Goodbye Summer 2015

It's finally starting to cool down, although the mosquitoes are still around (as I am scratching my millionth bug bite this summer). In the mornings and evenings it cools down, but is still warm during the day... it's only a matter of time before the leaf changing is full swing. I love seasons in NJ! 

Here's a few fun pictures of things we did that I never got around to posting... 

Little Ladies and I at Drumthwacket (NJ governors residence... no, we didn't see Christie)

 At the beginning of summer we visited Drumthwacket, the NJ Governors residence down the street from Princeton. We have driven by it so many times, and wanted to tour it for three years! It was a gorgeous home filled with so much local history.

J in front of the Mansion

 I'm still pregnant (for around 2.5 more weeks at least!) and this summer we discovered an AMAZING Greek restaurant in Ewing...

Girls loved chicken strips and hummus with warm pita. J and I tried a sampler of things, and oh my, it was all divine!

The owner moonlights as a magician at kids birthday parties.

 Magic Show and not having to make dinner = Joy

Bubbles while we eat dinner?! Pure delight.

 The girls played a lot this summer together, and their friendship really is a sweet one. They were pretty excited as boxes began arriving for Baby Brother and a few for them too!

Summer of costume changes: We went through like 2 leotards and 3 outfits every.single.day. 

Who cares about what is inside the box, let's cut a window and make a playhouse!!

Our neighbors, Mr. Art and Miss Carol completely blessed our family a huge way this year by allowing us to come over to their pool any time we wanted! This was music to my ears... nothing like a dip in a cool pool for a huge, swollen pregnant lady with two kids climbing the walls!!

 The girls gained so much confidence in the water this year by being in it almost every single day!

Bathing Beauty... i'm in trouble in 10 years!

Sweet Smile... Our fearless Gracie Girl loved it!!

 In August we had a Lemonade Stand! The girls have been asking to do one since we read the book last year, "Pinkalicious and the Lemonade Stand." Jarrett helped the girls hang a poster on the street and they made around $5 to give to the local Back-to-School supplies fundraiser ;)

I think they ate cupcakes and drank their weight in lemonade.

 Pretty Girls got haircuts a couple weeks before school started...

And my big kindergartner insisted Daddy take her picture by the Christmas tree at Hobby Lobby while looking for stuff for Brother's room.

I'm ready for summer to be over (no bugs and humidity) and CBS to begin, but I miss my Lulu at Kindergarten and not quite ready for the frosty cold mornings and never-ending raking of leaves. I am looking forward to holding Baby Andrew in my arms, going apple picking and making apple pie and our family visiting. Let the pumpkin-spice-salted-caramel-apple craze commence!!

Lindsay's First Day of Kindergarten

The day had finally arrived... it was Lindsay's first day of Kindergarten! I have been dreading this day all summer (I am going to miss my Big Girl!) but my Lulu was so excited and totally ready for her next big adventure! 

Helping me pack her lunch the night before... I snuck in a heart-shaped note to surprise her  :)

 Lindsay had a special first day of school breakfast request: Strata with Raspberries!

She picked out her clothes the night before and decided how she wanted me to do her hair... in a side braid, no bow ;) So grown up!

Lindsay Diane 5 years

Proud of her Kitty backpack and lunch box she picked out herself ;)

We parked close to school and walked her inside the lobby where they took her to her into the Multipurpose room where she waits for her teacher to pick her class up. She gave us a big hug and kiss and a snuggle for Maddie and turned to grab the hand of the principal to go to her place in line.

 I am proud to report I made it through the initial drop off at the door of the Multipurpose room (below). As soon as I turned around to leave, the tears started to fall. I looked over at J and he was teared up too, which made me not feel so bad...LOL. I took one (ok maybe 2) peeks back into the room to make sure she was sitting in the right place and not lost and scared. Then the sunglasses went on so I wouldn't scare the other kids getting dropped off. Thankfully, Lulu didn't see us crying ;) Maddie and I had a great day together, and waited the long 6 hrs to pick up our Big Sissy.

After school Lindsay was tired, but said she had a great day! She met two friends named Makenzie and Zoe and said her new teacher was nice but "a little bit bossy". Haha! Oh boy, the fun times we will have this year in Kindergarten!!

Lake Cabin 2015

After leaving the FDR Presidential Library, we high-tailed it to Dairy Queen for lunch and got back on the road. We drove to Albany and stayed the night before heading to the Lake Cabin near Dartmouth we rented for a couple days before Jarrett's conference. The cabin was located on Otter Pond in New Hampshire, situated next Lake Sunapee, a 30 minute drive to the university. 

Welcome to New Hampshire

Welcome to Massachusetts

I tried to get a picture of the Vermont sign, but was too slow..LOL.

Our little cabin was a two-bedroom cutie, and the girls were so excited to see the fake flowers in the window boxes... the cabin name was called the "Ladyslipper". LOL.

After running all over the place (glad to be out of the car) they took dibs on their beds. Outside the window is the pond, and they had fun laying on the bed together and looking at the water.

As soon as they saw the water what did the girls want to do? GO SWIMMING! It was amazingly clear and pretty warm.

After making some hot dogs for dinner, we roasted marshmallows in the "back yard" of the cabin...

Here's the "back yard"... basically a patch of dirt and a dock! It was so peaceful and serene looking out over the water in the evenings.

During the girls naptime, J and I sat would sit on the screened in porch and just talk. How nice is it to be able to talk to your best friend in the whole world with a view like this....

The next day we went to Lake Sunapee State beach and the girls declared they like lakes better than beaches. When I asked why, they said, "No big waves and you can see to the bottom!" I think I like them better because there are no sharks or jelly fish. LOL

The girls have made huge progress in swimming this summer, mainly because they've gone almost everyday! Both girls are pretty confident swimming with floaties, and we have been progressing to one floatie/ then no floaties!

SWIMMING!!

Madison was feeling pretty confident and took off swimming back to shore by herself...LOL

I have no pictures for this (I wish I did!), but the cabin we rented had a big two-seat canoe that they let guests use. The girls REALLY wanted to go, and so did Jarrett and I. I was a little nervous, mainly because i've never canoed and I was nearing 8 months pregnant. LOL. Jarrett secured the canoe as I got in first and sat in front, then he handed me Lindsay, who was squealing because she realized she was in a boat and it was rocking and could possibly tip over (both girls had floaties on). Then he handed me Madison who decided she was with Lindsay and wanted no part of a rocking boat. After Jarrett climbed in we were off and looked pretty silly in the early morning hours getting a hang of canoeing with two kids who were squealing, "Let's go back to the dock!!" Jarrett informed me that I had to steer the canoe since I was up front, which I was fine with, but with Maddie positioned between my legs, my giant baby bump and a paddle, well, let's just say I wasn't at the top of my game coordination-wise ;) Jarrett was the motor that paddled us ladies around...haha. After a few minutes and we all calmed down, we could appreciate the beauty of the lake and trying something new as a family! It was a sweet, sweet memory and we had so much fun, we woke up again the next day and went canoeing again!

What else better to eat after a hard day playing at the lake...Reid Tacos!!

Maddie Gracie loving dinner!

We visited downtown Lake Sunapee Harbor and saw all the gorgeous boats parked in the marina. The girls saw some ducks and had to say hello...

Snapped a picture of my beautiful, big girl five year old... going to Kindergarten in just a few weeks!!

We visited a farm, ok, well a Dairy/Creamery that claimed to have the best ice cream in Vermont. So knowing our affinity for ice cream, we had to pay a visit. They had animals that the kids could pet and Madison LOVED it...

Maddie named this doneky "Don-key-a"...LOL. 

Our last day at the cabin we went back to the Sunapee Harbor and took a sight-seeing boat around the lake. We were worried about a pending thunderstorm (check out those clouds!) but were so lucky we didn't get rained out!

Here's the boat we cruised on... I can't remember why Lindsay was grumpy, but it makes for a funny picture. 

We sat inside on the bottom level of the boat (in case of rain!) and it was perfect. 

I was three shades of red when the captain asked me jokingly, "I can drive a boat, but have no experience delivering babies... you won't be having this baby anytime soon I hope?!"  No sir. LOL.

Lighthouse in the lake, one of two!

We drove by TONS of amazing lake houses, and we had to take a picture of this one with a WATER SLIDE!! 

Beautiful!

Here's our friend the Captain who gave children on board the opportunity to drive the boat. Guess who volunteered first? LOL.

Driving the boat was serious business.

He offered Lindsay the chance to drive too, but she was feeling a little embarrassed and didn't want to wear the hat so she politely declined.

We climbed to this gazebo on a hill overlooking the lake and the girls put on a dance-show for us.

We were sad to leave the lake, but enjoyed the hotel Jarrett picked for the conference: one with a POOL! I bet you can guess what we did while poor Daddy was at his conference...

Dartmouth University

Sweet girls in downtown Hanover

Family Selfie...Fisher Family Vacation 2015! 

After the conference we drove home (a whopping 7 hours!!) Most of the traffic we caught was around NYC at 5pm on a Friday, otherwise it wouldn't have been so bad. We drove through a total of 6 states in one day... that might be a record for us! Can't do that on the West Coast. We had an amazing time, and it was so relaxing. It was a fantastic last hurrah before baby is born and we are home-bound for several months. It is crazy to think the next Fisher Family Selfie with have another face in it... Baby Brother!