Those Good Ole' Spokane Days (Joe Graduated!)

I'm playing catch up on the blog. As soon as we moved, my computer died and it took me awhile to catch up on sorting through all the pictures I take and having somewhere to put them! I have wised up and have an external hard drive now. No more worrying about lost files!

Spokane. How I miss Spokane. It is a truly beautiful place to live. I'm afraid my last few months there weren't the most pleasant what with how nauseous I felt and then how focused I was on making moving plans. I miss looking out my window and seeing ducks and geese on the pond, deer in the field, and hearing the noise of the frogs each night. I miss the wonderful friends we made and the Sunbeams we taught. I miss the gorgeous autumn leaves, the magnificent parks, and mostly, Ezra's baby years which are now past. We made so many memories here. I felt so ready to move so I could start preparing for the twins' arrival, but when it came down to it, I was filled with so much sorrow when we did say goodbye.

Towards the end of our Spokane days, Ezra and I would try to go for a walk every day around the complex. I can't believe I already couldn't make it very far due to the twins! I thought Ezra was so adorable carrying this piece of cardboard he found around the complex.

When Mama didn't feel good, which was most of the time, we stayed busy by coloring on all the moving boxes and then of course playing on and in them!

Ezra adored the many piles of rocks around the complex. He could stay for at least 15 minutes just picking up rocks and throwing them back. He loved playing at the little playground by the mailboxes, but if he ever found a rock inside the fence where it didn't belong, he would insist on returning it to the pile right away.

Each Spring there would be adorable ducklings around the pond.


And of course, Spokane is where Ezra learned to dance. He particularly loves Brandon Flowers' new solo album. At 18 months, Ezra's two signature moves are the spin around and the head shake.

This may be silly, but this is my favorite street in all of Spokane. This picture does not do it justice at all. It is called Grand. The trees canopy the street, wild turkeys are often found here, and although the road is riddled with potholes, in the fall all the leaves turn red and golden yellow and they litter the ground. I wish I had been able to get a photo of Grand in the fall. It is breathtaking.

But the second best thing (Ezra is obviously the first) that happened to our little family in Spokane is Joe graduating from the Gonzaga School of Law! He worked his buns off not only in school, but also in many extracurriculars, including Law Review, Moot Court, and being the President of the J. Reuben Clark Society Spokane chapter. He also wrote an article that got published and completed many internships during this time, two of which were for Federal judges. I couldn't be more proud of him. Especially, since he helped me out so much at home while accomplishing all of this! I couldn't do much that last semester of school.

We were very blessed to have both sets of parents come up to celebrate with us and help us move. The graduation ceremony was superb and the Sushi we ate to celebrate was amazing. Add that to the list of things I really miss about Spokane. It was such a fun weekend and we are so glad our parents came up to share it with us!

Guess how many people attended joes graduation....then add two!....Julia's carrying her twin daughters pretty well wouldnt you say?

See what a law degree does for you?

Apples, Sushi, & A Giant Red Wagon

A few weeks back we were thrilled when our sister, Elise, came to visit us! It was a wonderful weekend. Here are a few of the highlights:

1. Watching Ezra and Elise get reacquainted. He went from all scowls to all smiles.
2. Nerding out while playing Mages. It was so much fun and I'm hooked, but alas, Elise is the master mage. I will need to invest in my own copy of the game!
3. Going to all of our favorite places around Spokane, including Gonzaga Law Campus, Riverfront Park, and Manito Park.
4. Going somewhere new, Greenbluff, to pick apples and asian pears and partake of the scrumptious pumpkin doughnuts and apple cider. ((Our apples have now been consumed in the form of an amazing homemade apple pie, and I have it on good authority that Elise made hers into an unbelievably good looking french toast bake. YUM! I am going to have to go pick some more apples just so I can make that!))
5. SUSHI! I can't emphasis my love for sushi.com enough. I dream of tako yaki...
6. With our three heads combined, inventing an asian pear turkey bacon pizza. It was surprisingly good.
7. Simply getting to see and be around Elise! We do not get to see her enough!