Last Sunday was William's 5th birthday.  I can't believe he's that old!  How did that happen?!  He was so excited for his birthday this year.  He loved that he got a special sticker and crown at school.

He thought it was fun to help me make these lollipop cookies and bring them for snacktime.

But he was most excited that he got to have a birthday party.  I debated on whether or not to throw him one but eventually decided to do it.  He was allowed to invite 5 friends... because he was turning 5. We ended up with 4 friends plus William and James.  It was a perfect number.  (I don't think I could have handled many more!)  We went with a dinosaur theme.  It was lots of fun!  We started off with a game of pin-the-tooth-in-the-dinosaurs-mouth.  It was hilarious to see how funny they thought it was.  We then found some "dinosaur eggs" (balloons) and had to "hatch" them to find our baby dinosaurs.  This was by far the most entertaining for me and Rich--and the boys had a great time too!  This was William's favorite part of the party.  Once all the balloons were popped we moved on to "sharp-tooth, sharp-tooth, pterydactyl" (duck, duck, goose).  I think they would have been happy to play that for the rest of the party.  After the presents were opened and we had devoured our cake and icecream the plan was to pull out the playdough and googly eyes so that they could make their own dinosaurs until their parents came to get them.  It wasn't the hit that I thought it would be so we only did that for a few minutes before letting them run around and check out the new toys.  Most importantly, William had a fantastic time!

Since the party was on Saturday we got to party for the whole weekend.  William had a delicious breakfast of french toast bread pudding.  After church he opened more presents and opened even more when we got to Grandma and Grandpa's house.

William has decided to do a lot of things now that he is five.  He no longer needs to have his sippy cup at church or in the morning.  He can walk into school by himself (as long as I cross the crosswalk with him).  He even got up and sat on the stand for the primary program and said his part into the microphone (a huge step for our boy with major stage-fright).  We are so proud of the wonderful boy that he is!  Happy Birthday William!

An interview with William

William "helping" make his birthday cake.

I conducted this interview with William 2 weeks ago.  He answered all the questions without prompting... it was quite insightful.  

I am - a police

I am afraid of - wolves

I like - ladybugs

I like to eat - spaghetti

I don't like - coyotes

I know - I can be good

I want to be - a missionary

I like to watch - Scooby-doo

I like to go - on a bike ride

My hero is - Captain Moroni

I cry when - I trip, when my brother hurts me

Mommy gets mad when - I break stuff

Mommy is happy when - I do the silverware

What I want to be when I grow up - a firefighter

I can't wait for - Halloween

Something Mommy says to me - clean up

My favorite stuffed animal is - a zebra

My favorite place to go is - to the zoo

My Mommy and Daddy make me laugh by - tickling me

I know my mommy loves me because - she tickles me

I know my daddy loves me because - he tickles me

We took the boys to get their pictures taken last weekend.  This was one of the few decent ones we got.  I don't think that James smiled at all.  Little stinker.

Happy Veteran's Day

Happy Veteran's Day.  My dad wrote a piece for their local paper.  I liked it so I thought I'd share with you all:

Defend the Constitution from within
By BRENT FISHER

My father, Col. James B. Fisher, a veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars and a career U.S. Army soldier, passed away in August 2008.

I have been reflecting on his service and the oath that all soldiers take upon themselves: "... I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic...I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same...."

On occasion, my father and I talked about Korea and Vietnam. He was more willing than some soldiers to talk about his wartime experience.

His service included many harrowing acts of heroism for which he was decorated six times. He didn't make a big deal about them because it was his job.

In Vietnam, he served as the commander of a medical evacuation helicopter detachment. The radio call sign for this type of unit was the word "Dustoff."

Dustoff units became legendary for their saving service, even flying into hostile territory in the midst of battle to save soldiers sometimes without helicopter gunships to protect them. That call sign, "Dustoff," took on additional meaning when the DUSTOFF Association was created and it became an acronym for "Dedicated Unhesitating Service To Our Fighting Forces."

During the Vietnam War, my father told me, "Vietnam is a different kind of war. The battle lines are blurred with the Viet Cong roaming freely in 'safe' areas. You never really feel safe in Vietnam. You never really know who are your friends and who are your enemies." This seems to be a common theme with foreign wars nowadays. In some respects, it describes what seems to be happening in our own country.

When I took my own oath of office as a U.S. Army officer, I found it interesting that the oath of a soldier is to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States." It is not the natural resources or land that is important. It is the principles established in the U.S. Constitution that make this unique country the greatest in the history of the world. The oath is not to the president or to an organization but to a Constitution that created a government "of the people, by the people and for the people."

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas once reminded us that because the judiciary is by design the "least dangerous" of the three branches of government, it is not "constrained or hobbled" like the legislative and executive branches.

I suppose if veterans from past eras returned to see the state of the country they served and the state of our federal and state constitutions, they might wonder what happened while they were defending the Constitution from our foreign enemies.

Certainly, it would appear to them that in the past 40 years, the judiciary has acted outside its boundaries.

Rather than being the "least dangerous" branch they, the defenders of the Constitution, may see that without being "constrained or hobbled," the judicial branch has in many respects become the most dangerous to the principles established in the U.S. Constitution by the Founders.

On Veterans Day, in memoriam of U.S. veterans of all eras, may we, the citizens of the United States of America, commit to dedicated unhesitating service to our fighting forces by defending the Constitution of the United States from within.Brent Fisher is a resident of Corona.

King James

My Dad often reminds us that we have "William the Conqueror," "King James," and "Alexander the Great." (I guess you could say we have "Richard the Lionhearted" as well!) James is full of personality. I don't even know where to begin. It's been interesting to watch him as William has started school. He loves to play by himself and it's fun to watch him act out scenarios with his super heroes. He will tell you which ones are the bad guys and which are good--"Batman good." "Joker bad." Lately he has been fascinated with Star Wars and will tell you about those characters too--"Too-ba-ba {Chewbacca} good. Da Bay-eh {Darth Vader} bad." Sometimes he likes to be silly and mix things up--"Spiderman bad." This drives William crazy.

James is a great brother. He loves doing whatever his big brother is doing. If William does it chances are great that James will want to do it as well. William and James play together so nicely (most of the time). James is also a wonderful babysitter. I often find him taking care of Alexander and he is always concerned when he hears his baby brother crying. He loves to climb in the crib to help Alex out. Sometimes he'll play with him, give him lots of toys, or just lie down with him and say, "It's okay Alexander." So sweet. (Of course, if I'm going to be honest then I have to add that he takes toys away from Alex now too.)

James is my big helper. He loves having a "job" like his big brother. He helps me get new diapers, throw away dirty ones, empty the silverware, do laundry, and today he even put his shoes away without being asked!

As a middle child he has learned out to get our attention. If he wants something done he grabs your hand and takes you to where he needs you to be. Sometimes he'll even grab my face so that I have to look at him while he's talking. He's also very determined and won't let up until you understand what he is trying to tell you.

James also loves to dress up. It doesn't matter what it is, he wants to wear it!

When James is sad he always asks for his dad. It seems that once a day we have to call Rich on the phone to calm James down. He loves his dad. (It's especially nice at night when he wakes up Rich instead of me!)

James is starting to enjoy doing crafts more (especially if William's doing them). He loves talking on the phone--although I'm sure that whoever is on the other line can't understand a word he's saying. And he's become a big builder... he loves to stack blocks or whatever else he can find.

James makes the silliest faces. I've never seen a kid with so many expressions as James has.... and I swear I've even seen him roll his eyes at something I've said! The best face I've seen him make was on Sunday when he popped a cherry tomato into his mouth--I know exactly how he felt.

We are so glad that this sweet, silly boy is a part of our family. Life wouldn't be the same without him--and certainly less entertaining.