Fall in NJ

My babies playing in the backyard with the leaves... such fun fall memories! 

Halloween 2018

Happy Halloween 2018! We had a Mermaid, Race Car Driver and a Greek Goddess this year...

Madison 6.5, Andrew 3, Lindsay 8.5

Vroom! Race Car Driver Andrew

Gorgeous Mermaid Madison

We carved pumpkins a few days before Halloween, and they turned out pretty good!

Kids took a picture with their pumpkins...

At the end of school that day the kids changed into their costumes for a Halloween parade around the bus loop...

Lovely Lindsay our Greek Goddess...

The kids trick or treated for about an hour, the weather was so warm (compared to years past) and they didn't even need jackets! After going around the neighborhood and visiting with the neighbors the girls went to Awanas and had more fun with their friends.

Andrew's 3rd Birthday Party

This little dude had a super fun Paw Patrol themed party to celebrate his 3rd birthday...

Andrew Brooks, 3 years old

 It was a beautiful, sunny, hot day... perfect for a backyard party with friends! We had his party on the Wednesday before his real birthday, because it was a school holiday and we could invite all our friends and their siblings to join us for the fun ;)

Pretty sure the trampoline manual says to avoid this...luckily, we had only a few boo boos.

Lindsay and one of her besties, Teagan. Andrew's friend Billy from church.

The party was themed Paw Patrol (no surprise here!) and we picked up some fun masks... Chase, Rubble and Marshall... Can you guess which one is Drew?

 We had two kids tables and one Mom/Grandma table...

 The "big kids" opted to sit around the fire pit and hang out...

 We had chips n' dip, fruit salad, Pup-a-Roni pizza and Pup Cakes...

 After lunch we set up a Paw Patrol themed obstacle course with stuff from around the house...

Waiting in line to do the obstacle course!

 Each station was for a character...

Andrew and Grammie sorting paper and plastic for Rocky

Digging in the sand box for Rubble...

Using a squirter to hose down the plastic fire cups for Marshall... 

Collecting fish in the water table for Zuma, and behind was running through cones for Chase.

The big kids were pretty competitive, and it was fun watching the little guys and girls find their favorite station and just hang out there. LOL.

Andrew chose a sprinkle cupcake for his candle

 We sang to him and he blew out his candle...

 We also had Marshall pinata we hung from our big old tree... Thankfully it was a pull-string pinata, not one that requires a bat and blindfold. That would be a recipe for disaster with as many kids as we had there!

Pull a string.. fruit snacks come out!

 They collected fruit snacks and put them in bags to take home... we were all cracking up when the pinata malfunctioned and instead of the belly, the contents came out the rear end of Marshall. LOL.

 Our sweet friends were so generous, and Andrew had lots of helpers to help him open his presents ;)

Thanks for my Paw Patrol Blanket Grams!

Andrew and Micah

Here's the crew, minus two little friends who we couldn't pull away from the water table for a picture.

Back row: Michael, Lindsay, Molly, Madison, Payton, Samantha, Billy, Sara
Front row: Jude, Katie/Andrew, Teagan, Micah, Sam 

 What a fun day!! Happy Birthday to our wonderful Andrew! You have so many people who adore you, and you bring us so much joy!! Love you!

Back to School 2018

Right after Labor Day the girls headed back to Ben Franklin Elementary school, this year as first grader and third graders...

Madison Grace, 6.5 years

Lindsay Diane, 8.5 years 

 Madison was really ready to go back to school, and was thrilled because she got Lindsay's teacher from last year, Mrs. Seipp. Mrs. Seipp switched from 2nd to 1st this year, and we were thrilled. She has back-to-back years of Fisher Girls..LOL. Lindsay on the other hand, was not so excited to go back to school. She really enjoyed summer, and was a little nervous about her new teacher, Mr. Gallagher... her first boy teacher. After the first day she told me, "My teacher is actually really nice for a boy!" Our elementary school only goes up to 3rd grade, so Lindsay is the "big kid" on campus. This is her last year before she goes to intermediate school, 4th-6th grade. Sniff Sniff!

I didn't get a chance to print a sign for Andrew, but he is doing Pre-3 preschool at home with Mama. We're using the ABC Jesus loves me curriculum... it's great!

Andrew Brooks, almost 3 years

 Andrew was a little unsure about both of his sisters going back to school. He really missed them. After our preschool practice and after lunch he kept asking me, "Is it time to go pick up sissy's yet?"

Little brother is holding on to his sissy's hand for a little bit longer before they're off to school...

I am happy to report although he (and I) still misses them, he is doing better and is pretty demanding of their attention as soon as they get home. Then they're all off to play until it's time for homework or dinner ;)

Wrapping up August

We wrapped up August with trips to the beach with Grammie, lots of playing outside and enjoying the sunshine!

Grammie joined us for an impromptu beach day

Barbie RV camper ventured outside so they could fill up the pool with real water

Splashing fun times

Our sewer pipe from our house to the street had tree roots growing through it, so we had to replace it unexpectedly. It was a messy, expensive job, but the silver lining was that a DIGGER was in front of our house for 3 days, fun entertainment for our digger-loving Andrew.

Bubble Bath fun times...

I can't believe summer is done, and the leaves are beginning to turn. Welcome FALL!!

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!!