Our New Car

 After 8 years we finally said good bye to our beloved Pontiac G6.  It treated us very well for the first 8 years of our marriage.  It got us through BYU and SCO and we are very grateful to my parents for the amazing wedding gift that spared us from car payments.  With the baby on the way we needed something a little bigger and with more storage and also something that would do well on the snowy roads in McCall during the winter.  Craig had been doing a lot of research on cars for quite sometime and had narrowed it down to the GMC Acadia and the Ford Explorer.  We new we wanted a small SUV and one that could have captain chairs.  We weren't really planning on getting the new car until the fall, but decided it would probably be a good idea to do some test driving before the baby came.  After Craig test drove some Acadia's with his dad a guys called from the dealership and said you won't believe it, someone just traded in a 2015 Acadia and it has everything you wanted, even the color.  Craig and I then headed out to the dealership and we both drove the car and it was great.  Craig was a little hesitant to buy a used car, but this was just too good to be true.  So we traded in the G6 and bought us a 2015 GMC Acadia.  We absolutely love it!!!  It is a dream to drive and works so well for our family.  So far it has been really fantastic.  Craig gets a little jealous that he doesn't get to drive it very often.

Moss Family Pictures

During the family reunion we were able to get some family pictures taken.  I was only able to get a few from what the photographer posted on Facebook.  I wish I could have more to put on here, but something about "rights".  Anyways, she did a fabulous job and I think we will use her for our little man's newborn photos as well.  

this is me at 33 weeks

4th of July Weekend

Sunday, July 3rd, after the family reunion had ended we headed up to McCall with Lisa's family, Brian's family and Nana and Pops.  Sunday evening we got there just in time to eat dinner and then get the kids ready for bed.  Monday morning we woke up and headed on a hike with Brian and Brooke to Boulder Lake.  The trail was pretty busy but still was a lot of fun and the view is totally worth the 2 mile hike up.  Brooklyn of course did great and had a lot of fun throwing rocks into the lake and going pee in the woods.

After the hike we got home and ate some lunch and then got cleaned up.  We laid Brooklyn down for a really late nap in hopes that we would be able to keep her up that night for the fireworks down at the lake that don't start until 10:30pm.  Luckily she took a great nap and didn't wake up until after 5:00pm.  We ate an All-American dinner, hot dogs and hamburgers, and then the kids made us dessert.  They dipped strawberries into cool-whip and then into blue sprinkles.  They loved it and all ended up with blue tongues.  After dessert we headed to the driveway to do a few small fireworks of our own.  The kids weren't a huge fan of the loud ones, so they ended up covering their ears most of the time, but they all seemed to enjoy it.

We then headed down to the lake early to save a spot on the grass for everyone to sit and watch the fireworks.  We just walked around and people watched and of course visited the port-a-potty a few times before the rest of the crew showed up just before the fireworks started.  Brooklyn loved the big fireworks and in her words "I covered my ears just a little cuz they were only a little loud".  She did get a blister on her heal from walking around in a pair of shoes she hadn't worn for a while, but loved it otherwise.  We then headed home and got her to bed at about 11:30 pm.

Tuesday morning we woke up and we all headed into town to get some breakfast at The Pancake House.  The town was still pretty busy from the holiday so we had to wait for our food quite a while, but the food there is always worth the wait.  After breakfast we headed home to get the boat ready to get out on the lake.  It wasn't super warm so we didn't get in the lake to ski or tube or anything (not that I could have anyways), but we enjoyed the scenery while the kids drove the boat with Pops and we gradually made our way over to North Beach and the kids played in the sand for a while.  After dinner that night we headed back into town again to get some ice cream at Ice Cream Alley.  This time I remembered to get the kiddie size and Brooklyn and Craig just shared.

After we finished our ice cream Craig and I decided to go for a little walk with Brooklyn down by the lake.  Brooklyn was skipping/running and slipped on some sand that had made its way onto the pavement.  She didn't get her hands out in front of her quite in time and she landed right on her lip.  Luckily her teeth were all intact and the massive amount of blood came from just a small scratch on her lip.  It did swell up pretty good and of course she refused to let us put any ice on it, but after some Ibuprofen she went right to bed.

the morning after, this picture doesn't really do it justice

Wednesday morning Craig and Brian went and played a round of golf and Brooklyn and I went for a bike ride.  We all then met at My Father's Place for lunch and then headed back to the cabin to clean up and then we headed back home that afternoon.  Like always we had a fabulous time and hope that we can get back up there before the baby comes.

Moss Family Reunion

We were able to have all of Craig's siblings and their families in town for a quick little reunion for a few days, July 1-3.  We just stayed in Boise this year, our numbers are getting a little too big for us to all be up at the cabin at the same time (well at least until we can just send all of the kids outside to sleep in tents). We ate a lot of YUMMY food, swam and played water games, and the cousins all loved playing together in the sand.  Brooklyn could not get enough of her cousins, lucky for her we live with Nana and Pops and so the cousins that came in from Florida were at the house too.  We were able to get some family pictures done and I can't wait to see those once we get them back.  The weather was perfect and we were able to be outside pretty much the whole time.  Brooklyn crashed at the end of each day because the kids were just non-stop playing.  We had so much fun and love when the whole family can get together.  I am so glad that Brooklyn loves her cousins so much and that she has these built in friendships that will last forever.  We can't wait until next reunion.

Enjoying the sprinkler while we were waiting for the other cousins to show up

Water Kickball

first base

she's safe

the make shift slip and slide for third base. Brooklyn just army crawled

getting their trophies after the game

getting ready for the water balloon toss, but first she had to get that boogy

swim time

she loves jumping off the side of the pool

race time

showing off her medal

the kids could not get enough of the sand

Happy Anniversary!

Craig and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on Tuesday, June 28th.  To celebrate Nana and Pops watched Brooklyn for us and Craig and I headed out to dinner and a movie.  Well actually it was dinner during the movie.  At the theater by our house you can sit in a VIP area and order dinner just before the movie starts.  We had never tried it before and thought it would be fun.  The food was pretty good, it did get a little hard to eat my salad once the theater got dark, but it was still fun.  We saw the new Independence Day movie.  We both really liked it and would recommend it.  Craig of course told me to not get him a gift, but yet he still got me one.  He got me a Home Defender, which is a sawed off shot gun.  Now before you say anything, I had been saying that I wanted one, so it wasn't totally random and I think Craig will enjoy the gift as well.  I can't believe that we have been married for 8 years and together for 10 years. Amazingly he is not tired of me yet, hopefully it stays that way.

Father's Day Weekend

Craig had the Saturday, Sunday and Monday off over Father's Day weekend so we headed up to McCall with his parents.  We drove up Friday after Craig got off work and just hung at the cabin that evening.  Saturday morning we woke up and headed to Boulder Reservoir to do some hiking.  We decided to try a new hike this time and headed towards Louie Lake.  It was a perfect day for a beautiful hike in the mountains.  Brooklyn did great as always in the backpack and she loved throwing rocks into the lake once we got there.  On the way back down she even crossed the stream all by herself, she was so proud.

 That afternoon for lunch we hit up My Father's Place and then Brooklyn and I took a nap while Craig and Stan went for a scenic drive up to the Upper Payette.  That evening we roasted hot dogs and grilled brats for dinner.  We of course had to hit up Ice Cream Alley for dessert, they truly do give you "mountain sized scoops".  Brooklyn loved her rainbow sherbet even though it was a little chilly (don't let her hat fool you, it wasn't that cold. She just wanted to be like Nana who had her winter clothes on in the middle of June).

 Sunday was a really great Father's Day.  We went to church and then had Stan and Craig open their cards and presents.  We then packed up a picnic lunch and headed to a pond nearby to do some fishing.  Brooklyn was oh so excited.  She couldn't wait to catch a fish and luckily she did, she caught 4 actually (with a little help of course).  She was even more excited that Nana cooked them up as part of our dinner.  She was so proud of herself and she can't wait to go again (especially now that Pops bought a Frozen fishing pole that is just her size).  That evening we ate a yummy dinner and just hung around the cabin.

Monday morning we went into town and ate breakfast at The Pancake House and then headed back to the cabin to get all cleaned up and then headed for home so that Craig, Stan and Mark could golf that afternoon.  I really don't think you could ask for a much better Father's Day than that, hiking, fishing, golfing, good food and family that loves you.