Fourth of July in Coeur d'Alene

Take a peak at our adventures over the Fourth of July.... So much FUN!!!


Lil loved playing on the beach--especially throwing rocks into the water.

Lilly and Grandma Nadine---swinging away on the beach.

The water in the lake was a bit cooler than Lilly was accustomed to, but she didn't want anyone to try and stop her from jumping in. Shane got in the water with her on a very little inner tube. I don't know exactly how they managed to balance on that thing. Lil wasn't a big fan at first, but warmed up to the idea quickly.

Nana and Papa Anderson took Lilly on a paddle boat ride. She was so tired and actually almost fell asleep on the boat.

More of our little paddlers.

We had so much fun on the Fourth of July! I told Shane I wanted to go fishing on the dock. We started fishing around sundown and I really didn't expect to catch anything. My first cast I catch about a 10 inch white fish. (I'm told that's some sort of trout.) I was so excited I yelled up to everyone at the cabin to let them know I caught something and to run for the camera to snap a picture. Right as Luanne was about to take a picture of me with my treasured fish, the fish jumped off my hook and went right back into the water. It was so ironic and so hilarious. Boy was I proud of it though. Shane caught this little guy after me. I'm going to be doing some more fishing soon.

After we fished, Luanne, Kerry, Shane and I roasted marshmallows and made s'mores on the beach. Yummy in my tummy! Later we rode out into the water on Papa's boat and watched the fireworks. It was quite magical. The full moon was gorgeous.

Here's a photo of our little ice cream lover. Papa took us on a boat ride across the lake to Harrison so we could go to a little ice cream shop and Lil got to play at the playground for a bit.

What a wonderful visit...I'm still thinking about it.

Weekend at Nana's

We went to the Tri-Cities this weekend to enjoy some good times with Nana and Papa Anderson. Luanne's best friend from college, Carla, came into town from Utah so we got to see her too. We loved every minute!

Right when we got to Nana's she had some home cookin' all prepared for us---straight from KFC! It hit the spot. Then we all headed out to Cool Desert Nights on George Washington Way in Richland. There were tons of people and lots of old cars. My favorite part was my cookie dough blizzard from DQ. What a perfect way to end a beautiful summer evening. I snapped this picture of Lil and Addisyn on the lawn. Such cute little cousins.

On Saturday morning Shane went golfing with his parents and Carla. They had a wonderful time and invited Lilly and I to join them for lunch at Chapala Express, our favorite Mexican restaurant. After our yummy lunch, we picked up Addy and we all went swimming at the Horn Rapids Pool. Nana was definitely the favorite to playmate. Here they are singing ring around the rosies.

They have the coolest little kids pool complete with a fountain.

Lilly's startled reaction to the fountain. I love the look on her face here. I just see pure joy in both Luanne and Lil's faces.

Luanne and Carla---best friends for life. Carla actually played a HUGE part in Luanne's decision to join the LDS church. That inspired choice has changed so many lives including my own. Thank you Carla!

A moment with Mommy and baby sister in my tummy. Boy am I white---especially up to my little Indian brown daughter.

These girls are so cute together.

Doesn't get sweeter than that! Cousin Love!!!

This morning we woke up to Nana and Papa fixing us a yummy, hot breakfast. Lilly insisted on helping mix the eggs. Addisyn wanted a turn as well. Lilly wasn't too fond of giving up her whisk.

Nana gave the girls a bath this morning. She made them into unicorns. Again, I love the faces...

I snapped these pictures of Lil on Saturday morning. I love my little girl.

I asked Lilly if we should put on her blue outfit and she said oh yes, she wanted to wear her blue elephant.

I can't forget to mention that I got to go and watch my sister-in-law, Ariel, dance at a Fever arena football game on Saturday evening. It was so fun to watch her in action. She is such a beautiful girl and talented dancer. The game was tons of fun to watch too because it was so fast paced. I was very surprised how much I got into it. Carla actually owned an arena football team at one point in her life so it was interesting to sit by her and hear all of her insights.

Until next time---what a fun weekend that I won't soon forget!

A Fall Craving for a Pregnant Woman

I was putting Lilly to bed the other night and had this overcoming craving for pumpkin pie of all things--hit me. Pumpkin pie in the middle of summer!? Only one problem...I don't do crust. I've tried and I've come to the conclusion that I just don't have the right tools to make it. A non-stick pie circle would certainly help. The last time I made crust, Shane tried to help me get it unstuck from the counter with a spatula. So, I did a bit of searching online and found a recipe for crust that you just roll in a ball, lay in your pie plate and mold and stretch with your fingers. I was a bit skeptical, but it turned out tasting really good. I wanted to share the super-easy recipe with you all because I figured there just might be crust-challenged people out there just like me.

Pat-in-the-Pan Pastry

1 1/3 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons ice cold water

And there it is folks! Stretch it out in your pie plate and then fill with your favorite pie filling. Last night I decided to try my creation and realized we didn't have any whipped cream or ice cream. I still had a small sliver, but today Shane is picking up some very yummy and essential vanilla bean ice cream to adorn the top.

A New Bike for A Big Girl

We told Lilly that if she could do really well on the big potty we would buy her a new bike. Well the incentive seemed to work and we were off to Walmart to buy this little beauty.


A Dora Bike with a Dora helmet and knee pads--What more could a little girl ask for? She isn't into pedaling yet, but she'll get there. Now she is just content to scoot around the complex pushing the musical buttons and telling everyone about her new bike. She is growing up so fast and is such a little joy.

Too Much Kung Fu Panda

We're over tending kids this morning and I asked Lilly to do something. She got some major attitude and said...

You're Not My Master!!

Yes, we have recently introduced her to the movie, Kung Fu Panda. I couldn't help, but smile and say...

Um, yes, I am your master and your mommy!

Potty training is going better and we've decided to give it another week. Lilly can actually tell us when she needs to go most of the time and has definitely learned some bladder control. This whole week has been a bit frustrating since I haven't been able to leave the house much, but I'm hoping with some serious consistency and patience things will continue to improve. I've been walking around everywhere with a timer hooked to my shorts so I can remember to get Lil to the bathroom. It's a pretty funny sight.

Shane started his internship today and it already feels good to get back into a routine. I really hope he enjoys what he is doing and learns a lot.

The Spokane Transition

Well, we're officially moved to Spokane. It's been a bit crazy. We were so lucky to move into a brand new, beautiful apartment. It's so nice to have everything in perfect condition. I'll have to post pictures when we get a bit more settled.
I only have one MAJOR complaint. We live very close to a train track and consequently there are trains going by night and day. They don't bug me so much during the day, but during the middle of the night...yeah--they BUG BIG TIME! We sleep with our window open because it's gotten pretty warm here and I'm only getting more and more pregnant by the day. So...I have a question--is there such thing as train honking ediquette? Shane says that he thinks the train conductors are required to toot their horns a certain amount of times to warn people of the train. Well, some of the train conductors toot their horns like 3 short toots and then there's those other train drivers. Seriously they totally overdo the tooting!!!!! Should I be saying honking? :) They lay on the horn for like 10 seconds at a time like 5 times. It wakes me up every time...I guess it's just going to take some getting used to. I mean who do you contact about disruptive train tooting????
We have also started potty training our little Lilly. Not fun, but I will say that I think she is improving. I was under the impression that it would take us one week to get her all potty trained and I'm not so sure that is going to happen with her right now. She still is having a hard time letting us know when she needs to go. We have to set timers and make sure we have her try to go every 20-30 minutes which makes a long very long day, but we're giving it a go. I said I'd give it a week so---here's hoping she makes a lot more progress by this coming Monday.
I'm helping one of my dear friends, Sabre, out these next couple weeks by tending her two adorable and very well behaved children. It's working really well because we don't have a home phone or internet or cable yet so I'm able to use their technology while I'm here. Lilly also loves having a little playmate. It's really good for her to be spending time with other kids before I have this next little one.
I'm so enjoying my pregnancy. Things are going so well. Our little 'unborn' girl sure is a kicker. I love to feel her move and I really can't wait to hold her. We still haven't decided on a name, but I'm sure that will come soon enough.
So life is good. I'm adjusting to the size and sounds of Spokane. We went to our new ward last Sunday and really enjoyed it. Shane starts his summer Pharmacy internship this coming Monday at Albertson's. We miss all our sweet friends in Pullman.

Oh So Girlie

We had our ultrasound today...and it's definitley NOT a Boy!

Before my appointment. I'm about 20 weeks along.


It's a Girl!

Her little profile.

Little foot.

We've got a live one! The ultrasound tech mentioned twice how active our little girl was. And here I was hoping for a less active little boy...well, what was I thinking!? I'm pretty sure we've got another Lilly on the way. Good thing we like her so much! :)