Spokane

Anna writes:

Since our drive to Washington a year and half ago when we drove through just 60 BEAUTIFUL miles of the panhandle of Idaho, we have wanted to go back and explore the mountains. But it's about a 5 or 6 hour drive and we just haven't taken the time to do. So, when Southwest had a HUGE sale this fall and we could get tickets to fly to Spokane for $25 each way, we thought this was our chance! We had tentative plans to spend a little time in Spokane, and then go into Idaho for some skiing/snowshoeing/winter adventures. Until, that is, I fell downhill skiing a few days after Christmas and tore my ACL, MCL and meniscus of my left knee, and I resigned myself to no more adventures this winter. We decided to go anyway and just extend our time in Spokane. It was a gray, dreary weekend, so we may not have seen the city in it's full splendor, but we did have a good time relaxing. Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Riverfront Park:



We also really enjoyed seeing Ali, a friend of Hal's from college, and her husband Tyler. We had a great dinner, and a great time catching up. Hope to see them again soon!

I have surgery for my knee scheduled March 31, as the doctor wants to let my MCL heal on it's own before doing the ACL reconstruction. He'll check out the meniscus when he's in doing the ACL and see what needs to happen with it at that point. For now, I am wearing a big brace on my left leg, and use one crutch to take some of the weight off of it, but am getting around well. I am still working, and modifying most of my activities pretty well for the kids. My right leg does get a work out though, as I am doing one legged jumping jacks ("half-jacks"), one legged hopping, and lots of on and off the floor with one quad doing the work! I will be glad to have the surgery, and even more glad after several months of rehab when I can get back to normal activities.