Thursday, March 14, 2019

Next stop: Spokane. WA


We have arrived in Spokane with heavy hearts.
I wasn't sure what to expect honesty as we drove
our van into a neighborhood housed with family
members we have never met and seeing our Tia
without Dale and that has never been.  

Once again asking, how is this even possible. 
We stayed up late into the night talking with Tia
and meeting her best friend of many years.
Her one request for the next day was to write an obituary
and send it to the Hazelhurst and Jackson newspapers.
We woke the next morning with some of the most 
terrible air quality that has been in the area in years
due to fires.  We wrote the obituary and then I found a unique
 breakfast spot and we caught up some more with the kids. 
The reason Dale and Tara were in Spokane was for Dale's
nephews son's wedding.  Dale was the honorary "father/
grandfather" stepping in to be in that place for the family.
Tara felt so strong about reconnecting with this side
of the family.  So they made the long road trip from
Jackson, MS to Spokane.

Our little hangout for the few days we were in WA.
Tara was going to head back to MS with her friend
and we were going to take a road trip and give
her a few days to settle back home.  We helped her
pack which was all so sad and surreal as we packed for 
Dale as well.


We had one big free day and we wanted to
do something in the area, so we headed 
downtown and found a fun area to explore.














There was fun for everyone in this park!



The best Little Red Wagon around!

We haven't done a lot of park sitting on benches 
in our parenting due to Maui life.  





Next stop was visiting our Maui neighbors home
in Spokane!  It was wild to see them in their other home.

They designed an amazing water statue in their
backyard, they were so hospitable and kind
as we hung out a bit and shared a meal with them.





Some paint ball action.






And then this happened our last day before we 
were going to drive to Seattle.  A car sideswiped
us and then drove off.  And it was a rental in
Dale's name.  This was a tough thing that 
happened and Drew and I spent several 
stressful hours praying and talking through
how to handle the situation.


(A quick Maui break...as we were traveling,
storms were due to hit Maui and then a fire
came through Lahaina and a dear friend lost
her home.  Thankfully, they moved into our house
for a few weeks while we were on the road.
It was strange not being home while everything
was happening.)

Just the open road as we travel.






I love that our kids are along for the road and are 
experiencing so much life as we travel.
Next stop, Texas.
But first, a drive to Seattle's airport. 

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