Our new investment 09-08-07

Since we moved into the house we have been waiting the day when we could put in a fence. Well- the day is now here. We were waiting to blog this because we wanted to surprise mom and dad. (they like to keep secrets in the family until they come and see things like this) but- they found out about it and everyone has been waiting to see what it looks like. So- here are some pictures. I'll put some more pictures of it up when I get them downloaded on the computer. It looks a lot different now. Keep posted.

Brianna's First Day Kindergarten 09-06-07

Brianna started kindergarten this year. She is part time which means two full days of school and every other Friday. It is a big change for all of us to have her gone all day. Paige always gives her a big hug when we pick her up at school. It's like she hasn't seen her in a week. I love it. Brianna however thinks that she is weird!
Because it was her special day she got to have the special place setting and pick dinner. I think in included mac-n-cheese. Wow time sure does go fast. I can't believe that we have a child in public school.

9th Anniversary 09-03-07

For our anniversary we spent it with people we love. We went miniature golfing with mom and dad. Paige did good for the first 9 holes then lost interest. Brianna loved it. Dad of course won!
After golf the took us out to eat lunch. I don't recall the name of the restaurant but it was on the river and it was a blast. The girls enjoyed looking at the big boats. THANKS MOM AND DAD! After lunch we headed back and packed up our things and headed home. It was an anniversary weekend that I don't see forgetting. I love Shane more now then the day I married him. I am very lucky to call him my husband!

Mt. St. Helen's 09-02-07

This day started with us waking up at the hotel and being refreshed from a long day the day before.
We all got ready for church and went to sacrament in Longview, WA. After church we went back to the hotel to check out. We then headed up to Mt. St. Helen's. The drive was beautiful. Then once we got there we found out that you had to pay to go inside any visitor centers and since it was Sunday we decided that we would have to do that another time. You even had to pay to get close to the look out sites. Shane and I were pretty bumbed about that.

After we looked around at the free sites we did a little trail. Brianna was really sad that she couldn't hike up to the volcano. For some reason she had it in her mind that is what we were planning on doing when we got there. Over all it was a fun experience. It was weird going into a blasting zone, and seeing the new little dome steaming.
After we were done with our tour of Mt. St. Helen's we headed to Mom's and Dad's. Grandma Nielson came over for dinner and met Lauren for the first time. We had a lot of fun with her.

Beach Time 09-01-07

This Ship has been here on the beach for a long time. I think that dad said that it's been there for a 100 years. I don't recall the beach but it was AWESOME! the kids loved to climb on it. I've never seen anything like it before.
Lauren was a sport. She can hang out anywhere.
These fingers taste really good. Does it remind you of anyone? (SHANE)
As we were walking down the beach Paige biffed it. We still don't know how but she wasn't to thrilled about it.

For our 9th anniversary we decided that we would take the girls to the coast and go see Mt. St. Helen's. So- on the first day we drove to Vancouver and then to Longview were we stayed. We checked in at the Hotel and then drove to the beach. It was a lot of driving in one day but we had fun.
One the way to the beach we drove threw a town (I can't remember the name of it) and there was this bridge. It was HUGE! This picture doesn't do it justice. I don't remember the Golden Gate bridge being this impressive. I really liked this bridge.
When we got to the beach the sun was going down. It was beautiful. We played in the sand and enjoyed the water. I was in heaven watching my family play and have fun on this great beach.


Paige was wearing this hat because it was a tad cold out and she thought it was fun to cover her eyes up so she could barely see.

Family Swim 8-25-07

I talked Shane into going swimming with us so he could see how much his girls had learned. Shane always has to work when we have swim lessons. It was fun for the girls to show daddy what they had learned and how much more comfortable they were. (even Paige) Unfortunately for us the weather was not great and it was windy and there is only a outdoor pool here so we were not very warm. I think we stayed for about 40 minutes and then we had to drag Brianna out. She was the only one that wanted to stay. We all had fun and look forward to doing it again next summer (hopefully on a warmer day!).

swim lessons 8-20-07

The girls getting ready for swim lessons. Brianna is in level two preschool and Paige in level one preschool. Paige was upset last session because she wasn't three so she couldn't do it but now she can.
Brianna had her second swim lesson of the summer. She had a blast and is not scared of getting her face wet. IT IS GREAT! Unfortunately she has to take it again because she isn't very comfortable floating. She did go off the diving board again and thought that was fun.


As for Paige she had a hard time. She was very excited about lessons until we got there and she found out that there was other kids in her class. It was toucher for me to get her to go. I practically had to pick her up and throw her in the pool. She screamed the whole half hour. I felt so bad for the teachers. Luckily for me there were two teachers in her class so the one teacher just took her away from the other class. She had her own lesson. That made her happy.
For the first week Paige would throw a fit before getting in the pool but by the last week she was jumping in the pool before they were ready for her. I hope that by next year she will remember how much fun she had. Oh- she didn't pass level one because she wouldn't even get close to blowing bubbles. :) Her teacher was AWESOME!