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!

Henry FINALY Gets His Suit!!!!

As a 6 year old boy...turning 7 brings lots of fun presents to mind...bike, skateboard, video game, spiderman figure, basketball...but this particular boy, named Henry Carlton Fisher, wanted....a suit!!!! Henry's birthday was last month and for about a month leading up to his birthday he kept telling us that he just wanted a suit. The first couple of times he told me, I didn't know if he was serious, but as his birthday approached, he still wanted a suit. So on his birthday, Jake and I took him to the mall to go find one. We started at Sears. Sears had really good prices, but didn't sell the 2 pieces of the suit separate. So in the 7/8 set...the coat fit, but the pants were huge...and vice versa! Henry has long legs, but is as skinny as a board. We looked at J.C. Penny's and they sold the coats separate, but the price for just the coat was ridiculous. So the suit shopping has been on hold for a bit. Finally, Jake took Henry to Target last night and he got his suit. He was between sizes in the coat, so they opted for the larger size, knowing he still has a lot of growing to do. As I was laying by him last night he kept saying..."I wish it was Sunday tomorrow! I want to wear my suit SO bad!". Well, today is not Sunday, it's Saturday, but a girl in Henry's primary class is getting baptized, so he got to put his suit on. He looks very handsome! The coat is a bit big, but he's growing like crazy these days. I'm sure he will go to put it on in the near future and we will realize it's too small!

Ummm.....

Not Even Sure What to Title This One!

Not a Whole Lot to Report!

The getting into shape thing is slowly progressing. The whole exercise thing has been on and off. My friend Liz called me on Monday night and asked me if I wanted to meet her at the track. I woke up that morning feeling really sick and wasn't feeling a whole lot better that evening, but I thought I needed to do it. Plus, I was in the need for some good conversation. It was wicked cold that night, but I actually felt a bit better after I had walked a few laps. I have no idea how many laps we ended up walking. We were having so much fun talking that I seriously didn't even think about it.

I walked on the treadmill last night for about 40 min. I usually watch tv, but decided to read while I walked. It was a bit difficult because there really isn't a spot to put a book. I forgot how fast the time goes when I am really into a good book. I think I will be doing that a lot more.

My plan was to get up this morning at 6:00am and get on the bike (we acquired a very basic stationary bike from my parents). At 4:45am I woke up to both boys in bed with Jake and me. I was so crowded and absurdly sweaty. I decided to go out to the couch and try and get my last little bit of sleep out there. At approximately 5:30am, Henry and Charlie came out to join me. I was so tired and grumpy. There was no way I was going to get off of that couch at 6:00am. I'm not sure I will have another time to get in my work out today. As soon as Henry and Ellie get home from school, I have a dentist appointment. Then I have young women's (youth group). I am rarely home before 9:00pm. I have vowed to go to bed earlier (hahahaha) so I'm not sure I will get it in before I go to bed.

As for my eating, I have been doing really well the past few days. That, however, is fully accredited to my cold. On Monday night, we went to Baskin-Robbins (my most fav ice cream place ever). Both Henry and I had gotten free scoop coupons for our birthdays and Henry's was about to expire. For the first time in my life, I didn't want anything. Jake even offered to buy me an ice cream cake for my birthday! I think he was about to pass out when I told him no. It honestly did not sound even remotely good.

Yesterday was my birthday...hooray for 33! I had been looking forward to this day for a while. Jake took the day off and was going to take me to eat at Chang's (my fav restaurant). The way Chang's works is you go down a buffet style table/bar thingy. They have all sorts of meats, veggies, noodles, tofu, pineapple....so on and so forth. You fill your bowl with anything and everything. Then there is an area that has different oils and sauces. You put them together to create your own marinade. Once you've done that, you take your bowl (sometimes more than one bowl) to a huge open grill. They put everything on the grill and cook it up. It is SO good! I usually fill my bowl/bowls up to overflowing. I decided to go a bit easy this time, because I still hadn't gained my appetite back. It of course was so delicious, even without being hungry. I even opted not to go back for more.

Today has been about the same. I only had time to get half an orange in me before I had to go help out at the school. When I got home, I had a wedge of Laughing Cow cheese (so yummy) and two big crackers. Now, I have been sitting here for the last hour trying to figure out what to eat. I hate it when I wait this long, because then I get too hungry and I end up eating something like chocolate...mmm...chocolate!

I'll keep you posted!

Setting Myself Up....

I was just reading one of my best friends blog. She is dedicating her blog to her weight loss journey. Kudos to you my lady friend!

For me, I knew my weight was getting ridiculous when people would ask me when I was due or if I was pregnant. I could never think of anything clever to say at the time. I've thought afterward that I should have said, "....no, I'm not pregnant, just fat. Thanks for noticing"...or..."I'm due for another bowl of ice cream in about 10 minutes". But when my son Charlie rubbed my belly and asked me if I was growing a cute little baby in there...I was done! I am going to take my friends challenge of losing weight with her. I have of coarse attempted this many times. I'm not sure what is going to make this time any different, but it's got to happen. I know I am completely setting myself up here, but I've got nothing to lose....oh wait...I just made a funny...I have lots of lbs to lose...

It is perfectly okay to be frightened by the pictures you see below. The picture on the right was taken in about 1996. My good friend Tassie had bought this shirt for me. We had seen it in the window of some store at the mall. We thought it was so funny. I would love to get my body back to that again, but I am not delusional. The pic on the left was taken in November. I am wearing that sweatshirt in almost every picture of myself this past year. The bigger and bulkier things are, the more comfortable I am in them. Notice that even though about 12 years has passed between these photos, I still can't be serious for a picture. Anyway, I hope to find a happy medium between these two girls.

Christmas Eve

After all of our company left we had our family Christmas Eve traditions. The first thing we did was give the kids their Christmas Eve pajamas. This has been our tradition since Ellie was an only child. Ellie got some very girly silky ones, Henry got some x-box bottoms and Chuck got wii bottoms.

Another tradition we started a few years back was to have the kids buy each other presents and then unwrap those on Christmas Eve. This year, they drew names instead of buying presents for both of their siblings. After they got their jammies on, Jake had them go get their gifts they bought and sit on the floor. He then read part of the Christmas story out of the Bible and explained that when we give each other gifts, we are doing as the Wisemen did. The Wisemen brought gift's for the baby Jesus because they wanted to show their love for him. At Christmas time, we buy gifts for those we love. The kids then exchanged their gifts and had to say two things that they loved about the person they were giving their gift to.

After they played with their toys for a while, we told them they could watch the Polar Express in Ellie's room and have a little slumber party in there. Charlie opted to go right to bed. He is not one to stay up much past bed time. Ellie and Henry got all cozy and started their movie. I love this time of Christmas Eve, because after the kids are in bed, Jake and I get to visit and make any last minute preparations for the next day. Well, Jake is exactly like Charlie and was ready for bed at about 8:45pm!!!! I protested for a bit, but then realized that it's no fun visiting with someone who can't stay awake. I gave him the go ahead to nod off and within 5 minutes, he was snoring! I watched tv till about 11:00pm, then dozed off myself.

That was Christmas Eve in the Fisher household.

Christmas Eve Fiesta

Before we get into the details of the evening, there needs to be a little explaining about the picture above. The sweatshirt I am wearing is a joke!!! My sister and I were shopping at Big Lot's before Thanksgiving and we decided I needed to buy one because they were so disgusting. I also added some Christmas bows to my hair and shimmering powder to my face.

Okay, now that I got that off of my chest...We had my parents, Jake's parents, Megan and Lucy over for Christmas Eve dinner. We were trying to think of something quick and easy to make for dinner. We thought taco's would be both. I think we started a new tradition...a Feliz Navidad Eve. It was really low key and we had good conversation and good food....mmmm, popcorn cake!

I LOVE this picture below, because my mom was telling us a story and laughing so hard she was having a hard time getting through it.

Snowmen

A few days before Christmas I decided we better get our driveway and sidewalk shoveled off. I went out at 11:30am and didn't finish until almost 4:00pm. You have to realize that between close to 2 feet of snow, was a layer of thick ice. I had to use our shovel like an ice pick. It was crazy. I was sweating profusely and praying that I wouldn't break my back.

During that afternoon, we had Lucy (my great-niece) over. The kids decided to make snowmen. The snow up until this day hadn't been ideal snowman or snowball making snow. They all did an awesome job! Lucy's is the tall skinny one. At 4 years old, she was quite ambitious about building the tallest snowman she could. She also had a lot of help from Ellie. Henry's is the snowman on the right. He was very concerned about having a real scarf and hat. All of the features had to be just right also. Charlie's is the cute little one in the middle. I forgot to take the pictures in the day time, so I took them at night...sorry, it makes them harder to see.

Will it Ever End?

Once again, go down a few posts to catch up on this weather business!

At this point, we are a bit sick of the weather, but we figure we need to enjoy it as much as we can. None of us have snow clothes though. Our jackets are pretty decent for the snow, but we have no boots or snow pants. Actually, I found a pair of 4T snow pants that I forced Charlie to wear. He didn't argue much though. Will we have a white Christmas?

Day After Ice!

If you are starting here, you may want to go down a few posts and start there...

This was the day after we had our freezing rain. We already had a lot of snow, but this just added a thick layer of ice. The kids loved breaking it and picking up huge pieces. The pic of Ellie is with her friend Emma. They liked to pick up pieces and decide which state they most resembled. Even though we were a bit sick of the weather at this point, the house and yard looked beautiful!

Ellie Reporting Live...

Everyone needs to understand that the Portland area is not equipped for this kind of weather. Snow plows are pretty non-existent and so is anything else that helps make the roads safe for traveling. Plus, we got freezing rain with all of this and that just created a layer of ice on top of the snow. Things got crazy. One of the local news stations was having people send in their own weather reports from their homes. Ellie made this one.

The First Day of Snow

There had been forecast of snow for the Portland area for a week or so. From experience, we have learned not to expect much from these forecasts. On Sunday, December 14th, we received our first few inches of snow! Church was cancelled and we tried to enjoy the snow before it could melt on us. Ha Ha Ha! Little did we know that it would continue to snow through Christmas day! The kids were supposed to start Christmas break on the 22nd. They got a whole extra week off! This is from the first morning of snow!

Let it Snow!

Those of you who know me well, know that one of the only songs I can play on the piano is "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow". I guess I played enough to get some results! Snow in Gladstone Oregon! It doesn't happen very often. Church got canceled on Sunday and school has been canceled for the last 2 days. For those of you in Utah and Idaho, this is probably pretty funny. We gotta take full advantage of this! Our street is SUPER icy and slick. I don't even dare to attempt driving on it. Jake's Trooper has 4-wheel drive, so we have gotten out with that. Anyway, we are enjoying it. I just wish it would have come for Christmas!

OUCH!!!!!!!!!

My awesome friend, Liz, came over to help me take care of the mass amounts of leaves taking over my backyard. We got the right side of the house and the back part of the house done, but when we started the left side, something attacked my finger. I had no clue what was going on. My finger felt like someone lit it on fire and I couldn't see anything at first. Liz kinda giggled and then asked me if I got stung. Why had this not occurred to me yet? Then, I noticed a stinger. Now I noticed the little swarm of wasps flying around. I must have raked over a nest. I don't know about you, but I assumed wasps were gone for the year! It's too cold and wet! Well I am here to tell you that they are NOT gone for the winter. We went inside and I treated my wound with some baking soda paste.

About 20 minutes later, I stuck my hand in the pockets of my jeans. When I pulled my hand out, another wasp flew out! IT...WAS...IN...MY...JEANS!!!!!!!!!!! What was it doing in there? I got a little freaked out and Liz helped me shew him out into the garage. After Liz left I took my jeans off and quickly balled them up and threw them in the garage. I did not want to find out if there were any more hiding in there!

Anyway, these pictures show my swollen finger and the side of the house that will get neglected because vicious insect live there!