Vermont 2018

When Daddy has a meeting that takes him to New England in the summer time, we can always find a lake nearby and tag-a-long... 

Hello Vermont, You sure are a beauty!

Indeed, as soon as I found out J had a meeting up north, I began googling nearby lakes and found Crystal Lake and Lake Willoughby. We found a small cabin to rent and had a blast!

Swim dock jumping

The lake was crystal clear, relaxing (you have to be with spotty wifi) and the green mountains were gorgeous!

The kids played in the sand and swam in the water...

Master Sand Castle Builder

Sail boat driver

We had fun borrowing the camp's paddle boat...

Fisher Family Pic!

It was pretty rural, so I brought groceries and cooked a lot (plus, there weren't many gluten free options in that neck of the woods ;). We had fun making and eating doughnuts...

Breakfast of champions

Bacon + Doughnut with chocolate glaze and strawberries = one happy Maddie Grace

Lindsay was the queen of peace signs and bunny ears in all photos this summer. LOL.

Can this big girl be 9 in just a few months?! 

We would eat dinners on the picnic table overlooking the lake outside our cabin, it was lovely.

Andrew prayed over one of our favorite meals on vacation or otherwise, Reid Tacos and red chile sauce. Lindsay and Madison had fun picking wildflowers around the cabin to put in a cup to decorate the table... such fancy girls!

Andrew is all about dipping...

One handsome, happy lake fella

Yum! We start em' early on the red chile sauce. 

Going in and double dipping.

After a day at the lake there is nothing like a campfire with roasted marshmallows and smores...

We found a stable nearby that let Madison take a pony ride...

Andrew thought it looked fun and rode for the first time too! He likes being a cowboy.

We drove a short 10 minutes and visited Lake Willoughby, VT. It was stunning and so clear it looked like a tropical island!

This isn't the Bahamas... its Vermont!

The mountains and water were the most beautiful I think I've ever seen...

This picture is sealed on my heart... Andrew 2.5, Madison 6.5, Lindsay 8.5

As we were driving there we saw a waterfall and stopped and made the kids take a picture...

Maddie, Lulu Bubs

You'll never guess where this magical trail led us to...

Funny story: We saw a trail next to the beach on Lake Willoughby and decided to follow it! It lead us in the trees along the lake to another gorgeous deserted beach. But as we got closer, we saw a sign that said "clothing optional"... needless to say, we were glad that there weren't any nude sun bathers at 10 am and we didn't stick around very long in order to avoid some super awkward scenes!   

Loving their Dad

But seriously, how can you not relax here?!

So shallow, J was way out there and it was only waist deep!

The best books are read the beach

True or False. The Fishers can spot an ice cream stand within 20 miles of wherever they are. Oh so true. We enjoyed our local treat, "Maple Creamies" i.e. maple flavored soft serve.  

There was an old fire truck parked outside the ice cream stand. 

Andrew loved playing on the fire truck...

Madison had some fun playing fire woman too!

This was the view from the ice cream stand... it was stunning!

One day we took a road trip to see the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory...

Stopped in a quaint ski town Stowe, VT...

and played some more at the lake. Jarrett has a photo in his office of the girls on a dock, and we take one every year of them in the same pose.

Sweet sisters

This time we added Andrew to the picture...

On our way home we stopped off in Madison CT for lobster rolls...

Lulu playing some corn hole

Me and my babies

After our lobster rolls we decided to make a pit stop at the beach...

And of course, Madison had to take a picture in a town that shared her name...

Thank you Vermont for some precious family memories!!

Mama Daughter Dates

Lindsay and I had a Mama-Daughter date in July... we got pedicures! First we went to the mall to walk around and window shop, then stopped by the food court to share a burger and onion rings ;)

Lindsay had her first pedicure at a salon...

Lindsay chose a blue, and I opted for a purple color.

One day after church I took Madison to the Princeton Equestrian Fields to watch the horse jumping competitions...

We packed a picnic and she watched the ponies

She was so excited when some of the owners let us pet the horses.

It was really hot that day, and we were both sweaty and went to get ice cream afterwards ;)

The time I get alone with each of my girls is so precious to me, and not nearly often enough! When we are together, I enjoy watching how their individual personalities come out. Madison is a talk-a-mile-a minute about everything that pops into her mind, where Lindsay is more reserved, and takes some thoughtful questions to get her sharing. It is a privilege to watch them as they are growing into smart, funny and all around beautiful young ladies. Love you dearest daughters!

Luau Play Date

After we got back from California the girls were lonesome for their friends so we invited them over for a backyard Luau ;)

Luau cuties: Madison, Mackenzie, Lindsay, Ellie

Andrew was all about the "moovies" aka "smoothies"

Burning some energy after sugar rush

We had Tropical Smoothies, Hula Pineapple Pork tacos and mango salsa.. then they roasted smores and played flashlight tag... they had so much fun!! 

Summer Fun

It seem like after we got back from CA summer just flew by! Here are some highlights...

Our garden was loving all the heat and rain this summer, we had tomatoes, squash, jalapenos, herbs and we're still waiting on a cucumber. Hmm.

Proud of her harvest ;)

We went next door to our dear neighbors who graciously allow us to use their pool during the summer. This year the kids were brave enough to jump off the diving board all by themselves.

I read aloud the CS Lewis classic, "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in the Narnia series. For about a week the kids wanted to go inside our coat closet and pretend they could find a hidden world.

Didn't find Narnia. LOL

We had a couple lovely lunches with Daddy in Princeton...

Our weeks are jam packed, we would hit the library once a week, swim in the afternoons and try to squeeze in a play date with friends. We love summer time!

CA 2018: San Diego

We spent a lovely week in San Diego where Uncle Peter, Aunt Sarah and Cousins Nate and Mia hosted us! It was fun hanging out and being back to SD, and we even enjoyed getting to see extended family in the area too!

We visited Uncle Tim and Aunt Jen's new place in Encinitas! The kids had fun playing on the tennis court and swimming in the pool... Uncle T and Aunt J's place is still the funnest place to be ;)

Maddie has since told me she wants to take tennis lessons!

Lindsay found the hammock overlooking the view of the mountains

Bringing back memories for the next generation... we ate at Spaghetti Factory. Spumoni anyone?

Crazy kids

We took the kids to Balboa Park and went to the Science Museum, it was a blast!

Cuties

Take #2: Silly faces

Balboa Park Bubbles

Andrew loved the tiny tot area at the museum and went straight for the fire truck

Aunt Sarah took us to La Jolla to see some tide pools...

Crabs!

The gang tide pooling

I was carrying Andrew and totally ate it right after this picture was taken. Thankfully, we were both fine. 

La Jolla cliffs view... I miss watching the surfers. 

We went to Pacific Beach and had a blast playing in the sand and surf...

Uncle J was right there in the middle playing life guard

Sweet cousins, best friends.

We of course had to get some ice cream, and headed to a place near SD state that had ice cream sandwiches. YUM!

We all scream for ice cream.

Sleepy cousin love ;)

One day we checked out Old Town San Diego, and we stopped for a photo op for this crew...

Cousins at "Cousin's Candy Shop"

Inside they found some goodies that they thought Grandpa would like to eat.. Worms! Yuck!

We had some killer Mexican food and shared a ginormous margarita. 

Happy Daddy

For a bunch of kids hanging out 24/7 for almost 2 weeks, there was no squabbling, bickering or grumpiness. It was all love. They have so much fun when they are together, and it has been sweet watching their relationships grow. Cousins are the best ;) 

I am kicking myself for getting ZERO pictures of the Reid family reunion at Sarah and Peters... It was wonderful to see and visit with so many family members in one day. Well, there's always next year family... LOL. Seriously, we miss you guys so much!! Thank you for hosting us and we are looking forward to hanging again soon! Love you!