Trip to Spokane 2008

We stuffed the car full of suitcases, presents, cookies, and fudge and left for Spokane on the 19th after work. Little did we know, the drive through Northern California would be the worst part of our journey. Kevin learned to put chains on our tires and Sparty drove us nuts with his whining when Kevin would get in and out of the car. After finally arriving in Medford at 2 in the morning we crashed for a few hours to start the drive over again in the morning.
We drove all day on Friday and managed to get in at around 9:30 pm. Kevin did such a great job driving in the compact snow, especially along the Dalles. The scariest part was driving down Sunset Hill (you Spokanites know the one) into Spokane, which was coated in black ice.
We finally made it though, and kicked off our vacation with champagne at the Radeckis. I, however, was beginning to not feel well, which turned into a cold with a stomach bug on top of that! This little guy made everything better, though:
I made sure to soak in all the time I possibly could with Damien. He's grown up so fast! He has such a great personality and a laugh that gives me warm fuzzy feelings. I can't wait to see him when I fly in for his birthday in Feb!
Anywho, back to our trip. There was so much snow in Spokane that they declared a state of emergency. It was insane. We kept our chains on most of the time we were there, resulting in them breaking. This was a great source of anxiety for us as we prepared to leave for home again, as EVERYWHERE was sold out of chains.
We made it to a few functions, though. Kevin met with Seth andI went to Cassie's 21st birthday dinner at Cafe Europa (where I ate almost nothing, but what I ate was good) and hanging out with my friend Bryce at Flamin' Joes, a really great wing place on Sprague was really fun.
At this point, I was still kinda sick, but I forced down a beer, some joe-joes, and wings. It had to be done.
Christmas Eve was spent at Kayla's. We had prime rib with delicious peppercorn sauce, Kayla's yam casserole, smothered green beans, garlic mashed potatoes, and the family recipe for delicious rolls.
Then we opened presents. The only pictures worth posting are these two:
Kevin was our elf and Damien was just adorable. Damien got the most presents and we got a nice electric roaster from Mama and Papa. Thanks Mama and Papa! Due to the South Hill (where Kayla lives) getting lots of snow that evening, Kevin and I borrowed PJ's and stayed the night. We watched the saddest movie ever, Click. Don't watch it.
Christmas day was spent at the Radeckis. Bernie was called into work that morning, but the rest of us had an amazing breakfast of ham, monkey bread (I want the recipe, but I don't own a bundt pan), orange rolls, scrambled eggs, and really, really large mimosas. We took a nap afterwards.
Present opening at the Radeckis is always fun, especially when Kevin brings our video camera and inserts his fun commentary.Don't forget about Sparty! He stayed at the Radeckis too! He had lots of fun in the snow and playing with Toby (the collie) and everyone else.

I stayed at Mama and Papa's house and had the pleasure of sharing my old bedroom with it's new inhabitant, Pickles, who enjoys the pleasure of crocheting (or just my yarn) as much as I do.We got lots of wedding stuff done while we were in town, including beginning our invitations, meeting with our florist, and deciding on some gorgeous bridesmaid dresses! It was nice to have fun on vacation, but I'm glad I don't have to think about those things anymore!
Our final night in Spokane we went out to dinner to celebrate Bernie's (Kevin's father) graduation from the WSU nursing program. He's officially all done. Yay for Bernie! We went out to Black Angus, which apparently now has a corkage fee, FYI. It was a really nice meal, thanks for the treat, Francie.
Afterwards Matt, Nate, Kevin, and myself went to O'Doherty's, a pub that turned out to be better than our expectations.
I ordered a black and brown for the first time, which I think is one of my new favorites. Brian and Maggie met us there after a bit, mostly as an opportunity to say goodbye.
We left Spokane on Sunday morning. Road conditions were amazing, but we picked up chains in Kennewick anyway. We stayed the night in Eugene (and ordered AWESOME cheap Chinese food, it was called Kaloon, I think, and it was awesome. Get the Kung Pao.) and made the rest of the trip on Monday.
It was so great to visit with everyone! We loved seeing all of our friends and family. I'm personally so happy that I'm beginning to feel more and more like a Radecki everyday, the family has been super warm and inviting. I'm glad I'll be gaining two great brothers and wonderful parents when I marry Kevin in June.
And thank you to Dan and Anna for watching our apartment while we were gone and keeping my plants nice and green!