Spokane Interstate Fair!

We crossed our first official fall bucket list item of the list this weekend with a trip to the Spokane County Interstate Fair. This year was a big year, because Lincoln was FINALLY tall enough to ride something other than the carousel...although I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that the carousel was still one of the highlights for our little dude.

We headed out Friday evening, hoping to avoid the crazy Saturday daytime crowds and it worked! The kiddie section of the fair rides wasn't very busy at all and we were able to get on most of the rides without waiting in any kind of a line. Lincoln was cautious about riding without us, so there were a few rides that he missed out on since Kevin and I were too big to ride, but he did enjoy the choo choo train, spinning cups and carousel more than a few times each!

In addition to the rides, the games were a big hit since they involved getting to pick out a new toy! He even won a real fish! Here's to hoping we can keep the little guy alive.

A trip to the fair is not complete without fair food! The highlight was definitely the cinnamon roll funnel cake that we shared. And even with three of us, we were only able to eat about half before giving up. Lincoln ate the whip cream on top like it was his job.

Needless to say, this year's trip was a good one. Can't wait till next year!

LEGOS at the Museum of Arts and Culture

we had the best weekend! the museum of arts and culture has the lego sculpture exhibit nature connects up through february 7th and we took lincoln down this past saturday. i'll admit that when we had the idea to go, we thought it would be a fun little family outing, but i never anticipated how excited our little man would get. it was awesome to see him so engaged!

we invited nana and pop pop along on our little adventure so the five of us headed out after lunch. the exhibit as described from the MAC's website:

Nature Connects uses the magical fun of LEGO® to connect visitors to the wonders of the natural world. Twenty-seven giant sculptures created from nearly 500,000 LEGO®bricks by artist Sean Kenney of New York include an 8-foot-tall hummingbird, a 7-foot-tall rose, and a 5-foot-tall butterfly. The exhibit aims to spark creativity and foster a greater sense of play in viewers of all ages.

LEGO Brick Sculpture Contest now on display through February 7, 2016! 

at each new sculpture lincoln would point, and ooh and ahh. he'd get up close to the glass cases, bang on them and try and touch each one. we even caught him trying to crawl under the roped off area to get closer to a few of the sculptures. the very best moment was when he saw the bison exhibit and he screeched with excitement! it was the most adorable thing i've ever seen. in addition to the lego sculptures, there are several smaller sculptures created by local students, grade k-12 and tables set up throughout the museum for kids to sit and build and play with legos. it really was a fun and engaging experience for kids and adults of all ages!

after the exhibit we did a quick walking tour of the campbell house and carriage house which we're also pretty cool to see. i grew up in spokane and have never done the tour, so it was fun to see a little bit of history in my hometown.

we ended our educational saturday with a trip to rocket bakery for some treats. it was such a fun day. if you have a little one and live in the spokane area, i highly recommend taking your little's to the exhibit! it will be up through february 7th!

2015 Christmas Tree Elegance and a Visit to the Big Guy

tis' the season! i know i've said it before, and i will probably say it several times more before it's over, but this is my absolute favorite time of the year! as soon as the leaves begin to change in the fall and all the way through the new year, i am 100% in my happy place.

it makes it even more fun, now that we have our little man to share in all the holiday fun. the holidays truly are so much better when there are little kiddos around.

there are so many holiday events that spring up this time of year, and it can be difficult to narrow it down to just a few, but one event we attended last year, that i just loved, was christmas tree elegance at the historic davenport hotel. christmas tree elegance is a fundraiser for the spokane symphony. each year, several christmas trees are decorated and include upwards of $5,000 worth of prizes on each tree. people come to the davenport to view the trees and purchase raffle tickets to try and win one of the amazingly decorated trees.

last year little man and i went with my mom, sister and niece because husband was working in new york. this year he got to come with us. we turned it into a little event, heading downtown to visit santa (little man was not a fan this year), enjoy some hot cocoa and view the trees. we definitely did our part to support the spokane symphony as well by purchasing several raffle tickets. we'll find out on saturday if we were big winners.

more information about christmas tree elegance can be found here. 

The Big Move

i've come to the conclusion that husband and i like to make big changes everytime we end up having a big life changing event going on. back in 2012, about three months before we got married in spokane, wa, we decided we were going to pick up and move to portland, or, a city we've grown to love over the past two years.

 Portland view from my current office

 Portland Waterfront on a Spring Day

 Timbers!!!

 MusicFest NW at Pioneer Place

now, we're having a baby, and we've decided to uproot our lives once again and head back to spokane, just about three months before our baby boy is due to grace us with his presence. life changing events = big moves in the alexander family household.

it's been a tough decision and one that we did not take lightly, but we feel like the time to head back to spokane is now. we'll be closer to family, friends we've known most our lives and a little city, that we may have taken for granted the last time we were there.

we'll miss portland, oh so much. this city is an amazing place filled with amazing people. we spent the first year and a half of our married lives together here, and maybe one day we'll come back. (perhaps will decide to move if baby #2 ever makes an appearnace ;0p) or maybe we'll stay in spokane or head somewhere else.

but, we're excited to head back to spokane. start our family and build a home together.

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so right now, things are a little hectic in our neck of the woods, seeing as we're moving in the next two weeks. it might get a little quiet on the blogfront, but i'll be back!

we're excited for this new adventure and who knows what life will bring next!