Ohana

Memorial day did not disappoint! Even though Josh and Rheanne were out of town Quatchin it up at the Gorge...we still had a great time with everyone else (and we'll see them 4th of July weekend!)
I had a blast with the sweetest, smartest little boy in the world! Ollie has grown up so much and it makes me hate living so far away from him even more. He is so smart and hilarious. I got to push him on the swing, chase him around playing superheroes, push him on the skateboard, and listen to his hilarious observations.
I had great quality time with my mom, dad, grandma, and aunt. I think my favorite part of the weekend was talking to my grandma about my grandpa. We got to go with her to put flowers on his grave (which she's been doing for 40 years now). We also went to her parents and her brother's grave and put flowers on those. She talked about the time she went to Normandy and how she felt when she knew she was walking on the same beach my grandpa had walked on. She couldn't stop talking about him and recounted the day of his funeral. Now, 40 years after his death and she is still in love with him (my dad told me that she had a full-ride scholarship to U of I but didn't tell my grandpa because she knew he would want her to get an education instead of getting married but she wanted to marry him so badly that she didn't tell him until years later!). She also talked to me more about my Irish heritage (when we came over someone robbed my family and only stole the coat of arms and papers to our castle!).I could've talked to her all day and it made me miss home even more.
Going to Boise never feels like taking a weekend off or going on vacation. It feels like going home. I almost forget that we have to go back to Spokane. I pray someday Brand and I can move back to Boise. Until then..we'll be here doing whatever it is we're supposed to be doing here (currently we'll be saving up for another trip to Ireland next year..just us :) )

A Wicked Good Time

Wednesday, Brand fulfilled a promise to me when he took me to see Wicked. It was awesome! I've read the book and knew ahead of time that the play was a lot different than the book. Luckily, I'm one of those people that can love a book and a movie separately even if they are different.
Seeing Wicked made me miss the stage. I love theater! During the production I kept thinking about how chaotic it must be backstage and how much work went into the 2.5 hours that we witnessed. And they definitely kept us entertained. I laughed a lot and my hands hurt from clapping so hard. The choreography was fantastic and the costumes were magical. Anne Brummel as Elphaba was perfect. Natalie Daradich as Glinda was hilarious. Brand told me there were moments of spazzy Glinda that reminded him of me. :)
I'm so glad I got to share my love of theater with Brand. And he loved it too...which was a definite bonus. He laughed just as much and clapped just as hard. Next year I'm planning on going to Beauty and the Beast with the two ladies that had to endure and play along with my B&B obsession as a kid..my mom and sister, Julie. It'll be awesome. Until then, I hope we can go to some local shows this summer. Here's a little bit of our awesome date night at Wicked:

Before the show

My handsome at Twigs for apps and desserts :)

Yummy watermelon margarita

Elphaba and Glinda

Before the show starts!

With the playbill! Making some weird face...

Brand looking awesome

My awesome shoes I got for our fancy date :)

Happy Birthday Josh!!

I love other people's birthdays! It gives me a chance to honor the people I love and shower them with praises. Today is my big brother's THIRTIETH birthday. I had to put that in all caps in case he were to forget how incredibly old he is.
Let me begin with saying that Josh is one of my most favorite people in the world. He is hands down one of the funniest people I know (he happens to share my awesome sense of humor so sometimes we may be the only two laughing but that's only because no one really appreciates how awesome we are). He also happens to be one of the sweetest, kind-hearted men ever. He is a fantastic dad to little Ollie and he is half of my favorite couple in the entire world!

Josh, Rheanne, and Ollie on Rheanne's Grad day. What a good looking family!

We define cool.

But Josh and I weren't always the best of friends. He certainly did not appreciate my arrival two weeks before his 5th birthday. He was the baby and I was about to take his title (though not for long since Stephen was born less than two years later). To this day, Josh knows how to get under your skin (I just have thicker skin now and a better appreciation of his humor...oh and we have Darin to pick on now). He would be so mean to us! But that all changed when he fell in love with Rheanne (awwww!) Rheanne brought out the real Josh that I saw glimpses of as a kid. One time Josh heard me crying in bed one night when my mom was in the hospital. He came in, held me as I cried and told me that everything was going to be okay and mom would be home soon. Far different from the boy that would endlessly tease me but a true representation of the man he would become.

We're adorable.

Josh and I grew closer as we grew up and realized that we were the most alike out of all the Ekhoffs. Our bond was clearest the day I got married and Josh and Stephen gave the speech heard around the world when they left everyone in tears with their touching speech about what it was like being my brother and having to give me to someone else (I'm choking up just thinking about it!) We all knew Stephen would make us cry but when Josh cried...I lost it..it was unexpected and spoke loudly to what we developed since I graduated high school and moved away. It's because of my dad and my two brothers that I found such a great guy. I always knew I'd have to marry someone that could at least match the humor my brothers had (these guys are seriously funny and set the bar pretty high). Who knew I'd meet someone with a perfect mixture of Josh, Stephen, and my dad?

Stephen and Josh making everyone cry at my wedding.

The truth is...Josh is one of my heroes. He gave up school so his wife could finish and raise a child at the same time. Now that Rheanne has graduated, Josh gets to go back to school and I am so proud of him. Josh is one of the smartest people I know (just ask him..he'll tell you what his AP test scores were...Seanna knows too since he tends to rub it in her face). He's not just my hero. I know he's a hero to Stephen and to his little boy. Josh works so hard for his family and he tries his best to be the greatest husband, son, dad, and brother he can be.
I really wish I could be with Josh as he ages into another demographic (THIRTY!) but this little bloggy will have to do :)
Joshie..I love you and I promise never to throw cereal at you again as long as you promise not to make me eat it off the floor :)

Sweet, simple, date night :)

Next week Brand is treating me to see Wicked and I am so excited. It'll be nice to get dressed all fancy and see a wonderful performance. I've been missing the stage lately and it will be fun to finally be back in the world of theater even if it is in the audience.
But this week Brand and I had a very sweet and simple date night. We finally tried Ron's Drive In which is a yummy burger place near our house. Wednesdays just so happen to be bacon cheeseburger nights which are our fave! And I will have a milkshake at every chance I get so this turned out great. Bonus: their fry sauce is Uh-mahzing!!!
It was super quiet as a bunch of couples of all ages were eating their dinners. Brand and I are not quiet people and we tend to laugh a lot so we had to keep trying to be quiet and it was so much fun.
I think hanging out and laughing and making silly faces with Brand is Heaven to me. You simply cannot beat a good laugh with your best friend. I can't wait until we're parents someday but I enjoy every moment when it's just us. :)
I was also thinking the other day how blessed I must be that I get to fall deeper in love every day. I know it probably won't always be like that because we'll inevitably go through tough times. But, Brand and I have had our tough times already with Brand losing his contract work twice leaving us broke and hungry (praise the Lord for full-time secure employment!!) and our love only grew stronger so it makes me hopeful that we'll be able to withstand anything. Plus when we said forever...we meant it. And I couldn't have asked for a better partner in life.
I love you Brand :)

Mum's the Word

This post may get a little long. I could go on forever about how the following women have impacted my life in their role of "mother" but I'll try to keep it short :)

My mom, Martha, is my hero, my inspiration, my constant support, and my biggest fan. She is definitely a big part of why I am the woman I am today. She gave me the courage and compassion to do what I do, to serve the people that are so often forgotten. She gave me the assertiveness to stand up for what I believe in, even if it is uncommon. She gave me the eyes to see what people are going through so I can love them instead of judge them. She is a woman who has been through so much and takes what could have beat her down and turn it into a positive force. She is currently getting her Masters through Gonzaga online and I'm so proud to be a daughter of someone who believes in the power of learning. My mom's been a stay at home mom but has also compassionately went after a career she believed in. She definitely empowers me to do what I want to do as long as I'm serving the Lord whole-heartedly while doing it. She is a fantastic woman and I am proud to be called her daughter (She also raised three other wonderful kids and I can't imagine that being a very easy job).

My mama and me on my wedding day.

Now my dad is pretty awesome and that could not have been possible without the wonderful job my grandma Louise did in raising him. My grandma is 89 and has raised three children, has 7 grandchildren, 4 great-grandchildren, and 2 great-great-grandchildren. And she has been to all our high school graduations, my college graduation, our weddings, and even my younger cousin's high school graduation in London, England. She is small but inside resides a great woman. Her husband died over 40 years ago and to this day she wears her wedding ring out of deep devotion. It was just last year I heard her talk about how it wasn't fair that her husband was taken so soon. This woman loves deep and is fiercely loyal. But don't let this deepness fool you, she can kick it with the rest of the crazy Ekhoff crowd. Playing Scattergories with her is one of my favorite things. Some of my favorite responses from her: Rubbers (things in your purse...these are condoms in case you didn't know), Napkins (again, things in your purse..these are feminine hygiene products), and A Tale of Two Titties (book titles). In my line of work I see lots of people that remind me of my grandma: her Irish stubbornness is pretty evident (still pulling weeds at her age...), her fantastic sense of humor, her incredible devotion, and her tenderness. It's no wonder I miss her so much (I'm hoping to go home and see her very soon!)

My Grandma Louise and me.

My newest mom in my life is someone I owe my life to. She gave me the greatest man in the world to share my life with. My mother-in-law is quite the character and can be a bit intimidating when you first meet her. But that's just her self-confidence and trademark assertiveness. This is a woman who, like my mother, has taught me to stand up for myself to get what I want. Also, thanks to her, Brand can handle a woman with many ideas, thoughts, and opinions (because boy do I have them!) She is also a cancer survivor (in remission!). She is also someone who knows the importance of learning and a great education. She has a fantastic sense of humor as well and cracks me up all the time. She welcomed me into her home and family with opened arms. I'm so thankful that I am blessed with two great moms.

My wonderful in-laws.

I have another mom in my life thanks to marriage. My brother made the best decision of his life by marrying Rheanne. Rheanne is hilarious, sweet, understanding, artistic, and as of December 18, 2007 a wonderful, fantastic mom. I admire Rheanne quite a bit. I love seeing her with Ollie because they get into their own little world. She loves that boy with all her heart. Everyone around Ollie feels we are so incredibly blessed to have him in our life but I think we all know that Ollie is so blessed to have Rheanne as his mom.Ollie is incredibly special and only deserves the best and man did he get it. Rheanne will dance to The Killers and Passion Pit with Ollie, will play cars with him, imagine with him, be creative with him, read to him, discipline him, and just unconditionally love him. I think I love watching Rheanne with Ollie because its a great picture of how my mom was with me when I was that young, how my grandma was with my dad, how Rose was with Brand, and how my grandma Bert was with my mom.

Rheanne with the most amazing little boy in the world.

Also, a little note regarding an honorary mom. My sister Julie. Julie thank you for stepping in when you need to so I didn't miss out. Thanks for teaching me to read in my head, for teaching me my colors, spending endless amount of time playing Barbies, giving me that foot's width of space for the door to be opened so I wouldn't be scared, and for always being there. I'm not sure if it takes a village to raise a child but I know that sometimes it takes a big sister's help.

Me and Julie. Yes we were THAT adorable :)

Also, on this day I can't help but think of my Grandma Bert who passed away 8 years ago. I miss her so much. She was a Navy Vet, a teacher, a principal, and a devoted volunteer until her passing. She raised four children on her own after my grandfather died when my mom was five. She was an incredibly strong woman and was the driving motivation and reason for my success in school She died one year before I graduated high school and I was so mad that she could not be there to see what she did. But when I graduated magna cum laude from EWU I knew I made her proud and I knew I could not have done it without her teaching me how to read and encouraging me in school.

My Grandma Bert with me apparently eating her arm. (As cute as I was it's no wonder I was her fave bahaha)

Basically, I've had a lot of moms in my life and I wouldn't be where I am without them and I love them dearly. And I know when I become a mom myself, that I'll have an incredible team of support  from different generations. Basically, I have no excuse to fail with these ladies by my side :) 

I love you guys more than you can imagine.

Happy 64th Birthday dad!

Happy 64th birthday to my wonderful father!!!
Here's to many more years of snowboarding, skateboarding, fathering, grandfathering, witnessing to everyone you come in contact with, and just being my constant support and hero.
Thanks to my dad (and to my brothers) who showed me what a real man is like so that I may find one of my own.

I can't wait to celebrate your 65th next year with you!!

Love,

Your Ally Gal :)

My dad giving me away on my wedding day. Looking handsome as ever :)