Our Return to Moscow

We have now been in Moscow for a week and a half and it feels like we never left. Just before leaving Coeur d'Alene Lyza turned 8 months old! Here are a couple of her 8 month pictures. It is getting tricky to take these pictures now that Lyza is so mobile and doesn't sit around for very long.

 We packed the truck on Wednesday. I would bring boxes to the window and Daniel would put them in the truck. Things went faster than expected and by the time we had our helpers arrive we had everything packed except the piano and the crib. We got everything in the truck and left Thursday morning.

 It has been great getting back to Moscow and seeing our friends. We went to Moose Creek Reservoir last week for a bon fire and some fishing. Daniel tried fly fishing for the first time and even caught a fish! Here is a picture of Whitney and me watching the boys fish on the dock.

 Last Saturday the 3 of us drove out to Elk River Waterfall. We did a 2 mile loop that takes you to 3 waterfalls. Here is a picture of the first falls, lower falls.

 The next set of falls was middle falls.

 And not surprising the last set of falls was called Upper Falls.

 These were our favorite falls not only because they were beautiful but there was a deep pool at the base of the falls to swim in. It was a hot day and it felt great getting in that water! We were the only ones at the falls and it felt like our own little paradise.

 Even Lyza joined in on the fun!

 Getting ready to leave.

 Lyza is getting better and better at pulling herself up and standing. She is quite proud of herself too!

 Last Sunday wearing her new dress! What a little princess!

 This week I got a little older and VERY spoiled! We had had a rough night with Lyza and despite our lack of sleep Daniel managed to get up early and make me some delicious banana pancakes for breakfast. When Daniel got home from school he let me open my gift from him and Pat and Brenda.  A fancy new sewing machine which was a TOTAL surprise! This new machine is a huge upgrade from my previous sewing machine and I can't wait to start sewing.
After that we took Lyza to Dustin and Whitney's who had so graciously offered to babysit so we could go out on a date. It was our first time leaving Lyza with someone other than family. Whitney said she didn't cry at all and had a great time while we were gone.

 Daniel and I enjoyed a delicious meal at Gambino's, an Italian restaurant. I took this picture when we were finished eating. Our meals were so big we only made it through about half of our food! But we certainly weren't complaining about all of the yummy leftovers we got the next day :)

 After we picked up Lyza we went home and ate some birthday cake.

 Last night we went with a few families to Julietta to pick blackberries. I forgot to take a picture while we were picking but after we all got together and made some blackberry ice cream. The berries were so juicy and yummy! We all hung out for a while and visited and I got to play with their 2 month old baby Madison.

 They even surprised me with a birthday cake. It is nice having such good friends.

 Lyza had fun playing with her friend Quinn. It mostly consisted of Lyza pulling Quinn's hair and trying to poke her eyes.....we will have to work on her social skills!

That is our busy week in a nutshell!