I Love This Boy!!!

Charlie is awesome! His latest thing is crossing his eyes. He will cross his eyes and then point at you while saying..."I'm touching you". You have to realize that Charlie does sweet things like this all of the time. He thinks he is hilarious and I think I have to agree with him on that one! The main pic on this collage sure makes him look special! LOVE IT!!!!

Warning...reading this may cause boredom!

This was derived from a survey going around on facebook. It's a cool idea and was VERY fun for me to fill out. I am a music person through and through. I have a wide range of taste in music..

I warn you, that although it was fun for me to write, you may find it very boring...sorry....feel no pressure to read. It was just fun going through it in my mind.

The Title of this Survey is "Desert Island" collection. You are told to make a list of 15 albums you would bring with you a deserted Island if you were forced to go...oh no, which albums do I bring...Well, here it goes for Rachelle

In no particular order.

1. The White Album - The Beatles
I'm not sure how my fascination with The Beatles began. I really started to listen to them when I was in the 7 grade, but didn't fully appreciate them till about my Sophomore year of high school. The White Album is the one Beatles album that I listened to, over and over and over. I love ALL of The Beatles albums, but this is my fav. "Rocky Raccoon" is probably my top pick as far as songs go on this album.

2.Abby Road - The Beatles
Another great Beatles album. This was the first Beatles vinyl I bought. I got it at some little shop downtown Portland. It's an original print and cost me a pretty penny. I think that was the summer of 1996. Top 2 songs "Because" and "She came in through the Bathroom Window".



3. Bad - Michael Jackson
My brother bought this for me for Christmas 1987. I was already obsessed with MJ, but this album sealed the deal for sure. I wanted so badly to be his friend! "Bad" is still on of my most loved songs...how can you not love these lyrics..."I'm Giving You...on Count Of Three...to Show Your stuff...or Let It Be...I'm Telling You...just Watch Your Mouth...I Know Your Game...What You're About. And the video for "Smooth Criminal"...so good!

4. Rockin' The Suburbs - Ben Folds
So good! I love Ben Folds! He is an amazing songwriter and musician! "The Luckiest" is my fav song on this album, but I love them all!

5. Swamp Ophelia - Indigo Girls
My friend Tracey and I stumbled across the Indigo Girls after watching the movie, Boys on the Side. The first song we ever heard was off of this album. I'm not a huge fan of the Amy Ray songs, but this is for sure my fav of theirs..."Least Complicated" and "The Wood Song".

6. Poseiden and the Bitter Bug - Indigo Girls
This album was actually just released...however, I have already listened to it 5 million times! The Indigo Girls' last few albums have veered away from the classic harmonies that their early albums had...this one brings them back. Just a side note...Tracey and I try to go to every show that they play in the Portland area. I think we have seen them at least 7 times...?

7. Listen Without Prejudice - George Michael
I love Mr. Michael. He's a bit gross but has one of the best voices ever! I would listen to this tape on the bus rides to and from soccer games. "Praying For Time" and "Mothers Pride" are my fav tracks.

8. Bleed American - Jimmy Eat World
This band is a huge band in the Fisher household. I listened to this album over and over again while painting the bedroom of our Dartmouth St. house. My fav Jimmy Eat World song comes from this album..".A Praise Chorus". I was able to see them live for the first time last year. It was a very intimate performance at the Roseland. SO DANG GOOD! I kinda developed a crush on Tom!

9. I Say, I Say, I Say - Erasure
This album reminds me of my obsessive exercise days. Jake was getting home from his mission soon and I wanted to be in peak shape. All I ate were Powerbars...yuck...and I seriously ran between 5 to 7 miles a day and jump roped. I really miss running! I really miss being thin! "Run to the Sun"...

10. Hopes and Fears - Keane
This is one of those albums that really "spoke" to me. I know that sounds ultra cheesy, but every time I listen to it, I can feel every lyric. I was going through a bit of a mental rut when this album was released and a few of these songs really helped me cope. Once again, I know that sounds corny, but it's true...fav songs - "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Everybody's Changing".

11. Shepard Moon - Enya
I put this one on here, because it's an album that I used to listen to multiple times a day. I still really enjoy it, although I don't listen to it much anymore. My 2 loves on this album are "Book of Days" and "No Holly For Miss Quinn". The later because, Jake taught me how to play the first half of this song on the piano.

12. Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits
I don't really have a fav album of this awesome duo. The Greatest Hits bring all of them together. I LOVE Art Garfunkel. His voice in amazing! "The Boxer" and "The Sound of Silence" are the best tracks...

13. Paintings in my Mind - Tommy Page
So cheesy, yet so awesome! This album brings back so many memories. My friends Tassie, Heather and I used to lay an the floor and listen to this tape. We would rewind the title track over and over and feel such strong emotions...I'm pretty sure we cried.

14. Louder Than Bombs - The Smiths
My sister had this album and I absolutely LOVED it from the very first time I heard it. When I was going to bed I would play "Sing me to Sleep" over and over again till I did fall asleep. There are 24 tracks on this album...I love "Golden Lights", "William it was Really Nothing" and "Panic"

15. Hear My Praise - Kenneth Cope
I had to throw a religious one in here. Kenneth cope is on of my fav LDS performers (that's Mormon to those of you who are very confused). He has some amazing songs on this album..."Breathe in Me" is beautiful and powerful. It was actually written by Michael W. Smith.

I guess that's it...I'm sure I could add more, but that is my 15 for today! And congratulations if you made it through this!

Rockband with the Hoselton's

We had Heather Hoselton and her kids over today. Heather was my very first best friend and we have remained that we for 30 years. She is still one of most very bestest friends. The kids wanted to play some Rockband. It was fun to watch them. It seems like Heather and I were just that age (I sound like such a lady when I say those things). They played Eye of the Tiger by Survivor, The Middle by Jimmy Eat World and Buddy Holly by Weezer. They rocked hardcore!

By the way...isn't Ellie's haircut so super cute!

Ugly Kitchen Help...

The kitchen at our current house is not my fav. The counters are pretty 70's and the paint job of the cupboards is really bad. I've had a hard time deciding what to do with the area above the sink.

At our old house, I had a mirror above the sink. It was nice because it made the kitchen look bigger. The current space didn't fit any of my mirrors and so I have left it empty for some time. When we got home from the beach this last time, I was trying to think of a good way to display all of the cool rocks and shells that we collect on our beach visits. I remembered some old jars that I got from Jake's mother. I went out in the garage and scavenged around for a bit. I found a white shelf I wasn't using and a frame that had some older pics of the kids in it. I thought it would be fun to have some beach pics in the frame and have a beach theme going on in the kitchen.

I kinda feel like beach themed rooms can either be really fun or really scary. I am hoping to lean towards really fun. I told the kids that we were only putting select shells and rocks in the jars. We come home with some pretty interesting things.

Anyway, the pics are before and after I painted the shelf and frame. My sister gave me the idea to paint the shelf green (to match the counters). Give me your feedback...do I need to change anything?



BEFORE


AFTER

Fun Times With Addisen, Carter, Avarie and Sawyer!

Craig and Jenell came over last week to hang out. We had some pizza, played some Rockband and went for a walk. Avarie was in such a good mood and powered through the evening. At the end of the evening she started getting tired and grumpy, but for the most of the night, she was so happy. It was absolutely awesome to see her that way! I wish I would have gotten video of her playing Rockband and Disney SingIt. She was having a blast!


It was a nice evening, so the kids decided to eat thier dinner outside. Addisen and Ellie opted to eat inside and Sawyer was forced to eat inside so he wouldn't ransack the other kids dinners.

I asked Avarie if I could take my picture with her. She wasn't fully convinced until I said we would make silly faces.

It was such a nice evening, that we decided to go for a walk. Avarie started out in her wheel chair, but eventually ended up in the wagon with Charlie. I am so glad they were able to do this together. Charlie has been so worried about Avarie. Usually when we see her, she is sad and in pain. He has been afraid that he will hurt her. When we put Avarie in the wagon and told Charlie to get in too, he was worried at first that he would hurt her. They ended up having an awesome time!

After Avarie got out of her wheelchair, we put Sawyer in and Ellie and Addisen pushed him around. Jenell and I thought he looked so awesome in there. I had to take a pic.

A good night had by all!

Gotta Love Tillamook!

We went to Tillamook this last weekend. We visit Tillamook quite a bit actually, but this was the first time that we actually stayed overnight there. There is nothing better than 2 days at the Tillamook Cheese Factory! We ate SO much cheese and ice cream...it was awesome. We visited a little beach called Oceanside. My friend Liz tipped us off to this little town. It's only 10-15 minutes from the cheese factory and was such a quiet, cute little town and beach. There was this really cool tunel/cave that went from one side of a HUGE rock to the other. That way, if you were on one side of the beach when the tide came in, you could safely get back to the other side. I love Cheese!