Happy Birthday Justin!

Yesterday was Justin’s birthday and to celebrate he decided he wanted to take the girls bowling. We haven’t been bowling together since 1999 so I was excited. We kept it a surprise from the girls and they were thrilled when we arrived at the bowling alley. The alley we went to was fabulous. It was clean, family-friendly, highly technically advanced and just all around awesome… nothing like any other bowling alley I’ve been to. One of the coolest things was that the bumpers would automatically come up whenever it was the girls turn.

So how did we all do? It was looking like I was going to get beaten by my three year-old. Especially after she got a strike in the eighth frame! Sadly none of us were even watching her when she got it. After Carly’s strike I found my groove and bowled a strike in the eighth and last frame, that last strike saved my ego and put me in second place behind Justin. Final Stats: Justin – 149, Holly – 86, Carly – 67, Abigail – 64. We had a great time and decided we definitely need to go bowling more often!

(Look at that form! and the big screen TV's)

(With all that power you'd think her ball would be cruising down the lane, not so)

(Birthday Boy and his little man)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Go Cougs!!! (They need all the help they can get)

My dad and brother-in-law, Darin, made the long arduous trip over to Pullman (and back, 5 hours each way) on Saturday for the WSU-OSU football game. My dad loves the Cougars but I have to remind him often that the real Cougars are blue. He has yet to catch that vision. My dad graduated from WSU and is always talking about how great the university is and how the grandkids will love going to school there. So to win them over to his side he brought home a special treat, besides the Cougar cheese. Abigail, Hallie, Carly, and Haden got Cougar t-shirts. Carly was so excited that she wanted to wear it to bed. Our girls love surprises like this and think Grandpa is the best!


As for the game, the Cougars lost 52-17 on a rain-soaked soggy windy day. But hey, for once, the grandkids are wearing my dad's color of choice. So maybe it was worth the long drive to see your team get whomped on in terrible weather. Always a positive side of things, right?

Abigail & Jason

I’ve been trying to get a video clip of Jason laughing; his giggle is adorable and will definitely make you smile. But every time he sees the camera he gets camera shy and stops laughing. I haven’t given up hope and will keep trying. In the meantime here’s a fun clip of Abigail and Jason. He loves his sisters and his sisters love to be goofy for him.

I need your help!

Before I begin let me remind you of my serious inability to make decisions... So we're going to get some outdoor pictures taken of the kids and family. I went shopping yesterday trying to find coordinating clothing for 5 people. Not an easy task. Idealy I would love to have us all in jeans with nice sweaters all in the same color group. I found out that is impossible. Justin is too tall to shop in normal stores and Jason is still so tiny. The only sweaters I could find in similar color for the girls was bright red, sure it fits the season, but I'm a little worried that having all 3 girls in red will be too much. The guys are a even bigger problem. Below are what few options I can come up with. Will any of them work???

(Girls in red sweaters, Boys in Brown)

(Red, White and Blue ... Christmas in July?)

(Girls in red sweaters, Jason black and white jailbird, Justin in charcoal)

(Girls red sweaters, Jason brown/tan raindeer, Justin brown sweater)

A little clarification…

So the other day one of our friends, after reading my post about our trip to Arizona, told Justin he thought I was ripping on Arizona. Let me clarify… We had a great time in Arizona. The purpose was to visit Justin’s family and spend some time swimming in the nice weather. We enjoyed both.

When we were visiting with my childhood friend we asked her what there is in Arizona that would draw visitors. She said golf and shopping. We don’t golf, but they do have some fabulous shopping areas there. I also think Phoenix has a lot more yummy restaurants than Seattle. Utah is also a great place for good food.

The weather was perfect for swimming. If it was any cooler than we would have gotten cold playing the water. I’ll be the first to admit I HATE being hot. Swimming in Phoenix in October… perfect. Swimming in Phoenix in July… not so perfect.

I honestly had a great time. Would I want to live there? No, but I’m sure a lot of people would say they would never want to live in Seattle… a place I have really grown to love. So I hope I have dug my way out of my Phoenix bashing hole. A huge thank you to everyone that made our stay so much fun!

I also mentioned that the traffic in Phoenix was way better than here, right?

Moments like this

This week has been crazy. I’ve had so much I need to catch up with after our vacation. My house is still a disaster zone, but I’ve gotten all the suitcases unpacked and the laundry is finally done. I’ve realized I’ve spent most the days getting my kids situated so I can do what I want or need to get done. The girls are very self-entertaining so they are pretty easy. Of course there are times they ask me to do something with them, but I’m really good at distracting them by getting them involved in something else. I can’t tell you how often I say “in a minute”, hoping they forget I’ve implied I would see to their desires. Jason is a little harder to ignore since he does rely solely on me for all of his needs. But after feeding and changing him he usually ends up right back in his bouncy chair or car seat until my services are required again. Wednesday, for a small moment, things were a little different. Jason had just fallen asleep in his crib when he spit up. I cleaned him up and laid him back down. He’s been sleeping in a bassinet in my room so his crib is still quite foreign for him so he started to fuss again. I decided to spend a few extra minutes and rock him to sleep. This is when I had my lightbulb moment and while holding my sweet little boy realized just how precious these moments with my kids can be. My little boy isn’t so little anymore. Soon he won’t want to cuddle up with his Mom. I stayed in that rocking chair for a long time and we ended up being late for the Halloween activity at the church. Being late would usually drive me nuts, but not this time. This moment was worth it.

Halloween

This was the first year we’ve bought Abigail a Halloween costume. When she was little we borrowed costumes and the past couple years she has been completely content just dressing up in one of our Princess dresses. This year, with a lot of encouragement from Justin, Abigail moved away from the whole Princess theme and decided to be a witch. The costume we bought was actually a size 8-10 so I had to pin it up quite a bit so it wouldn’t drag on the ground. I think we’ll put this one way for a few years til it actually fits better.


Carly wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to be. She expressed an interest in being a chicken, a bunny, and a fairy. Remembering that Abigail’s friend Linsey was a fairy last year made the decision a breeze. (Thanks for letting us borrow it Camille). I think her favorite part of dressing up for Halloween was when I put a little lipgloss on her. What a cutie!

As mentioned earlier, Jason was a pumpkin. Very fitting because I often call him my little pumkin’. Jason stayed at home with Justin while the girls and I went trick-or-treating around the block. The girls (and as a result, I) scored… I love Halloween!

Worth every cent!

I bought this pumpkin costume last year before I even knew if we were having a boy or girl. For only 49 cents who could resist? Jason looked absolutely adorable!

King of Free Stuff

Anyone who knows me knows that I love free stuff. At BYU I could attend almost any sporting event and catch something flying through the air like a football or shirt or gift certificate or whatever. Maybe it was my long arms or maybe just my desire to "get a good deal" which for me means spending nothing at all if possible to get something cool and almost anything free is cool. The girls love getting gifts I bring home for them from work (T-Mobile branded stuff). In fact one of their favorite gifts that I gave them was a wooden box with a T-Mobile brand on it that was originally filled with a bag of nuts but which now keeps the girls' jewelry. Anyways, to my point, attending the COST (Council on State Taxation) conference vendor fair on Thursday night in Phoenix really paid off! On my chair at work this morning was an Apple iPod Touch from a tax software vendor Corptax. Pretty sweet! I signed up literally on my way out the door of the reception as Holly and the kids were waiting to pick me up. Now to figure out how to use it….

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!