Two more weeks in Alabama

Well, I've been down in Alabama at Squadron Officer School for three weeks and have got just two more to go. It's been fun and all but I can't wait to get done and back to life in MA. I know, I know, how could I possibly be getting sick of Alabama? It will be tough living without the grits, monster trucks and rebel yells but I've got a lot of pink to be buying when I get back and I just can't wait to get started. Seriously though, I/we are really excited to be having a little princess and if anyone has any suggestions for good, intimidating shotguns I should start shopping for just let me know. I figure it will come in handy 15-16 years from now...............


Nikki's mom flew into Boston yesterday morning and will be there until I get back which is great! Nikki has been a real trooper the last couple weeks but I feel much better now that she has someone there to help her out. Plus I hear that we are getting stocked up with home made chicken soup and lasagna. Nothing to complain about there.

Hope you all have a great week!

Garrett

It's official . . . we're having a GIRL!!!

No mistaking it, the Fishers are having a little GIRL!!!

our beautiful BMW

We got our car back from the autobody shop on Wednesday and she looks as good as new. She should since her the backend is new!!! There was more damage than first thought but, fortunately, no damage to the frame. What a relief to have her back. I must sing the praises of BMW once more. I truly did not feel much impact when I was rearended, however, the other guy's car looked totaled and the autobody shop said they could tell the car was hit very hard. I am so impressed that so much damage could be done and I barely felt a thing and had absolutely no injury - I was not even sore! I originally bought the car for safety and am now a complete believer - I will never buy another type of car :)

The 'lil fish is on ???her??? way . . .

Although 'she' was a bit uncooperative at 'her' ultrasound, it appears the 'lil fish is a girl!!! Since we want to know for sure, we're having another ultrasound in October to check again.

Fun in the Sun!!!

We just got back from a very fun and relaxing weekend in Washington. Everyone was extremely excited with our news - the moms were especially happy because it meant they could finally talk about it (they had been under a gag order since the 4th of July and were ready to burst!)

We spent the majority of the weekend at the beach house on Treasure Island and the weather was perfect - sunny and in the 80s

On Sunday, we had my entire family out for the day and the guys all had fun getting dumped off the intertube - although, we are not too sure Kyle was a fan of the tube even though he did not get tossed.

My best friend Cori and her husband Kevin also joined us for the day. Cori is also pregnant and due 12 days before us - we could not have planned it better if we tried! Sunday evening, Cori, Kevin, Garrett, and I took the boat down to Olympia and had dinner at Anthony's. It was a great time and fortunately, we made it back to Treasure Island minutes before the sun completely went down or we would have been in for a very exciting (or scary) moonlight boat ride.

On Monday, the Fishers and my parents came out to the beach to join us and it was another perfect day.

Leaving was very difficult. Weekends like that make us want to move back to WA!

Now it is back to work (and rain) it seems that summer is over for good, at least in Massachusetts. Oh well, the Falls out here are usually quite nice.

We hope that you enjoyed your "last" weekend of Summer as much as we did. Stay tuned for updates on the 'lil fish . . .

We're expecting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Fisher Family is growing and the 'lil fish is due to arrive February 12, 2007. Stay tuned for more updates . . .

Luck runs out with Boston drivers :(

Anticipating a very long day yesterday, I drove to work (figured the client would rather pay the $30 for my parking than the $160 cab ride home). Imagine my surprise when I finished the project early and was able to leave by 5:30!!! I was thrilled, however, the feeling didn't last long. Leaving at this time meant driving in the rush-hour evening commute on the Mass Pike (I-90). It was a clear sunny day and traffic was very slow moving, lots of stop and go. As I was about 5 to 10 miles away from my exit, all of the lanes again began to slow and come to a complete stop, paying attention, I did the same. Unfortunately, the driver behind me did not and rearended me. I was not hurt, just frustrated .

I promptly called the police (thanks Mom for the good example and advice ). I wanted an accident report filed to make sure that I was not held at fault. I know I said I wanted an accident that was not my fault, but this is enough!!! The other driver was very apologetic, and I was nice to him (he felt terrible, there was no point in making him feel worse) but am still annoyed. He said he only looked away for an instant - let this be a lesson for all, an instant is all it takes! He was lucky that traffic was so slow to begin with so he was not going fast when he hit me and neither of us were hurt - I cannot say the same for the cars. As you can see below, my car probably suffered a couple thousand dollars damage - his car was far worse. Because my car was still drivable, I went home after the report was filed (officer told me to leave) so I do not know whether the other driver was cited but I have to assume so.

Once I got home, Garrett assessed the damage and took the pictures below while I called the insurance companies.

Fortunately, the other driver's insurance company (at least last night) was very accomodating and pleasant. They opened a claim (he had not called yet) and told me an adjuster would contact me by end of today (Friday) to schedule the appraisal. They also offered me a loaner car. Hopefully, this will continue to be an easy process. If not, our insurance (USAA is a fabulous company!) assured us they would cover the damages, waive the deductible, and go after his insurance. One way or another, it will get fixed.

Although not hurt, I am definitely shook up, probably why I am writing this at 5 AM instead of sleeping . I hope everyone will take away from this what I have - cars can be very dangerous and we must be alert and focused at all times!!! I may think twice now about using the cell phone or changing a CD while driving . . .

Lucky Las Vegas

We just returned from a fun-filled weekend in Las Vegas! We had a fabulous time visiting with our wonderful friends, the Johnsons and Kevin Pullium (aka the "Triple P"), who drove over from LA. The weather was HOT and and we loved every minute of it!!! We arrived fairly late on Friday evening but managed to stay up even later to visit with the Johnsons. Saturday morning we were up early to play with the girls (two adorable little ones - two year old Taylor and four month old Aubrey). This was the first time we met Aubrey and she is every bit as cute and fun as her big sister. Although we already knew Taylor, she hadn't seen us in a year and was a bit shy for the first couple of hours, but that didn't last long and pretty soon she was more than happy to be holding Aunt Nikki or Uncle G's hand when in public!

We all headed down to the strip to check out the dolphins and tigers at the Mirage. Taylor and I were especially into the dolphins, who were quite playful and seemed to enjoy showing off with flips. We went to the Nordstrom Cafe for lunch (I love that place!) where we met up with Kevin before heading back to the Johnsons for some relaxation. The girls took naps, which looked pretty good but the adults resisted.

Saturday night was adults only. We went back to the strip and had dinner at Diego's in the MGM Grand. After dinner, we checked out some other casinos before winding up at Hooters Hotel and Casino (some Air Force guys were having a party there and we got to see some folks that we haven't seen in years). There was not much gambling on our part. I stuck 25 cents in an electronic poker game and wound up winning a dollar. I gave 50 cents to Garrett and we each played the quarter slot machines. Garrett one $12.50!!! That may not sound like much but it's not bad when you consider he started with 50 cents . Not being big gamblers, we cashed out!!!

Sunday was very relaxing. We all went up to Mt. Charleston and had a picnic lunch. I think this is the one part of Vegas that is not 100+ degrees, in fact it was quite pleasant. The rest of the day we hung out at the Johnsons' chatting and playing a fun game called Settlors. Johnson smoked us all both games! Before going to the airport for a red eye flight, the Johnsons took us back to the strip to enjoy some gelato and see the water show at the Bellagio. It was amazing.

Once at the airport, we had about an hour to kill before boarding the flight so we decided to each play $2 on the slot machines. I promptly lost my $2 but Garrett hit the jackpot (okay maybe not the jackpot but he did great). On his second dollar, he decided to max bet, smart move because we were playing the Wheel of Fortune slots and he got to spin the wheel. He landed on 500 (which amounts to $125!!!) We promptly cashed out and decided he was the luckiest guy around! So all in all we spent $5 gambling and walked away with $137.50, we were quite proud of ourselves!!!

Although it was a short trip, we had a fabulous time and hated to see it end. We realize how much we miss living near our Johnsons and look forward to the day when we can have "date night" more regularly. Thank you guys for a wonderful weekend, we miss you already!

Now it's back to the real world. Fortunately, in two weeks, we will be back in WA for Labor Day.

Hope you are having as much fun as we are this August!!!

Relief from the heat

Although it has been a very hot and muggy summer here in Massachusetts, we finally got a break this weekend with blue, sunny skies, temps in the mid to upper 70's and no humidy we are in Heaven!!! Unfortunately, we have not had much time to enjoy this great weather because of work, but hopefully that will lighten up a bit in another couple of weeks.


Last weekend, while I was inside reviewing emails for work, Garrett sanded and stained our deck. He did a great job. The only one unhappy was Salem, who was not allowed outside for a whole sunny day - life is tough when you're a kitty!

This weekend, I spent the majority of the time working (I still have 9,000+ emails to review by the end of the week - what fun!) and Garrett cleaned the house (and made me some very yummy chocolate chip cookies). We did manage to take a break yesterday to have lunch at the Cheesecake Factory - sadly, we did not leave room for desert but the food was great. Then we went to Pirates of the Caribbean II - not too impressed but it was nice to take a break.

Fortunately, next weekend we are taking a much needed break. We are going to Las Vegas to visit our friends, the Johnsons. We cannot wait to see them and meet their newest addition, Aubrey. Until then, we will be working hard to make sure that we don't have to bring any work with us - fingers crossed!!!

Hope you are enjoying your final month of summer!

Lots of nothing going on . . .

Not much new happening in Massachusetts. The weather out here has been toggling between blazing hot and torrential rain storms which has made doing anything active outdoors pretty tough to do. Work is still keeping us busy as usual. Nikki's workload is picking up again now that we are well clear of the 4th of July holiday season. She took part in her first mediation last week which she would describe as interesting, yet unproductive. Apparently the other side didn't really want the issue to be mediated and it looks like they may be going to trial. Should add some excitement to her day if that happens.


My week was pretty normal. Lots of meetings.......wrote some reports......etc. We had a change of command on Thursday though which broke up the monotony. My boss' boss who is a Navy Captain (not to be confused with an Air Force Captain) retired and we got a new Navy guy to take his place. Captain Westerbeak (the new boss) seems pretty cool and is in a similar commuting situation as Nikki and I. His wife has an ambitious career and is working in the Boston area while he is in Hartford. Needless to say, we'll at least have that to talk about if I'm ever in a pinch.

Well that's all for this week. Hopefully next week will surpass this week’s excitement level. Shouldn't be too hard. Later.