From Lush Rainforest to Dusty Desert

So maybe Seattle isn’t a rainforest, but two weeks ago it sure seemed close. Winter has kicked in and we’ve started to see a lot more rain. So when Justin was told he could go to a conference for work in Phoenix, Arizona we decided to take the whole family to play in the sun. We left here on the 20th and just got back late last night.

This was our first trip with three kids. Wow, it sure does require a lot of luggage, especially since we weren’t sure we’d have access to a washer and dryer. We had three car seats, 3 large suitcases, one smaller suitcase, a stroller, and four carry-ons. I can’t tell you how many people commented, “You sure have your hands full.” The kids are fabulous little travelers. Jason didn’t fuss at all on the airplane and was still young enough he would sleep anywhere.

(Jason, Abigail and Carly with all our "stuff")

Most of Justin’s extended family lives in Arizona so we thought it would also be a great opportunity to visit some family. Our first few nights we stayed with one of Justin’s cousins in Mesa. They really made us feel welcome and comfortable. They invited any cousins, aunts, and uncles in the area to come over for Sunday dinner. Over sixty people ended up coming. One family drove eight hours (four hours each way) that day just to see us. It was great to meet some of Justin’s cousins and to see some family we hadn’t seen since our wedding. Abigail attached quickly to her cousins Tommy and Tyler (I believe they would be her third cousin – Justin’s cousin’s sons?). Anyhow, we had a great time with family. I was even able to get together with my oldest friend Susan (we’ve known each other since we were one). It was great to catch up with her after all these years.

(Tyler, Tommy, Carly and Abigail at the Mesa Temple)

The last four nights we stayed at a nice resort and played in the pools. We were able to use the facilities at two different Hilton resorts. Both resorts had several pools, waterfalls, and a waterslide. My favorite was relaxing on the lazy river.

(Abigail loved the waterslide)

(Playing on the river with Dad)

(This was Jason's first time in a pool - he loved it!)

Phoenix vs. Seattle:

So what would it take for me to move to Arizona?? I don’t think I ever would. We had a great visit, but I really can’t understand why anyone would choose to live there all year round. Even in October it was too hot unless you’re playing in the water. I asked Justin what it would take for him to move to Arizona and he replied, “You not ever complaining about it being too hot.” No chance of that.

It’s always nice to come home…

Phoenix was very dusty. We ended up throwing away a pair of Abigail’s shoes that got thrashed because she had been playing outside in the dirt and prickly grass. We’ve thrown away a pair of shoes at home too, but that was because she had trucked through the mud… do they even have mud in Arizona?

Brown, brown, brown vs. Green, green, green

95 degrees in October (unbelievable!)

Being from Utah I thought I was used to dry weather, but I have never had to use as much lotion as I did this past week.

Besides family I think Justin would say his favorite thing about Arizona is that they have lots of Chick-fil-a restaurants. We went at least 3 times (not nearly enough for Justin).

I’m a Washingtonian – I love driving to the store and feeling like I’m driving through a forest high up in the mountains.

I love having four seasons. Spring blossoms, warm (not hot) summer days, the changing leaves of fall, and even a little snow.

I did like the palm trees, but even those aren’t very green.

One positive of Phoenix is the traffic. Phoenix residents say they have bad traffic, but they must not have ever been to Seattle. We were on the freeway at 7 pm and could only see a few cars in each direction, now that never happens in Seattle.

Pumpkin Patch

Visiting a pumpkin patch is one of those outings we’ve always thought would be fun to do yet we never quite get around to it… until today. Justin was able to leave work a little early so we decided to take the kids to their first pumpkin patch. It has been raining for the past few days so they weren’t giving free hay rides, but the girls enjoyed sloshing around in the mud and picking out a pumpkin to take home.

(Abigail really wanted to try taking a picture, she took this one of us.. pretty good huh?)

(The pumpkin we bought)

Walking Home

Abigail walks home from school with two of her closest friends that live on the same blocks as us. This picture was taken the first week of school while the weather was still warm and nice.

(Linsey, Alyssa, and Abigail)

Summer certainly has come to an end. Today I dropped off Abigail at her bus stop as I was heading out to run errands. She had a hooded jacket on and an umbrella in her backpack. As she was waiting for the bus she decided she didn’t want to carry around the umbrella so we put it in the car. I figured she still had her jacket in case it was raining on her way home.

This is Abigail just after she arrived home… drenched. The first thing I asked was where her jacket was, she replied it was in her backpack and proceeded to tell me how everything went wrong. None of the girls had an umbrella and Linsey’s jacket didn’t have a hood. Why didn’t Abigail put her jacket on? She explained, “my jacket would been soaken wet when I got home.” Abigail warmed up with a quick shower and a yummy cup of hot chocolate… That will teach her to put her jacket on next time :)

Two Months Old

Last week Jason reached the two month milestone. At his well child checkup he measured in the 75th percentile for height and weight. He was 12 pounds, 7.6 ounces and 23.5 inches long.

Soccer Season Begins...

Abigail is playing soccer this fall and has played in two games now. She seems to really enjoy though it didn't look good at the start. At her first practice a week and a half ago she didn't really get into it and complained that soccer was boring. I told her she was just having a bad attitude but she didn't believe me. Her first game followed that Saturday. She ran all over the place and scored her first goal and had a great time. After practice this week she told me, "You know, Dad, I guess was just having a bad attitude. Soccer is fun!"

Abigail's team, called "Freedom", consists of girls from Lakeland Hills Elementary in kindergarten and first grade.

Soccer is certainly more entertaining than t-ball to watch. The kids seem to get some great exercise while in t-ball they just stand there. This week we arrived at practice a little earlier than the other girls so Carly, Abigail, and I were able to get some good practice in. We ran back and forth and the girls kicked the ball up and down the field. I had a great time running around. I actually felt like I could dribble the ball around pretty well but that might just be because I was trying to keep the ball away from a 3 and 5 year old. I played soccer for 6 or 7 years when I was a kid and scored only two goals and one of the two was for the opposing team, so needless to say, I was playing for fun as I was definitely not the best player on the field.

Puyallup Fair

Going to the fair is becoming an annual tradition for the Fletcher family. Most of the time it is the Puyallup Fair but we have also gone to the King County Fair in Enumclaw. We usually go with my parents and I take a day off from work so we can avoid the weekend crowds. We like to come home with some goodies and a full stomach. We used to spend a lot of time sampling the food from the Vitamixer stand but since we bought one at Costco we are no longer so intrigued. In years past we have bought our fair share of scones but as my dad and I are watching our portions we decided to limit ourselves which required some self control as they were sure good. We made our typical stop at the free chocolate milk stand with many return trips. This year we chose a Monday and it was a rainy day. We had to buy ponchos to keep dry and found a great way to protect the stroller from the rain.

We bought the kids some new rain gear for our predicted rainy winter which Carly loved toting around the fair. Now the trick will be to teach the kids that we don't need umbrellas in the house or when it is slightly drizzling and it would take more time to open the umbrella than actually walk to whereever we are going.

My dad had not yet been fitted for his new shoes so I got to push him around in a wheelchair while Holly pushed Jason in the stroller. Thankfully Jason was his usual self and slept a lot.

Carly loved the rides as we knew she would. We missed taking Abigail as we decided not to have her miss her second day of Kindergarden.

We look forward to many more fun days at the fair (minus the rain!)

Swim Clips

I've finally gotten around to figuring out how to post video clips. These were taken last month on the girls last day of swim lessons. They both learned so much this year. With this being Carly's first year swimming I'm amazed how well she did, my three year old can now swim as well as me.

Justin and the girls went swimming yesterday and Carly is quite fearless. We really have to keep an eye on that one!

One Lucky Guy

I took this picture two weeks ago and thought it was so sweet. Abigail was perfectly content holding him until he woke up. Jason is very lucky to have two big sisters that absolutely adore him. I too am completely taken by him… who could resist cuddling this little guy??

Our Happy Little Guy

100 Things About Me

I’ve really enjoyed reading these lists from others and thought I’d break out of my shell (see #44) and make a list of my own. It was actually a lot of fun so if you haven’t made your list, give it a try.

1. I HATE being hot – making Seattle an ideal place to live
2. I can’t swim yet I’m a certified scuba diver
3. I’ve touched a shark… actually the shark touched me
4. I’ve been going gray since high school (thanks mom)
5. I can’t dance
6. I’ve been saving the proof of purchase from Kraft macaroni and cheese since I was a child (in my defense it started because you could send them in for cool free stuff, now it’s just a habit)
7. I love to scrapbook
8. I’m not a kid person (except my own of course)
9. The summer before my senior year of high school I was a nanny to five children, (including two year old twins, and a baby) every day, eleven hours each day… probably resulting in my not being a kid person
10. We collect the annual Swarovski Christmas snowflakes (the only year we are missing is 1999 – the year we were married)
11. I dread straightening/blow drying my hair
12. I have three amazing children
13. My favorite subject was math, least favorite history
14. I love clean, unwrinkled sheets
15. I love to sleep in and need at least eight hours of sleep each day
16. I am not a morning person – don’t call me before 9 am
17. I am allergic to exercise – honestly, Google it... it’s true
18. I need dessert every day, usually something chocolate
19. My favorite job was working at McDonald’s in high school
20. I’m not very patient
21. I am a very frugal person
22. I can tell you exactly how much we’ve spent on anything for the past eight years – not a dollar goes unaccounted for
23. I have a degree in accounting
24. I don’t drink water unless I’m at a restaurant, I’m a milk girl
25. I have a short memory
26. I use bag balm everyday (I think this is my Dad’s doing)
27. I’ve never had a massage – although I’d love to indulge in a day at a swanky spa (hint, hint)
28. I am usually on time, even with 3 kids I still get to church, on my own, at least ten minutes early – and we have the 9 am time
29. I expect a lot from my kids (and my husband)
30. I love to eat out
31. I don’t like cooking (baking is another story)
32. I have a very low tolerance for pain
33. I strongly believe in epidurals and any other means of pain relief
34. I sort my M&M’s by color, and then eat them in order, making sure to keep them all in balance (also applies to skittles, smarties, etc…)
35. I walk quickly
36. My knees make a squeaking/crackling sound every time I go down the stairs
37. I have a really hard time making decisions
38. I don’t eat fish or meat (only occasionally chicken or turkey)
39. I love watching movies
40. I never fall asleep while watching TV or a movie
41. I have a hard time falling asleep in general
42. I can’t imagine life without our DVR – commercial free is the best!
43. I love the founder’s favorite at Cold Stone (sweet cream ice-cream, fudge, caramel, pecans, and brownie) Yummy!
44. I’m a private person
45. I enjoy spending an entire day at home
46. My favorite music is still 80’s rock (favorites include: Def Leppard, Poison, and Bon Jovi
47. I love to travel
48. I’ve been to 17 countries
49. I get cold sores if I get too stressed out or don’t use bag balm (see #26)
50. I’ve never mowed the lawn
51. I’ve lived in Utah, Idaho, and Washington
52. I’ve left an unstylish, broken, homemade clock on my mantel for well over a year... will someone please come throw that thing away?
53. I return a lot of what I purchase (results from #21 and #37)
54. I love watching HGTV
55. I have a bright red washer and dryer – the amount of stress this purchase caused me was ridiculous
56. I’m not good at decorating (I have fake trees, a toilet rug, and vertical blinds!) Oh, and you can’t forget #52
57. I’m still in search of a great pair of jeans
58. I had lasik surgery over 2 years ago – worth every cent!
59. I’m a city girl
60. I love playing games (unless they are made to humiliate you – in that case I enjoy watching games)
61. I’m horrible at spelling
62. I’m a fabulous secret keeper
63. I hate giving talks
64. I love have a night out with the girls
65. I don’t like road trips, I’d much rather fly
66. My nickname growing up was “hippo” – thankfully I wasn’t overweight
67. I’ve been married for 8 ½ years
68. I eat a lot of Top Ramen and peanut butter Captain Crunch when I’m pregnant – they seem to stay down the best
69. I love driving a stick shift
70. I am dependable
71. I love my back yard
72. I have scoliosis
73. I joined a book club a few years ago – it’s forced me to finally start to enjoy reading
74. Favorite Chinese: P.F. Changs
75. Favorite Mexican: Chevy’s
76. Favorite Steakhouse: Outback (gotta get the cheesy fries)
77. Favorite Italian: Macaroni Grill
78. Favorite Fast Food: Taco Bell – cheesy bean and rice burritos
79. In junior high I was called “poodle bangs” – you can imagine why
80. Never got lower than an A- in college until I married Justin
81. Worked as a tax accountant for a year and a half before motherhood
82. I love being a mom
83. I don’t like shopping at yard sales
84. I find shopping in huge discount stores like Burlington Coat Factory or Nordstrom Rack completely overwhelming
85. I am a coupon queen
86. I don’t know how to play to football
87. I haven’t ridden a bike for a least 10 years
88. I am learning how to knit
89. I lived in the same house my entire childhood (since age one)
90. I was married in the Salt Lake City Temple
91. I don’t like long meetings
92. I love getting Christmas cards, especially if it includes a family letter
93. One of my biggest pet peeves – nail biting (who could possible do this?)
94. I don’t like leaving my windows open
95. My house is usually a disaster zone
96. I love orange juice
97. I don’t have a middle name
98. I am very independent
99. I love traditions, although we haven’t started many of our own
100. I don’t like being scared – no scary movies, haunted houses, or crime shows on TV

The wait is over!

It was the first day of school, exactly three years ago; the girls and I were taking an afternoon walk around the block. As we walked by the Gibbs house, Aaron, one of Abigail’s friends, was outside waiting for his school bus to come pick him up for pre-school. We waited as Abigail watched Aaron get on his little bus and head off for school. When we got to our house another friend was waiting for her bus to take her to her very first day of kindergarten. After we watched the bus drive off I started to head back into the house. Abigail remained on the sidewalk and very matter-a-factly said “I’m going to wait here for my bus.”

It’s been a long three years of waiting, but this week Abigail finally got to get on her school bus and head off to kindergarten.

Summer comes to an end

The girls were able to take three sessions of swim lessons this summer. They had a great time and both advanced two levels. Abigail can now swim across the entire pool without stopping and Carly can swim by herself several feet. I’ll try to figure out how to post some video clips of the girls swimming over the weekend.

This was Carly’s first year and she absolutely loved it – she constantly had a smile on her face.

Abigail also played t-ball this summer. This was our first experience with organized sports – I must say the games were a bit long for me, but Abigail really enjoyed learning how to play. Today Abigail is starting soccer. We had a hard time deciding whether we wanted to get involved in soccer and commit ourselves to weeknight practices and games every Saturday, but we let Abigail decide and she really wants to learn to play. Living in the northwest I guess it’s unrealistic to pray for dry weather on game day… oh, what we do for our kids!

Jason is five weeks old!

We sure are lovin’ this little guy. Jason starting smiling yesterday. I tried to get a picture, but I can’t quite coordinate making the ridiculous noises and faces while trying to focus a camera at the same time. Jason is so sweet and really has been a wonderful addition to our family.


We took him to the doctor today for his one month check-up, here are his stats:

Height: 23 inches (90th percentile)
Weight: 10 lbs. 7.6 oz. (50th percentile)
Head: 39 cm (50th percentile)

His pediatrician is very happy with his weight gain and expects Jason to jump into a higher range in the next few months. Jason is finally eating well enough that feeding him is no longer a full time job… hurray!

What’s the kicker?

Yesterday a friend, expecting her second child, asked me if it was more difficult adjusting to two or three children. I was stumped. When Carly was born Abigail had just turned two, but was a very independent, calm, and well-behaved two year old. I remember in those first few weeks I was able to place a bowl of cereal on the table before I went to bed and Abigail would get herself up, eat, and keep herself entertained while I stayed in bed. She was very well trained. Before Jason was born I thought that having three children would be the real kicker, but I haven’t felt that…yet. The girls play really well together and have been incredibly patient as I take care of Jason. Yesterday morning Abigail and Carly were up, showered, and fed before Jason and I even emerged from my room. Of course I understand we are still in the very early stages here and things could get real crazy very quickly, but for now I’m really enjoying three. Don’t get me wrong, things certainly have changed. It takes a whole lot more planning to get out of the house in time and I still haven’t found the time to do many of the things I would like to, but we’re getting by much better than I expected. So which is the kicker – going from 1-to-2 or from 2-to-3? I think it must come down to the personalities and stages of the older kids. I’m feeling very blessed and lucky to have three amazing children.

Jason's Blessing

Jason was blessed today at church.

My Mom bought Jason’s adorable little outfit.

Jason continues to be a content little guy. He’s starting to have more awake time where he loves to just look around and soak in everything. He is definitely getting bigger although I can’t say he’s improved yet with nursing.

My Mom headed back home this evening. It was hard to see her go. The ten days she spent with us seemed to fly by and we miss her already. She had special crafts for the girls to do each day and was a huge help in so many ways.

Update...

Jason is now 11 days old and is doing really well – overall he is a happy baby (although this boy can scream) and likes to sleep a lot. We’ve had some concerns this past week with his weight. It is normal for a newborn to lose between 5-10% of their birth weight in the first few days. When Jason lost over 14% and wasn’t gaining (he preferred to sleep rather than eat) we had to start making him eat every two hours. I’ll spare you all the details, but basically it’s an hour long process so by the time I’m done I’ve got about 45-60 minutes to rest until I have to wake him up and start the process all over again… it’s exhausting. Thankfully he was born a healthy 9 lbs. so even though he lost a lot of weight the smallest he got was 7 lbs. 11 oz. I had him weighed yesterday and he gained 4.6 oz. in only 2 days. A normal weight gain is 0.75 oz. per day so he is doing really well. I’m sure in a few weeks we’ll be looking a chubby little boy and won’t be able to believe we were ever concerned about him not eating.

Justin is back at work today after spending the last 4 days in Arizona attending his Grandfathers funeral. Although it wasn’t an ideal time for him to leave, it was great for him to be able to go down with his Mom and sister – all of his cousins were able to be there.

Jason and Grandma - I wouldn’t have survived without my Mom being here. She’s been a huge help. It’s like having a full-time nanny and personal assistant. I could definitely get used to this!

Jason and his sisters

The girls just love their new little brother. They can't get enough of him!

Pics of Jason

Announcing Jason Grant Fletcher

He is finally here! Born 7/27/07 at 12:00pm weighing 9 lbs (actually 8 lbs 15.8 ounces) and 19.5 inches long. The labor and delivery went well. He is healthy and so far he is content. We are so excited to have him in our family. Abigail and Carly will be coming soon to see their new little brother. They will both be great big sisters. More pictures to come.

Totally Exhausted

My sister Brenda and her family left this morning. It was hard for us to see them go. We had a great time and wish we could see them more than once or twice a year. Abigail and Carly had so much fun playing with them the last week and a half. This morning at breakfast Abigail said that it’s going to be SO boring without them here. Tonight we went out to Red Robin for dinner and saw just how much Abigail has been enjoying herself.

We’ve never had kids who have fallen asleep in odd places so for our 5 ½ year old to crash at dinner must mean she was totally exhausted.

Cousins!!

After living in Washington for over six years, we finally got my sister, Brenda, and her family up to visit this past week. Brenda has four kids - Dylan, Caylee, and Emily are almost eight and Fox is 5 ½. The kids have played non-stop ever since they got here. It’s been a lot of fun to have them around and not nearly as chaotic as you would think.

Seattle rarely sees temperatures in the 90’s, but last Wednesday we broke a record set in 1951 and reached 98 degrees – that’s hot, even if you aren’t eight months pregnant. To stay cool we spent the day with a bunch of friends at Newcastle Beach. We also went with the Gardners to the Locks, the Aquarium, and the Pacific Science Center.

While Brenda and Alan enjoyed a few days in the San Juan Islands, Justin and I took all six kids to the Woodland Park Zoo. I’m sure we must have looked like quite the spectacle (3 seven year olds, 2 five year olds, a 3 year old, and a baby on the way.)

We've really enjoyed their visit and hope it doesn't take another six years to get them up here again.

Our First Trip to the ER

We experienced our first trip to the emergency room yesterday while staying in Ocean Shores. Abigail was trying to hide from her cousin and caught her leg on a metal bed frame. The cut was deep enough that we knew a simple Band-Aid wasn’t going to do the trick. Oceans Shores is such a small town that their emergency care is at the local fire station. They cleaned it up the best they could and told us she would need to get stitches. They called the one doctor in town but his office was closed. So we were sent to the nearest hospital in Aberdeen, about 25 minutes away. To make a long story short – our hospital visit lasted over 2 ½ hours. Abigail was a trooper through the whole thing and choked back the tears. I think it was more traumatic and gory for me than her. The doctor told us she’s the best five year-old he’s ever treated. She’s walking around fine now, but she’s disappointed that she won’t be able to play in the water for the next 10 days.

Abigail in the ER - The firemen in Ocean Shores gave Abigail a balloon and this teddy bear to keep her company.

Ocean Shores

Justin was finally able to take a few days off this past week so we decided to join his family at Ocean Shores, WA. Ocean Shores is a small town along the Washington Coast – about 2 ½ hours away from our house. We left here on Thursday afternoon and came home this afternoon. The wind along the beach was outrageous and of course the ocean is way too cold to play in, but the girls still had a great time and enjoyed playing with their cousins.

(Carly, Abigail, Hallie, and Haden)

35 Weeks!! - "Peep" Show

Today marks my 35th week of pregnancy! My doctor is planning to induce me (I was induced with Abigail and Carly too) and has mentioned having the baby at the end of this month. I’m still leaning toward waiting til the first part of August, but we’ll see how willing I am to wait as it gets closer.

I’ve been asked to post a picture of me pregnant. I hesitate to post any belly shots, but seeing as how many of our friends and family, and all of my siblings, have never seen me pregnant I’ll let you witness the bulging of the belly (and everything else that can possibly get bigger). It reminds me of putting marshmallow peeps in the microwave and watching them puff up til they nearly explode.

20 Weeks

25 Weeks

30 Weeks

35 Weeks

I must add this is not a shirt I wear in public.

A Day with Dad!

The past several weeks Justin has been working a lot of overtime so there have been times when the girls haven’t seen him for days. Abigail and Carly are without a doubt “Daddy’s Girls” so it’s hard on them to not get to spend as much time with him as they are use to. On Saturday Justin finally had a day off. He took the girls to the Woodland Park Zoo while I went to my baby shower. Of course they had a fabulous time.

I also got to spend some time with Dad on Saturday when we went out on a date with two other couples. We had a coupon for 50% off our entire meal (appetizers and drinks included) at Chevys, my favorite Mexican restaurant. To earn the discount we had wear a sombrero, sing a Mexican song, and bring in several other Mexican themed items. Thanks to our fearless friends we earned our discount and had a great time. The girls had a fabulous time with a new babysitter… in fact Abigail thought that was even better than going to the zoo.

It’s a Boy! – My Baby Shower

Yesterday I was given a baby shower. My friend Tara was the host and Stephanie and Camille helped her put together a shower that makes Martha Stewart look ordinary… not a detail goes untouched. Everything was fabulous.. the food was great, chicken salad croissants, fruit kabobs, spinach dip, and “Oreo madness” for dessert… all favorites of mine. It was a fun afternoon and really made us get excited for our new little boy. When I showed Justin all of the gifts he commented that there was so much blue... quite a change from all the pink and purple we are use to.

Stephanie, Me, Tara, and Camille