Wen's Mukilteo Adventure

12/20/10

Hello, Wen here! I made it safe and sound to the Reed home in Mukilteo. Guess what… I arrived in time for the holiday break, and boy is this family busy! Grandma Gerry and Bobo flew into town and we went to the Seattle Art Museum to see the Picasso Exhibit! Did you know that Picasso was born in December? Cool! While  we were there, I ran into some friends in the gift shop! 

12/25/10

Mukilteo is a nice little town. They are located right on the Puget Sound. The ferry boat goes to Whidbey Island right from the dock down the street. The Reed family can hear the Ferry horn and the train horns from their home.

Santa came to Mukilteo last night. Makenna, Skylar, Tyler, and the dogs Winnie and Snickers all had stockings full of goodies.

12/27/10 

Here I am with Mrs. Reed. Did you know she is a WAVA teacher, too?

This is Colter. He is very tired. He plays Lacrosse and wrestles. He did both today!

This is Skylar. She has a big tummy, because she is going to have a baby in 2 months. Guess what… it is a girl. Jaren and Skylar are going to name her Lila!

Here I am with Makenna, Grandma, and Bobo. The Reed family likes to go to a gym called Agoge Crossfit. They really work out hard and have a lot of fun doing it!

 

Now, I'm off to Demoines to visit another WAVA family!

I'll write more soon!

Wen's in Port Orchard!

11-28-10

Wen here! I have been hanging out in Port Orchard for a while!  It has been quite an adventure! I have seen snow for the first time, my friend Avonlea lost a tooth, the power was out for 3 days (Avonlea kept me warm), we celebrated Thanksgiving and I got to help decorate the Christmas tree!

11-29-10

Today I got to go hang out in a town near Port Orchard called Gig Harbor.  We got to go visit the library, get a hot chocolate, visit a toy store called Teaching Toys II where I saw a few monsters that looked VERY similar to me, and we got to eat at a yummy restaurant called Fondi pizzeria!  We forgot to bring the camera with but it was still lots of fun! 

Tonight I almost got squished by the dog Brodie but Avonlea saved me at the last moment!  Instead I got to ride around on Brodie's back until I fell off!

11-30-10

It was tree decorating time today!  Boy are there a lot of Christmas things in this house...I think it make take a week to get all of the decorations up!  I was afraid I might get lost in a box of ornaments!  

 

The best part was when my friend Avonlea read me the Christmas story near the tree.  

I also liked it when I got to ride in the train underneath her tree!

12-1-10

Avonlea and her big brother Chandler are really excited that it's December!  Only 24 more days until Christmas!  

 

They are very excited about the Advent Calendar being up because now they get a special chocolate each day up until Christmas!  I am not sure what chocolate tastes like but they sure seem to like it!  Each of them are talking about what they hope they'll get for Christmas and Avonlea whispered to me what she was getting for her family....but I can't tell, cause it's a secret!

12-2-10

Today is my last day here!  It has been a busy day around here!  We went to the YMCA for Homeschool PE, ballet and Tae Kwon Do.  Then we went to Costco and had lots of yummy samples while we shopped!  Later that evening I got to paint with Avonlea before her bedtime routine, which includes reading a Christmas story by the tree every night in December.  

I am going to miss that but I am excited to see where I will go next!  But for now I am going to snuggle up one last time with Avonlea in her bed and have sweet dreams!  Good night everyone!

Walter's Enjoying Donuts in Auburn

November 12-18, 2010

Walter had a fun trip to the McNeill House.  It was cold in the mailbox, while he waited for us to get him.  We think he might have been in there a day or two, so when he came in, we warmed up with a hot chocolate party.  Walter decided to join us at the table, but he wasn't very thirsty.  One of the highlights of his stay with the McNeill's was the yummy doughnuts from the best doughnut shop ever (at least the best in Auburn, WA).  We took a picture of the sign, so Walter could remember it.   

He also got to make several trips to visit with Baba and Papa (Isaac's grandparents).  They live on the hill overlooking the valley.  They have a very nice view and can even see Mt. Rainier on a nice day.  The day we took the picture was a cloudy, grey day.   

Walter got to watch Isaac at his martial arts class.  He thought that looked like fun.  Walter also had lots of opportunities to sing and dance, do art projects, read, play Wii and just hang out with us.  I'm not sure what he would say is the highlight, but we suspect he liked the singing in the car the best.

Walter's Trip to Tacoma!

10/20/10-10/25/10

Hello!  I am glad to finally be out of my stuffy little travel box, but whoa! I have landed among giants! I am only 1/24^th of their height!  Do you know how TALL that makes them? I heard a baby and thought, “Phew, someone my size!” She rolled right over to me and thought I could be lunch! That’s right! She put me straight in her mouth! Yuck! Thank goodness the tall lady saved me! It turns out she is a teacher with WAVA. She started to tell me and the baby our schedule for the week…I have to tell you…I think it will be fun! We get to travel all around the Puget Sound area and visit with her students! I saw the camera get packed…I think there will be some photo ops, too! I’m just hoping she keeps me away from the gums of that baby!

During the day she lets me hang out here:

This is where she works with her students. Every now and then a deer wanders through her yard or a blue heron lands on the water feature. Pretty cool! Most of all, I like listening to the students as they ask questions. Sometimes she reads their k-mails out loud to me! She has a cool bunch of students!

While I was with Mrs. Stegeman, we were on the road nearly every day. She was meeting with her students to talk about writing. Let me tell you, there are a lot of good writers out there! I especially enjoyed all of the Personal Narratives and Memoirs! One of the days, we met at a coffee shop with another teacher, Mrs. Ritchie. I sipped some cocoa and visited with the students. Here I am with Mrs. Ritchie and two of her students:

I also had a picture with Mrs. Stegeman, her baby, Carolyn, and one of her students! We had fun chatting about her lessons and writing!

All in all, it was a busy week! The time flew by and then she said she had to put me back in the box and send me off on my next adventure. I can hardly wait to see what else I will do and who I will meet!

Wen's Trip to Bellingham

10/20/10

Today I arrived in Bellingham! YIPEEE!!! My friends here were very excited to see me. They took me on lots of adventures. I went on a bike ride and got to try Ethiopian food for the first time at a restaurant called “Queen Sheba’s” in Seattle. From there, we went to a hotel in Renton where I will swim and play tomorrow. I am so anxious for the thrills that lay ahead.

10/21/10

What a fun day I had today! I spent most of the day today in Renton with my Bellingham friends. I hung out by the hotel pool with my friend, Greysen.

 

I was afraid to get my beautiful fur wet, so I hung out in the life preserver just to be safe. 

 

From there, we went to the Fun Center where I played air hockey and rode my first motorcycle.

 

I had a great time and was so exhausted at the end of the day, I slept all the way from Renton back to Bellingham in the car.

10/22/10

Today was a restful day in Bellingham. We hung out inside most of the day because it was rainy and really windy. I was afraid I might blow away, so I played the car game with my friend, Greysen, and read some books. We read about mammals and reptiles. I learned all about the tuatara of New Zealand.

After that, I hung out with my other friend Olive-that is, until she tried to eat me. I was saved just in the knick of time, but had to shower to get all the baby drool off of me-yuck! Babies are cute but boy can they slobber. Overall though, I had a great day.

10/23/10

Today was another cold and rainy day here in Bellingham. We spent the morning resting and then went to a birthday party in the afternoon. It was a lot of fun! We painted pumpkins and ate cake and ice cream. We sat by the fire afterwards to get dry and warm and then watched a movie before going to bed.

10/24/10

Today was pumpkin carving day! I woke up early and had eggs and pancakes for breakfast-yummy. Then we picked out some pumpkins from a friend’s garden and spent the rest of the morning carving. I helped my friend, Greysen, carve a scary bat pumpkin. We roasted the seeds and gobbled them up by the handfuls while sipping mulled cider. I just love Fall!

Tomorrow is a big day for me. I will hop back in my box and head off to my next stop on my journey around Washington. I have had fun in Bellingham, but I am anxious to see more sights and meet more friends along the way! Stay tuned for more updates…

And They're Off!

This was an exciting day for us! We were packed into our boxes and shipped. Our adventure has finally begun! Sixty, yes SIXTY families have offered to take us in for a few days. This is going to be an amazing trip! We can't wait to spend time with WAVA families, travel around their towns and see the sites. Each stop will be a new adventure!

Walter is on his way to Tacoma...

and Wen is making her way to Bellingham!

Thanks for dropping us off at the P.O. boys! Goodbye for now!

Check back soon to see what we are doing as we travel around Washington!

Your pals,

Walter and Wen go to school!

Today we visited an amazing classroom full of first and second graders! They showed us all of the fun things they are learning in school. They also asked a lot of questions! Here are a few pictures from our day. This may be our last outing before our big trip around Washington. We leave on 10/10/10!

 We love visiting kids and learning new things everywhere we go!

 

Wen really liked this chameleon watercolor! 

She thought the hearts were lovely.

 Walter thought this chameleon was brilliant!

 Walter and Wen on the Word Wall

(That's a lot of W's!)

 At school today, we learned about plants and...

VOWELS!

Thanks Ms. Guiley and students! Maybe we will stop by again after our Wild Washington Wanderings!

From your pals,