Last Day of 2016 Summer Vacation . . .

It's our first Summer vacation in Kansas so it was time for a new Back to School tradition.

In years past, we always went to dinner at Godfather's.

No Godfathers here so we decided to change things up a bit . . . 

Dinner at home on the back deck then off to Braums for some super yummy ice cream.

It was a hit for the whole G Fisher Fam!!!

E was such a hoot, after he finished that huge cone, 

he requested a hamburger (which he finished in no time!)  

because he was "still hungry and wants to grow big!" 

Then he announced that when he's 8, 

he thinks he'll be able to beat Daddy in a burger eating challenge :-)

A perfect new tradition in our "new" home.

I cannot believe how quickly these little ones are growing!!!

2nd & 3rd Days of School 2015-2016 = A Fat Lip :(

The second day of school {Spirit wear for Eli} started off so well . . . 

He was super excited for another fun day at Kindergarten.

AND Alli and her buddy Lilja were happy to pose for a pic together outside their class :-)

All was going so great . . .  both kiddos were happy and smiling at the end of the day and ready to play with neighborhood buddies for a while before Karate.  Even better, G was coming home that night so we were all looking forward to seeing him.  

Around 4pm, while talking to G on the phone, I called Eli over the walkie talkie to let him know it was time to come home to get ready for Karate.  Less than a minute later, I heard the screaming.  

I quickly hung up with G and opened the front door to see our wonderful neighbor 

carrying Eli to our door ~ his face covered in blood.

While running home, he tripped over a neighbor's bike and landed on his face, biting through his top lip :*(  He was in so much pain and it was clear a trip to the Doc was in order.  My dear friend was fabulous and took Alli and Lukey so I could get Eli to Urgent Care.

He was a trooper but he was in a lot of pain.

Thankfully, he got in right away and they were able to close the wounds with glue.

I am amazed by how resilient this little man is, after ice, Tylenol and getting glued, he was ready to eat some Subway and wanted to go home and play some more ~ Wow!!!

The next morning, he looked worse as far as swelling and scrapes but he said he felt better.

Mr. J even gave him a "Brave Boy" prize so life was great!!!

This was all the smile he could muster with his fat lip :-)

The best part about this day was that Daddy was home!!!!!!!

All three kiddos were thrilled to see Daddy and are looking forward to a fun weekend.

Bring on the 2013-2014 School Year!

Gone are the days of sleeping in and playing all day.

As of this morning, the little fish are waking up early and heading to school.

Given that I knew it could be a rough morning, I tried to make it as fun as possible . . . 

 The donuts were such a hit on the last day of school, so I decided to do it for the first as well!

{With eggs, yogurt and milk as well!}

As you can see from these two happy faces, they quickly forgave me for waking them so early :-)

It also helped that they were able to Facetime with Daddy over donuts.

I still don't know how it is possible that Alli is already in first grade, the past 6 years have flown!!!

She is starting to look (and act!) so grown up.

She chopped her hair, learned how to tie her shoes and no longer wants cute bows ~ headbands only!

We love this spunky little gal so much!!!

Unlike last year, Alli wasn't nervous at all and couldn't wait to go into her classroom,

where she has her own DESK (no more group tables!)

She couldn't wait for me to leave so she could be a big first grader ;-)

After dropping Alli off, it was time for Eli's preschool orientation.

We switched to a different preschool this year and it is on the same campus as Alli's school.

We had a little time so we stopped to visit with other parents and enjoy a cookie before orientation.

Eli is such a laid back little guy and had no problems at all in his new classroom.

He immediately started chatting with his teacher and was playing hard with the other kiddos.

He assured me he had a lot of fun.

Thankfully, Alli also said she had a lot of fun at school today.

I am so proud of her as she had brought in a paper lunch bag with five items that described her,

and she got up in front of the class today and shared about herself ~ she told me that was exciting!!!

I am so grateful and am hoping this is a fabulous year for both little fish!!!

'Twas the Night Before First Grade . . .

So we had to celebrate with our traditional trip to Godfather's Pizza :-)

Sadly, Daddy is traveling for work this week but Ducky Gramma and Papa were happy to join us!

We had a blast eating yummy pizza, playing games and riding cars and horses

It was a perfect way to celebrate our final day of Summer vacation.

I still cannot believe that summer is over and our baby girl starts first grade tomorrow!!!

Time is passing soooooooo quickly!

Alli's 1st Day of Kindergarten

 Was a success!!! 

I had to wake her up much earlier than she is used to this morning, but the fun surprise was seeing Daddy!

He had to stay and take his baby girl to her first day of Kindergarten :-)

Love this shot as she is doing her "I can't believe I am already in Kindergarten" pose.

She was a bit slow eating breakfast and getting ready but once she was dressed, 

Alli was full of smiles and giggles ~ so excited for her first day of Kindergarten!

We thought she looked so precious in her little uniform holding her lunch bag and backpack!!!

Alli was very excited to be taking lunch and dictated exactly what she wanted . . . 

Sausage, cheese sticks, crackers, craisins, fruit leather, yogurt and a PB&J sandwich.

Needless to say, she didn't come close to finishing this but did eat all of the sausage and sandwich,

finishing the rest of it {with help from Eli} on the drive home.

The whole family had to get a picture with our new Kindergarten gal before heading off to school.

Poor Eli wanted to know why he didn't get to go to school today too.

After the photo shoot, it was off to school.

She was a little apprehensive when we got to school but walked right in to hang her coat and backpack,

before posing for more pictures in her classroom . . . 

She was happily playing by herself when we left.

I stuck around much of the morning in the school helping to organize the curriculum books with some other moms but only peeked in on her once, she was wiggling her tooth at recess when I checked ;-)

2:45 seemed to take forever to get here but I was so excited when we finally got to see her!!!

She said she had a fun day and got to have a cookie for snack ~ very exciting!

Alli was definitely exhausted when we got home, 

so she crafted a bit, did some interviews, ate an early dinner and was in bed by 6 p.m.

I still haven't heard a peep from her!

This new schedule will take some getting used to ;-)

I have to share her "interviews" we did at home . . . 

The one that cracks me up the most is 

When I grow up I want to: still live with Mommy

I cannot wait to show her that in a couple of years!!! ;-)

Dad's Night at Preschool

Tonight was Dad's night at Noah's Ark Preschool

Both Daddy and Alli seemed to have a fabulous time!

The preschool set up a ladder style climbing course and Alli had 

loads of fun showing Daddy how great she is at climbing :)

 She also took the opportunity to show him how well she plays with other kids in her class.

This is huge as last year she wouldn't talk to anybody.

Now it appears she doesn't stop talking!

No surprise that dress up was on the to-do list ;-)

Together, Alli and Daddy decorated a plate and enjoyed ice cream sundaes.

Both seemed very happy when they got home and looking forward to next year's Dad's night!

alli's first day as a Teddy Bear

On September 15, 2010, Alli returned to Noah's Ark Preschool

A Bunny last year, she has moved up to the Teddy Bear class with Mrs. Weaver as her teacher.

This is great because Mrs. Weaver is my parents' neighbor (I've known her since I was 3!) and Alli knows her.  Of course, Alli sometimes refers to her as the duck lady because she has a waterfall and pond with rubber ducks that Alli visits when she's at my parents' house ;-)

I was in Boston so G took the day off to take our little Teddy Bear for her first day

She started getting a little silly as she was so excited

Ready to go!

How cute is this little smile???

We love this little girl so much and are so excited as she starts the 3 year old preschool class.  So much has changed in a year and she is really starting to come out of her shell.  Alli is definitely still slow to warm up to new situations but they do not seem to terrify her anymore and she now LOVES to play with kids her age ~ WOO HOO!!!

With the sign, almost time to go into class . . .

Getting her name tag

Playtime ~ bring on the teddybears

G tells me that Alli was a little nervous at the thought of Daddy leaving because, as she said, "I don't know these kids"  Fortunately, her teacher from last year, Mrs. Spellman, was helping in the class and helped Alli find a fun activity.  She wound up having a lot of fun with her new friends and classmates.

Circle time at the end of class

Mrs. Weaver helps take off the teddybear nametag

Alli's favorite part of the day (after snack time of course, which today consisted of Teddygrams!)
getting a sticker!

What a GREAT first day!

Alli truly enjoyed her first day in the 3 year old Teddybear class.

I talked to her on the phone as soon as she got home and she told me she had lots of fun and really liked the teddybear snack ;-)

last day as a Bunny

Here's a shot of our 'lil Bunny on her last day of preschool for the year . . .

It was a great year! 

She did amazingly well. 

We were very nervous given how long it can take her to warm up in most situations,

but she shocked us by loving Noah's Ark Preschool :)

For a comparison, here is a picture of her on her first day . . .

Amazing how much changed since September!

The last day was similar to the first in that the parents were asked to stay with the kiddos.  Only this time, it wasn't to make the little ones feel comfortable.  Nope, it was for a very yummy potluck.  Alli helped make apple muffins cupcakes ;-)  Unlike the first day, where Alli stuck pretty close to me, this time she was off playing ~ didn't want Mommy cramping her style!

It was so amazing to see her playing with all her classmates around her!  WOW!!!

She even had a lot of fun showing Eli around and sharing a snack with him . . .

Had to get a picture with her teacher, Mrs. Spellman.

The first year of preschool was a HUGE success!

Hard to believe our 'lil Bunny has graduated to the Teddy Bear class.

Where is the time going???????