Trip to Spokane

It's been a busy (and kind of sick) Christmas season, so in spite of my good intentions to blog frequently as sort of a gift to my parents for the holidays, I'm a little behind the times.  Perhaps I can catch up a bit during the next few days.

I had the opportunity to visit my brother and his family in Spokane recently.  We had wanted to get my side of the family together for Thanksgiving, but because of schedule constraints, we just couldn't pull it off.  So, I threatened to visit Evan and Darla in December when I had a string of days off instead.  Happily, they actually acted excited to have me come.  I was pleased to make it work because I always enjoy going to their house.

I didn't get to see my brother much because he had a string of call and post-call days during the short time I was there, but I was more than happy to spend time with Darla and the kids anyway.  My sister-in-law Darla is a wonderful hostess and always has a list of fun things we can see and do.  I feel super comfortable around her and just enjoy the relaxed, accepting atmosphere in their home.  It was fun to be there.

It was especially enjoyable to be around my sweet nieces.  I MISS the little ones!!  Seriously, it was fun to just hang out and watch their imaginations work.  Maren and Chloe could not be more different personality-wise, but they get along famously well.  It is super entertaining to listen to what they have going on, and I loved when they let me participate as well.  My first night there I got to read with Maren and then snuggle for a few minutes before she drifted off to sleep.  Since I haven't had little kids for a while, I thought that was heaven.

It was also really fun to watch the little girls in their gymnastics classes.  (It seems not that long ago that I was watching my own little girls in their various classes!)  Maren is an especially good little gymnast, and I was actually a little in awe of what she could do.  Since I can't even touch my toes without bending my knees, the fact that she could drop down into the splits was pretty amazing to me.  Chloe's class was remarkably well-controlled by a great teacher, and it was cute to see the little three-year-olds all following their teacher around as a human train.  Fun stuff.

Darla almost convinced me to try skiing again, but it was a bit cold the day we thought about going.  She did get me to a minor league hockey game, and it was a total blast.  The Spokane Chiefs seriously dominated their opponents and scored like five goals in the first period and nine overall.  Man, if all hockey games were that riddled with goals, I think I'd attend a little more often.  It was exciting.  Maren went with me and Darla, and she is a TRUE fan!  I'll have to admit that I was actually kind of hoping for a fight to break out.  We didn't get one until the very end of the game, and it was a pretty lame one at that.  

Another fun activity we did was to go to the lobby of the Davenport Hotel and look at the Christmas trees and decorations.  The Davenport is a really old hotel that has been beautifully restored into a rather magnificent building.  The lobby had a gorgeous, huge Christmas tree, and upstairs there were some really pretty decorated trees that you could enter to win in a raffle.  If I had lived in the area, I definitely would have purchased some tickets to try and win the golf tree.  (The trees were decorated with prizes as well as traditional ornaments and such.)  It really helped to get me into the Christmas spirit.

 
Besides seeing Harry Potter, shopping, eating out--Darla and I got a little carried away on the sushi, but man, it was good!--we went and painted ceramics.  That may have been the most enjoyable activity of all.  The little girls were remarkably well-behaved and focused on their projects.  I liked it so much, in fact, that I'm going to take the whole family tomorrow here in Boise.  Mike is a little reluctant ("Are you sure you don't want to just go with the girls?"), but it's going to be fun.

Yes, we have the ENTIRE family here right now, and all I can say is that it feels like heaven.  To have all my chicks in the nest at once is the greatest Christmas present I could have ever gotten.  Awesome, awesome, awesome!!

Thanksgiving with Grandma and Grandpa

What a great Thanksgiving weekend we had!  Rachel finally made it home from school via a last-minute flight, with a ticket purchased by her dad when he woke up on Tuesday morning and knew FOR SURE that he didn't want his baby girl driving on the icy roads.  She got to get on the plane, sit on the tarmac for a while, get off the plane, get back on the plane, wait some more, and generally endure the pitfalls of winter travel.  Her flight landed about four and a half hours late, but we were thrilled to have her home safely.  The boys especially enjoyed having one of their big sisters around.

It was our year to participate with the Young side of the family for Thanksgiving, and that is always a joy.  This holiday has been the big gathering for Mike's dad's family for years, and over time it has gotten bigger and bigger.  We've always held it at a church since I've been a member of the family (23+ years), and while this year's gathering was a "little small,"  we had so much fun getting caught up with aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, nieces, nephews, and especially Mike's grandparents.  Here is a picture of the 70 or so of us who gathered for food, family, and fun: 

It's always a treat to associate with Mike's side of the family.  I feel completely included and accepted.  I also feel inspired to be better and do better.  The Youngs are the type of people who love and serve quietly and do so much to make the world a better place.  I want to be more like them.

I am especially inspired (even amazed!) by Mike's grandparents.  Grandpa Young is two months away from turning 98--yes, 98!--and is still as sharp as they come.  He is fun to talk to and has a memory that amazes me.  Grandma is five years younger, and although she also has a few physical struggles, she is sharper at her age than most 75-year-olds.  Wow!  I didn't get the greatest picture of either Grandma or Grandpa, but I wanted to include photos for Mom and Dad Young.  Pretty well-preserved, don't you think?

Black Friday

The day after Thanksgiving, we headed up to Portland.  We got to the city in time to check into our hotel and watch the BSU-Nevada game.  Unfortunately, we drove around for an hour and a half trying to actually find the hotel, so we missed the first quarter and a half of the football game.  It probably would have been better to miss the last quarter and a half. (My family has been hanging around me for far too long, and my poor sense of direction must have rubbed off on them.  It was kind of humorous to welcome them to my world for a time.)

Poor Kyle Brotzman!  Poor Broncos!  It's hard to see a great season not have the exclamation point added to it because of the missed field goals, but Chris Peterson has been his typical classy self in not blaming Brotzman for the loss but rather sharing the responsibility among all the team members and the coaching staff.  I still think the Broncos are a great team, and I will cheer for them in their final two games this season.  I feel for Kyle Brotzman, however.  It must feel awful to let himself and everyone else down. 

Cross It Off the Bucket List

Our purpose in going to Portland was actually to watch Duke play the University of Oregon in basketball at The Rose Garden.  No, I was not standing in Cameron Stadium, jumping up and down like a maniac with the other Duke fans, but yes, I was actually watching the Dukies play IN PERSON!  It truly felt surreal.

Our trip was arranged only about a week before when Adam heard that Duke was playing in Portland the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  He said, "That's only one state over!"  Before I knew what had happened, Mike had gone online and purchased tickets. We checked with Rachel to make sure she could endure that much travelling on her time off, and when she enthusiastically agreed, we made hotel arrangements.  We were set! 

I'll just say that seeing my favorite team in person did not disappoint.  We got to the arena early and watched them warm up, and seeing them go through their pregame drills was awe-inspiring.  Seriously, I don't think they missed one lay-up, and every drill they did was purposeful and precise.  The players were focused and united, and I was reminded once again of why I adore my Blue Devils.  I love a well-coached team.  Yes, I know that lots of people love to hate Coach K, but you can't deny that his kids can flat out play.  I hated Bobby Knight when he was at Indiana--my dad and husband are Purdue grads, after all--but I could still admire how fundamentally sound and well-coached his players were.  Coach Krzyzewski does the same thing at Duke. . . without throwing chairs or choking his players.

The game was awesome--a thirty-point blowout by Duke, complete with thirty points from Oregon native Kyle Singler--but my favorite moments came after the game.  Several of the Oregon fans left before the game had ended, so we meandered our way down from the nosebleed section to the spot right by the tunnel where the Duke players and coachers would be leaving the floor.  With our good positioning, Adam was able to high-five almost every Duke player--including Kyle Singler--and I also got to swat three players' hands.

I was most elated when Coach K walked by within about four feet of where I was standing.  It was all I could do not to jump out and ask for his autograph.  Pretty cool!  I was aiming my camera to get a picture, then realized that I actually would prefer to see him in person, so I dropped the lens.  Here is the picture I got of him from far away:

I'm not a spontaneous person, but I'll have to say that this trip was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done.  We did have some icy roads and actually had to spend the night at Hotel Ghetto in Baker City, Oregon on our way home since the road had closed, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat.  Go, Blue Devils!!