Green Means Go, People!

Miss Waverly and I were driving up Signal Butte Rd (heading north) and as I was approaching the intersection at Guadalupe Road, I noticed that the traffic lights were functioning. These are brand new, and this intersection has been a 4-way stop until now. Well the light was green--and we all know what that means--so I just kept going on my merry way. Well right before I actually cross the intersection I hear a long honk and then the car facing west jets across RIGHT in front of me---I NEARLY smashed into the side of them, but managed to slam on my brakes in time.

Clearly the person thought this was STILL a 4- way stop. So they were waiting for me to stop, and when they saw I wasn't, they proceeded with the honk, the jet, and a full blown running of a red light!

My question is this... I would have slammed into them, but they were running the red light---so they would be at fault, right??????

Either way, EVEN if it was still a 4-way stop, that was some pretty irrational behaviour.

Come on, where is your festive Halloween '4-way stop' spirit? Ü

Bunko Babes

You should be jealous! This is ONE of the fun group of ladies that I get to hang out with on certain Thursday nights! In fact, between my bunko and my book club (and vicarious girls nights out associated with them) I am plum just running OUT of Thursday nights. Ü

Last Thursday the memo said to come dressed as a WITCH---I know a big stretch for myself. We ranged from Plain Jane Witch, Referee Witch, Tutu Witch, Ensemble-ly Challenged Witch, Briley "Bag" Witch, to a Cougar Witch!

And yes we actually did roll some dice!



Thank you Shelby for posting this picture so I could steal it! Ü

Snowflake/Taylor Harvest Fest

So I hear that there is a Harvest Fest in Snowflake on October 10th (the Saturday before Fall Break). We decide to head up with our dear friends the Stewarts! When we pulled up to the chamber of commerce we were a little frightened. There were like 8 booths with various jewelry and/0r food booths and that was IT. I was sick to my stomach that I had made everyone come all that way for nothing. But then we saw a little tractor ride that said it would take you the the Willis Pumpkin Patch for a dollor---so we all piled on.



We started with the corn maze and it was pretty tough! But we managed to get all six punches on our cards and turned them in for a tootsie pop (valued at $6! Ü)

We jumped back onto the tractor and it took us to the actual pumpkin patch. There we got to sling shot pieces of corn at a scarecrow in the field for 25 cents a shot---totally worth it.



We also got to take a ride around the farm in these cute little barrels. They were attached to the back of a quad. I would love to get these for the Fischbeck Cabin.


Notice that everybody still has their well earned tootsie pops...

For a while it looked like Delainee just wasn't having a good time...


but after my initial worry it all turned out pretty good.

Although the Indian Fry Bread for lunch was a little disappointing! Ü

Cool Pix

This was back during our kitchen remodel. While we had the painters over, we decided to put a fresh coat of paint on the pantry as well.

Soooo, everything came out and the kids decided to move in!

Kinda reminds me of the Seinfeld when Kramer was sleeping people in his chest of drawers. Ü

Court was a good sport and got in there for me.

He will probably kill me for posting this.

The Proof

These indeed are the proof that these here Fischbeck's actually made it to our ward campout. It is hard to tell by the pictures, I know, but yes indeed we went and FROZE our little tushies off. Thank goodness it was only one night, becuz that is ALL this city girl could handle. We left right after school on Friday and got their just with enough light left to set up our tent and begin to congregate around the fire.

Here is Delainee on the tire swing after breakfast.


And here is little miss trouble, wandering around on the fire wood pile!


I fought HARD, to not have to go to this thing, but as usual, the real boss at this house won. And I am glad that he did, cuz the kids did have fun.

Lanee's Legacy

After the craziness that was the birth of my first child Delainee, I was sent to a group of perinatologists for all subsequent pregnancies---as I was high risk and needed to be monitored closely. So during my pregnancy with Laetner I was at that office ALOT. During one of my visits I found my cousin Becky waiting in the waiting room with me and so we of course began chatting. Becky and her husband Tommy were pregnant with a little girl, but the probability of their daughter living for very long was extremely low. Their daughter was diagnosed with a condition called Dandy-Walker Cyst. I never have seen someone so grounded and full of faith as Becky was. Our appointments actually coincided many times and on one of these visits Becky told me that ever since I named my little girl Delainee that she had always loved that name and would I mind if she named this baby the same. I was so honored.

The doctors believed that the Norris’ baby would deteriorate and pass away during pregnancy, but much to their surprise DeLanee developed until 28 weeks gestation when she was delivered and lived for three hours. As you can imagine, these 3 hours was precious time that they spent as a family with their daughter taking pictures, bathing, dressing and holding her until she passed away in their arms. I actually was able to visit them in the hospital during this time. And was able to attend her sweet funeral.

Upon DeLanee's passing, the nurses brought the Norris family a box to put their daughter’s belongings in to take home with them. Because DeLanee was born in January the nurses were able to find a leftover Christmas box. That Christmas box became extremely special to the Norris family and they clung to it and the contents inside that held their daughter’s precious belongings as they left the hospital without their baby. It was because of this box that the inspiration for Lanee’s Legacy began. . .

Initially Becky's mission was to create boxes to give to families dealing with the death of a newborn just like Delanee. But Becky is now working with Banner HealthCare to set up a foundation in DeLanee's behalf and could use any support possible. There is pancake breakfast this Saturday, all sorts of give aways, or you can just donate. So please click on the pink Lanee's Legacy button or here http://laneeslegacy.blogspot.com/ to learn more.

Exciting News

Some very exciting news INDEED in the Fischbeck Family. Thursday evening I received a phone call from my MIL requesting the gathering of all the family at her house @ 7:00 p.m. sharp. It would appear that the long awaited mission call had finally come! We went around the circle and had everyone give a guess of where we thought they would be going (we even hard Mark in Utah on the speaker phone.) Mama Maurio had not been shy about her really wanting to go Spanish speaking, so I wagered Spanish speaking Tonga. Delainee guessed New York (girl after my own heart) and Laetner, well Laetner had no idea why we were at grandmas house. Before the official opening, the water works on Mama Maurio began, so I figured we would be in trouble. Turns out one of the family DID guess the correct place, and as soon as grandpa read off the 'Chile, Concepcion Mission' an arm pump quickly followed by a "YES!" escaped from Mama Maurio's lips. They report January 11th---get em thru the holidays and send them on their way. Ü

I do think that it was somewhat suspicious that two days later, a new temple was announced for Concepcion, Chile.

Is grandpa allowed to work on his mission????

I was glad that the kids got to see them open their call. Delainee immediately latched on to grandma and wouldn't let go---turns out she thought they would be leaving ASAP. So it was a nice car ride home to talk about missions, and how long they would be gone, when they leave, that sort of thing. She definitely understood, and recalled Aunt Marissa going on a mission. Laetner will probably have no idea they left until they come back!

Esta aqui es Hermano y Hermana Fischbeck...

Can still see those tears of joy in her eyes!

Ode to the House Whisperer

For the past 6 weeks my house---more specifically me KITCHEN---has been in quite a disarray. You probably noticed the big shipment of boxes in the background of our super boots dress up---that was all in preparation for our kitchen MAKEOVER.

We have been REALLY needing some more storage space, and everytime I talked to Court about getting new cupboards he would say that this just wasn't the best time for that. Sometimes he would pretend to be budging a little bit, and I actually went and talked with some cabinet guys on design and what it would cost to redo our kitchen, but the price tag was a little too much to swallow (and it was, I can admit that). Well Court has a friend name Jim (who regularly refers to himself in the 3rd person as 'Jimmy'---just like Seinfeld) who really is a Jack of all trades. He is really good at what he does, but he doesn't necesarily go into a project with all the details worked out, and so his wife has dubbed him the 'house whisperer' and it really does fit. He starts the project and lets the HOUSE tell him what needs to be done. Ü And along the way there are ALL sorts of different ideas coming out of the house whisperer as to what could be done or what SHOULD be done--in Jimmy's perfect world of course. I am so glad that he had the vision to take what my basic wants were, and come up with a cost effective solution that looks FANTASTIC. (Didn't hurt that along with his mad skills, he has a family painting business to boot!)

So without further ado, here are the results of the house whisperers hard work (along with some of Court's help, Court's money, and some very nice workers)

Brand new cabinets? Who needs them! Use what you got and then add some in to be able to fill up the ENTIRE length of the kitchen. Along the way, switch where the dishwasher sits. Don't get me wrong it wasn't as easy as just filling in the blanks. There were two cabinets total that actually stayed in the same place (happens to be the upper AND the lower to the left of the microwave)

My island has completely new cupboards---that are ALL big drawers...I LOVE THEM. But the cupboards that were on the island are now being used in other part of my kitchen. VERY COST EFFECTIVE.

While we were at it the house whispered that we should add some variety to those uppers and get some varying heights....much more interesting.

Cabinets Before....

That big white splotch on the wall USED to be window. But Court's brother Dan filled that in for us---no problem.

Cabinets After...



Do you also notice the trim on both the top and the bottom of the cabinets? You will be able to see that once the stain hits it.

But that is not all, no that is not all. First came the white paint. And that day was a NIGHTMARE. There was a huge plastic scrim literally enclosing my kitchen off from the rest of the house while everything got sprayed. My goodness the FUMES were insane. You could SEE them (the fumes) piping out a small opening and out my back door. I apologize to all of my Let's Play Music classes that happened during this week of painting, becuz it was pretty stinky in here. An especially heartfelt apology goes out to the three piano students who were actually in my house DURING the painting. After the 2nd lesson, NONE of us could breathe any more, and we had to pack up and go to their house just to finish for the day.


This was a very NON-FUNCTIONING kitchen. Everything was in my living room, and Court's office, and the garage---ay carumba! The funny thing was that every single day they would put my kitchen back together with such care so that I wouldn't go ape crazy on them or something. So countertops were placed back on top, tables and chairs were put back in place, I think they even managed to put my clutter back exactly in the same place. Ü
After the white coat came the staining process. They would wipe this dark, dark stain on my cupboards and then immediately wipe it off. It turned the white into an antique white, and every single groove suddenly popped out with character...

The wainscotting on my island ESPECIALLY took a liking to the staining process.

Throughout the process we slowly began replacing the appliances as well---that was part of the deal of reusing our existing cabinets was that the money we saved could go towards stainless appliances. Things were really starting to look snazzy, but we were missing that final element of the countertops to finish it all off. Finally on Tuesday the house whisperer installed those as well---he really did EVERYTHING. Including the new undermount stainless sink and faucet!

The FINAL product...


and here you can see those mouldings a little better...


So HUGE shout outs to Jim Stewart, Stewart Painting, Manny (a.k.a 'Handy Manny), and yes even Courtney. I have never felt so organized in my ENTIRE life---I actually have a few cupboards that STILL do not have anything in them--- Thanks boys!

(...and thank you to Jenny Stewart for lending her husband to us for the last month or so! Many a Saturday and some Monday evenings as well, were spent at our house to help get this thing done and we really appreciate it)

Bruiser

She fell off the cupboard---OFF THE CUPBOARD! I was negligent enough to leave the container of pink nesquik on the counter. Remember the old days when you would eat straight kool-aid??? She is the same way.

Well it must have fallen off the counter as she was trying to break into it and after she went. I swear she landed on her head first , but after the initial cry she didn't seem to care anymore. The rest of the day we were stuck with this huge pink circle...

Friday Night Fun

Court is seriously the best daddy on the planet. He has so much more patience then I do. Friday night he rounded up the kiddies to help him make his famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. With both milk chocolate chips and an actual Hershey bar grated into the batter, you know it is yummy! Plus, with the oatmeal it is TOTALLY healthy for you right? Ü

Daddy makes sure everyone has a chance to pour certain ingredients in, or be the one to turn the bosch on to mix in the latest ingredient. Their were a few temper tantrums, but the end product was so worth it.





Thanks Daddy!