Little Getaway

Last week Riley and I were able to sneak out of town for a few days to Spokane where he was going to attend a convention for work at the historic Davenport in downtown Spokane.

I wanted to tag along for a few reasons:

1. I've always wanted to stay there, it's gorgeous and fabulous.

2. I needed some rest and relaxation time desperately. Like ASAP before I drove myself off a cliff.

3. Riley's birthday, valentine's day, and our anniversary all fall within a few weeks of each other so why not wrap it all up into one fun little mini trip?

With arrangements made with family to help take care of the kids, we were able to have a few days to slow down, spend some alone time together, and for me - sleep in. (I can't even count how many times I've been able to sleep in the last few years, but I'm willing to bet I could do it on one hand.) Riley and I don't get to do things like this very often where it's just us, so it was great.

One of the best bonuses of the trip? Riley gets reimbursed for pretty much all the expenses. We even got an upgrade to a king suite which was super lux. The beds were so comfortable I could have slept all day - best nights sleep of my life.  Not exagerating.

While Riley popped in out of his meetings with clients I lounged around, worked out, swam and sat in the hot tub, ordered room service, shopped, and got caught up on my addiction of Downton Abbey. In the evenings when he was done we shopped some more, went to dinner, and walked around. One of my favorite purchases of the trip was when we visited the Northface store and I splurged on an awesome new coat to keep me warm and dry during softball and soccer seasons. (If I have to sit out in one more rainy game, well at least now I'll be more comfortable.) Friday afternoon was also a treat. I got to meet up with my girl Nancie for some visiting, lunch, and shopping. It was great to catch up with her and do some bargain hunting (which I needed to do after buying that coat) and scored a super cute dress for only $3. Yep, that's right.

They totally spoiled us at the Davenport and we'll definitely be going back again. I could not stop staring at the unbelievable architecture and design that had recently been restored. It was nothing short of spectacular. I loved walking around taking in all of the beautiful features. The story of the restoration of the hotel is absolutely amazing.

I felt so refreshed and rejuvenated after our little time away. I realized we need to do things like that way more often. It is so worth it to reconnect, have that time to just think about yourself a little for once, charge your batteries, and a relief to know that your children are being well taken care of in the process.  I was glad they were in good hands and for everyone that helped us. It takes a team sometimes when you have kids in school, and sports, and everything in between.

Now we are already planning our next trip.........

What a fun weekend

Our weekend fun started on Friday when we surprised the kids with a family day trip to Seattle to see the HarryPotter Exhibition  at the Pacific Science Center. Kendle was so excited and kept asking us the whole way there what it was going to be like. We had a great trip and luckily the roads were dry and safe. When we got to the PSC, we were told we would not be allowed to take pictures or video or anything of the sort once we entered the exhibit hall. We were so bummed! There were so many cool things that would have been awesome to have those memories of. The very first thing we encountered upon entering was an actor that was welcoming us and let some of the children try out the sorting hat. It was great! All the kids got a kick out of it. As a whole there were lots, and lots of interesting memorabilia and staged rooms from the movies. They also had a few hands on activities like pulling out mandrakes in the herbology lab and throwing quaffles through hoops in the quidditch display. Our kids liked those rooms the best. I think that is one thing that could have improved it a bit was more hands on activities and displays. My favorite room was Hagrid's hut. We got to sit in his big comfy chair. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. I would recommend going if you are a big HP fan or if you were going to be in Seattle anyways and were looking for something fun to do with your kids. (Although, younger children might not find it as fun or interesting.) The tickets were a little overpriced in my opinion, but I think it was still worth going to.

After that we battled the horrible (and I mean, really, really horrible) traffic and finally got out of the city a little ways to stop for some dinner at Red Robin. The kids had been wanting a milkshake all day long. I think Morgan probably asked at least ten or twelve times. So finally we got them a milkshake. Because it took so long for us to get a table the manager brought us a complimentary appetizer. I have to say the babies were great up until this moment in time and then they were just starving. As long as we kept food coming their way and their little chubby fists stuffed with fries they were perfectly happy. After we were all done eating, we packed everybody back up in the car, changed them all into jammies for the ride home and took off. We got as far as the gas station to fill up when Riley realized he forgot his debit card, so back to Red Robin we went. Whew! Then had to stop one more time to get some milk for the babes and then we were really on our way. It was a quiet drive home. We pulled into our drive way around midnight, put all the kids to bed, and then I think Riley and I were asleep before our heads even hit our pillows. What an exhausting but awesome day! I can honestly say we really had a fun time. We were hesitant about taking the twins, but they are great little travelers and didn't make a peep during the whole time at the Harry Potter exhibit. Everyone slept in Saturday morning and that NEVER happens, so I know the kids must have been just as tired as we were.

Saturday morning we spent cleaning out the car and doing some house cleaning and laundry and hurried to get done so we could watch the Civil War game, which to Oregon football fans is the biggest game of the year.  Sad to say our team lost, but it was still a pretty good game and not too big of a blowout. Better luck next year Beavers. After the game we dropped the kids off at our SGB's (soccer girls babysitters) in Kennewick. These girls are awesome. They love to watch our kids and our kids think it is the biggest treat in the entire world. They are always asking to go over there. Then we headed to Famous Dave's to meet up with Johnny and Julie for dinner. Riley and Johnny received Famous Dave's gift cards from their team so they took us ladies out for date night. We kept joking that we are cheap dates. After filling up on delicious food, we all went and got pedicures. Yep, that's right, all of us. We enjoyed some pampering and the guys enjoyed the relaxation as well. I could tell Riley was looking kind of sleepy. After that we headed to the mall to do some shopping/browsing for a while and ended the night with some Cinnabon's. That was a lot we packed in and still picked our kids up by just a little after 9:00. That was quite the date. I think the guys definitely deserved an A+.

I told Riley, see this is what every weekend could be like if we had an unlimited amount of money and you weren't coaching soccer every Saturday. Ha, ha.

Weekend

Friday our "tub guy" came to fix the crack in our soaker tub in the master bath. Ever since we moved into our house, the bottom of the tub has felt a little unstable and there was a definite soft spot in the middle. A month or so ago we noticed a big crack and water was leaking. Not good. So the "tub guy" had to cut out the bottom of the tub, replace the supports underneath it, put a new bottom back in the tub, and seal it. It looks brand new again and feels so much better when you step on it (and he left everything so immaculately clean, it looks like he scrubbed the whole shower for me). The fumes were pretty bad so we left for the day to hang out at my parents house in Irrigon.



I picked Kendle up from school and we headed out of town. The wind was blowing really hard on the drive down, not a good day for playing outside at grandma's. My dad took Kendle to the farm with him (which she loves) and afterwards they went to the pumping station by the beach and also looked for some shells. What a lucky little girl to have such a good grandpa, they really have fun together. It was nice to just relax and visit with mom and we just watched a movie and then ordered Chinese food for dinner while Morgan left a hurricane of destruction wherever he went. I'm so glad my mom is so easy going when the grand kids are visiting and doesn't care about the little messes they make. She always tells me she'd rather have company in a messy house, than be alone in a clean one. As we were packing up our stuff to leave, Kendle did her usual Oscar worthy poor orphan child performance to convince grandma to let her spend the night. Of course it worked, and I was sent home with one less child. Needless to say it was a very quiet drive home.



Upon arriving home, I found the new little car Riley had purchased for work and we decided to take it for a little spin. We headed over to Sonic for a treat, and then drove around for a bit more. It will sure be nice to have another little vehicle that gets some good gas mileage.



It was great to wake up on Saturday and not have anything pressing to do. We tidied up the house a bit, ate some breakfast and read the paper. Very relaxing. Then we took our Durango over to this guy, who was going to help us fix our breaks. What a good guy. Thanks a bunch Mitch! Later that afternoon, my mom and my sister brought Kendle back and all of a sudden our quiet Saturday got turned up a few notches. We miss Kendle when she's gone, but the noise factor sure increases when she's home. We wouldn't have it any other way though, she does have the ability to keep things interesting and liven them up. That night Riley and I went and watched "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". It was just alright for me, the ending was kind of weird. Shia Labeouf pretty much was the high light of the movie to me. Afterwards we headed to Red robin for some late night snacking and to use up the gift card Riley's soccer team gave him. It was a fun night.