Alli's Christmas Choir Concert 2015

One of the biggest disappointments with the move to Kansas was that Alli wasn't going to have a Christmas Concert.  Anyone who knows Alli, knows how much this sweet girl LOVES to sing and perform.  The new school only does a concert for K-2nd grade and by the time we return to WA, she will only get to do the Lighthouse concert if she joins choir {which she may not desire if she inherited her Mommy and Daddy's singing ability!}  She was completely bummed :(

THEN . . . we got an email from our church that any child K - 3rd grade who wanted to perform in the Christmas concert at church was welcome ~ woo hoo!!!!!  Alli was super excited!

Tonight was the first performance and she was precious!

She was so happy to be on stage and sang her little heart out! 

We all loved watching her and the boys made for a great cheering section :-)

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Eli's bow tie and so did he ~ I'm ready to find more in lots of colors ;-)

After the concert, all three little fish were happy to munch on cookies . . . 

Can't wait for tomorrow's performance!

Eli's Kindergarten Christmas Concert

Last night this adorable little man had his Kindergarten Christmas Concert at CCA.

He was so excited to get dressed up and "look like Daddy!"

He is such a handsome little man and looked so dapper in his first tie!!!

He was so cute playing with his little buddies before the concert began :-)

We are so grateful at how quickly he has adjusted to his new school.

I have to admit that I felt more than a twinge of sadness as we got there and were sitting near the middle, only needing four seats.  Just another reminder that we weren't at Lighthouse or near family anymore.  We had bought front row seats for the Lighthouse Christmas Concert this year at the auction and the whole family was so excited for that.  Don't worry, my pity party didn't last long and I thoroughly enjoyed this adorable little Kindergartener performer! :-)

He sang his little heart out and was so precious!

So hard to get good pictures at these concerts ;-)

After the concert, we had fun taking little family pictures.

{photo by Alli}

I think the picture I got of G with his munchkins is beyond precious!!!

We got home a little after 8 and despite it being past bedtime, the little fish were wound up!

Of course, they had to eat again too {stalling} but they must have been hungry because they all downed their bananas ;-)

Definitely a GREAT night for our sweet Kindergarten boy!!!

Snickerdoodles with Ducky Gramma

Eli LOVES to bake and always wants to help.

Thankfully, his Ducky Gramma is one of the BEST bakers around :-)

This morning, the two of them had a fabulous time baking snicker doodles together.

Papa happily worked on a cross word puzzle as the bakers worked.

Alli and Lukey wanted in on the action too and got to help roll the dough in the cinnamon mixture.

Or "chase it around the bowl" for Lukey :-)

He was quite good at counting the number of cookies on the pan.

Such a fun morning of making memories and Garrett will be thrilled to find his favorite cookies waiting for him when he gets home from work! :-)

Fire Station Visit

Tonight, one of the men in our Life Group at church invited us to hang out at his fire station.

It was a HIT with all of the families!

All three little fish were super excited to learn that they would get to do this tonight.

They even helped make some yummy popcorn for the firefighters.

Aside from climbing all over the fire trucks and engines, the greatest excitement came from trying on the gear.  Pretty sure it's unanimous that Mark (the firefighter) is now the coolest dad in the group according to all the munchkins ;-)

The bigs thought the boots were super cool!

Alli was feeling pretty strong being able to hold up the gear and clothing.

Luke was the first one to check out the gear.  When Mark finished showing the kiddos how he gets in his suit, he told them they could check it out and ask questions.  While most people stood there, Lukey went right up to the front and said "I want to wear that hat!"  It was heavy but he assured Mark that he was "super strong"  Too cute!

Eli was enthralled with the boots and helmet, putting them on any chance he got :-)

After touring the station and having some snacks, it was time to go home, much to the disappointment of the little fish.  What a blessing to have met these wonderful people and to have these unique opportunities for fellowship.  We are incredibly blessed!

Starting School in Kansas . . .

Nothing like jumping right in!

We landed in Wichita Tuesday afternoon, had fun exploring our new neighborhood and house, and got ready to start the new school.  All three little fish are at the same school here, which is so nice.

Lukey is still going M-W-F but is now in the afternoons.

He was excited to start on Wednesday and his new teacher and friends are as sweet as can be!

Neither boy was too excited for pictures so I decided not to push my luck :-)

We got to Luke's class a bit early and he got right to playing.  

When we picked him up that afternoon, he was all smiles.  

Though, as you can see from the picture, he was worn out!!!  

He was in bed before 6:30 and slept until 7 this morning.

While Lukey was in school, the bigs had the opportunity to tour the school and meet their teachers. 

Alli and Garrett even got to buy new spirit shirts ~ Alli was so excited to have "gone shopping" :-)

 Eli chose to be introduced to his class, who are so welcoming!

The kiddos kept walking by us in the hall saying "hi Eli, I'm your new friend"

Eli also had his assessment yesterday and passed with flying colors.

He got to show off everything Miss Huber had taught him this year :-)

Alli was a little more reserved, which we expected but she was all smiles this morning.

She decided the new jumper isn't as bad as she thought initially and she looks darling.

We put in her Lighthouse hair bow to give her some comfort and she was thrilled.

Great thing is today is picture retakes at CCA so the kiddos will be getting more school pictures and will be in the yearbook ~ Alli was thrilled!

 After dropping off the bigs, Lukey and I went to Target so he could spend his birthday money ~ super heroes, paw patrol, and Legos ~ life is good!

We are now anxiously awaiting 3:45 when we can go back and 

get A & E to hear all about their first days.

Halloween 2015

It was our 8th Halloween on Rutherford Circle and it was a hit!

 Our wonderful friends, the Ellis family was kind enough to invite us over for trick or treating and fellowship.  What a gift to have neighbors who became incredible friends!!!

These kiddos could not possibly be any cuter!!!

It was a rainy and windy evening but that did not stop these sweeties from walking the neighborhood.

Alli and Emilie decided to show their independence and asked to go ahead on their own ~ super cute!

Eli could not resist trick or treating with his best buddy, who had THE PERFECT matching costume.

Doesn't get much better than Darth Vader and a Storm Trooper!

As Luke and I were about a quarter of the way around the circle, he asks me if we are done yet ;-)

I said no and asked if he wanted to go to more houses for candy but he said "no, I have a lot of candy"  Couldn't argue that one!!!  He ran to catch up with Nate & Eli and hit up 2 houses with them before deciding he really was done.  We had to go to his buddy Rachel's house to say goodbye :(

These two have such a precious friendship and we will miss their family so much!

And of course we had to stop by Todd and Stacy's one last time before the move.

Goodbyes are tough but how blessed we are to have such wonderful friends to say goodbye to.

Lukey was happy to go back to the Ellis's house to watch a fun movie and check out his candy.

These four were adorable and tired ;-)

While these four chilled, Blake, Emilie and Alli hit up the next neighborhood and came back with quite the loot for the Candy Fairy.  Though the weather could have been better, it sure was a fun last Halloween in Rutherford.

Eli's Kindergarten School Picture

Somehow he looks so much older to me this year!

So handsome but that baby face is already disappearing.

How I love this precious boy and his kind heart!!!

Alli's 3rd Grade School Picture

Where did my baby girl go???

In her place is a very beautiful young lady!

Still has the precious smile and freckles but definitely no baby face anymore.

What a joy it has been to watch her blossom at LCS!!!

Eli & Mommy Special Day

One of the things I am going to miss most when we move to Kansas is 

No Friday Kindergarden

The boys and I LOVED our Fridays with Alli when she was in Kindergarten.

Now with Eli, it is our special time for just the two of us while A & L are both at school.

Today, as much as I thought I wanted to come home and get ready for the movers 

{who are showing up Monday morning ~ YIKES!}

Eli and I spent the morning riding bikes together.

Before we left LCS this morning, I was talking to a friend about how I wanted to just focus on E and not on the move during our special time this morning.  My friend assured me he would pray for this.

Prayers answered!  We had THE BEST morning!!!

We decided to be adventurous and leave our neighborhood to check out a friend's neighborhood.

It required going on some nonresidential roads with decent hills.

It was precious to hear Eli chanting "I think I can" riding up the hills.

I loved saying to him, "I knew you could!"

He did AWESOME!!!

We had so much fun checking out some different parks and viewing nature.

This precious boy LOVES God so much and spent most of the ride commenting on how much he loves "God's beautiful creations with the trees changing colors"

His giggles while spinning were priceless.

I wish everyone had his joy for life and love for God!!!

When we got home, he told me it was time for some work on his bike ;-)

It was adorable watching him "work" on his bike.

I took it as an opportunity to teach him the difference between flat head and phillips screwdriver.

How I enjoyed our special time together this morning!!!

2015 XC Season Begins . . .

 Today was the first meet of the 2015 Cross Country (XC) season and it was GREAT!!!

Much to my great delight, all three of the little fish enjoy running so when the bigs both wanted to run XC for Lighthouse, I was happy to help coach Kindergarten with Lukey as my assistant :-)

Eli (and his buddies) were super excited for their first meet . . . 

EZ E could not stop looking at his ribbon when it was over :-)

He did such a great job but the BEST part was at the beginning of his meet ~

one of his teammates fell and Eli stopped to help him up.  I nearly cried, I was so proud of him.

His heart is so big and he tells us God gave him a heart to share Jesus with others.

YES He did Buddy!

Luke was excited for the meet too . . . UNTIL he realized that he didn't get to race.

Given that he runs most of the practices, he was NOT impressed ;-)

He finally settled for running on the sidelines and cheering on "his" runners.

He crashed when we got home so it definitely wore him out!

Alli was thrilled to be racing again and did great!

She finished strong and so loved the cheers at the end :-)

One of the biggest excitements (and surprises!) was seeing Barbie Gramma and Grandpa.

The kiddos loved their cheering section :-)

The only bummer was Daddy wasn't there but thankfully he will be at the meet next week.

To celebrate such a great first meet, the kiddos and I stopped by Menchie's for some yummy fro yo! 

"B" is for Button

Three years ago, when Eli was in the 4s Preschool class, we made 

Eli was super excited to go to JoAnn Fabrics to pick out buttons for his shirt and loved wearing it.

Last year, when Lukey was in the 3s class, he was excited to wear it.

When he found out he got to wear it again today, he was ecstatic.

The Fisher boys LOVE the button shirt. 

And the Fisher Momma is super excited with how well it has held up! 

Happy Birthday Mommy!

The 13th anniversary of 25 was splendid :-)

 Though I missed G so much, my three little blessings spoiled me.

Alli had a tough time sleeping the night before so she climbed in bed with me.

Super sweet to wake up and see that precious sleeping face first thing on my birthday.

All three were super excited to go to Panera for a "my" birthday breakfast.

Alli enjoyed a cinnamon roll, Eli a chocolate chip muffie, and Luke a cinnamon bagel.

Alli couldn't wait to give me the presents she had for me.

The card was precious and I LOVE the earrings she made me and my new "blingy" lanyard!

Lukey was extra sweet and gave me his Baby Ducky for my present ~ that is TRUE LOVE!!!

Baby Ducky is his most special lovey that he's had since birth.  

I told him I would share a snuggle with Baby Ducky then give him back :-)

It was a long day with the kiddos' activities but when I got home, I walked in to find beautiful roses from my handsome hubby, cards from family and a thoughtful gift from a wonderful friend.  

I felt so loved!

One of my early presents was an incredibly fun, bright pink bike.
I've been having the BEST time going for bike rides with the little fish!!!

Poor Eli cannot understand why I would want a pink bike instead of blue but he enjoys our bike rides.
We cannot wait to get to Kansas and go for bike rides as the Fisher Five :-)

It's been a great birthday celebration but it's not over yet . . .
The fun will continue on Friday when we have dinner with family to celebrate.

Luke's First Week of 4s Preschool

After what felt like an eternity to this sweet boy, he finally started 4s Preschool on Wednesday.

It is tough being the youngest sometimes ;-)

Lukey was beyond excited to start school and see his buddies.

Seriously, he could not stop grinning all morning.

Thankfully, the bigs were happy to pose with Luke and the school signs.

After we dropped off the bigs, we had 15 minutes to wait before Luke's class started.

15 minutes is VERY LONG to a 3 year old so we took selfies to pass time . . . 

He is such a goofball but reminds me so much of his Daddy in the first pic!

Needless to say, he had a great time once he finally got into class.

Time passed quickly and soon he was coming back out . . . 

Wednesdays are also gymnastics day so to pass time, we went to Lighthouse to have lunch with Alli.

He sat right up at the 3rd grade table and had a great time with Alli and her buddies.

Gymnastics was awesome because he got to be line leader ~ big stuff!

Then it was back to Lighthouse to help with Kindergarten library time, 

it is so much fun to be there with Eli!!!

Before we knew it, the bigs were done with school and it was time for our first Cross Country practice ~ I'm one of the Kindergarten coaches and Lukey is my assistant ;-)

Eli did such a great job and Luke was a great coach!

Alli had a blast as always.

After Cross Country, we went to Subway where the munchkins inhaled their food.

After our snack, it was off to Alli's gymnastics and Eli's soccer practice.

Lukey stayed awake the whole time but crashed when we finally got home.

All in all, great first day but Wednesdays are going to be busy!!!

Today was another great day at school for Lukey . . . it was show and tell!

He was so proud to bring in Boulder (Rescue Bot) and share it with his buddies.

This afternoon, he was so excited to tell me how he had a "very important job" today.

When I asked him to tell me about it, he explained that he was the Caboose.

{I had actually known about this as his teacher let me know he took his job very seriously!}

I told him that sounded very important.  

He told me it was and that he "didn't even go potty once" 

when it was time for him to do his job ~ apparently this was an issue 

at times with other Caboosers when Eli was in the 4s class :-)

It was such a hoot listening to Luke and Eli discuss this!

While Lukey and Alli were in class this morning, Eli and Mommy had "special time."

I scored some major points at Target when I agreed to buy Star Wars Mac-n-Cheese :-)

Then, we headed to Toys R Us so Eli could spend his birthday gift card.

Star Wars Legos and a Nerf Blaster made for a very happy boy.

Lukers was only too happy to see his brother's new goodies when we picked him up from school.

These boys LOVE their Star Wars Legos!

Overall assessment of Luke's first week in the 4s class = 2 thumbs up!!!

He had THE BEST time and can't wait for Monday.