Complimentary?

This morning I was blow drying my hair and I mentioned to Addi that my hair wasn't turning out as cute as I'd hoped. She looked at me very thoughtfully and said:

I think it looks like Willie Wonka and that girl is cute.

Lake Forest Park Preschool

I can not be accused of being a totally on the ball parent but I am so glad we were prepared this time.

Before we left Boston we had Addi's preschool arrangements made. The first day we arrived we took her straight to the school. I think this has really helped her transition, meeting new friends on the first day. While the "curriculum" is not very rigorous I'm happy with the school. I can supplement education at home but this social girl LOVES friends and interaction. And since there are no brothers and sisters at home she really enjoys being with children her age.

Also, this is a cooperative preschool so the parents are very involved. In fact we are actually enrolled in a local college and get credit for it. So technically the mothers are the teachers.

I'm teaching my first music class here on Monday...they won't know what hit them!!!

Puget Sound

So I already posted about our homelessness etc. and since we didn't have boxes to unpack we just kind of explored our surroundings.

We went to the Puget Sound one day. It was very cool. We watched the ferry load and unload an impossible amount of cars, trucks, campers and even 18 wheelers.

Addi was concerned that the cars were going to fall out of the gaping hole in the back of the ferry...and to tell you the truth so was I.Lucky for her these viewers did not cost $.25 so she could bird watch to her hearts content.

There was tons of really cool drift wood that had washed up on the shore.

Where's Randall?

Kleinman Family Reunion '09

We finally made it to Utah where we spent a week visiting family. Snuggling with Grandma is by far Addi's favorite part of Utah.

Second only to playing with her cousins and aunts...they're all around the same ages so it can get confusing...Addi loves all the extra love and attention she doesn't usually get.

We have a family reunion every summer and I'm the boss of it...go figure. This year our main theme was volleyball. We played almost constantly. We did have our opening devotional/lesson and a 6 hour service project for Grandmother but other than that we were either eating or playing some serious Volleyball.

Choosing Teams
eenie meenie has always worked for us

The Teams

Luckily my mom has a backyard fully equipped for a reunion we have the play area (not pictured) including trampoline, teeter totter, swings, slide, tire swing, play house, sand box that can entertain the chilren while their parents are playing on the volleyball court with drinking fountain. Then we have the camping area with fire pit, tent and 2 cabins (also not pictured). It's better than the KOA!!

Weenie Roast

Pancake Breakfast

Here's my little nephew that I met for the first time...don't you just want to chew on those cheeks!

After quizzing Saydi on what probably seemed to her to be an endless car ride I got some great reunion ideas. One that we really loved was compiling everyone's favorite songs and putting them on CD's (it took 2). We played a game to try and guess who's song was whose. This is Addi trying to hold in her excitedment when her song came on...somebody call 911! (fire burnin')

We must have listened to that song too much because some of the little girls took it literally, the police ended up at my Mom's house 3 times because somebody called 911.

Being the boss of the reunion is not all glamor and glory...actually, there's no glamor or glory at all.

...we inturrupt this travel log to bring you...

This AMAZING costume!! And she's giving it away!!!
Grosgrain: Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

Miscellany

...or a Perkins

(if you don't know what I'm talking about google "fran and freba")

Early morning on the Kirtland Temple grounds

Wyoming

...the dry, yellowing and windswept land that seems longer than the whole trip together.

We stopped just off a Laramie exit and found a picnic table and a visitor's bureau...it was closed.

Farm Country

It is truly amazing how much of these, the great United States is farm land. We saw literally thousands of miles of it. Most of the crops we saw were soy beans and corn. The thing that impressed me about these farms was how perfectly picturesque they were. I did not see a single front yard that was not perfectly mowed right up to the perfect rows of crops.

I'm not sure I wasn't converted to farm life on this drive.

Soy Beans

We call this the "Megan Palmer"

The City of Joseph

After crossing the Mississippi our first stop was...of course...

The Nauvoo Temple

After we walked all around the temple admiring it and it's surroundings we headed down the hill for a wagon ride through the old city.

Here's Addi petting Rambo before he was hitched to the wagon.

Our Teamsters

Missionaries from Wallsburg, UT

After the wagon ride we went directly to the pioneer games area and spent most of our time there.

Addi loved playing in the school house and cabin and of course, with the babies.

Addi didn't have all the fun though...

You're never too old to play dress-up

I know I look good.
Leaving Nauvoo.

Nauvoo Postcard