St. George Getaway

Last weekend, we were able to get away to St. George with some friends. The Knaubs had won a free stay at a villa for the weekend, and we were so excited when the invited us to come along.

There were five couples that headed down: us, the Jaques, Olsens, Sandersons, and the Knaubs. This is the villa that we stayed in while we were there.

The girls: Ashley, Lori, me, Camille, and Barbara

While we were down there, we spent time relaxing at the pool, went to the movies, shopping, played games, ate a ton of delicious food, and headed down to Vegas for the night. It was such a fun and relaxing getaway! Thanks again for inviting us to come along, Knaubs!

Happy Birthdays!

September is always a festive time of year at my family's house. My birthday is September 10, Beth's is September 12, and Khemia's is on the 13th! Now that we are getting older, we have started celebrating all of our birthdays together. Last year, we ended up celebrating on Khemia's birthday...our cake said "Happy Birthday to Khemia and Girls". Beth and I were not a fan of that, so this year the cake said "Happy Birthday to Lisa, Beth, etc.".

Besides celebrating with the family, Mike and I went out to dinner with our friends and then we came back to our house for cake and ice cream. Mike gave me photoshop for my birthday, so I am super excited to start playing with it and learning all of its features. I also went out for lunch with my friend, Maren...it was so much fun to catch up and we really need to do it more often. Thanks everyone for such a nice birthday!

Big John's Flats

Mike, Faline, and I spent Labor Day weekend camping with his extended family down at Big John's Flats. This area is in the mountains east of Beaver. This was a tradition when Mike was growing up, and it has been started as a tradition again. It is nice because so many people from Mike's mom's side of the family come, so it really is like a family reunion with everyone camping together. I was a little worried because when we went last year, it was SO cold and Mike ended up getting sick, but this year we had pretty nice weather.

We were able to take Faline for her first 4-wheeler ride. I was a little nervous about how she would do because she gets nervous whenever the 4-wheelers are even turned on, let alone if she was on one. Mike's cousin was nice enough to let us borrow his 4-wheeler, which is quite a bit roomier than ours. I was able to hold Faline on my lap, and she settled down and I think even enjoyed the ride. Mike drove us up to the top of the mountain - it was so windy, but the view was pretty cool.

On our way down from the mountain, we stopped at Mud Lake so that Faline could walk around before we kept 4-wheeling back to camp.

Another activity that was planned was the first annual Anderson Family Dog Show. One of the kids organized the whole thing, which was a good idea since there was seriously like eight dogs there.

For the dog show, each family had to present their dog and show any tricks that they could do. Mike took Faline into the ring and showed everyone how she can sit and stay until she is released, even when there is a treat waiting for her. Faline did pretty good, but there were a couple of other dogs who showed her up. Lucky for her, she still won third place and she also won the award for "Best Scrapper".

Mike and Faline after the show

Faline basking in the glory of her winnings :)

Besides 4-wheeling and the dog show, there were also horses, good food, games, shooting, and just a lot of visiting with everyone. We had a great time catching up with everyone, and it was nice to escape to the mountains for a few days.

Lion King!

On Wednesday, I had the opportunity to go see Lion King with two of my sisters. I was so excited when Mike told me that we had been offered tickets earlier this week, because I had really wanted to see the show.

Me, Kristin, and Khemia outside the theater

I was definitely NOT disappointed in the show. The costumes, puppetry, and music were amazing. I was so impressed with the things the performers were able to do to bring the show to life. It was also so much fun to be able to have a girls night with my two youngest sisters. I am so glad that we were able to go - thanks for the fun times, and thanks to John and Denece for the tickets!

4 Years!

Mike and I celebrated our anniversary this weekend, and I can't believe that four years have already come and gone! It seems like just yesterday that we were hanging out with our friends, started dating, and got engaged.

Since our anniversary was yesterday, we decided to celebrate Saturday night. We went to the Roof for dinner and then walked around Temple Square after. We had so much fun reminiscing about the past four years - favorite memories, what things were different than we thought, and what we were looking forward to in the future. On Sunday, Mike gave me some beautiful roses and I made a nice dinner for us. It was kind of low key, but it was still really nice. And honestly, what more could I ask for then spending time with my best friend? Love you!

*I tried to post some pictures, but for some reason, they are all coming up super small. Maybe I will be ambitious and try again later. :)

Island Park

This past weekend, Mike and I had the opportunity to go to Island Park, Idaho with his family for a little getaway. We had a great time! Mike's mom and her husband rented a cabin for everyone to stay in. We spent the time playing cards, riding 4-wheelers, and enjoying the scenery. Mike and I also drove into Yellowstone for the afternoon, which I loved. It had seriously been around twenty years since I was last in Yellowstone, so I hardly remembered anything.

We found an old train station (from 1906-1907) a few miles away from where we were staying. It had some really cool places to take pictures. In this picture, Mike and I are standing in front of the ticket booth.

This is our niece, Kambri. She learned how to say Mike's name during the trip and it was really cute!

Jessica, Kambri, and Derek on the 4-wheeler

Mike 4-wheeling

Some of the beautiful scenery in Island Park

Mike and me in Yellowstone

Old Faithful

Mike and me in front of Old Faithful

Paper Pregnant!

Last week, I got a phone call from our case worker saying that we have officially been approved for domestic adoption! That means that all of our paperwork is in order and has been approved. Now, we are just waiting to be selected by birth parents.

If you want to check out our profile, click here. Please keep us in mind if you know of anyone who is considering adoption!