Favorite Eastern Washington Town...

Once again...Pullman did not disappoint

Everything about the weekend was perfect...the drive over, the RV tailgating lot, the good friends, the new friends we made, a not too shabby showing by the Cougs, Sellas, new crimson and gray attire, Cougar Gold cheese, the Coug, Valhalla, the view from atop the library, the completely renovated CUB, walking along the mall, the leaves, the smell of the Palouse air...ahhhhh I love this place and am so happy that we finally made a trip back. I may have even enjoyed Pullman a bit more than usual considering I was sober for the entire weekend...Steve made up for my soberness.

Of course we had to pick up some gear for our future Cougar





You know you're old, when you'd rather stay in on a Friday night to play your favorite game than go to the bars



Marge, Searight and me walking into the game



The highlight of the game - at one point we were BEATING the #3 team in the country!



Steve may have been the most popular fan at the game with his partially homemade Incredible Hulk hand





Marge and Jeremy



In honor of one of the best Cougs of all time and my second cousins husband, Drew Bledsoe, Steve had to sport his jersey



Valhalla with Steve James and Scott - so fun to see some of my old co-workers from the bar



Searight and Jeff





Pretty sure this photo was taken right after Steve had repeated the same story to Eric and Jumbo for the 50th time...ahhh the things you realize when you're the only sober one around



The mall on a Sunday morning



The newly renovated Martin Stadium



Dupus Boomers - the new full service restaurant and bar with 40 beers on tap at the CUB...apparently this is the new place to study









Heading home...



Need I say more?



Thank you Pullman for another successfull weekend...hopefully the next time we're back, the football team will be just a bit better

* and then there were three *

After months of keeping the biggest secret of our lives, mostly private, we've decided it's time to share...

We're Having a Baby!

And feel completely overjoyed about this next adventure of our lives. When I think back to the day I took the pregnancy test and we saw the word 'Pregnant,' I immediately began to think about how our world was only going to improve from here on out. The two of us cherish and love our time together and now eagerly await for the day {sometime in mid April} that we can share our love with our baby.

I've dreamed about becoming a mom for most of my adult life and since falling in love with Steve, I have dreamed about having children with him. It's simple...I LOVE children...my friends children, my cousins children, strangers children, I love them all. And now looking at the ultrasounds and seeing this tiny little RinaCoffeybean growing inside of me, I get a smile on my face at the thought of loving my own as much as I love all of these other children.

* The fortune on the ultrasound was one that Steve brought home from dinner, two months before we got pregnant. I kept it...in hopes that out of all the fortunes in the world of promising wealth and luck, that this one fortune (in the way we had deciphered the meaning) would come true for us...and it did.

Road Trip!

Tomorrow afternoon, we'll be leaving work early and heading to Pullman for Homecoming - first time back in three years!! I would prefer my Pullman fix to happen more often, but I'll take what I can get. We're loading up the Cougar trailer, for it's maiden voyage, and heading off for the beautiful wheat fields of the Palouse. I think most WSU alumni will agree with me when I say that the feeling of going back to Pullman is so incredibly nostalgic that it brings a smile to my face - there's just something about the fresh air and scenary in Pullman that make me happy.

These two will fabulous Cougs (Jeremy and Marge) will be driving over and bunking up with us in the RinaCamper.



This is the last time we were in Pullman together...as the photo illustrates it was slightly ridiculous as Steve ended up in bed at Sigma Nu's around 5pm.

Here are a few of the MUST DO items on our list of things we will accomplish while in Pullman...is it weird that most involve eating?

• Eat at Sellas...duh
• Eat at Cougar Country
• Get Daily Grind
• Tailgate
• Attempt to enjoy a Cougar football game
• Go to Valhalla and the Coug
• Check out the new CUB
• Buy Cougar paraphernalia
• Take photos of the beautiful Eastern WA fall foliage

* East Coast Adventure *

SEA  →  BOS

Kennebunkport, ME  →  Cape Elizabeth, ME   →  Portland, ME  

Portsmouth, NH  →  Newburyport, MA  →  Waltham, MA  →  Marshfield, MA  →   Downtown Boston

The points of this trip were to visit a new place {Maine}, play at the beach with our dear friends the Mullins and celebrate Stacie's birthday. We covered a lot of ground and accomplished more than we had planned, which to us meant a successful trip.

I have always wanted to visit Kennebunkport...not because it's home to the Bush family compound, but because it's such an adorable New England beach town. We stayed one night at the cutest bed and breakfast - the Captain Fairfield Inn - and, despite the lack of sleep from the red-eye, forced ourselves to keep truckin'. A brief snooze in the car definitely helped.

After exploring quite a bit of the Maine coastline and all of the New Hampshire coast, we anxiously headed south to Waltham, Mass (25 mins outside Boston) to see the Mullins. We enjoyed catching up, eating a delicious Italian meal and getting a great nights sleep in their beautifully remodeled basement. Saturday morning we drove 45 minutes to Kevin's family beach house in Marshfield. Ever since our first time to Marshfield 3 years ago, this place hold a special place in our heart - it's the picturesque New England beach town with a whole lotta love. We walked the beach, hung out with Stacie's grandpa and mom and Kevin's parents, played a few rounds of Rummikub (my new favorite game) while the boys went boating, ate, drank, watched flight patterns (maybe that was just me), shopped and breathed in every bit of ocean air that our lungs could handle. On Sunday, we celebrated Stacie's birthday at the beach with a BBQ, cake and ice cream and then headed back to Waltham to watch the Patriots game and be lazy.

On Monday, Kev dropped us off at Quincy Market and we ventured through the historical streets of Boston - we have our favorite spots from past trips, but on this trip decided to do something new and ride the Ducks. So happy we did this as we got a chance to see the city from the Charles River and learn more about the history of this amazing town. We also did part of the Freedom Trail, Fanuil Hall, saw Paul Revere's house, ate lunch in Little Italy, enjoyed a treat from the famous Mike's Pastry shop and relazed in the sun. We couldn't have asked for better weather on our last day touring around the city - blue sky and 75 degrees.

Until next time...thank you Kevin and Stacie for the wonderful weekend. And thank you New England for another successful adventure.