And Baby Makes Three

Our summer was pretty jam packed. After the two grad trips we had lots of trips to my in-laws cabin, a high school graduation to attend, a couple weddings to attend, a birthday, and lots of family to visit with. Then Heavenly Father decided to make things just a bit more interesting for us. Over Memorial Day weekend, we were at the cabin and it was supposed to be my time of the month...but nothing ever happened, which is very strange because since I started having the monthly hormonal ritual I have never missed my period...ever. So the day after we got back I took a home pregnancy test.

And guess what??

I'm pregnant! This is old news for most of you, but I wanted to document it anyways. We told my in-laws right away since we were staying with them and knew they'd start asking questions when I kept running to the bathroom and eating all their food. They were both very excited. My dad-in-law claimed that he already knew though...right.

The challenge was going to be that all of Marc's siblings were coming into town for a wedding and we didn't want to tell everyone the news until I was further along. By the time they left to go back home, most of them had already guessed though.

We were going to see my parents about a week after we found out so we decided to wait and tell them in person (MUCH better reaction that way!!). I decided the perfect way to tell them was to give my dad an early Father's Day gift:

I've seen pregnancy announcements using this quote on pinterest so I just created my own version, framed it, and wrapped it up. When my dad opened it the first thing he did was laugh, and then he asked if he could show my mom and younger sister, who happened to be there too. They didn't catch on right away because my dad is already a grandpa. Dad had to explain that it had a deeper meaning coming from me. And then the screaming and jumping up and down started. I told you...much better reaction!

Once we were ready to tell the whole world that we were expecting (we told the rest of our family first of course), we asked my mom-in-law to take some photos.

Isn't she awesome?! I think she should start up a business. 

We are both so excited to be parents! Marc likes to tell the baby to "hurry up and grow!" He is so anxious to meet our little love bug. I tell him all the time that he is going to make the best dad. 

This post is getting a bit long so I'll give you the other baby updates later. And to keep you on the edge of your seat we find out whether our little bug is a girl or boy in 5 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!

Post Graduation Trip #2

After the fishing trip, we stayed in Idaho for a weekend before our next adventure happened: visiting my parents in Spokane, Washington. They recently moved there so we were excited to see their new place and a new city.

We visited the Manito Gardens the first full day we were there. Not everything was in bloom yet which was a bummer, but it was still very beautiful. My favorite part was the Japanese Garden. 

Unfortunately I got sick right in the middle of our trip, so after the gardens we spent a couple of days taking it easy at home. When I finally was feeling better we took a couple more day trips. First, we headed to downtown Spokane and hit the mall and Riverfront Park. Riverfront Park is awesome! I kept thinking it would be such a fun place to take kids. Luckily, we're all kids at heart.

This carousel is right in the middle of the park so naturally we had to take a ride. 

You can't tell in this picture but this slide is the "handle" of a gigantic red Radio Flyer wagon.

I think I was trying to be a superhero or something...

It was a blast! But also very hot, so we ended the day by eating Ben & Jerry's ice cream at the mall.

The next day we headed across the Washington/Idaho border to visit Couer d'Alene. I love it there! It is so beautiful and we had a ton of fun just walking around the lake.

And taking cutesy pictures by the lake.

Some friends of ours recommended a great place to get ice cream sundaes, appropriately called Gooeys.

The only thing I'm confused about is whether Gooey is supposed to describe the sundae or the way you feel after you eat the whole thing. We had such a great time (minus the being sick part) and were very sad to leave.

Post Graduation Vacation

The day after graduation, a crew of family and friends came over to our apartment to help us move out. Everyone was a huge help and we were done before lunchtime. We decided to move in with Marc's parents before we headed Arizona to medical school (which by the way didn't happen. Instead we moved to Des Moines, Iowa! And I know some of you are thinking you chose Iowa over Arizona?? but we already love it here and are excited for all of our adventures in the Midwest). We didn't drive to Idaho right away, we stayed around Utah for a bit so we could spend more time with family and watch the spring musical at the Middle School I did my student teaching at. Once we did get back to Idaho we packed up right away for a fishing trip in Hell's Canyon. I'll let the pictures do most of the storytelling...

The boat.

First ride on the boat.

We stayed the first night at our guide's cabin.

Most of us couldn't help but stare at the view. 

Next morning. Out and about early to catch us some fish.

The gang. We color-coordinated. (Haha...not really.)

Fishing is hard work so we had to take naps. 

We came across this picturesque little historic farm on the side of the river.

Best part? It had a flushable toilet!

The brown building behind us is a little museum and the white building is the caretaker's house. 

Then it was back to more fishing. 

We fished up the river, then back down the next day. Here are some of the views along the way...

Fresh fish for dinner. So good! We all slept in the boat that night. (Oh and as a side note in case any of you are wondering how the ladies--aka me--went to the bathroom...can you tell what we're docked up against? No? It's sheer rock. With poison oak. Yeah, try popping a squat in that in the dead of night.) 

The last day of the trip the guys tried going after sturgeon but only managed to hook on to catfish. 

Marc was pretty proud of his catch. 

And if Marc wasn't already proud of his catfish he certainly was after his dad caught on to this one. He's holding it out as far as he can so it appears bigger than it really is. :) Our guide approved.

On the way back down the river to the trucks, we had to don these stylish jackets. There are some pretty crazy rapids on the Snake River. It was like Splash Mountain--I was squealing most of the time!

Once we got through the craziness, we were all excited to see this view. Can you tell what it is? Rocky Mountain big horn sheep. So cool to see them so close! The trip was definitely a fun adventure. One that I wouldn't mind repeating (as long as we have more access to flushable toilets next time). It was a great way to celebrate our graduation.