Sushi Belt

For Preston’s birthday lunch, he wanted SUSHI!!! But not just any sushi, he wanted to go to Sushi Maru, a posh restaurant in the downtown Spokane Mall that Preston has been eyeing for months.  He has known that this is where he wanted to go for his birthday, so there was no hesitation or doubt when the time came to choose his lunch choice!  There was a conveyor belt that runs all through the restaurant with all kinds of sushi. It was a lot of fun just picking sushi as it floated by on the conveyor, and not worrying about the cost…..until we got the bill after we were done!! But it was worth it and fun to try a new place!

Happy Bday Preston

It was the traditional breakfast in bed...and Preston wanted wheat Rollos, raspberries, bacon and sprite.  Sprite for breakfast??  Well, that's not the traditional juice or milk choice... Mom had a hard time saying yes to that, but in the end she said, "I guess only on your birthday!!" (Erica was pleased with his beverage choice and kept trying to steal a swig every now and again but continually would get caught red handed!!)  Today, Preston turned 12, but with the new church policy on receiving the priesthood in January, Preston has already been ordained and passing the sacrament for 3 months now.  He does a great job passing with reverence and care. We Love You Preston and the great young man you are becoming!!

 

Preston knew exactly what birthday cake he wanted this year... Costco's GIANT chocolate 4 layered cake!!  And he wanted it to say "BIG Preston" on it in blue writing....now this kid knows what he likes.   Well, the request was easy enough to fill, so Laura was grateful she got it right!!!  Preston was very particular that no one helped blow out the candles on the cake (must have had a really important wish on his mind)...with hands out wide Preston made sure the path was clear and no one was sneaking in any extra puffs of air on those candles or spit on his precious cake!!

Preston had high hopes of getting a hoverboard (for the past 3 years he’s refused to buy one, convinced that he was going to get one for Christmas, or his birthday), but was again disappointed...no hoverboard.   But he was happy with receiving a new bike, MP3 player, and a baseball glove. He also got a helmet with a Bluetooth connection that plays music.

Preston does not like birthday attention... no singing to him at restaurants, no gifts at school, don't even wish him a happy birthday in public...no!!!  So for his birthday, he wanted to have some friends over - but no one could know it was his birthday, so we  pretty much had the entire deacons quorum  over on the 12th to "hang out". Laura made it super fun for them by setting up a bunch of ‘Minute to Win it’ games, snacks, treats, and then we put on a movie (Sully) to end the night.

Hording General Conference

In the car on the way home from Idaho, we listened to the Saturday sessions of General Conference.  We were hoping to be in Tri-Cities for the Priesthood session...but with the spontaneous mini reunion in Twin Falls we were a few hours behind on our plans (but it was worth it!!)  We were able to visit with Brayden, Becky and Max on Saturday night.  Our plan was to watch the first session of conference with the Hords and then head home in between sessions... well we were having such a fun time together we decided to extend our stay and watch the second session too!  We love that the Hords live 2 hours away!!!

Flash MOB reunion

Before we got back onto the road, we decided to make a last minute stop at Bridgeview Estates to visit with Granny Vera Ward. She was awake and talking, and we were able to enjoy some time with her, even if she wasn’t sure who we were. Erica, normally a pretty shy girl when it comes to people that she isn’t used to (otherwise she is anything but shy) surprised us all when she went right up to Gran, held her hand, talked with her, and showered her with kisses. We were just about to leave, when suddenly we were met by Mike and Judy…. Then Penny and Gary….then Kristin (Angie & Mel’s daughter, Clay’s cousin) and her kids. It was like a flash mob family reunion that nobody was planning on, but it was a lot of fun being able to see everyone. We even Marco Polo’d Mom and Dad Ward in Fiji so that they could join in. 

Staying @ Sudik's

After the Mandarin House, all the "Ward" kids (Joslyn & Kelly, Janie & Johnny and kids, Les and Trevor & kids, plus Clay and Laura and their kids) headed to Janie and Johnny’s house to hang out. The kids were in heaven, hanging out with cousins and playing with the dogs.  Joslyn and Les and Trevor headed home, but we stayed the night.  That was the first time staying with Janie and Johnny overnight, and it was a lot of fun just spending time with them….not sure if the feeling was mutual, but perhaps ignorance is bliss in this case. 

Uncle Mark's Funeral

Mark Jeppson Russell

August 13, 1950 - March 27, 2019

Great Story Teller, Loved Kids, always laughing, Fun to be around

The kids described Uncle Mark as:

"Old guy who doesn't feel old"

"Not too old to have fun"

It was sad to see Mark go. He was a significant part of our lives. The kids were always in various states of laughter when he was around, and almost every time that we were in Dietrich we would see Uncle Mark. The service was a nice tribute to his life, and a good opportunity to see extended family members that Clay hadn’t seen in years. The congregation then drove to Twin Falls for the burial which was nice, and the family went on a grave hunt to find Grandpa John and Grandma Betty. Then on to the traditional post-funeral gathering at…..The Mandarin House. It was great to catch up and enjoy one another’s company as well as reminisce about the good old days with camp trips to Corral Creek and Christmas Eve snow storms that were spent together.

Sleeping with RUBY

When we found out that Uncle Mark, Clay’s mom's brother, had passed away after a long struggle with cancer, we decided to split our Seattle vacation in half so that we could drive down to Gooding for the funeral. We drove from Seattle to Boise and stayed the night at Joslyn & Todd’s house where we were able to catch up with them as well as with Kelly/Kastin/Josh. We also were able to get to know Ruby on a more personal basis. We were sleeping in the living room on a blow up mattress, and late into the night we heard the jingle of Ruby’s collar, then felt her jump onto the bed and snuggle in for the evening. Of course she choose the crook of Laura's legs as her resting spot.  Surprisingly, Laura was ok with it (not).