Spokane!!

A few weeks ago, we went up to Spokane, WA to check things out. David was accepted into the Hospital Administration and Policy graduate program at Washington State U, so that was our reason for the trip. To see how we liked the program and the city. We are lucky to have family up there, my Uncle Dave and Aunt Suz live there, so we were able to stay with them and their kids Alex (who was in Utah visiting) and 6-year-old twins Morgan and Kyle. It was great being able to spend time with them, as we don’t see them as much as we wish! The kids did pretty well on the drive up. We got them light-up suckers (which kept them very entertained for a long time), brought plenty of books to read, snacks to munch on, and movies to watch. Emma did say “This is taking a long time” a few times, and Cal got restless a few times, but mostly they were great! Dave drove the entire time! I was impressed!

We got to Spokane on Wednesday night around 11:30 p.m., and both the kiddos were pooped! We put their pajamas on and they crashed. We talked to Dave & Suz for a little bit, and then we went to bed. The next day, Dave had a meeting and tour of the campus with the program’s dean. So while he was there, Cal and Emma and I explored the campus. It was a pretty campus and had plenty of things to keep us occupied!
Dave was very impressed with the program and the faculty. The dean answered the list of questions we came up with, and gave him a guide to the program and lots of helpful information.

After that, we went just down the street to the River Front Park, located in the heart of downtown Spokane. It was pretty crowded as preparations were being made for Hoopfest, the largest 3 on 3 basketball tournament in the world. The park was great! We saw the world’s largest Radio Flyer Wagon. We walked across the bridges to see the falls. We played at a park for tots. We at McDougherty’s, a yummy Irish pub (hey, everything’s a pub there…plus they had a sign outside that said “Family Friendly”, and it was!) across the street. We visited Boo Radley’s, a cool bookshop/gift store. We went on a tram ride overlooking the falls. We rode the carousel (and I got the golden ring, yahoo!).

That night, I ran to the store with Suz to get some groceries, we went home and made dinner, and we went to my cousin Kyle’s baseball game. He is quite the little slugger! Then we went back to their home and played in the back yard.

Friday, we went to Coeur d’Alene, ID, which was about an hour drive from their home. We ate Subway, visited this awesome park, and went to the beach. It is so beautiful there! I’ve been there once, but it has been years! The kids had so much fun playing together. Emma just loved playing with Morgan and Kyle, and they loved her and Callahan. That night, we went to the Noodle Bowl restaurant for dinner, and then to go get ice-cream. Then back to the house to play together, and when the kids went to bed, the adults stayed up and watched some TV and talked.

Saturday, we went looking at some houses and apartments for rent if we do decide to go up there. We did that most the day and found some things that would work. Luckily, the kids were way tired and slept most of the day. We also went to the Valley Mall in Spokane Valley. Saturday night, we went out to dinner and then drove to Missoula, Montana. We drove around the town, to see what they had, and then crashed at the motel we stayed at. Sunday, we just drove home the rest of the way. We drove a total of 1,500 miles on our trip. But it was a great time and I’m glad we went. Now, we just need to decide if we’re heading up that way or not. The dean told him just to let them know by the end of July. So I guess you’ll know then, too.