Officially Washingtonians!

After $200+, many many forms and several visits to various government offices, it's now official. We now have Washington driver's licenses and Kittitas County library cards, and our license plates portray Mt. Ranier! We're also now insured, but have yet to figure out who our doctors will be. It's amazing how long all of this takes, but it sure makes the move realistic.

So becoming Washingtonians also requires getting some warm clothes (my colleagues have been making fun of me because I'm constantly wearing my coat and what I call my "Fresno winter" clothes). Because we all need everything, we decided to start at the second-hand stores in hopes of finding some good deals. We weren't as successful as I had hoped, but got some great winter play clothes for the kids. Graham got an "Ellensburg Rodeo" hat for $2 and I found a cute, black top. But, it looks like we're going to have to make a trip to Yakima for some serious winter shopping.

Despite the "cool" weather, events still go on! Yesterday before shopping, we enjoyed a fun little carnival sponsored by the university. They had two great comedian/jugglers out of Seattle, as well as a cake walk, fishing booth and carnival treats! Gideon's friend, Katie was there, too, so they had a good ol' time.

We also stopped in at the local library to check it out and get our cards. They have a great kids section including a train table which Gideon spotted instantly. The only way we could get him to leave was to show him that we had rented "Baby Van Gough," his favorite Baby Einstein video at Grandma and Grandpa Moes' house.

As soon as we got home, we went into Fresno mode and barbecued some tri-tip that we found at Costco. Oh man, was it tasty! We had planned on sharing some with our neighbors, but ended up eating it all (Hannah and Gidders ate as much as we did!). I'm sure we'll be doing that again soon.

Our first month-iversary in E-burg!

Today marks four weeks since we pulled into Ellensburg, so we thought we'd share some fun statistics about our first month here:

- Graham and the kids have visited a park 25 times

- Graham got his first ever flip-flop tan on his feet – in Washington, not California

- We enjoyed the first crop of locally grown apples

- Have been to the homes of "strangers" for a meal twice

- Gideon’s legs have grown noticeably longer and stronger (must be all that time he spends riding his "big boy" bike)

- We've only gassed up the car twice

- We've been to every grocery store in town

- We've been to Fred Meyer four times, once for "CWU Night," 11 p.m. to 1 a.m., with unlimited free hot dogs, pizza and Mountain Dew (...and check-out lines! Oi!)

- We've spent over $30 on pay-as-you-go laundry

- Graham has lost over five pounds (first house with stairs)

- Roz has seen her boss 6 times

- Graham has seen only 1 movie in the theater

- Hannah has acquired four new teeth

- Roz got to drive a 15-passenger van

- The weather went up past 80 twice

But despite all the fun we're having, we still miss all our of friends and family in California. We wish you were all here to enjoy these memorable moments with us. :)

Five great years!

Five years ago yesterday (September 14th) was when Graham and I said our "I do's." When we think back to the wedding, it seems like just yesterday. But then we think about all the places we've lived, all the fun we've had and the fact that we have two kids, it seems like forever ago!

Luck would have it that it was also the day that all of my new students arrived, so we got to spend a whoppin' two hours together yesterday. But before I left for work, there was a beautiful bouquet of roses on the table along with a lovely silver necklace for our "silver" anniversary.

We exchanged cards this morning and agreed that we would celebrate in a few months when we can afford a couple of nights away at a B&B somewhere fun.

Update: Graham said he saw on the Web that since the traditional gift for the 5th is wood, a modern practice has been to give silver.

Starting to feel at home

On the front porch with her pipe

This Monday marks three weeks since we arrived in Ellensburg, and we're starting to feel more and more at home. Looks like we're going to stay in the apartment a little while longer since we're just not ready to buy a house with the resources we have (or don't have...clear throat). I don't get my first full pay check until the 25th, so we decided to wait at least until then to see what we can actually afford.

We had our eye on a cute, new house on the north side of town and were this close to making an offer, but something told me (or Someone) told me to hold off. It was hard to let go, but we know that He was protecting us from potential disaster and has something better in store.

So now that we might be here a while, we bought a nice big rug for our living room and actually hung some stuff on the walls. I also made space in the little kitchen to bring in my baking pans and casserole dish from storage, so at least I can make some yummy fall treats!

We're making new friends each day. The funny thing is that our friends here remind us of certain friends in Fresno. I call Selmah (one of my co-workers) my E-burg Kristin, and believe it or not, Graham made a friend who reminds us of Tim!

Gideon's best friend here is named Katie (like cousin Cadie). She spent the night with us last night because her mom just had surgery and needed some time to rest.

We've also been adopted by a couple who have sons our age who I call our E-burg Arnie and Brenda. Of course it will take time to develop these relationships as deep as our "real" friends, but it's a start!

The funniest story is of a couple who the husband is a writer and was a stay-at-home dad, and the mom works at CWU. They have two kids, ages three and one, and the most ironic part of it is that our telephone numbers are exactly the same, except the last two numbers are reversed! What's even funnier is that when we first plugged in our phone, we weren't getting any calls and it seemed weird that even our moms weren't calling.

So I got on the cell phone and asked Graham if maybe our number ended in 68, not 86, so I kept calling both numbers trying to figure out which one it was, and poor John (our friend) kept answering the phone, which, by the third time I just hung up!

Come to find out that our ringer wasn't on (duh!), but when we exchanged numbers, I told him the story and he remembered the incident. Then I was really embarrassed, but thankfully he didn't hold it against me. We'll be having lunch with them next Sunday.

Hannah's first birthday!

Even though we had two parties before we left, we still had to celebrate Hannah's birthday on the actual day (Sept. 1st). It just so happened to be the day of Labor Day parade, so we went to that in the morning then had a little party in the evening.

We decorated the house with some "happy birthday" streamers, a birthday tablecloth and a few balloons. I made a cake in a casserole dish with a "1" candle propped on the top. She loved it that's what matters.


She attempts walking more and more each day. And just yesterday, I watched her climb all the way up the stairs. I wasn't sure if I should punish or praise her for doing it, we just have to be so careful that she doesn't come tumbling down.

Ellensburg - The City

Ellensburg is pretty much the epitome of the small town experience. We arrived just in time to attend the annual fair and rodeo, and experience the Labor Day parade.

Everyone here is really friendly and will tell you anything about the town you want to know. It seems that a quarter of the people have been here forever, another quarter are from somewhere else and came here for a job, and the other half will be students.

We've heard that the whole town changes once school starts (more traffic, it's louder, etc.), but no one has anything bad to say about it except for the wind and the cold weather.

Crime here is almost funny. Today in the paper the crimes listed were a guy who drove away from a drive-thru without paying and a kid who let the air out of his dad's tires because of some argument. Our BBQ has been sitting on our back porch facing the street since we arrived, and so far it's still there (knock on wood). This morning the Pastor told us that the only reason to lock your car door in Ellensburg is to avoid finding it filled with free squash and corn from your neighbors.

Services here are limited, but I see it as a removal of temptation to spend. Yakima is about 30 minutes south and has anything we can't find here (Costco, Wal-Mart, Target). We do have a huge Fred Meyer and a Bi-Mart (Northwest-based warehouse-style Wal-Mart) which we have yet to visit.

Groceries are expensive compared to what we're used to. Plenty of supermarkets to choose from, including Fred Meyer's market, Albertsons, Safeway and Super 1 Foods. The checkers are friendly too -- an older man at Super 1 (not even our checker) had to tell us about his grandkids and the barbershop quartet (what else?) that he sings in.

Still, we're going to do our best to support the local mom & pop shops. It's just a matter of learning what's here.

Central Washington University

I don't think I'll have a problem with my day-to-day tasks, but it will take me a while to get used to a public university system. For example, they're very specific about how funds are used, particularly that they are used for the students, not the employees. Even things like candy on your desk. If you buy it with school funds, the employees can't eat it, but the students can. There are also no discounts on the cafeteria food, the fitness center or any events; the complete opposite of FPU. You also can't go straight to the top with any questions or concerns. Everything has to be filtered through the chain of command, so it takes a while to get an answer. It's also on a much larger scale than FPU. What FPU has a person for, Central has a department if not an entire building dedicated to each service. It's pretty overwhelming.

The campus itself is gorgeous. Most of the buildings are red brick and several have been remodeled in the last few years. My favorite building is the science building (right).

The International Center is the one of the "less attractive" buildings on campus (not pictured...yet), but it's very homey and welcoming. It was an old dormitory, so it has a small kitchen and restrooms in each hallway. My office has a joint door to the office next to it which Nicole (the co-worker I'll probably end up working with the most often) likes to keep open since my office has the air conditioner in it.

The campus has a really neat little Japanese garden and a beautiful new student union with lots of eating variety. The main administration building (left) is one of the original buildings on campus and the sort of template for the look of the rest of campus.



So far I have felt absolutely spoiled. I have a brand new computer, new flat screen monitor, new keyboard, and just Friday, they brought in an incredible office chair that adjusts to every nook and cranny of my body. It even has an air pump in the back that adjusts the lumbar support. I'm sure the chair wasn't cheap, but the guy from the Ergonomics Department said I got it because I qualify as a "special need" due to my small frame. Hey, I'm not going to argue. I just hope I don't fall asleep in it!

My new job

My first day of work as the International Student Advisor was on Wednesday. I didn't get home until 6:15 and was just absolutely exhausted and on information overload. My co-workers were so excited to have this position filled that they all felt it necessary for me to know EVERYTHING so they could be relieved of the duties they had been assigned from the vacant position.

I really like everyone I work with. Most of them are women in their early thirties, so many of them are potential friends. Apparently about five of us are new, so we're all doing our best to figure out who is supposed to do what and how. As frustrating as this may sound, I think it's going to be good because we can make our jobs to be whatever we want them to be. The only downside is that we don't really have a guide. Very little was left by any of our predecessors, so we're having to reinvent the wheel. But again, they're so happy to finally have someone in my position because apparently a lot of what they do depends on what I do, and they've all been waiting to do anything until I came.

I just learned on Friday that the new students arrive on September 14th, so that basically gives me/us ten days to plan orientation. Yikes! But since I just finished planning/doing orientation at FPU, I'm still sort of in orientation mode. I just need to learn what I need to know in order to teach them. We'll see how it goes.

I haven't gone through any of the lists or files yet, but it looks as though most of my students are from Asia (primarily Japan and Korea). Central doesn't offer any scholarships (even to athletes), so there's very little hope for students from third-world areas. There are about 300 international students total, but that consists of the ESL students, one-year exchange students and what they call the "matriculated" students, students who plan to get a degree from CWU. I will be the Advisor for the 100 matriculated students which includes grads and undergrads. I will serve not only as their immigration advisor, but the academic advisor for the undergrads who have not yet declared their major. I will also provide basic services, too, like personal counseling, advocacy and adjustment issues. It might just take me a while to get to know all of them.

The apartment

The apartment...well, if you asked me today I would be a little more positive. But when we first moved in, oh my goodness! Graham and I looked at each other, and without even saying a word knew exactly what the other was thinking, "we gotta get out of here fast!" But now that our stuff is unpacked and we've come to know the neighbors a little, it's not so bad. Not ideal, but not so bad. In a nutshell, we're in a two-story, 3/1 modular apartment. All the flooring is speckled brown linoleum and the stairs are hard, brown plastic.




The kitchen is basically a corner with orange countertops and a decent amount of cupboard space. The oven and fridge are brand new, but unfortunately there is no microwave, dishwasher or garbage disposal. The bedrooms and the bathroom are upstairs. They're pretty small, but the kids now have their own rooms.




The apartment is one of five buildings that circle a grassy courtyard. The whole complex consists of courtyards A-K, so it's pretty good size. Most of the people in the area are families, so Gideon has already made lots of friends. He's also become good on his "big boy bike" and loves just riding around the courtyard sidewalk.



Our back door leads to the playgrounds and laundry facilities, so yesterday while doing seven loads of laundry at once, Gideon and a neighbor friend played at the playground. I'm not looking forward to doing laundry once winter hits, but Graham assured me that folding fresh-out-of-the-dryer laundry is heavenly in the winter.

The complex housing director is really nice. She's a young gal, kinda quiet, but very sweet and easy to approach. Thursday she had us all over to the community center for root beer floats which was fun.

Apparently there are going to be several social events throughout the year, so that's a plus for living here.

My commute is still only about three minutes. I ended up buying a parking pass (for A LOT more than the passes at FPU) which has come in handy not only for work, but for city events, too. Since the school is in the middle of town, we were able to park in the school parking lots when we went to the fair on Friday and the parade on Saturday.

We're here!

Well, we made it!

We had three days to get here so we were able to take our time and stop when we needed to. Unfortunately we didn't leave Fresno until about 4:45 on Saturday afternoon, so when we pulled into Redding at midnight, we were pretty beat. Graham and Gidders were in the Penske, and I had Hannah and the cat in the car with me. Both vehicles were stuffed to the brim (thanks to "packing wizard" Brook!) and we thought the truck might flip a time or two during high winds. God's mercies were definitely apparent!

(Thanks also to Tim "The Move Man" Gilstrap, Marijke "Shrink-wrap Queen" Moes and Rocky "Box Master" Spain for all their invaluable help getting on the road in the first place!)

We had an awesome IHOP brunch on Sunday, then headed for Bend, Oregon. The drive was absolutely beautiful! Mt. Shasta is just amazing, and once we got into Oregon, we could definitely feel the cooler weather.

We made a pit stop at a great little visitor's center just outside of Klammath Falls, a perfect little park for the kids to run and for us to get some free maps. The last hour and a half to Bend was tough for Hannah, and the extra weight of Senjka on my lap made it quite uncomfortable, but we finally pulled into Bend around 6:30 p.m. Graham dropped me and the kids off at Fred Meyers while he searched for a motel. We ended up staying at the La Quinta Inn, which provided several comforts of home (mini kitchen, microwave, two beds, pool...fresh-baked cookies. Gideon dubbed it "the cookie place.").

We left Bend at about 9:30 Monday morning in order to make our 4:30 appointment with the housing office at the university. Hannah was pretty much done with being in the car after the first hour, but finally fell asleep to me singing any song that came to my mind. The only song that would calm her down during any part of the trip was, "If you're happy and you know it," so I think I qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records for singing one song the most times in the matter of three days. Oi!

Anyway, we made it just in time for the appointment, then had about an hour to blow until we met with the Housing Director to move in. Thankfully two of my co-workers were here to help us unload, but we ended up letting them go because the truck had been packed with the assumption that we would be going to the storage unit first. We got most of the important stuff out, then Graham spent most of Tuesday at the storage unit unloading and sorting through stuff we needed. Thanks to his awesome labeling system, the task wasn't as grueling as it could have been.