Thursday, November 19, 2015

Spokane Trip

At the end of July, we planned a trip to Spokane. This was our first time going back since moving, and we kept ourselves pretty busy while we were there.

Rich and I are a little crazy when it comes to road trips. We always think it's a good idea to drive through the night. (Rich really thinks this.) Our plan was to leave for Spokane from my parents' house in Ogden on Saturday morning. Instead, we ended up driving through Friday night and getting to Spokane at about 7:30 a.m. It wasn't too bad of a trip, although we did find out Norah gets motion sick as we drove through the curvy mountain passes in Montana and Idaho.

We put a movie on for Norah as we left Ogden at about 9 p.m. thinking she would fall asleep to it. Nope. She didn't fall asleep until well after 11 and then woke up with the sun (around 5 a.m.). Jack did great - very little crying on his part.

After a nap, we headed out to hit up some of our favorite Spokane spots, including The White Elephant. I think I'm going to make Norah pose on this thing on all of our trips to Spokane until she's at least 18.

 Jack was hardly on any schedule , so he slept whenever and wherever he could.

Rich was able to do this awesome Mariners puzzle (White Elephant purchase - love that place).

One of the days, we were able to head over to Gonzaga to see Pat and Patty. They got to meet Jack, and we got to show Norah her dad's old stomping grounds.


It was wonderful going to Subway just to take advantage of the family discount. We went many times on our trip (basically once a day).


 These shots of Jack with Grandma Farnsworth are really sweet.

We also did a picnic at Bowl and Pitcher, complete with "cheap chicken." This picture makes me smile because the last time we had did this same picnic with the same food and the same people (minus Norah), we announced we were pregnant - with Norah.



 These shots of Norah with her poppa make my heart happy.


Notice the pacifier leash? Back when Jack actually took a pacifier (sort of).


Doug and Edie have this little old TV/VCR combo, and all the grandkids love it when they come to town. Norah chose her movies from the classic Disney VHS collection in the basement and cuddled up with the puppies for the show (although she never made it through a whole movie - there was too much to do).


 We got to spend some time with the Colvers, and Norah fell instantly back in love with Evan.


I really wanted to run some Spokane trails while we were there. I didn't think I'd be able to do much since I was still in post-pregnancy shape, but it turns out elevation makes a huge difference (duh).



You have to document when you get a Jack cuddle. They are very rare.


Norah was in heaven in Poppa's yard. She was able to run around barefoot, "helping" him out and doing her own digging. And I let her stay in pajamas until like noon.

 Norah got to have another play date with Evan at the splash pad. She's still not the biggest fan of the place, but at least she was in good company.

We were also able to float the Little Spokane. Lots of fun, even though my kayak had a slow leak and my bum was soaked by the end of the trip.





 And Norah happened to drop her paddle in probably the deepest part of the river, about 7 feet down. Rich braved the freezing cold water and dove for it. Success.

We also made the obligatory trip to Riverfront Park to ride the famous Loof Carousel and slide the giant Radio Flyer wagon slide.





This elderly gentleman next to me was so cute. (I don't know if you can spot his wife in the pink hat next to him.) First of all, it was an 80-something-year-old man on a carousel. That in itself is awesome. But during the ride, he leaned over me and proudly told me that he and his wife were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. How sweet is that?!


You have to feed the goat there, too. But bring your own trash because there is none to be found anywhere close.



Turns out the metal slide was way too hot because it was almost 100 degrees outside. Oh well, at least we saw it.

So cute!

Love this picture!



 Four generations

We loved our trip to Spokane, especially being able to spend time with Grandma, Poppa, and Grandma Farnsworth. I hope we can make the trip up there again soon!