We Miss You, Papa!

Jason's father (Papa) passed away three years ago today. And although this day is always an umwelcomed reminder of what we've lost, we decided that this year we wanted to fill a normally sad afternoon with some good ol' family time cooking up some yummy to the tummy 'No Bake Cookies'. What are 'No Bake Cookies', you might ask? Well they are some super good, super easy to make cookies that Gigi used to make us growing up and as luck would have it, they were also some of Papa's all time favorites. Even when he was feeling his worst, he was usually able to stomach some of this ooey, gooey goodness. I'm sure you can see why we felt it was only fitting to officially change the name to 'Papa's No Bake Cookies.' It turned out to be a great afternoon and I think Papa would have been pleased with our day of remembering, no baking, and chocolate covered smiles.

Papa's No Bake Cookies

1/4 cup cocoa 1 tsp. vanilla
2 cup sugar 1/2 cup peanut butter
1 stick butter 3 cups quick oats
1/2 cup milk 1 pinch salt

Combine cocoa, sugar, butter, and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly...boil 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients after removing from heat. Mix quickly and drop from spoon onto wax paper.

At Long Last...Orange Slices!

Jack's first soccer game was this past Saturday! We were all very excited and ready...we had been chanting 'Go, Red Hawks, Go' at dinner all week, we had successfully gotten it through to Jack that although everyone has a ball at practice there is only one ball at the game, and I had happily bought my bag of oranges for my very first batch of orange slices! So even though we were feeling game day prepared, it really wouldn't be our style (or any fun) to not have at least a few hiccups on the big day. First of all, our star player had been under the weather all week and unfortunately, did not wake up on the right side of the bed. Second of all, somewhere along the way Coach decided we were no longer the red and white team but just the red team. And third of all, due to this second hiccup we were set up on the wrong field. Luckily, Coach Red Hawk kept his wits about him and we were able to get everything figured out lickity split. : ) With it all smoothed over, we took to the field and then it was just about some serious soccer! Things started off a bit shaky, but somehow...someway...possibly because Jason was the only one keeping score...WE WON!! We had so much fun cheering the team on and even though poor Jackie only had enough umph in him for about 10 minutes of playtime, he has been telling us ever since that it was the best soccer game EVER! Hopefully, the little guy will have a clean bill of health by next week and really be able to turn up the soccer heat! And if not, oh well. He sure looks cute in his uniform and that is all that really matters, right? : )

A couple of die hard fans

Jack breaks it down for Jason (in the wrong uniform)

Love that smile

Game time!

Lighthearted and fancy free!

Now down to business...

Gettin' after it!

Love this picture

Jack and Chase taking things way too seriously (as always)

Planning out his next move? Nah...

Sideline fun with momma

What u got in the box, Bear?

Oh...a Jack in the Box! hehe!

The Fishers Take to the Field!

Jack is finally old enough to play soccer!! We have imagined this day and have pictured our sweaty headed, red faced little boy on some sort of field for a long, long time. We are so excited about this new rite of passage that Jason even volunteered to be the head coach of this winning team! Shocking, I know! : ) We have already had a great time picking out equipment and making some serious preadsheets, but yesterday our soccer season hit the big time. Yep...our first team practice! We were all a little nervous considering this is definitely our first rodeo, but after watching my boys in action, I have to say, they're a couple of naturals! Sure, Jack had to take a banana break 3 minutes into the practice. Sure, his cleats came off no less than three times. And sure, he spent a lot of time caught in the net of the goal. And yes, he had to check the storm drain for alligators more than a few times. But I'm telling you, that boy can dribble like a champ and the smile he had plastered on that little red face of his was just exactly how I had always imagined it.


What a stud!

Keeping his eye on the prize!

No hands, Bear Bear!

Skills to pay the bills!

Hayes sporting his own set of soccer socks and "soccer shoes." He insisted on wearing the shoes all afternoon today. He's quite the dedicated little booger...

Coach Fisher going to the group for 'team name' suggestions. The group came up with "Stacy" and "Chase." Jason made an executive decision and went with the "Red Hawks."

Nothin' like a little soccer with a good buddy.

While the older boys mixed business with pleasure, Hayes remained focused.

Taking some time to strategize : ) Go, Red Hawks, Go!

That's Amore!

I am at least the second person in line to copycat this pizza party idea, but I figured the brains behind it wouldn't mind too much because you know what they say...imitation is the greatest compliment! : ) Since we were just getting our feet wet, we decided it was probably best to keep things kind of simple and just have Gigi and Grandad over as our 'pizza party' guinea pigs. Little did we know that Grandad would have such sophisticated topping choices! I mean, pineapple, Grandad? Come on! Thankfully, we were able to reign him in (with only some mild chiding) and then it was smooth sailing from there. Well...it was smooth sailing despite the line drive to the full wine glasses, the upside down pizza on the oven door, the boys' unhealthy obsession with cheese, and the heated arguments about pepperoni placement. And no, it was not the boys who were arguing. : ) We all had a great time and surprisingly, our pizza pies actually turned out darn good. I definitely see a pizza party #2 in our future!

The Schoolhouse Blues

So just so we're clear...this whole being pregnant thing on the first day of school thing really STINKS! Not only have the boys been basket cases, but this chubby mama has been just as bad if not worse. Today was Bears turn to start school and today was also the day I found myself sitting on a toilet at Target balling my eyes out. Go ahead and picture it, but I can promise you that it was way more pitiful than anything you are imagining. I knew in my gut that today was going to be bad. Hayes has been telling me for weeks that he is not a big fan of school and that he would rather just "stay with mama." And well, I can't say that I blame him too much...he did witness firsthand the mayhem of Jack's first day back and we do have a really great time at Michael's while Jack is schooling it up. I mean, who would want to miss out on that? : ) Not to mention the fact that he has never stayed with anyone other than family members in his long two years. Even so there was a small part of me that held out the hope that Hayes would surprise me. That maybe he would get so entranced by the fire trucks, baby dolls,and trains that he wouldn't even notice if I left. Unfortunately, this was not to be. Our poor little Bear cried and cried when I left. His teachers said he refused to eat his snack, refused to play, refused to eat his lunch, and when I went to pick him up he was just laying on the floor with his back to the door, sadly sucking his thumb. Go ahead and picture it, but I can promise you that it was way more heartbreaking than anything you are imagining. I couldn't grab my sweet little boy up fast enough and we have pretty much been attached at the hip ever since. I'm not all that confident that we're going to be able to cut this cord by next Wednesday, but the two of us have decided to buck up and give it another go. Lucky for me once Jack got the details about Bears rotten day, he took it upon himself to give him quite the pep talk over dinner. The gist of his extremely inspirational talk went something like this..."Bear, you play with the babies and then mommy picks you up." And Bears response? "Otay."

Now why didn't I think of that?

So Long Summer & Hello Fall!

Jason was away on his annual Labor Day trip with the guys this past weekend and that means one thing is for sure...the boys and I are Gigi and Grandad's bound! We had a great weekend full of all the things that make life good...shopping, swimming, and swinging just to name a few of them. Of course, I think we all wish there was a little more sleeping on that list but let's just choose to stay positive okay? : ) So thanks again for ringing in the fall with us, Gigi and Dad-Dad! I know we turn your lives upside down and inside out, but the boys (and mommy) sure do love you and are so thankful for the time we get to spend with you!