Coeur d'Alene Trip

**I apologize yet again for another long post. This is full of pictures and information about my trip though and I wanted to share as much as I could. And if it bores you, then I apologize again. Just stop reading if it does... But I hope you don't. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.**

So I did it! I actually did it. I went to the big C.D.A., and let me tell you, it was great! I can explain it in one word. A-MAZING!!! Alas, there were no gold throwers or balloon giver outer's like I had expected, but that is okay. It was still fun.

There are so many trees up there! I went to Washington last year and had the same reaction about the trees. Kind of like a little kid, "Woah! Look at that one! Holy cow!! I can't believe this is real! There are so many!" I decided that Skyler is like a forest creature or a woodland elf because he lives in a forest. Kind of like a Keebler Elf... Because he lives there, is cute, and sometimes smells like cookies.

It was so beautiful up there. So many lakes, trees, and the temperature was lovely. "Not too hot, not to cold. All you need is a light jacket." You didn't need one though. It was just perfectly comfortable.

I spent a lot of time not only with Skyler, but with his family. They are so great. I am really excited to join the family. I think I will fit in pretty well.

Like I said, I made of list of all of the possible things that we could do up there, and we did practically all of it. There were only a few things that we weren't able to do. But that is okay. We did a lot of fun stuff.

Some of Our "To Do" List:

Fishing

Tandem Bike Ride

Bonfire

Silver Wood

Long Boarding

Art on the Green

Boating

Play Games

Play with Jack

Cafe Chulo

Find the Moose's

Downtown Coeur d'Alene

Watch Movies

Hang out at the Shore

Go to Church

Corn Dogs

See Friends

Float the River

Be With Family

Take Pictures

Here are some of the pictures we took while I was up there. (Sorry, there are a ton... It was just so much fun that I had to keep taking them!)

At the lake during Art on the Green.

Oooh hoo. Skyler in his bright colored shorts.

There were a ton of people at the beach.

We stopped by the Cafe Chulo stand to say hello to everyone. It was lovely.

You can totally see my eyebrow tan line...

Sombrero and an eyebrow tan line. I make them both look good.

We went to Art on the Green and looked at all the fun booths that were there. I totally thought this little mannequin child was real. I felt really embarrassed when I found out it was not...

These are made out of scrap metal from old cars, drums, and other parts.

I found these flowers at the street fair. I wish I could have brought

either these or the metal flowers home for my mom's garden.

The moose and the mouse! I think their names are Milly, and Smudge... But I could be wrong...There are a lot more of them around Coeur d'Alene.

I am determined to find them all and take pictures with them.

There is a children's story about the two of them that is based in Coeur d'Alene. So that is the reason why they are all around.

I got tired of walking, so Skyler pulled me on his long board.

Me long boarding a bit. Mmmm... That was nice.

We had a really cool experience at Art on the Green. As Sky and I were walking around the eating booths, we found this little Filipino stand. Skyler served his mission in the Philippines, so he was really excited to see it.

He walked straight up to them and started talking to them in Tagalog (Ta-ga-log). They were so shocked and excited that an American could speak their dialect. They thought he was a famous person or actor from the Philippines, and said that they were getting goosebumps from talking to him. Their kids can't speak the language, so when they found out that it took him about six months to learn, they looked at them as if to say, "See?! It is not that long. If he can do it you can!" It was really cute.

Sky asked them if they had Adobo-which was his favorite food from down there, but they didn't. But they said if he comes back next year, they will give him food for free. They were very sweet people. It was a nice little experience for Skyler to speak the language again and to interact with native Filipinos like he did for two years. I think it made him really happy.

Skyler so happy with his Filipino food.

The delicious food. It was so good!

Jackson has more hair on his face than I do on my head. I told

him and Aaron that they need to donate it to me and make

a little hairy yamaka for me to wear around.

At Art on the Green this man makes a sand castle that goes all the way to the ground. This is just the top part. He sprays it with glue/water mixture to harden it so that it will stay for a long time. It was super detailed and really cool!

They have para sailing lessons! How cool is that?!

I am putting that on my "After Cancer To Do List."

Randee and Skyler... By the port a potty. My bad.

But they look like they are okay with it.

Darcy and I found a really cool old garage sale, so Skyler took some pictures of me at it. I took this one for my dad because he loves old trucks.

A dog sled! At a garage sale! Saaawheat! Mush, mush, mush!

I have never seen so many old cars in one place in my life.

This one was so cool!

A strawberry hat for my little bald head! I wish that I had bought it!

It was super cute.

Future Anderson Family? I think yes!

Lucky for me, he has a thing for bald girls.

We went out to Skyler's uncles cabin in Washington with his family. I mean like his family, and then his extended family. That's a lot of people to remember! Kind of like My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but less extreme.

It was so much fun. There is a national forrest across from where all the houses are, so they can't build on it. There were hardly anybody there, and the water was so clear! You could almost see all the way to the bottom out in the middle of the lake. It was a beautiful day, and I had a really great time spending time with Skyler's extended family.

The "Fee-on-sss." Looking good my man, looking good.

Skyler's shirt got wet, so he "borrowed" mine. It fits him well, Yes?

I totally stole a couple of these photos from Lizzie. My camera died right before we wake-boarded, so I had no other choice but to use her pictures. Thank you Lizzie!

Skyler getting some air.

Ahoy! Bald girl in the water!

Bald people make the best wake-boarders. It is because we are

more aerodynamic. As soon as I got up, I let out an excited

scream and couldn't stop smiling. It was great!

I did pretty good for not going for a year if I do say so myself.

We went to Silver wood! It was so much fun. We spent most of the

time at the water park because it was super hot and the lines for the rides were really long.

I even went on the really high free falling water slides, which I've always

been afraid to do. But I did it! It was great.

I'll be the dip if you'll be the dot!

I love Dippin' Dots.

We decided to take a tandem bike ride...

It resulted in this: Flat front tire and my bum two inches away from the tire. Yes, I rode it with the seat at that angle. Not the most successful bike ride, but, it was really funny and enjoyable though!

We woke up at 5 something in the morning to go fishing. Since I was 1. Supposed to be asleep in my bed, and 2. Fall asleep almost instantly in cars, I slept all the way until we started fishing.

*Side note: It is so hard to write Fish and Fisher instead of Fisch and Fischer. I have to really concentrate on it sometimes.

Blurry picture, but I still think it is pretty. That is a little fisherman's boat.

Just fishing my little heart out.

My first fish!!! It was so exciting. This old man came over to look at my fish, and seeing that it was so small, made fun of me by sarcastically saying, "That's a beauty," or "She caught a real big one didn't she?" But it was fine. He didn't catch anything. So what does that tell you?

Become one with the fish, and you can catch your prey.

Number 4/6. Oh yeah! I caught more than everyone.

Thank you very much!

Skyler's first fish... Tiny isn't it?

Dan's first catch... Nice.

Skyler Lee Anderson "Fi(sc)herman" at your service!

Some Of What We Did:

Day 1:Drove up with Jackson and his family, Cafe Chulo with Family, Watched Avatar.

Day 2:Cabin at the lake, Boating and Wake-Boarding.

Day 3:Art on the Green, Longboarding, Played the "Golf Game," Hung out with Family.

Day 4: Art on the Green, Lake, Barbeque, Hung out with Family.

Day 5:Church, Tandem Bike Ride, Dan & Val's house for dinner.

Day 6: Fishing, Family Home Evening, Bachelorette Finale.

Day 7: Silver Wood, Texas Road House.

Day 8: Air port, Traveled Home (wa, wa, wa...)

I can't believe you grew up in this Sky! It is so beautiful! Thank you for a lovely week, and for giving me the strength to be able to go back and face my last couple treatments. You are amazing. Thanks for staying with me, and for everything you do. I loved being with you in Coeur d'Alene! It was the best vacation ever!

I am not looking forward to going back to reality, and having a relationship with my phone, but I am grateful for the technology to talk to Skyler. This trip has given me the extra "uuomph" I needed. Onward I go!