WE'RE BACK!!!!

Oh, I am so glad to have that test over with! UUUGH, I am a little afraid I may have not passed the writing portion (there were three: reading, writing and math), because I started running out of time and rushed through the last part. We'll see in two or three weeks, but the best part was just having it done and over with!

So we had a BLASt last night! We didn't have to go anywhere. Our good friends Jon and Christy have been doing all kinds of remodel jobs on their quaint, gorgeous south hill home in Spokane. They just redid the basement and Jon has the perfect set up. I wish I had taken pictures, and I can't believe I didn't. Maybe we were just having too much fun. Jon has this huge plasma wide screen TV on the wall now, and all the wiring through the wall and hooked up to his computer. He has microphones, speakers, guitars, drums, everything for a great time. We Karaoked until the wee hours! Good thing we had day light savings time to give us back an hour.

Christy and I were good friends in high school. She went to Western WA when I went to Eastern WA in college. After a couple years she transfered to Eastern and we got to hang out once again. Our (now husbands) met and we were the foursome that were always seen together for many years. I'm so glad that now, even 20 years after Christy and I first met, we are still great friends. Wish we could see more of each other. Here's their son Julian and Max and Zoe.

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING DONE (well....almost)
I am so relieved. We always struggle with Christmas shopping for the kids because there just isn't much here to choose from. We end up ordering online and nothing ever gets here on time, and it's such a stressful pain!!!! Anyway, Jeff has been waiting for 7 1/2 years for Max to get old enough to order this...(so that he can play with it too). Four lanes that can be totally taken apart and combined in many different ways (converted to two lanes) with X-intersections and four cars! Even a repair kit for the vehicles and extra tracks that can be added. Gotta love the Whtie Elephant in Spokane.

We found this game that we'd been looking for, after last year's obsession with "Dragonology".

And Santa might be bringing a couple pretty cool goodies to go with it if I can get my letter in to him in time. After working in the library for a couple months now, I have seen the kids' obsession with the "OLOGOY" books. Check out a cool link HERE with all kinds of explorations for your kids (or your self). Fun. Fun.

MY BEST FIND
Was these books at Auntie's Book Store downtown! This three story bookstore is so cool! New and gently used...coffee shop, game store, they have it all! We are absolute suckers for books. I never have time to read them myself (some day...) but seeing my family's passion for books is just way too hard to pass by! I LOVE IT!!!! I found these there and had to get them for the kids. They have everything in them from "how to juggle" "how to change a tire". Something we figured the kids could learn from, we could learn from and we could hold onto forever.

I found a website for the boy book you can check it out below. View the trailer, and then the one for the girl's book (below).
Dangerous Book for Boys

and here's the girl's book trailer HERE! LOL! So funny! We are going to have so much fun.

The DAVENPORT
OK Mom and Aunt Vernie, I thought you'd both get a kick out of this one. Christy and I and our friend April had gone out for a drink in the "Peacock Lounge" a couple years ago and I have been telling Jeff and the kids that they just HAD to go see it ever since. We finally did today. The Davenport Hotel in Spokane has so much history. I really don't know that much about it except that business man, Louis Davenport, bought, built, owned it??? this hotel around the 1910ish and it was quite the place to go. The link to me is that sometime in the 1960's(?) (tell me more, Mom and Vernie, I can't even find it from googling) Mr. Davenport was on trial for something (maybe mob related?) and my grandma was on the jury, and it was the most exciting thing ever! The hotel was run down and forgotten for years. We actually saw pictures of it today with shag orange carpet and peeling paint. Hard to believe that when the new owners bought this place in 2000 (for 6.5 million) that they could restore it to this fine quality! They've done an excellent job. It is gorgeous!!! We have already decided that the next time we need a "get-a-way" we will be getting a room at the Davenport for the weekend!

AND LASTLY...
for all you Mom's out there! A digi friend of mine (Thanks, SR) shared this with me today and I had to pass it on...