Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Smoothies


My mom passed along some kids cookbooks that she had to us. Collin has fallen in love with The Kids Cookbook and all the great pictures. A couple weeks ago he choose the smoothie recipe to try out at home. My boys LOVE smoothies. Today, we jazzed it up with a little whipcream and sprinkles. Regardless, they are a pretty good snack which has graced more than one afternoon this week. We add milk, Tillamook vanilla bean yogurt (our fav), frozen mango, pineapple and strawberry with a little ice. Sure beats the $5 smoothies at the coffee shop and so much more nutritious. I can hear them slurping the last of it up now! It's a winner.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

10 Years Baby!

We did it! 10 years of marriage and I still love waking up to you in the morning! Yes, it hasn't all been perfect. We've hit a few bumps, hills, mountains along the way but we've weathered the storms and figured a few things out. You round me out as a person. I would not be the wife and mother that I am with out having you by my side. You do so many things for me daily to make me feel like a princess. It is my great pleasure to be your wife. Here's to the next 10 years!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

The boys were glued to the window as the first flakes started to fall.
Brody discovered snow balls
Collin demonstrated how to make a snow angel.
And would it be quite right without a snowball fight??? Ahhhh, brothers!





Thursday, December 11, 2008

Christmas Letter 2008

Dear Friends & Family,
Merry Christmas! Another whirlwind year is coming to a close and so we sit back and gather a few memories for you here. We love catching up with all of you during this time of year and hearing how your year has developed. We hope you enjoy a little snapshot of what we've been up to!

Kyle has had a year of many new roles. He continues to work at Gerber driving their lighting and tool category. One of his unique skills he has acquired from the job is spotting any kind of knife or tool in a movie and determining the make and model. Although he continues to do frequent travel it has slowed since last year. He spent most of his summer free time on the boat either hanging out with the family or fishing and of course following his favorite sports. His most recent debut is in the world of coaching. Kyle was an excellent soccer coach for Collin’s Kindergarten team and had parents asking to be on his team for the basketball season.

Collin is gaining a sense of self and growing up before our eyes. He’s entered the world of Kindergarten; school buses, hot lunch and recess. He has conquered the swing, riding on two wheels, learning his way around a piano and the swimming pool. He can speed around a soccer field and loves to frequent the Rose Garden to catch a Blazer game with Dad. He’s mom’s sidekick in the afternoons and Brody’s delight as he gets off the bus at noon.

Brody is a man on the move. He is all about balls and games. He’s developing new words daily and can melt your heart in seconds with his smile and dimples. Brody got quite sick with a kidney infection this year and has a definite opinion about doctors now and keeping them far away. He’s enjoying having mom to himself in the mornings and has become quite the "helper" while running errands around town.




Anne stays home full time with her boys; she would have it no other way. She hopped along a couple of Kyle’s business trips this year to Vegas and Washington DC and got baptized into the world of Salmon fishing. She became the queen of driving the boat on/off the trailer and packing the perfect picnic to float down the river with. Anne keeps busy keeping clean underwear in the drawers and food stocked on the shelves all the while enjoying the comradery of other moms and dabling in this and that.

We have taken care this season in particular to slow down and really enjoy each other, family and friends. We are taking time to reflect on the true meaning; Jesus birth. We hope it is the same for you and your family.
Enjoy the season friends!


The Fischer Family
Kyle, Anne, Collin & Brody
Christmas 2008

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Season of traditions...

So the busy season begins along with all it's traditions. It seems with all the set traditions our month is full before it begins.
Thanksgiving dinner starts our holiday season off in St. Helens with the Fischer side of the family. We eat appetizers all day, do a craft, watch football, the cousins swarm through the house having a grand time and we all end up trying to squeeze in a big Thanksgiving dinner and some pie. Pretty typical. We follow it up with our annual trip to the beach.
We hit the town of Seaside by storm making sure we stopped into the fudge shop, merry go round, candy store, bumper cars, tilt a whirl...oh, yeah, and the beach. The boys love the hotel pool and watching a movie in bed. It was a great time but Brody had a bit of a fever and Kyle was still grieving the Beavers loss so we headed back to give the little guys some rest.

Without fail, the first weekend of December, we suit up,grab a Gerber saw and get ready to pick the perfect Christmas tree. We busted out of our routine from driving out to Yamhill and stuck closer to home to get our tree from Bauman Farms. The apple cider donuts, tractor ride and only a 15 minute drive made the trip; and to Kyle's delight they shook and wrapped our tree for us. Collin was thrilled to hear the choir singing carols. Santa made an appearance. You'd think two young boys would be so excited; however after finding out he didn't have any presents with him Collin declined and Brody clung to kyle with white knuckles refusing to get close. Ahhh, happy memories! ;)
We kicked off our advent calendar that was made from a dear friend and started our Jesse Tree. Christmas decor is coming out and presents are starting to get wrapped.
Let the festivities begin!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween



Here's a few pictures of our Halloween. Collin was pretty excited about his costume (can you tell???)
Brody definitely got the hang of it this year and delighted in going house to house and getting candy.


















Friday, October 31, 2008

Cute & Cheap

These are from my days as a Kindergarten teacher. We would end up doing a Miss Spider's Tea Party with our classes this time of year and made cute spider treats. I have to give the credit to the amazing Kinder teachers I taught with there that passed along all their great ideas to me. Here is a little favor that the children got to take home at the end of our tea party. We decided to make them for our own little Halloween party we attended yesterday. Give it a try. You'll love it!

Take tissue paper and lay it out. We choose more bold primary colors because it was a little kids Halloween party. The black ones turn out pretty cute too!
Fold into a square and place treats in the middle, little Tootsie Rolls work well.


Gather it at the top and secure with matching pipe cleaner. Bend in middle for knee of spider and at the end for foot of spider.

Repeat with three more pipe cleaners to complete the legs. Add googly eyes or draw on eyes/nose/mouth for the spider.

Here is my little helper!
Now we are ready for our party!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

VOTE

Got my ballot in the mail today! Yipee!


You?

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Cutest Soccer Player In The World



We had our last game yesterday. Collin scored 3 goals! Way to go, Collin!

Coach Kyle (a.k.a dad) did a great job. They thought he was the greatest coach in the world especially after giving them little flashlights and letting them have their soccer snack anytime during the game.

It has been a quick and enjoyable season. Somehow we managed to dodge most of the rain. The team was built with a fantastic group of people. We were even fortunate enough to have several friends on the team which made it that much more fun! Got to love that carpooling and those coffee runs for the soccer games!

Off to basketball season! We'll keep you posted!

Monday, October 27, 2008

Bauman Farms

This is one of my most favorite family outings that we do yearly. We usually try and get a jump start on the crowds and head out early in the morning with the boys bundled up. We hit the coffee shop (for mom's sanity) and then to Bauman Farms. There is sooooo much to do there that the boys love; jumping pillow, hay mazes, taking a tractor ride, animals, swings, the list goes on! But the best part, the part I look forward to for a whole year, is fresh pressed apple cidar and apple cidar donuts, yummers! The boys are at a great age where every turn is an adventure. Collin's favorite was the dark maze and Brody's was the tractor ride. Both boys were covered in sweat, dirt and cinnamon/sugar residue of their donuts. Now that's a good day! ;)









Thursday, October 9, 2008

Washington DC or bust

The trip was absolutely perfect (besides the guilt of leaving my son right after he got terribly sick). The doctor gave us a definite clear to go ahead and take our trip and I was able to leave it all behind. I was so ready for a break.
Friday morning we woke up at 3am and headed off to PDX to catch a plane across the country. It was the first time Kyle and I have flown together since our honeymoon! We arrived around 5pm in DC and did the big loop around the city to all the major monuments and the White House that night. It was all so neat to actually be in those places (the pictures don't do them justice) and explore the history of the US more. I have to admit, this is NOT my expertise. Being in an area so rich in history you can't help but absorb the information and get a picture of where our country has come from. It felt like a priviledge to explore.
The next day we didn't slow down any; we hit the Pentagon (well, at least got to see the outside walls of it), Arlington cemetary, Old Post Office, National Archives Museum (that's right you movie buffs - that's where they filmed a few scenes for National Treasure), and followed it up with a great night on the town eating at Old Ebbitts Grill (old and BUSY restraunt next to the White House where you'll find citizens and politicians alike).
On Sunday, we did the Holacaust museum. Then, we switched hotels to a town called Old Alexandria (cute little town with shops galore, charm and a starbucks in the entry of the hotel - does it get any better than that?!?! ;) where we met up with people from Gerber coming in for the military show.
Monday, I got to meet up with my girlfriend Dassie and her little ones who happen to be in town as well. We explored her neck of the woods together and had a chance to catch up. So fun! That night, we went with people from Gerber on a cruise down the Potomac. What a treat that was seeing the city from the water at night all lit up.
The next morning I awoke early to walk the show with Kyle and see the world of the military. Vendors of all kinds were there - people who make tanks, technology that's beyond anything I've seen, weapons, tools, the whole gammit. I left there to pick up some souveniers and off to PDX where my mom and boys were waiting for me! It was so good to give them a squeeze after being gone for so long!
PHEW! It was busy but what a treat to get to travel. I feel refreshed. It was especially fun hanging out with my hubby. Thanks babe for letting me hitch a ride and treating me like a princess!

Here are a few pictures from our journey, enjoy!

Here we are getting ready to hop aboard the boat to head down the Potomac. That wasn't our actual boat behind us, we were still waiting for ours to come.
Here I am at the Capital building; resting my feet and taking a quick picture.
Arlington Cemetary (see the Washington Monument in the back?)


Changing of the guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier

Lincoln Memorial (Monument??)

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sports in the Fischer Household

You all knew it was inevitable knowing my man, that we would be a family involved in sports. Although I never want to be that mom that is frantically trying to get from one thing to another (if at all possible) I do like the idea of some life lessons and disciplines being learned through being involved in team sports - okay, maybe a little fun too! :)


Collin started soccer yesterday. He was so excited; Kyle is his coach this year and you haven't seen a more proud son. Collin played with more enthusiasm than I had ever seen and has grown so much from last year. Here is a picture from yesterday. Sorry, it's a bit blurry, but the best I could do w/ a two year old in the other hand. ;) (kyle is in the black t-shirt and collin is the second one from the right).

Meanwhile, Brody sits on the sidelines anxiously awaiting his turn at the chance to get involved. Here's a little clip from a typical morning here and Brody's eagerness with balls.

Look out MLB, here he comes!

Friday, September 5, 2008

Kindergarten

Collin had quite a summer of achievements. He deserves some bragging rights. Since he's a little too small to have to have a blog of his own, I'm going to do a little bragging for him.


We made swimming a focus this summer, especially with the boat we felt for safety it needed to be a priority. He took lessons for almost the entire summer and now can "swim" for a stretch across the pool.

Piano lessons were an experiment. Kyle and I knew we wanted him to give it a try but were surprised at his natural talent and interest. He breezed through an entire book in a couple months.


The training wheels coming off- oh, how that has been a victory! Collin would be proud to show off his new biking skills to anyone willing to watch.


Collin mastered pumping his legs on the swings this summer and now can "swing up to the sky" all by himself.


I'm especially proud of his role as a big brother. He is learning how to watch out for the little guy and has grown in his compassion for others.


It is now his second day of KINDERGARTEN! Kyle, Brody and I accompanied him in yesterday to get him settled. Collin was already making friends by the time we left chatting up a girl that was sitting next to him. Today, he asked me to just drop him off and let him walk in by himself *sigh*.
Collin we are so proud of the little man that you are! You amaze us everyday!

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Summer Fun

Here are a few snapshots from our summer adventures. We so enjoyed our summer break. Here are a few memories.
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Thursday, August 14, 2008

Water lovers


Here are our little water lovers. They were so excited to go swimming in Dee-Dee's pool. Kyle brought back some goodies from his last show that he worked. The boys are sporting their new body suits and we were giving the underwater camera that he won a try.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

This ones for you daddy...

We miss you daddy! We wish you were here but know you are working hard for us on your business trip. We wanted you to be apart of this special day when Collin figured out how to ride his bike by himself. This ones for you. We love you! xoxo

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Happy 4th of July (belated)

We enjoyed spending the Fourth of July as a family. It was a busy day. We started first by heading to St. Paul for the parade. Collin learned from a neighbor of ours how to gather all the candy (the kid is a magnet - you wouldn't believe how much loot he brought home).

Then we were off to the St. Paul rodeo with our friends the Kirsch family. We got to sit in the box seats, which was an absolute treat. The boys were mesmerized by all the excitement.





After some hot dogs and naps we were off to make use of that boat and watch the fireworks on the river. It was our first time putting the boat in in Portland and watching the fireworks. We weren't sure what to expect. It was a blast (no pun intended). We were concerned about the noise for Brody. Kyle did his best to wrestle him down and cover his ears but Brody would have nothing to do with it. He just watched with a huge smile on his face and loud giggles. Collin was a bit apprehensive at first but came around by the end. If you look closely you'll see the tons of people on the water front waiting for the fireworks show after the blue's festival in Portland.

With all the excitement the boys were a bit tired. Brody fell asleep down under the seat to take a snooze on the way back after the fireworks.



These boys were troopers. I'm thankful for my little guys always willing and waiting for the next adventure and our freedom to be able to do that. Hope you all had a great day as well!