rozilini

Trip to Seattle

2009-05-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

Because my most recent business trip to Seattle fell on my birthday, I decided to take the family with me. Unfortunately I had to work all three days, but Graham and the kids had a blast venturing around, and I joined them in the evenings. It made for a great mini "vacation."

"Pillow fight!!!"

Riding the carousel at the Point Defiance Zoo

Hanging out in the cozy hotel bed

The second day at the zoo

Out on the town with Daddy

Enjoying some yummy Seattle ice cream!

The first ever Starbucks location

The famous fish market at Pike's Place

Graham's favorite Seattle site (though we aren't quite Mariners fans yet)

My birthday dinner

The best dam tour ever!

2009-05-11T19:48:00.000-07:00

During Mom and Harold's visit back in April, we had the pleasure of getting a full blown tour of Wanapum Dam where my co-worker's (aka "Farmer Nicole") husband, David, works.

The dam is one of 16(?) along the Columbia River, about an hour east of Ellensburg. It produces hydro-electricity not only for parts of Washington, but California as well. For more info, check out the website: http://www.gcpud.org/resources/resEnergy/wanapum.htm.

An outside view of the dam

Hard hats required!

Above is inside the upper section of the dam. Notice the large crane at the top. This crane travels along the entire length of the building to transport the equipment in and out.

It just so happened that the day we were there they were replacing one of the turbines. This is what I called "the space ship", but is really the propeller that was being replaced.

After touring the upper level and getting wobbly knees from looking down into the hole where the turbine fits in, we took an elevator three stories down. At this level, we could see where the water came in and was directed into the propellers to maximize speed and flow. We also saw the massive tubs of hot grease needed to keep the 16 turbines lubricated. It was unbelievable. The gauges were uncountable, but are monitored by just one person 24 hours a day.

For the next part of the tour, we continued another three stories down at which point we were 60 feet under water and could look up at the propellers. Apparently there was one more story below that wasn't accessible to visitors.

We walked down a long hallway with little stairways and doors as seen below. We had to wear earplugs to reduce the amount of noise created by the thousands of gallons of water rushing through the turbines behind each little door. David said we'd be under water in about 10 seconds if any of the doors were opened. Freaky!

That being said, he proceeded to lead us through the door of the room to the turbine that was in the long process of being replaced. It was the coldest, darkest, dampest place I had ever been in my life, yet a half a dozen guys carried on their work, not thinking anything of it.

A crane from the outside moves along the top length of the dam to provide this wall, if necessary, to block off any of the turbine rooms. This picture doesn't do justice, but it's what's holding back the 60 feet of water above us from coming in. Because it's metal, it doesn't seal completely, allowing just enough water to make us a little nervous. For perspective, you can barely see the top of David's head (at the bottom of the picture) who is about 6"5'. Graham says it was like being inside some gigantic Indiana Jones temple.

Grandma Sara and Hannah enjoying the tour

If you have time, read through the history of the dam and how amazing it was that 1. someone came up with the idea and design, 2. the amount of man-power it took to build it and 3. just how incredibly HUGE it is. It's hard to impress me, but boy, was I impressed! I have such a new respect for engineers and all those folks who work "down below" to keep this place running.

And thanks, David, for taking the time to show us your "office" on your day off!

Down on the farm

2009-02-16T14:43:00.001-08:00

During her interview process, we learned that my now new coworker, Nicole spends the better part of her day as a farmer! She, her husband and her still-very-German mother live about 11 miles out of town on a ten acre farm. Since her niece and nephew loved the farm so much, she thought it would be fun to have Gideon and Hannah visit, too.

Going out to see the animals

The "gobble gobble chickens" as Hannah calls them

Chicken pen #1

Apparently chickens like apples

Here comes...

...the piggy (a.k.a. Amelia)!

Collecting the eggs

Gidders was amazed at all the different colored eggs

Miracle of miracles... Gideon pets a dog! ("Tripper.")

Nicole's favorite chicken, Gracie

One of three "guard" dogs on the farm, Hector. Graham's favorite.

Cruisin' the farm with one of my students from Kenya, Kate who visits/helps out on the farm almost every weekend

Feeding the cows "cow cookies"

Duckies! Big duckies!

Feeding the chickens in pen #3

Nicole has about 200+ chickens whose eggs she sells as her business. Apparently "the girls" hadn't been laying due to the cold weather, but once it warmed up, she was inundated! She gave us about 3-1/2 dozen to take home, but said she gave her sister 30 dozen and still couldn't fit them all in her storage fridge.

The geese were roaming free that day, and the funniest part of the day was when Gideon and Hannah came running around the corner with terror on their faces. Then about five feet behind them were the geese running and squawking like crazy. It was hilarious!

Happy Birthday, Gideon!

2009-01-27T10:08:00.000-08:00

Gideon's big number 5!

We can't believe it's been five years (Jan. 8) since Gidders came into the world. Not only that, but five is a huge milestone with starting school, being more independent and going from a preschooler to a "kid."

To celebrate his birthday, Gideon chose to go bowling. We thought this was a great idea since we hadn't been bowling in a while nor had we been to the alley in Ellensburg yet. Thursday nights just happened to be "Glow Night" where you bowl in black light which makes everything glow (hence the fuzziness of some of the pictures).

In the end, Gideon got a 105 on his first game and 80+ on his second game.

Ellensburg's Rodeo Bowl

Gidders was so cute. He'd carry the ball like this, then run up to the line and hurl it with all his might. Hey, it worked! He got at least two strikes!

Graham in action!

Even Hannah had a few good throws (apparently not this one, though).

Gideon doing the happy dance.

Sure! I look like I know what I'm doing. :)

Enjoying his present from Grandpa and Grandma Moes.

The next Saturday we had a few friends over for a birthday party. It was a "Cars" movie theme, but included a fishing game, a racetrack cake and a "happy birthday" train banner.

Gideon with David Hudson (back), Emily McReynolds (left), L.J. Kincaid (middle) and Bailey Baumgaertner (right)

Graham's hard work in making the magnetic fishing game.

The "pond"

L.J. caught one!

Opening gifts. He got a slinky, a racetrack, a racing Xbox game, a bubbles set, a "Cars" poster and some Play-Doh tools. Thanks everyone!

"...and Lightning McQueen rounds the last corner with Chicks Hicks close behind! Guido and Luigi cheer him on!"

Happy 5th, Gidders. We love you!

Christmas (with a surprise at the end!)

2008-12-29T20:28:00.000-08:00

Since we were away for Thanksgiving, we decided to spend our first Christmas in our house at home. Mom and Harold were planning to spend it with us, but unfortunately Mom required emergency surgery that did not allow them to come (no worries. She's just fine. :) )

We had to go for a much smaller tree than previous years since our living room space is a bit limited, but it turned out to be a great little tree.

Gideon Claus

Decorating the tree (while listening to "A Christmas Carol" then the Amy Grant Christmas album in the background, of course).

Oh, Christmas tree!

No need to "dream" of a white Christmas anymore!
(view from out our front door)

Christmas Eve meal before heading to church: pigs in a blanket, raspberry jello, Risgrynsgrot and Julmust (two traditional Swedish Christmas treats).

Opening gifts: lunch boxes for the kids and new p.j.'s for Mommy!

A "princess dress" from Grandpa Moes

The 1977 Chronicles of Narnia collection. Just what he wanted!

Look and find books from Tante Marijke

Yay! New placemats!

Fishing sets from Uncle Brook and Auntie Tonya

Laser tag!

"What? It's not candy?" (peppermint spatula. Thanks Kinneys!)

A baby doll!

Trying out the gifts

Art easel from Grandma Sara and Harold

'Twas a long, busy night. :)

Although our gift opening was over, we still got one little extra Christmas surprise. We found out we're expecting! Come September, we'll be a family of five, making this grandchild #12 for the Moes', #11 for Dad and Ann and #5 for Mom and Harold.

We hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas, too!

Thanksgiving

2008-12-28T22:22:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving, we decided that a year and a half was too long to be away from family, so we made our first trip back to Cali since we moved to Washington.

The photos below are only a glimpse of everything we did and everyone we saw. You can see more on either my or Graham's Facebook accounts.

Hannah, Gideon and cousin Eden reading a book with Grandma.

A musician in the making!

Grandpa's newly renovated home theater

Watching Charlie Brown Christmas

Great Grandma Moes had a tradition of giving the kids Thanksgiving cans filled with treats and toys. Grandma Moes has kept the tradition going.

All of us ladies making the Thanksgiving feast!

Doing a Thanksgiving craft while waiting for dinner

Worth the wait!

Cheers!

What would we do without the Murphys Camp dining hall?

Choices, choices, choices!!

Miles' first Thanksgiving

The kids loved their Thanksgiving cans

Digging through the popcorn to get the toys

Uncle Dave and Miles (the newest member of the family)

Taking professional family pictures at Ironstone Winery

That hottie can't be "little" Marijke??!!

Please can I go in??

Staying warm while waiting our turn

Some of the cousins: Brynja, Gabriel, Gideon, Acadia and Hannah

First Christmas presents of the year

Gidders and cousin Acadia

Admiring the Christmas tree

Hot tubbing with Grandpa!

Precious girl!

After Thanksgiving we drove down to Fresno to see friends and visit our old stomping grounds. About 15 friends met us at our favorite Fresno restaurant, John's Incredible Pizza for yummy food and catching up.

Thank you, Naomi, for letting us stay with you!

It wouldn't have been a trip to California without going to In-N-Out.

Back in Murphys, going on a tracking ride around camp.

Our last night in Murphys. Murphys Christmas Open House.

Brook, Victoria and Ethan helping spread some Christmas cheer (and making an unexpected $22 in 15 minutes!)

Grandpa Moes and Baby Miles

Boys will be boys.

Getting in one final game of Ticket to Ride

A rousing game of "chess"

Taking a walk to the top of the hill

One final spin on the tire swing

Fall fun!

2008-11-09T18:59:00.001-08:00

One of the reasons we love Ellensburg so much is that it has four seasons. As October came to a close, more colors in the trees began to appear, the leaves started to fall and pumpkins were appearing all over the place!

A few Saturdays ago, Graham decided to look for any fall festivals that might taking place that day. He just happened to find a festival going on in Suncadia, a resort about 20 minutes north of Ellensburg. It said everything was free, so we figured it was worth the drive. And boy, was it worth the drive!

The festival included a tractor-pulled hay ride through the resort, a bounce house, two pumpkin patches (one for regular size pumpkins and one for little pumpkins), a hay maze, pony rides, a mechanical bull, a pumpkin carving station with tools and stencils included, apple bobbing, a pie eating contest, carnival games and vendor booths! The food we had to buy, but they were huge portions for very little cost.

The lady manning the pumpkin patch said it was the third year they had done it, and the crowd gets bigger each year. The small crowd was one of the reasons we enjoyed it so much, but we felt we can't keep a secret like this away from our friends. We hope to go again next year and for many years to come!

Suncadia

2008-10-25T20:12:00.000-07:00

About 20 minutes up the highway from Ellensburg is a place called Suncadia. It's a resort, multi-course golf area and housing development in the Cascades on the way to Seattle.

We went up there on a lark a few weeks ago for a Harvest Festival (blogging that next) and snapped a few photos of the place on a hay ride through the resort. These pictures don't do it justice, but the place is just spectacular -- and another reason for friends and family to visit! (Hint, hint!)

Don't miss the panorama of the view from the mountaintop lodge.

As always, click to enlarge!

Definitely enlarge this next one and the few following.

Begin panarama...

End panarama.

Kittitas county fair!

2008-09-21T21:19:00.000-07:00

We attended the county fair last year, but now that we've been here for a year and know the town and more people, we had a lot more fun this year.

My fair highlight this year was working the Pampered Chef booth. I took Thursday and Friday afternoon off from work and enjoyed watching people, saying "hi" to friends and meeting new people as they perused through the Home Economics building. Business-wise the time was well spent, too. My only misery was the temptation of the pastry contest items displayed across from my booth. Smelled sooo good!

Since I got into the fair free both days, Graham and the kids met me Friday night after my shift. We enjoyed some unhealthy fair food then rode the Ferris wheel, the super slide and a kids roller coaster that Gideon ended up getting off after the first trip around the track. We'll try that one again next year. :)

Hannah, of course loved seeing all the animals. She wasn't so fond of the cows, but loved the horsies. As you can read to the right, Gideon only enjoyed a select few of the animals, but went along anyway with ears covered or his nose plugged. The ride the kids enjoyed the most was the bumper cars. Even though we ran out of tickets to actually ride them, they loved just watching everybody crash into each other and laugh. Two weeks later and Hannah still talks about the 'bumpy cars.'

The fair ran through Monday, so after Hannah's party, we decided to go back so we could see the Frontier Village (which closed before we got there Friday) and the animals again (per Hannah's request). Since it was the last few hours of the last day, we got in free again. Woohoo!

Hannah's 2nd b-day!

2008-09-21T20:31:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, our little Miss Hannah turned two on September 1st. What's even harder to believe is that both of her birthdays have been in Ellensburg. This year, though, we actually had enough friends to have a party!

It worked out great because her birthday fell on Labor Day, so I had the day off to just enjoy the day. For the party, we had about 12 kids and several parents. We didn't do a theme, but decided to just do activities that she enjoys. The night before, she and I baked cupcakes, then at the party, all the kids got to decorate their own cakes with various colors of frosting and toppings.

For the party favors, we gave each child a bottle of bubbles and blew hundreds of bubbles in the back yard, followed by a rousing game of ring around the rosy. Hannah and the kids loved it!

Gifts included some adorable clothes, "hair pretties," a princess piano, a Mr. Potato Head, a magnetic fishing set, a play dough set and some books. From earlier parties and family she also got a rocking horse, tons of play food, talking "Little Einsteins" dolls and a bug-themed place setting. She loves it all!

Hannah is becoming quite an amazing little girl. I have to share that during the Sunday school class promotion ceremony, her teacher shared with everyone how much she would miss her and that Hannah was one of the smartest 2 year-olds she'd ever known. It was so sweet. Hannah continues to impress us daily with her speech, sense of humor, athleticism and love for life. We feel so blessed to have her in our family.

Graham's day in Seattle/Dave's visit

2008-09-21T20:15:00.000-07:00

In mid-August, our cool friend, Dave Richard, visited us from Northridge, California. He arrived on an early morning flight in Seattle, so I took the day off so Graham could pick him up and have a day out in the big city.

From the stories and pictures, I could tell they had a blast. They had coffee at the original Starbucks, saw a Mariners baseball game, went to the top of the Space Needle and to the Jimmy Hendrix Museum and saw the guys throwing fish at Pike's Market.

I, too, enjoyed playing stay-at-home mom for the day, and arranged a picnic at the park with my friend Kari (a.k.a. LJ and Jack's mommy) and her kids. There's just something that makes the day even more special when you know you would otherwise be at work. :)

Space Cadet Dave beneath the Space Needle

Seattle, Quest and Safeco Fields, Mt. Rainier in the distance. (As always, click to enlarge.)

Experience Music/Hendrix Museum guitar art

Dave at Starbucks store No. 1. (Not Dave's car.)

Safeco Field, home of the Mariners, who beat the A's that night

Front row, noose-bleed seats. Life is good.

Four generations

2008-09-21T19:03:00.000-07:00

A few days before Graham's parents and Marijke continued their journey to Minnesota, my mom and grandparents came to Ellensburg for my grandfather's high school reunion (if you remember, he graduated from Ellensburg High many, many years ago).

Four generations: the ladies

During their visit, we were able to hear many stories about Ellensburg as it used to be, and take a tour of town to see where they lived, shopped and worked. One place my grandfather worked was the radio station where he's treated like a celebrity every time he visits. They pull out old pictures of him and his little big band, and describe the set up of the station and how everything was done live. We all went along for this year's annual visit and had a great time. Thanks KXLE for being great hosts!

Grandaddy at his old stompin' grounds

KXLE station manager Steve

Steve let Gideon talk into the big microphone and then played around with the recording
(Click to play)

Snoqualmie Falls

2008-09-21T18:29:00.000-07:00

During the visit from Grandpa and Grandma Moes and Auntie Marijke, we visited a small town just east of Seattle called Snoqualmie Falls. This quaint little town features fun shops, beautiful nature and best of all, the train museum and railroad. It was here that Gideon's ultimate dream came true: to ride a real train!

After about an hour ride and a trip to the candy store/ice cream shop, we drove down to the falls for which the town is named. Enjoy the photos!

Heading for the caboose with Auntie Mikey

We've gotta a ticket to ride!

Mommy & Hannah enjoying the ride

Grandma & Grandpa at the falls.

Snoqualmie Falls

He is the one we've been waiting for!

2008-08-28T00:38:00.000-07:00

Summer fun!

2008-07-13T21:49:00.000-07:00

Ellensburg has several annual traditions and festivals, but none are like "Dachshunds on Parade" weekend.

Each year, hundreds of people from around the States bring their dachshund dogs to Ellensburg for the dachshund parade, costume contest and dog races. We had heard quite a bit about it, but we had to go check it out for ourselves.

Gideon wasn't too hip on petting the dogs (he's deathly afraid of dogs, and we have no idea why), but he enjoyed the wiener races and the costumes.

Hannah enjoyed the dogs and even made friends with one named "Toby."

I'll let the photos tell the rest. (Click to enlarge.)

This summer also marks Gideon's first summer job. He joined in with the neighbor kids next door to sell lemonade and golf balls.

He thought it was the greatest thing, and did a great job yelling "LEMONADE - 25 CENTS!" every time a car drove by. After a full day's work, the girls gave him $3.72 as his pay. He decided to buy himself some gummy cherries, give 25 cents to the church and save the rest. So cute!

More visitors!

2008-07-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

We are so thankful that our friends and family continue to visit us from so far away. Tim and Summer Gilstrap (who now live in Spokane, WA) visited us back in May as part of their "5th Anniversary Western Washington Tour." We had a great time watching their wedding video, hanging out and playing our now new favorite game "Ticket to Ride - Europe."

Then about a month ago, my Dad and Ann visited us from Bakersfield, CA. The surprise wasn't so much that Dad came, but HOW he came. Due to his claustrophobia and slight fear of heights, my father had not flown in an airplane since 1969! But thanks to the "parents passes" my step-brother got through Alaska Airlines, they were able to sit in first class which made the flight here very comfortable for him.

During their visit, we showed them around Ellensburg, and spent a day in Leavenworth, the little German town we visited back in December. This time, though, the weather was very pleasant and we were able to see a lot more of the town, including the beautiful park that goes along the river. It was gorgeous!

Our next visitors will be coming in August. Several of the Moeses are planning to come (although we're still not sure how many), and then my Mom will be coming again with my Grandparents who are natives of Ellensburg, so we're looking forward to them giving us a tour of Ellensburg as they used to know it.

Oh those crazy kids

2008-07-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

We had so many cute pictures on this last roll, we thought we'd share. As always, click to expand!

Bad hair day? What bad hair day?

Hangin' in the cubbie. (Gideon often naps here.)

The G-man's "smile for the camera!" smile.

Chocolate pudding is serious business.

Home, Jeeves.

Fourth of July indoor picnic. Smile for the camera, Gideon!

Crazy Bag Head.

Crazy Bag Head dies for no apparent reason.

As does Crazy Bag Head, so does sister.

World-class cheese.

Faker.

Cute.

Cute in the chute (at McDonald's).

Summertime... Shade... Cool grass in the front yard... Life is good.

5K Fun Run/Walk

2008-06-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, the youth group from our church hosted a 5K Fun Run to raise money for their mission trip to Jamaica. Although we had no intention of running, we thought it would be fun to take the kids for a stroll and spend some time outdoors.

The event took place at Irene Rheinhart park, a part of town we had not yet seen. Unfortunately it runs along the freeway, but is also along the beautiful Yakima river.

The 5K course was really nice. It was a loop that started at the park entrance and went around the large pond where they were having mini-boat races that day. Then it curved around alongside the river and into a forest-like section of the park. The lead runners passed us on their way back before we even hit the half-way mark, so we didn't do the last loop. They were still nice enough to give the kids ribbons of participation.

It happened to be one of four warms days we've had so far (although it rained later that day), so we put our feet in the water and played at the park for a while. The day was enjoyed by all.

You know you're from Ellensburg if...

2008-06-08T11:39:00.000-07:00

In three months we'll have been here a full year (can you believe it?) and now feel qualified to weigh in on what it means to be a citizen of the great city of Ellensburg. So, you know you're from Ellensburg if...

- You refer to Fred Meyer as either "Freddy's" or "the mall," and you know your Rewards Card number by heart.

- Going to a real mall feels like a visit to Disneyland.

- The waiter asks if you want milk, water, coffee or "pop."

- "The West Side" refers to Seattle, not gang territory.

- You live next door to an old church, a D&M Coffee or both.

- You have no lock on your back door and only lock your car to prevent neighbors from unloading their garden produce on you.

- Sight of a Target, Costco or Wal-Mart gives you a sweet adrenaline rush.

- You can pronounce "Umptanum" correctly and without giggling.

- The weather forecast calls for warm and windy, cold and windy, rain and windy or just plain windy.

- After watering your lawn all day long, your grass is dry but your neighbor's house is soaked.

- You know someone is from out of town if they don't have a university parking permit hanging from their rear view mirror.

- You can attend extreme bull riding and a lecture by Salman Rushdie all on the same day.

- Walking to the hospital would be faster than calling an ambulance.

- Being white as a ghost is as acceptable as wearing socks with sandals.

- You meet someone "from Ellensburg" and immediately ask, "So where are you from?"

I'm still trying to decide if needing oven mitts to drive in Fresno was really worse than needing polar fleece to take a walk in June here, but we love Ellensburg and are proud to call it home.

Our first visit to the ER

2008-05-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

When Graham and I became parents, we knew there'd be a day we'd have to visit the emergency room. We just didn't know when, and I think we both assumed it would be for Gideon. But no; little Miss Hannah, in defiance to being kept from running into the street, flung herself out of Graham's arms landing head-first onto the sidewalk. I was at work, but Graham said she cried for a few seconds at first, tried to take a breath, then completely blacked out. Thankfully she came to in a few seconds, but he had the scare of his life.

I was on the way home for lunch already, so we rushed her to the hospital which, in great little Ellensburg is literally one block over and two blocks down from our house. By the time I got home, she was extremely lethargic and had a huge scrape/bump on her head (the picture doesn't do it justice, but thankfully she didn't crack her head open). We didn't even have to wait two seconds before being seen (again, good ol' small town service!). She was pretty freaked out by the doctors and nurses, so they ended up giving her a sedative so she'd stay still for a CT scan. Thank the Lord, everything came out fine, although they said that since kids are so limber, their spines can still experience trauma even if it's not fractured.

Once she woke up, she was laughing and counting the numbers on a wellness chart, so the doctor wasn't too concerned. She took it easy once we got home, but after a while was running around and being her normal, toddler self. We just have to watch her close for the next 24 hours.

Thanks to those who prayed for her/us. Graham is still pretty upset about what "could have happened," but we're thankful that God was and is watching over our little Hannah Mae.

Work, projects and more!

2008-05-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

In case anyone is interested, I thought I'd give a little update on my job. In a nutshell, things have been going very well, but several side projects and events have kept me extremely busy.

The things taking up most of my time are the three search committees that I'm on. Due to various reasons, we currently have five openings in our department that need filling ASAP. Two committees I'm on are for new Study Abroad Advisors (one being Selmah's previous position [sniffle, sniffle] and the other a new position). I don't think I'm allowed to say how many applicants we had, but it was over 100! And the fun part was that we HAD to read every application, cover letter and resume. Talk about time consuming! I was looking at files every moment I had (during lunch, at home, in my dreams!) The good thing is that we have some GREAT candidates, although it's going to be a tough decision. I'm looking at it as not only someone qualified for the positions, but potential new friends. So far so good.

The other position is for a part-time office assistant which doesn't require as much scrutiny (and there are less than 30 applicants). Phew! That begins next week, around the numerous phone interviews for the other positions.

The 24th and 25th I spent on the "west side" (aka, Seattle area). The first day I left E-burg around 7 a.m. and spent the day visiting my international students who are attending our satellite centers. I only met with one in Des Moines, but in Lynnwood they were literally lined up outside my door. It made for a busy afternoon, but I made some really good connections with the students up there. They were all so grateful that I came so far to meet and help them with their issues/questions.

Then Friday I attended another day conference with a group called AWISA (Assoc. of Washington International Student Advisors). The conference was great, but the cool part was that it was at the University of Washington, which is not only GORGEOUS but has a student population of 30,000+ and the potential of being an independent city (it even has its own zip code). Apparently they are turning students down by the hundreds, which is good for CWU, but just goes to show how incredible their reputation is here.

Thursday night I stayed with the Jefferson's again (my mom's cousin's family) and since my "Uncle" works at UW, I carpooled with him, and he was able to show me around campus before going to work. To get him there by 7 a.m. and beat traffic, we had to leave their house at 5:30 which meant I had to get up at 4:45 a.m.! Oi! But I did it.

Needless to say, the next day, I was pooped...and still had about 50 SAA files to read over the weekend. :)

The other thing that's been keeping me busy is the revival of the International Club. Long story short, I was starting to gather a group of students who would help me get it going again when two guys walked in my office who had the exact same plan! So we joined forces and it's taken off full force! As great as it was, we were meeting two nights a week, once for the officers meetings and once for the actual club events.

It got to be a little much, and Graham and the kids were starting to call me "stranger," so we've changed the officers meetings to mornings (during work hours) and I'll probably only go to the events every other week. This week I took Graham and the kids with me so I didn't feel like I was abandoning either party. Just for the record, I've been given permission to pass off the "International House" Advisor position to one of the new Study Abroad Advisors...once we hire them, that is. :)

This wasn't work related, but another project I did was a "Happy Birthday from Ellensburg" video for my Grandpa's 90th birthday. A few months ago I helped one of my students from Japan with a mini-documentary on culture shock, so in return, she helped me make this video to send him since we couldn't attend the birthday bash. We had so much fun! We started it with a tour of our new house, then went around town interviewing people Granddaddy knew when he was a kid, as well as strangers who were willing to sing "Happy Birthday." Fortunately we were able to connect with three of his friends from High School. I had a blast listening to their stories and memories of him as a teenager. It was a true insight into my Grandfather's life long before I was around. We also interviewed two of the DJ's from the local radio station which Granddaddy started back in 1946. Needless to say, Tomomi did an AWESOME job editing the video and Granddaddy loved it! Happy 90th, Cracker!

Visits from friends and relatives!

2008-05-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

We have been so blessed these last few months to have several visitors from home.

My mom was here in March (during the move), then in early April, Mark, Shiloh -- Graham's oldest sister -- and their girls stopped in for the night on their way to Idaho.

We couldn't believe that the last time we had seen them was when we went to Disneyland, almost exactly a year ago.

It was great to see them again and for the cousins to play together. Gideon really misses his cousins, and it was more of an introduction for Hannah since she was only 6 months old last time.

Then a few weeks later, Todd & Sarah Friesen and their boys stopped in for three days during their northwest tour. Unfortunately they were battling illness their entire time here, but we were able to meet up for dinner the first night.

I've known Todd & Sarah since our freshman year in college and they've remained friends since then. Gideon and Paul got along great and enjoyed being the silly, 4-year-old boys that they are.

In June, my Dad and Annie plan to visit, and then my mom and grandparents are coming in mid-August for my Grandpa to attend yet another Ellensburg High School reunion (class of '35).

Tim and Summer Gilstrap, who only live 3 hours away, haven't come to Ellensburg yet, but apparently we shouldn't hold our breath. (Yes, Tim. I know you're reading this!!!)

Golly gee, I'm 33!

2008-05-07T20:54:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to me

Two Tuesdays ago (the 22nd, of course) I celebrated my 33rd birthday. Being away from home, I thought it would be fun to have our new friends over for a game night, but we decided to just make it a family affair which ended up being really nice.

The day started pretty normal: work, lunch in the Student Union, etc., but Nicole baked/brought cupcakes on my behalf, which was very sweet of her.

But when I got home, the boys had decorated the dining room, baked a cake and had finished painting my new dresser! Yay, I didn't have to live out of my suitcase anymore!

Then to top it off, Graham did BBQ shishkebabs (in the rain nonetheless) and we enjoyed a wonderful dinner, cake and opening of gifts. After dinner, we all watched the classic version of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory at which point I fell asleep on the couch (it had been a long week...yes, already).

So thanks to all of you for your e-cards, e-mails, cards, gifts and well wishes. I felt just as loved here as I did in Fresno, but wished you could have been here to celebrate with us.

Home, sweet home!

2008-03-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

(Click to enlarge)

It's been a while since I've done a post, but with everything going on, I just haven't had the time (or energy) to get on the computer at home.

Our biggest news, of course, is that finally, after waiting a week and a half longer than we anticipated, we finally got the keys to our new house! Unfortunately we didn't get the time we had hoped for to clean and paint, but thanks to our realtor telling us that the back door was unlocked, we "broke in" a few days early and were able to move in the appliances and transfer everything from the storage unit to the garage.

Our official move-in date was last Wednesday. Thanks to the help of our neighbor, my mom (who was in town for spring break) and several friends from church, we were able to pack up and move in a matter of a few evening hours.

The house is wonderful! Despite being outdated in a few areas, we're really enjoying the space, the location and the comfort of knowing that we'll be staying here for a while. The painting is coming along. Graham (bless his heart) worked tirelessly on the kitchen cabinets which ended up being more of a chore than anticipated. We learned very quickly that robin's-egg-blue is difficult to cover. We also learned that the previous owners had an appreciation for ugly linoleum which not only covers the kitchen floor, but was used for lining cabinets in 8 different patterns.

The kids are loving their big room. We bought them bean bags and set the room up so they have a little sitting area to read books or watch videos. Hannah now has her crib back, although we're thinking she's going to be ready for a toddler bed soon. Gideon now has room to spread out both play rugs and can set up a train track without having to step over (or on) it all the time.

We haven't done anything on the outside of the house yet. We thought spring was coming, but this week brought three days of snow, so once the weather warms up, we'll start weeding the "garden", trimming the bushes and possibly sodding the front yard. Thanks to a sweet tax refund and the stimulus package, we'll be putting up fencing soon, too.

There's still a lot of do, but we're taking it one project at a time. I'm just looking forward to having people over and using this house to give back with the blessing that the Lord has given us.

"Fun with food" montage

2008-03-27T20:10:00.000-07:00

Thought you'd enjoy a few of our "yummiest" photos from the past few weeks.

Snidely Whipjam!

"Pies" baked by Chef Gideon

Saltine toffee snacks in the making

Family fun night, courtesy of DQ!

A major tourist attraction... Ellensburg's largest pancake.

Not sure what it was, but it must have been yummy!

Now on to the new house...

Gideon showcases his "all yellow" meal

Star Boys eat pizza in March (Swedish Christmas joke)

Again with the jam 'stache

Hannah "gets into" her spaghetti

House update

2008-02-22T13:35:00.000-08:00

On the bright side, we'll enjoy the new swim-up bar

Things are finally progressing with the purchase of the Ruby house. Now that the price is settled and the papers/addendums have all been signed and returned, we are officially in escrow!

I just have to say, though, how grateful we are for God's timing. If we'd had our way, we would have been in the house several weeks ago and would now be dealing with our first repair.

We don't know how long it had been going, but when we went to the house to do some measuring last Saturday, we could hear water running. Sure enough, the main water pipe had burst, and water was gushing all through the basement.

Luckily those rooms are unfinished concrete, but had we been there, not only would we have had to pay for repairs, but we would have had stuff in storage down there...ugh. I don't even want to imagine!

But, because the selling bank dragged their feet, the repairs are their responsibility. Phew! The inspection will take place next week, and we're going to make sure that everything is fixed, cleaned up and dry.

Closing is scheduled for March 10th, and we'll have 10 days to be moved and out of our apartment. My mom already had a ticket to come on the 14th, so it's perfect timing for her to help.

Thank you to everyone for your support and prayers. Please continue to pray that the inspection will go well tomorrow (Tuesday) and that the rest of the process will go smoothly!

Farewell, Selmah!

2008-02-22T13:02:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday I had to say farewell to my dear friend, Selmah, who decided to move back to Pennsylvania to be with her family. Her mother has been going through a very difficult medical situation, and it was taking a toll on Selmah to fly from coast to coast every few months.

I'm sure going to miss her, and it's unfortunate that we didn't get enough time to really get to know each other even better. But the times we had were great, and I'm thankful to have had her here these last 6 months.

Since her job was so similar to mine in some respects, I have now "adopted" her 20 exchange students and the role as Advisor to the International House (a dormitory on campus that is dedicated to international interests). I'm actually looking forward to getting to know the students on a non-business level, and since so many of my students live in the I-House, it should be a good opportunity for me to get to know more of them.

We love you, Selmah!!! :)

House update

2008-01-31T13:13:00.000-08:00

Big news, folks... After a looong process of looking, waiting and wondering, our latest offer on a house was finally accepted yesterday!

It's the one we call "The Ruby House" (because it's on Ruby St.) and is located in the middle of downtown (for you Fresnans, being downtown is a good thing in E-burg).

We originally made an offer about a month ago, but the house had only been on the market for a week at that point, they didn't bite. So last week, we decided to try again and see if they'd reconsider.

The cool thing is that they counter-offered at first, but when they heard we were going to counter, they decided to just take the original bid. Bottom line, we got it for $15,900 less than the asking price. Not bad, huh?

The house was built in 1910, so the wiring and systems need a close look.

Other than that, it's a cute, solid house with a lot of character and potential. It's technically a two bedroom/one bath, but the entire upstairs is one room, so we're going to put the kids up there to give them plenty of space to play.

It's got a HUGE laundry/utility room, a ton of kitchen cabinets, a decent amount of counter space, a separated one car garage and two unfinished rooms in the basement. So it's livable, but we already have a lengthy list of additions and upgrades, starting with paint and some kind of flooring to correct the ugliest kitchen linoleum on the planet.

The day we got the news was also the day of another big federal rate cut. The same day Graham says his investing hero Jim Cramer suggested going out and buying a house!

So this looks at this point like yet another instance of God timing our housing situation perfectly.

Our next step is to bring in the inspector. Should he find any major concerns, it's up to us to either agree to take care of them, or bow out of the deal. But if everything works out, we'll be moving in mid- to late March!

Now if we can just scrounge up some actual appliances somewhere...

A taste of home

2008-01-31T12:55:00.000-08:00

Hannah and her new old friend

Over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, we had our first overnight guest. Kristin Karlsson, our dear friend from Fresno, braved the cold weather to come spend the weekend with us. We had such a great time showing her around town and introducing her to our friends. We also used her visit as an excuse to visit the local ice cream shop, the famous "Palace Cafe" (since 1892!), and the radio station where my grandfather worked in the 1940's.

The kids loved having Kristin around, too. Hannah took to her almost instantly and was glued to her hip the whole weekend. Gideon, of course remembered her from Fresno and loved having a new person to play trains and playdough with.

The evening before she left, there were several times I had to remind myself that I wasn't in Fresno. It all started with a Java Mocha frappacino from Starbucks combined with hanging out with KK. Then we went home and played Nertz until about midnight, depite the fact that we had to get up at 5:45 the next morning to get her to the bus station. Sigh...the good ol' days.

Yeah, we sure miss our friends/family, and getting that little taste of home made us wonder if we made a big mistake by leaving. But we know God brought us here for a reason and we truly are making the most of it.

Happy 4th Birthday, Gideon!

2008-01-09T21:59:00.000-08:00

Tuesday the 8th marked 4 years that Graham and my lives were changed forever: we become parents of Gideon Garrison. Although four years sounds like a long time, it seems like just yesterday that we rushed to the Clovis Community hospital only to wait eight hours for his arrival.

This birthday was the first one that he didn't celebrate with any extended family, but it was also the first party where a majority of the guests were kids. Considering we've only been here for four months, he had plenty of friends to invite. Half of the kids were from the neighborhood (Connor, Riley, Kayti & Jonathan) and the others were from church (Emily, Kiah, Bailey & Luke).

When planning the party details, Gideon came up with the theme "video games," so we rolled with it. One of the things the neighbor kids like to do when they come over is play our little 5-in-1 80's games consul which has Ms. Pac Man, Mappy, Galaga, Xevious and Poll Position. So, I baked a Pac Man and a Ghost cake (power pellets and all!) and we hooked up the consul for entertainment. It was a hit!

The party was last Saturday, so for his actual birthday, we decided to go out to lunch since I had to work, and that night was the first night of Awana. Gidders chose to go to "Old McDonald's" so he could get a strawberry sundae. Unfortunately the play area was closed for winter, but he had a great time anyway.

After lunch we had him open the gift we saved for his actual birthday, the Duplo "Cranky." He also got Calling All Engines from Uncle Dave and Auntie Brittany which he had been asking for for a year. He had a great time putting stickers on the card from Grandpa Harold and Gramma Sara, and sang along when Grandma Karlinda & Tante Mikey sang "Happy Birthday" over the phone.

It ended up being a great day, and I think this year he was old enough to realized how special and fun a birthday can be.

My job update

2008-01-09T21:58:00.000-08:00

Now that I've made it through my first quarter as the International Student Advisor, I have to admit that the start of winter quarter was much, much easier. This quarter brought in 55 new students bringing my total advisee list to a whoppin' 204. Yikes!

Thirty of the new students are a cohort group of men from Vietnam studying Aviation Management. Although I know nothing of this topic, I will serve as their Advisor for the next five quarters. Learning their names has been...well, interesting, but they're a great group of guys and have been very patient with my lack of experience with Vietnamese students.

The greatest part of my job right now is that word is starting to spread to the students that I'm here, I'm nice and I'm willing to help. It's a great feeling when a student walks away with direction for a major. Or now understands what she has to do to graduate. It's been especially rewarding to talk with students who arrived when my position was vacant and to hear them say, "Oh, I'm so glad you're here." It's also been nice to see the students who were new last quarter and actually know their names and recognize their faces. I don't feel like the "newbie" anymore and am actually able to do what I came here to do [sigh of relief].

2007 Year in Review

2007-12-30T22:03:00.000-08:00

Gideon and pal Ethan

Once again, the end of the year snuck up on us, and we didn't get cards or letters into the mail. Hopefully you don't mind an e-version of our "Year in Review," since the last four months of the year are already detailed in previous entries. But we did more this year than move, so consider these the highlights.

After wanting to visit our friends Jim, Jen and Ethan Richard (not to mention Dave, Bob and Kap!) for the longest time, we actually got to visit them in L.A. twice this year, both times in March.

The first visit was coupled with the MovieGuide awards which we attended as guests, not nominees. As wonderful as it was for Graham to win last year, this time we were able to relax and enjoy the fun. The gal who won second place for the Kairos Award last year was also there again. We had a great time catching up with her and meeting the this year's nominees.

We also got a chance to walk around Beverly Hills before the event and during the show met a few more celebrities (Stephen Baldwin and Ioan Gruffudd & fiancée Alice Evans. We later heard they were married on our anniversary!). A big thank you to the Richards for watching the kids and letting us enjoy an evening out!

Our second visit south we got to spend time with all the Richards including sister, Lisa whom I had never met. They had a great time watching old videos and talking about the good ol' days in Northridge. Gideon and Ethan had a great time playing trains and eating their meals at the kids' table.

This visit also included our first trip as a family to Disneyland, thanks to a great deal on tickets through Fresno Pacific University. Mark, Shiloh and the girls met up with us there which made it an extra fun day.

We weren't sure how the kids were going to handle the long day, but they did great! Gideon had a "stunned" look on his face most of the day, but it was a happy one. His favorite things were the Teacups, the Winne the Pooh ride and the firework show. Hannah enjoyed the lights and the ambiance.

And even though we rode few adult rides, we all had a great time. Every now and then Gidders still makes reference to his big day at Disneyland.

This summer, we decided to finally visit Yosemite since it was so close and neither of us had been there in years. We also hadn't been camping since I was four months pregnant with Gideon, so we decided to rough it at a great site just north of Yosemite park. Dave and Brittany met us there, so it was also a perfect opportunity for us to hang out with them.

The park was absolutely gorgeous (needless to say) and we were able to see parts of it we hadn't see before. (Graham saw even more, as he spent over an hour literally chasing down the shuttle on which he had left our camcorder and digital camera.)

The end of summer brings us up to date with the start of this blog. To recap: In a matter of five weeks, I interviewed with Central Washington University, was hired, we all moved to Ellensburg, and the rest is history.

It was an awfully difficult decision to move away from our wonderful friends, family and workplace, but we absolutely love it here and wish that we could somehow have the best of both worlds.

Thanks to all of you who sent Christmas cards, pictures and newsletters. It's been wonderful hearing about your year, and it's good to know we haven't been forgotten. We hope you had a very Merry Christmas and continue to receive God's blessings in the upcoming year.

Stay tuned for more Moes adventures in 2008!

A Very Moes Christmas (photo album)!

2007-12-29T16:29:00.000-08:00

(As always, click to enlarge photos!)

Merry Christmas from Ellensburg!

Hamman (& Moorlag/Moes) family tradition - Christmas cookie bake

Hannah approves!

Decorating is Gideon's favorite part...OK, maybe second favorite part

Friend from work, Selmah, joining in the fun

Sledding on Christmas Eve

Me and the kids, ready for the Candle Light service

"I'm ready for my presents!"

New goggie! Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma Moes!

"Salty" and "Percy" - newest additions to the train collection

"Thank you, Selmah!"

Our priceless gift!

Gideon, View-Master of the Universe

The adventure begins...

Can we build it? Yes, we can!

Our trip to Bavaria!

2007-12-15T21:19:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we make a little trip to Germany...well, not really, but close. Just one hour north of Ellensburg is a great little town called Leavenworth. Somehow at some point, the city decided that they were going to create a town much like the authentic villages of southern Germany. From the flower-filled window boxes to street signs in German (with "Strasse" and "Weg" instead of street or way), it truly felt as if we were in Germany.

The main reason we went on the day we did was to experience their annual Christmas lighting festival.

After a traditional ceremony complete with "Ricolla!" horn players in Bavarian clothes, various colored and white lights filled the trees, lit up the downtown gazebo and outlined the buildings. It was absolutely magical!

Activities included shopping in the quaint specialty shops, sledding and snowball fights on the hills of the snow play area, eating chestnuts roasted on an open fire (not just a line in a song, they really do it!) and Christmas songs being sung by a live men's quartet. You could also ride in a horse-drawn carriage through town or drive a few blocks down for a sleigh ride. It was the ultimate Christmas experience!

Unfortunately the experience was enhanced by the freezing cold weather. I couldn't feel my feet for most of the evening and poor little Hannah just whined and cried most of the time (we think her feet may have been frozen, too since she finally stopped crying once we got in the car and cranked up the heater). So after visiting an outdoor grill haus, enjoying the best kielbasa I'd ever had (Graham had a good ol' German bratwurst), we headed home. I couldn't completely feel my feet until we got back to Ellensburg. Come to find out, it was 15 degrees! No wonder!

So once the weather gets a bit warmer, we'll visit Leavenworth again and hopefully be able to stay a little longer (or maybe we'll wait until October when Unca Da and Tante go there for Oktoberfest!).

As always, be sure to click on any photos for which you want to see more details!

More winter pics

2007-12-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to share a few more photos from our winter walk Sunday afternoon, which included the making of our first snowman!

Holiday events

2007-12-02T21:41:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I haven't blogged in a while is because we've been so busy with various holiday events. Without going into a ton of detail on any of them, here's a quick recap.

Thanksgiving: we spent Thanksgiving with the Franz family (formerly mentioned as our new Arnie and Brenda). Joyce suffers from extreme fibromyalgia, but is a wonderful homemaker and friend. Wolfgang (originally from Germany) loves telling stories and has been sharing his wisdom with Graham from the stock market to good places to camp and ski in the area. I baked/took a pecan pie and a pear pie, both of which turned out delightful! We had a wonderful day and couldn't have asked for a better day despite being far from family.

Lighting of the Downtown, Friday after Thanksgiving: after a candle lit walk, the entire town enjoyed free cookies and hot cider as Safeway lit their Christmas tree. Then we continued on to the famous Davidson building for live ballet in the window, a stroll through the "Streets of Bethlehem" and decorated trees inside the Clymer Museum. The weather was FREEZING (literally), but everyone said it was the biggest turnout yet!

International Office Potluck: Someone once told me that community isn't something you wait to happen, it's something you build. So I decided to plan an office potluck since there seemed to be so much separation and people who didn't even know each other. The event turned out great, and we not only had tons of delicious food, but everyone was so happy to meet each other. After introductions, Mike (my boss) introduced me as the new social events coordinator for our office, a title I'm very pleased to hold.

Percussion concert: last Wednesday we attended the CWU Percussion Ensemble winter presentation. They only performed five pieces, but one was a 15-minute marimba sextet. Needless to say, IT WAS AWESOME! Gideon enjoyed seeing the tympani and actually sat still for two and a half songs. A big thank you to Graham for letting me indulge while he entertained the kids in the lobby for the remainder of the concert.

A Christmas Carol: Graham and I had our first date night in Ellensburg on Friday. Joyce and Wolfgang watched the kids, so we were able to enjoy a live performance of "A Christmas Carol." We sensed a hint of the true meaning of Christmas being emphasized, particularly in the end when the audience was encouraged to joined in the singing of "Oh Come All Ye Faithful." Afterward, we got a chance to try out one of the locally owned coffee shops which have to admit was quite good!

So that was our last two weeks. This week is finals week at school, so things are going to get pretty quiet around campus which means time for projects! We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy these next few weeks as you prepare to celebrate Christ's birth!

Our home and the blizzard

2007-12-02T18:29:00.000-08:00

We have a two-fer for you this time. Just a couple quick videos, the first of the "blizzard" that hit us Sunday morning (partly on the way to church!), the second a video tour of our humble home. Both from Sunday. Sorry about the poor video quality. Graham accidentally had the camera set to low resolution. You'll get the general idea. Enjoy!

Our first snow!

2007-11-20T21:25:00.000-08:00

It begins...

Sunday morning we woke up to our first Ellensburg snowfall! Most everyone said the first snow probably wouldn't stick, but after church it was still snowing. After our Sunday naps, it was still snowing. After dinner, it was still snowing and everything was completely white! It was so beautiful and even a bit magical. The kids LOVED it and didn't seem to mind having to wear gloves or big puffy coats.

Graham and the kids went out to try and build a snowman, but Hannah just wanted to knock it down like blocks, and Gideon enjoyed body slamming any form that Graham could create. Needless to say, there never was a snowman, but they sure had fun in the process!

Monday morning going to work, I had to basically excavate the car, but I have to admit it was kinda fun! A lot of the snow melted by the afternoon, but this morning it was 24 degrees when I left for work, so everything left turned to ice. All of the car doors were frozen shut, so I had to come back inside for a cup of water to pour on the door. It seems so silly to sit in the driveway for 20 minutes waiting for the car to defrost, only to have a 3 minute commute. But I guess
that's life of living in a small town with snow!

Don't forget, you can click on any of these pictures to enlarge them for a better view. (All but the last few that are hosted on Photobucket!)

On the way to church...

Inside the car

Church... Small but cozy?

Incoming!

Off to work in a winter wonderland

Time for fun!

New princess boots!

Life as the ISA!

2007-11-18T20:49:00.000-08:00

Many of you have asked how my job is going and what it is I do, so today's update is about my job.

First of all, "ISA" stands for International Student Advisor which is long to say (and type), so I'm referred to as the ISA. The term "Advisor" is used in several different ways when referring to what I do. First, I provide academic advising to all of the undergraduate students who have not yet declared their major. This means that I help them to understand the graduation requirements and steer them in the right direction toward their anticipated major. It's also my responsibility to monitor their academic progress. If any students fall below a 2.0 GPA, I'm notified and have to work with the student to help get their grades up.

Second, I am the immigration advisor as it pertains to the F-1 student visa. I have to make sure they enroll in full time units, don't work off campus without permission and are prepared if they leave the U.S. and need to come back. I also help process their paperwork for work permits, reinstatements (if they break the law) and other government forms.

Third, I'm the Advisor for two student clubs, the Japanese Student Association and the International Student Association (also called the ISA). This advisorship includes signing budget requests, monitoring the student leaders and making sure that the club activities are legit. So the constant use of "Advisor" may seem redundant, but it sums up my tasks into one easy term.

As of last week, I advise 165 undergraduate and graduate students at three different campuses (the Ellensburg main campus and two others which are satellite campuses in the Seattle area). I also monitor about 30 students who are participating in post-graduation internships throughout the U.S. It may sound like a lot, but it's actually a pretty decent load.

Most of my students are Asian (Japan, Korea, China, Vietnam) with a few Euros and two or three Africans. So despite the fact that I'm advising almost three times the number of students than at FPU, there are actually less countries represented, which is a little disappointing. It's also difficult to keep track of them. Most of their names give no indication of whether they're male or female, and then to make it more confusing, they use their "American" name, so I still have no idea who they are! With the holidays soon upon us, I've been able to meet more of them coming in for travel endorsements, but I think it's going to take me a while to meet them all.

The office structure is on a much grander scale than at FPU. Our office of 40 employees consists of four different departments. One is the ESL school (they have about 90+ students), another is Study Abroad (U.S. students studying abroad and 14 students from abroad studying at CWU), and the third is "AUAP" which is an exchange program with a specific university in Japan who requires their students to study in Washington for six months. ESL and AUAP have their own classes and teachers, so they get to know their students really well. Our department is the head of all the other departments, but because my position doesn't really fit anywhere else, I report directly to the head of the department as do the directors of the other departments.

As for the office environment, it's also VERY different than FPU. As I mentioned in a previous entry, I hardly see my boss, even though he's right across the hall. Lately I've seen him quite a bit, so that's good. I work primarily with Nicole, our SEVIS Technician whose office is connected to mine (you'll see her in the video below). Other than her, I almost have to seek out my other co-workers. It's kind of strange to have to make an effort to talk to people, but when I do, everyone responds positively. It's not like they're rude or anything, they just sort of keep to themselves (I miss Dave Sadler). Selmah (in Study Abroad, pictured above) is my closest office friend. She and I get along really well and have lunch together almost every day.

I LOVE my student workers, Deema and Sarah. Both of them are American, but Deema is originally from Lebanon and Sarah is an Asian studies major. They technically work for everyone in the department, but I tend to seek their help more than anyone else does. They're no Oxana, Annie or Lidija, but I've taken them under my wing in hopes of hopefully establishing a close relationship.

Besides missing student relationships, my biggest struggle has been working in a non-Christian environment. I'm having conversations I've never had before, and getting frustrated by some of the activities that occur on campus. There's this big "campaign," if you will, to emphasize openness to all people, when in reality, they're not at all open to conservative Christians. Everyone in my office definitely knows I'm a Christian, but even those who I know are Christians too aren't very open about it. It's just going to take me a while to get used to.

Okay, this is getting long, so I'll stop here. The video below is a tour of my office.

Oh, how they grow!

2007-11-10T19:56:00.000-08:00

I usually put short updates on the kids to the right, but this week, the list got so long, I decided to dedicate an entire entry to their accomplishments.

First of all, Gideon is using the bathroom all by himself (did I just see a cow fly by?)! And most of the time it's unannounced. He just goes upstairs, does his thing, flushes, washes his hands, and then comes down and tells us. It's awesome!!! (see video below). This morning, he put his socks on by himself, too.

The kids are also learning some sign language. I started taking an ASL class and thought it would be fun to teach the family some signs, too. Gidders thinks it's funny when, "Mommy talks with her hands," but he loves it. As of yesterday, he can sign "I want some milk, please." He also made up a few signs of his own (wrapping your arms around yourself means "cereal," and putting your arms out and shaking your hands means "tracks"). Hannah signs "all done" every time she finishes eating or after we change her diaper. It's so cute!

Hannah's verbal communication has also flourished. She copies everything we say and can now say so many words: kitty cat, jump, thank you, red, hi, dada, cracker, duck and attempts "Gideon." She can also tell you what a kitty cat and a cow say (although sometimes she gets them mixed up). Her best expression is, "I did it!" (see other video below).

Even though she can't say everything, Hannah definitely gets her point across. In the morning we give her a choice of cereal and she lets us know what kind she wants by either shaking her head "no" or reaching out when it's the one she wants. Her level of understanding has really increased, too. The other day she put on some sunglasses and I told her to go show Daddy without pointing or guiding her in his direction. She immediately turned around, walked down the hall and found him in the other room. Graham said she even had a look on her face like, "look how cute I am, Daddy!"

Oh, I can't forget to mention that she occasionally prays before she eats, without prompting. It's so adorable. She doesn't close her eyes, but she folds her little hands and says something to the extent of, "ba loop ba slee tap pay la koso sa leep" (no, I'm not teaching her Japanese prayers).

It's such a joy to watch our children grow and learn. Everyone we talk to says it goes by so fast, enjoy the moment. So that's what we're doing, trying to focus on the fun aspects of being parents and journaling their special moments. Thanks for letting me share them with you.

Graham's birthday weekend

2007-10-26T21:22:00.000-07:00

Monday the 22nd was Graham's 37th birthday, so we decided to spend the weekend with our friends Tim and Summer Gilstrap who just moved to Spokane, WA about two weeks ago. They're currently living with Tim's parents, so we were able to stay at their place in their nice guest room.

We got to Spokane from Ellensburg in about 3-1/2 hours, including a slight detour in Moses Lake in search of food. But in general, the drive wasn't bad. Highway 90 is pretty barren with the exception of Moses Lake and a few other very small towns. What's funny, though, is that as soon we saw the sign for Spokane county, it was instantly full of beautiful green trees.

Saturday morning we met up with Tim's brother and four kids. We headed north to a little community north of Spokane called Green Bluff which consisted of very nice homes and several farms hosting fall festivals. The first place we went had a corn maze, several craft booths, two different trains to ride, a pick-your-own pumpkin patch and a country store. Unfortunately the activities weren't free, so a few of the adults took the bigger kids through the corn maze while the rest of us strolled through the pumpkin patch. Hannah loved it and ooohed and awwed at all the different colored pumpkins. The only problem was that it was FREEZING cold, so we didn't stay there long.

The second farm we visited was an apple farm which had pony rides, a train ride, a U-pick apple tour, a corn cob launcher and the most popular attraction: outdoor heaters! They also had a live singer/guitarist which made for a fun, upbeat environment (by the way, Graham asked me to mention that the guy sang, "I am my own Grandpa" which was hilarious!)

By the time we got to the third farm, both of our kids had fallen asleep and I refused to get out of the car before my hands and fingers defrosted. But this place featured homemade apple everything: pie, cider, wine, apple butter and made-on-site donuts! Yum!

Tim - a pumpkin with a pumpkin :)

After a bit of rest, Tim's sister, Abby was sweet enough to watch the kids while we went to a movie. Yep! An actual movie, in the theater, just us adults. It was wonderful. We saw Elizabeth which we highly recommend if you're in for a good historical piece. We ended the evening with a good ol' game of cards.

Sunday morning we decided to attend the Episcopal Church in downtown Spokane. It was right next to the hospital where Summer works and is an old, Gothic style cathedral. The inside was absolutely gorgeous with beautiful stained glass windows, a magnificent pipe organ and gold threaded tapestries. I was in the nursery most of the service, but Tim, Summer and Graham got to hear a woman practicing "Ave Maria" for a wedding that was being held there that evening. Afterward, we were able to talk to one of the priests who explained a little about the structure of the church and some of their beliefs. It was really interesting.

For Graham's actual birthday we just stayed home and had barbequed tri-tip dinner and homemade cake. It made for a nice birthday celebration!

An Ellensburg October!

2007-10-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

Fall is definitely here. Besides the even cooler weather, the town is just full of beautiful fall colors and harvest events.

Yesterday we joined two sets of friends at "Dusty's Nursery" for their 2nd annual harvest fest. Because we live in campus housing, a donated can of food each got us in with free pumpkins for the kids (by the way, even if it weren't for the benefits of free cable, utilities, etc., we really are starting to enjoy living here).
Although a fairly small property, the harvest fest included a pumpkin patch from which the kids chose their pumpkins, a vote-for-your-favorite-scarecrow contest, a small corn maze, a hay bale playhouse, a guess-the-weight-of-the-pumpkin contest, sack races, face painting, a balloon artist, a petty zoo, pony rides and concessions. It was great! Gideon's favorite things were the corn maze and the playhouse. At one point, we were keeping an eye on him at the playhouse, and just as Graham looked over, he saw him following some older kids into the corn maze. Graham ran over there as fast as he could, and after searching through rows and rows of corn finally found him on the other side of the maze in a parking lot. Yikes!

Over by the concessions was a box of free dwarf red apples to sample. They were so cute and just right for little hands. Both the kids loved them, and I think Hannah must have eaten two or three by herself. So we bought a bag full for $2. Hannah also enjoyed looking at all the flowers and did her usual "oooohhh!" at the waterfall there. So cute!

Today we had weather in the mid-60s, so we went for a walk to the big park near our house. Wow, the fall colors are just so amazing, and we're wondering, does Fresno just not have this, or are we only noticing them here because we're somewhere new? I could talk about it all day, but I'll just let you enjoy the pictures.

Just havin' fun!

2007-10-07T19:54:00.001-07:00

One of our favorite family pastimes is dancing. So here is a clip of our latest "Friday Night Fever."

Officially Washingtonians!

2007-09-30T19:31:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-24T12:44:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-02T19:18:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-02T18:28:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-09-02T17:33:00.000-07:00

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.