I will.

Tackle Football - Yes, I'm nuts for letting Jake aka BONES play tackle football but look at his face - how could I say NO to that! Tyler and Jake are both playing football this year.

Jake and 1/3 of the "Smith Boys"

Tyler is #67 of the Steelers (just look for the yellow belt). For all you Foothill Falcon fans out there the below two photos were taken from the football jamboree that was played on Foothill's brand new football field - impressive, huh! Tyler also took a football camp this past summer coached by the one and only COACH SWEENEY! Good times and YES I am getting old - no, SWEENEY is REALLY getting old!

Golfing

Swimming -- My little swimmers in training to be just like Michael Phelps! Okay - a mom can dream, right? wink, wink!

Obviously, Jake is trying to tell me something in the above picture!

SF Giants baseball game

49ners football game

Fishing fun at Lake Chabot

2008-09-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

A few Saturday's ago Grandpa Joe "took" his grandkids (minus Tyler 'cause he was out Scout Camp and Luke 'cause he too little) out fishing on Lake Chabot. When we got there we realized we had one too many for the boat limit so Grandpa decided to sit out and stay on the dock so they rest of us could go. What a nice guy! Even though we didn't catch one fish it was still a fun trip. And who knew - that Uncle Mondo could drive a boat? Fun times!

The DREADED Mr. Sketch Markers!!!

2008-08-31T23:48:00.000-07:00

Year after year there is always ONE thing I totally hate about BACK TO SCHOOL shopping! Searching and hunting for these dang markers!!! Seriously, it drives me nuts. The stores never have them. I went to 4 different stores this year to find them. I don't know why the teachers insist of having those over Crayola ones. If I were smart I should have bought an extra set for next year.

Every year I tease that I am going to order my own case of Mr. Sketch Markers and then sell them infront of the school (like a lemonade stand). I bet you parents would love me for this!

Back to School....

2008-08-30T07:30:00.000-07:00

I "tried" to look a little sad when my 3 Fish Heads had to say GOODBYE to summer and HELLO to school!!! Actually, we had a great summer and I so am not liking being back on the homework track! As usual, it's been a 100-degrees plus this first week of school.

Jake is a 5th grader which means he the COOL, BIG, OLD kid on campus (6th grade is part of Middle School here). And wouldn't you know it - he's in a class with his good buddies. Obviously they like each other - why else would they be GRINNING and SMILING so big on the first day of school! I just wonder how long this seating arrangement will last!

Hard to believe that my baby is a 2nd grader this year! She lost one front upper tooth right in time for school pictures this year! I love it! And her other one is getting real wiggley too!

This was the night before school (yes, the kids are looking greasy and hammered - after football practice in 100 degree heat) but I wanted to capture two things with these photos. First, a reminder of the special father's blessing that Devin gave to each child. I couldn't help but peak during Emily's....she smiled so HUGE during the entire blessing. And second, just how short Devin is getting. Or is it that his kids are growing taller? I wish we would have taken these pictures each year (the night before school after their father's blessing). Oh well, at least we'll do it from now on.

Where have you been?

2008-08-27T10:03:00.000-07:00

"Where have you been?" is the question I've heard a lot lately especially from my friends and family. I'll tell why I've been missing in action - I'm the East Dublin's Zip Code Coordinator for Proposition 8.

About 3 weeks ago I was asked to be East Dublin's Zip Code Coordinator supporting Prop 8. How could I say no? And ever since then my life has revolved around Prop 8. It feels like a full time job and we've had to make sacrifices as a family especially with me having to spend our last two weeks of summer focused on Prop 8 but it is definitely worth it. And it is good for my own children to know/learn/experience first hand what it means to work hard and volunteer for something that really matters to you. Tyler has been my expert in printing out maps and highlighting each street route/directions so our volunteers can easily find their way. Jake is the MASTER of counting out flyers - he's so QUICK! And little Emily loves (and I mean LOVES) to do whatever - staple, rubberband flyers together, stuff envelopes.

We've already had two successful "Walk and Phone Saturdays" where we have recruited and organized volunteers. These volunteers either "walked and knocked" or made phone calls to registered voters in East Dublin and East Pleasanton. We contact these registered voters to gather information (which way are they voting). I have really enjoyed working with all these volunteers while we try to meet our goal of contacting all 10,000 registered voters by the end of September 6th. And we have all learned that you really can make a difference, even if it's one vote at a time. And thanks to Kelli and the two other Zip Code Coordinators for Pleasanton (Becky and Michael) for their well organized brains!

The below "Six Consequences if Proposition 8 Fails" document was written by the statewide director of the grassroots effort under ProtectMarriage.com coalition.

Counting my blessings and naming them one by one!

2008-08-06T10:22:00.001-07:00

My 52 Blessings

#27

Tyler aka FISH

Tyler is at Scout Camp this week and boy do we miss him. As Emily said last night, "He knows how to make me happy 'cause he's my big brother!" And that is the truth. I think our summer has only gone as smoothly as it has 'cause Tyler knows how to get along with his sister and make her happy (he'll play Barbies with her and they like to paint together). This picture was taken last week. Emily was having a melt down infront of Grandma's house. But Tyler walked over to her and offered to give her a piggy back ride and she was ALL smiles! Thanks Tyler for your tender heart and giving hands! We love you!

Yes, I'm still GULLIBLE and LOVABLE!!!

2008-07-30T17:54:00.000-07:00

I have been totally PUNKED by my so called family! I cannot believe that "my guys" have pulled one over on me! Well, if you really know me - you know it's not that hard. I BELIEVE everything people tell me especially when it's my DAD, my HUSBAND, my TWO BOYS and my BROTHER!!!!

Well, on my last post I said how Jake CAUGHT 2 fish. And I was so PROUD of him and so pleased that it was him catching the fish (he's always trying to keep up with Tyler). Guess what - it was a total PRANK created by my brother! Uncle Michael told my boys, "I really do love your mom but we got to do this to her!" They bought TWO frozen mackerals (to use for bait) from the bait shop and my brother scraped all the ICE off of the them and then they all POSED for pictures! Can you believe that?

FIVE DAYS later and I am now just finding out (only because Devin left me on a comment about the truth of the matter about one hour ago my post - it took me a minute to really get what he was telling me)! They are so dang funny! Thanks guys for a great laugh!

Weekend Fun!!!

2008-07-30T07:35:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend we had!!! Devin took the boys along with Jeff and Graham-Cracker Myers camping on Friday night. They had a great time. Then my dad and my brother met them at Lake Chabot and rented a boat for a couple of hours to go fishing. And guess who was the only person to catch not one fish BUT two fish? Jake did! Two mackerals which are apparently hard fish to catch - way to go Jake!

The Fullers, Wulfensteins and Rogers came to town this weekend. Just like the good ol' days - park night on Friday night, GNO and party time at the Fishers. It was great to get the gang back together again. One of the best parts of the weekend was Hannah Rogers (who is 5 years old). She played "director" and entertained Tyler Fuller, Andrew Vincent and Caleb Hilton (and a few of the other little ones) for TWO HOURS in the backyard. They performed their Pirate Play over and over again for us - it was the cutest thing ever! Thanks Hannah!

Emily's favorite part of the day - HOLDING BABIES! She got to hold Baby Brigham, Baby Kate and Baby Bailey! She was in BABY HEAVEN! Thanks Stacie, Angie and Maressa for sharing your babies with her!

Haley really LOVES me! She is my #1 fan! I just love this little girl!

Our cute little PIRATES....

The audience....they were so cute. They kept bringing out chairs for all of us to sit on and watch the Pirate Play!

Counting my blessings and naming them one by one!

2008-07-29T09:28:00.000-07:00

My 52 Blessings

#26

My Friends....

What a truly fun FRIEND weekend we just had!
Love you all!

Beat this Fisher Boys!

2008-07-28T23:23:00.000-07:00

Jake and Tyler requested my help today on Guitar Hero. So, of course, being the ROCKING mother that I am, I had to stop doing laundry, cleaning and doing the dishes to play Guitar Hero! Fun times (well, the truth is, if you ask Devin he'll say his family hasn't been cleaning at all during the fun of summer)! Anyhow, my proud accomplishment - playing 367 notes in a row correctly on My Name is Jonas (medium level, first time ever playing the song)! Let me know if you can top that!

Counting my blessings & naming them one by one!

2008-07-23T10:27:00.000-07:00

My 52 Blessings

#25

SONIC'S DIET CHERRY LIMEADE
with pebble ice!!!

Unfortunately our nearest Sonic is 30 minutes away (even Tooele has a Sonic). Every day from 2-4pm they have Happy Hour where their drinks are 1/2 off! So you can buy a large Cherry Limeade for only $1. Last weekend we were able to hit Sonic TWICE! It's just the small and simple things in life that make me HAPPY!

Counting my blessings & naming them one by one!

2008-07-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

My 52 Blessings

#24

Late Night Treats --
Hot Chocolate Chip Cookies!

My Aunt Marie certainly KNOWS how to spoil her family! Saturday night she decided to start baking cookies at 11:00pm! You gotta love that! They were gobbled up in no time and will always be a special memory for all of us! Of course my Fish Heads now think their Aunt Marie ALWAYS stays up late each night to make cookies for her family (especially for Uncle Al)! Great - another thing they think I need to aspire to! wink, wink!

Birthday Weekend Celebration

2008-07-22T22:20:00.000-07:00

We had a fun weekend up in Elk Grove celebrating two big birthdays in our family! My Great Uncle Mondo turned 80 and my Uncle Al turned 60 on the same day. We started the weekend off at dinner at Bucca's. We always love going there and eating in the Pope's Room. Calamari, antipasta salad and cheesy garlic bread are our favorites!

The two birthday boys....

The Fisher girls....

Tyler, Luke and Jake (and Jake is very proud that Lukey can say JAKE very well)....

My mom and dad...

My Uncle Al and Aunt Marie...

Part of Baby Jackson's fan club....

My Cousin Dave and his family....

My brother and his family....

Justin, Jeff and some guy from Tooele....

Emily holding Baby Jackson (what a shocker)!

Emily LOVED holding and feeding Baby Jackson! Thanks for being so willing Jackson!

For Sunday's breakfast my Dad made his yummy scones and Devin made is very popular Sausage Biscuits and Gravy!

Uncle Mondo THANKS U!!!

2008-07-22T13:05:00.000-07:00

I have strict orders from my Uncle Mondo to make a post to say THANK YOU for all the birthday cards he received in the mail last week congratulating him on his 80th BIRTHDAY!!!! He doesn't know why so many people knew/remembered his birthday and was THRILLED to receive so many cards! So,

THANK YOU
thank you
Thank You

Uncle Mondo said he had a great 5 day celebration with his family honoring his 80th Birthday! The above picture is of his new tv and tv stand that all of us cousins and (Joe, Sharon, Marie and Al) pitched in. He loves it! And thanks to Justin and Devin for going over Sunday night to hook it up for him.

Counting my blessings & naming them one by one!

2008-07-22T12:47:00.000-07:00

My 52 Blessings

Week #23

BABY JACKSON!!!
My Cousin Dave and his wife Lisa have the cutest and happiest baby boy named Jackson (he reminds me of Jake when he was a baby - all smiles and so happy)! Uncle Mondo gave Jackson a nickname over the weekend - SMILING JACK!!! It's true - this kid SMILES all the time and makes you feel so good! Welcome to the family Jackson! We are so glad to have you be the "baby" of our family! We LOVE you!

I am thankful for my VOICE!!!!

2008-07-20T23:25:00.000-07:00

Last week I lost my voice for about 3-1/2 days! Yikes! And I haven't even been YELLING at my kids this summer! So, it was a real QUIET week for my family not hearing my beautiful voice! But thankfully, my fingers were still able to SNAP to grab their attention and/or send them text messages! Thank heavens for technology! Emily was really sweet - since I couldn't talk - I tried to whisper a little - she'd come up to me and also whisper back to me. And Tyler was just the best - he made me a cup of hot water with lemon and honey each morning!

Emily took a really fun Dance Camp all last week. They learned 6 different dances and had a little recital for us on the last day. Tyler video taped it for us and then came home and turned it into a cute movie. And believe me - Emily loves this movie of her dancing to six songs. She plays it on her laptop and dances all the time to it! Thanks Tyler! He also took all the pictures of Emily for me in her dance outfit since I was sick. I love having older kids!

Counting my blessings & naming them one by one!

2008-07-14T20:31:00.000-07:00

My 52 BlessingsWeek #22

THE GEORGIA FISHERS

Chad and Becky (and their darling kids) are our favorite traveling buddies! We are so excited to have them become Utah Fisher's once again (sell house sell)! Finally, we will be closer together so we can start partying again!SHOPPING, SHOPPING AND MORE SHOPPING! We love Devin's Gap Discounts! However, Chad ALWAYS seems to be the one that gets the huge new wardrobe!PLAYING BEAUTY PARLOR! Thanks Aunt Becky for ALL the haircuts (and even the highlights on D and T)!LEGO LAND:OUTDOOR FUNFrom skiiing in Park City to riding jet skiis at Bear Lake - we love playing in the big outdoors with the Fishers!A freezing BYU vs. Uof U Football game!ANGEL'S CAMP, CALIFORNIA...

It's HOT!

2008-07-13T06:38:00.000-07:00

This past week has reminded me why I don't live in Vegas or Arizona - it has been well over a 100 degrees. The hottest day was 110!!! Here are a few of our favorite ways of staying COOL.

San Leandro Marina
Best kept secret around! You know when you fly into the Oakland Airport and you see a marina with a walking trail (with exercise pit stops)....that is it! It is always a good 10-15 degrees cooler there. We have been going there for DECADES with my parents and Uncle Mondo! We bring a picnic lunch (which usually consists of stopping at the Dairy Belle on the way down) and the kids have fun just playing on the grass or at the park play gym. When my kids were much smaller they always loved looking at the big planes flying down low just before landing. They still love throwing rocks into the water.

Isn't this the cutest picture of my nephew Matty! Thanks Tyler for taking the picture of him. As you can tell - chasing is ALWAYS a favorite game to play - the two little ones against the two BIG ones and the little ones ALWAYS win!

Swimming
We had a very fun and relaxing evening of swimming and BBQing at Grandma and Grandpa Myer's home. Emily is always in GIRL heaven when hanging out with the Myer girls! Good times, good times! (I should also mention that we also love staying cool at the Smith's pool however I never take a picture of our good times together - probably because Linda and I are always WAY TOO busy chatting)!

CHUCK E. CHEESE What would we do (or more importantly - how could we survive a hot summer) without Chuck E. Cheese!

Counting my blessings & naming them one by one!

2008-07-12T19:03:00.000-07:00

My 52 Blessings

Week 21

My Levasseur Cousins!
I have three of the best guy cousins ever! They are just so fun to be around and they are so good to my kids too! And at least two of them are loyal BLOG STALKERS! But most importantly, they can really help me tease Devin! That's priceless!!!