Labor Day

Hey, y'all - 

We decided to be spontaneous (is that an oxymoron?) and planned a last-minute trip to Spokane for Labor Day. Work ended on Friday and we blew this pop stand. 

I found a great rate on a hotel in the park in downtown Spokane for a "poolside room." And when the Red Lion says "poolside," they are NOT messing around. Our room was basically at the bottom of the waterslide.

Laney didn't care one bit that it was freezing cold in that water. Hagen lasted about 20 minutes before he said, "This cold is silly. I'd like to go lie down in a warm bed and take a nap." "Me, too, buddy!" agreed the lifeguard. 

We rode the carnival rides in the park downtown. 

...And someone in our group was EXTREMELY excited to finally be tall enough to ride something on his own. 

We went out for Chinese food, and if the prognosticating copywriters for PF Chang's get their way, the next few weeks are looking good for Team Burbach. 

We went to the mall for ice cream and giggles at Ben & Jerry's.

Then we sat and enjoyed a little bit of the concert across the lake.

Laney got to pick the Sunday morning activity, so we went to Chuck E Cheese's. (The "E" is short for E. Coli. Just kidding! Don't sue me.) Here's a pro parenting tip from me to you: If you simply MUST go to Chuck E Cheese's, 9:30am on a Sunday morning is the BEST time to go. You don't have to pretend to eat the food, because they don't even start serving til 11am. You will probably be the only person in the whole place, as we were. 

90% of our family's ticket inventory came from your dad playing this one game:

Prize tickets well spent:

On the way back to Missoula, we stopped in Wallace, ID to visit Jude and Finley and discovered Wallace was having the "Under The Freeway" Flea Market.

I bought Laney a $12 rotary phone in lemon yellow. It has "1974" stamped on the handset, so I'm going to assume it can survive a few more years in our house, vs. the cordless phone we bought her that quit working a week later. I've already named the phone "Old Yeller." Because it's old. And yellow. And she yells in it. The joke works on a lot of levels. 

We all had a ton of fun. 

Love,

Mom