A weekend without the offspring

"What bears? I don't see any bears ..." -Gavin

We had forgotten what it was like to spend a whole 48 hours together without the baby. It had been almost a year since the last opportunity, which was also for a football game, and we were looking forward to our weekend in Pullman for the Coug game. The anticipation leading up to the weekend was killer too. Did I pack enough for the baby? Are the hotel reservations secured? Are you SURE you have the time off???

But alas, we left around noon on Friday with nothing but open road and each other for a whole 48 hours. And it was awesome!

"Well that's one weird looking rock ..." -Karie

After a five hours drive I couldn't think of what to show Gavin first. He'd never been to WSU's campus and suddenly it seemed like everything, yet nothing, was important . So I took him to see the bears.

Gavin didn't believe me at first that we had bears, and then didn't realize that they were so close. The bear on the left was trying to melt the ice off a giant piece of salmon. The bear above was enjoying a salt lick. We also saw some cute baby bears but they didnt seem to be in the best of moods.

Bowling's not his game.

Of course we visited Basilios too. disappointment struck when they informed me they didn't have the pesto chicken pizza, but I tried to make up for it with some sun pasta and Parmesan bread twists. Delicious as I remebered -Gavin thought it lived up to my hype too, which was good since I couldn't' stop talking about it.

Later we went to Zeppos for some cosmic bowling. I'd actually never been to Zeppos and was kinda surprised it wasn't crazy busy for a Friday night. (Remember I was the girl who didn't party her way through college, so it didn't occur to me why no one was there ...)

A little bar hopping and a quick stop for some cold meds (damn allergies) and our first night in Pullman was a success.

I was a bit better ... with a few drinks.

The second day was so much more eventful and entertaining. I drug Gav outta bed early so we could beat the rush at The Old European, then get on campus for a good parking spot. Breakfast was super good and we had a ton of leftovers. parking on the other hand ... well we definitely didn't need to be on campus at 10am. I don't think another car entered our lot until almost 1pm. And since it was a Saturday, not much was goign down on campus ... oops.

So we did what any good alumni (and supportive significant other) would do -we bought all the gear we could find. A few shirts, a water bottle, earrings, a jersey, a hat, and a few other random things later we were dressed head-to-toe in Crimson and Gray. There was no way anyone could mistake us for a Wyoming fan -and I don't think we were mistaken as college students, being on campus at 10am and all.

Small line at Ferdinand's ... only 20 minutes.

The rest of the day consisted of wondering around, showing Gavin where I had classes and the library where I spent most of my time (book nerd, I am). We did hit up the visitor center for a wine tasting and enjoyed some great Coug wines out of Coeur d'Alene. I also found a wine that I'd tried during a mom's weekend wine tasting a few years ago, which was pretty cool so of course we bought that too. A quick trip to Ferdinand's, some lunch in the CUB, and a lot of walking later we were ready for a nap before the big game. Of course now actual people were on campus so leaving our parking spot to go back to the hotel (which was in the next town over) was NOT an option. I think we dozed standing up for the last hour or so before the game.

Game Time Selfie

Finally it was game time! We had good seats, and since I was no longer in the student section, I didn't have to go in 90 minutes before kick off to get a good view. Having been away for almost 5 years I noticed a lot had changed in Martin Stadium. The jumbotron had moved to the Stadium Way side, a whole new building had gone up where the screen used to be, and the box seats looked awesome. It was like being in a whole new stadium.

New addition looks so good!

Since I'm sure many of you don't really care how the football game turned out I won't go into too much detail there. A game is a game is game. I will tell you the Cougs beat Wyoming, which was great to see. My last game as a student in Martin Stadium we won, and I felt it was only fitting they win my first game back as an Alum. the win also helped cement Gavin as a Coug fan -at least enough to talk about going back next year for a game. Successful weekend!

It's so early ...

The next morning was a tough one. We didn't get back to the hotel until 10ish and were exhausted. Unfortunately the hotel didn't have very comfortable beds and the room temperature kept fluctuating all night, so no sleep was really had. Our 5:45am alarm came a bit too early, but Gavin had work at noon, so we hit the road for the long 5-hour drive back to the west side. We really missed our little munchkin.

Home. Sweet home.

The Gill-Smith FamBam has moved back to Washington! This isn't really new news, but it's still exciting for us. Gavin really likes his new job and enjoys working with friends again, and being a stay at home mom is easier in a more familiar place. 

It was bitter-sweet leaving California, especially when it had started to feel like home, but now we can enjoy it as a fun vacation location. 

Today marks three weeks since we crossed back into WA; and a fun three weeks it has been! There have been a ton of family dinners, game nights with friends, multiple library trips, a concert, a Sounders match, and even a trip to the zoo! 

Eleanor is definitely getting some good Auntie Michelle and Uncle Jason time in. And she also has a "playroom" in our new home that she's excited about. 

The story of our new home is a good one too: my Uncle Joey just happened to be moving out of state at the same time we would be moving back and he didn't want to leave his house empty. Out he went and in we moved! Uncle Joey's house is the perfect size for us with a back room for Eleanor's toys, a front room for entertaining, great kitchen, three bedrooms, and even a big yard for Lucky! 

We look forward to many more adventures, especially as Eleanor grows and learns -and she's doing both like crazy right now. In the last week she has learned to stack her cups in the correct order without help, put her socks on correctly, and is starting to put together her foam bath puzzles! Seriously cool accomplishments for our little bug! 

We don't have Internet hooked up at the house yet but should be getting it shortly and then I promise to update a lot more (right now we're trying - and I'm failing- to save our cell data). Keep up with us on Facebook where I've tried to post a lot of pictures and updates. See you soon!