My favorite recipe - Nov. 12, 2009

Jana Mathia | Nov 12, 20090

Meet Chris and Brandi Davis, Colfax

Chris Davis, currently a research associate with WSU’s neuro-science department, came to Pullman in 2000 with his family.

After he hung up the phone on his first telephone interview to WSU for studying experimental psychology, he had to find a map to see where Pullman was.

Chris, Brooke, AnneMarie, Brandi and Devyn

He, his wife Brandi and their three children “made the pilgrimage across the state to no-man’s land to Pullman,” as Chris put it, in 2000.

Davis received his PhD from WSU in 2005, and now lives in Colfax with his family.

Chris lived in Utah until the age of 12 when his family moved to Bellingham. Brandi grew up in Tri-Cities until marrying Chris in 1994 and joining him in Bellingham. They have three children, Devyn, 16, Brooke, 14, and AnneMarie, 11.

When the children were young, Brandi was a stay-at-home mom while Chris worked and went to school full time. Originally he went into psychology because he wanted to be a chemical dependence counselor. But he was so fascinated by the molecular pathogens he went from soft to hard psychology.

“The opposite of my parenting,” he joked.

Chris came to WSU to study neuro-substraits of memory and learning as affected by sleep loss. He looked at the deficits present in memory by the loss of REM sleep.

While he was studying sleep in the psychology department, there was a world renowned sleep researcher at WSU in the neuro-science department. Chris switched departments and now works as a research associate in a post-doctoral fellowship.

For his research, he deprives rats of sleep and then studies their micro-RNA. Chris said his work is to find what causes us to sleep and why we sleep.

After moving to Whitman County, Brandi went to Spokane Community College and earned her certificate in office administration. She completed an internship and worked at Palouse Medical until a year after they moved to Colfax. Then she moved to Three Forks Orthopedics where she continues to work.

Devyn is working on his Eagle Scout honor and plays baseball. Brooke plays volleyball and participates in FFA. AnneMarie is on the swim team. All three attend school in Colfax.

Chris is an outdoor enthusiast. He likes deer hunting with a muzzleloader and fly fishing, both learned since he moved to the county.

“Anything that’s outside in good weather is my gig,” he said.

The family likes to go with Chris on outdoor adventures. They also love going to family reunions. Chris has seven sisters and two brothers.

Brandi loves to shop and read. She enjoys cooking—except when it’s cooking right after work—and likes to scrapbook.

They are active members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

“Right now my life is pretty much work, church and family,” Brandi said.

Pumpkin Waffles

This recipe goes way back. I remember my mom making it every Christmas.

2 1/4 cup flour

4 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice & ginger