OUR FAVORITE THINGS

Mimi still misses her friends back home in California. Up in her room is a poster with all of her friends picture on it. She likes to look at it a lot. Now and then she will cry a little as she did last night. So mama and Mimi sat up hugging, talking and kissing and wiping the tears away. Finally all was well in her world and she was able to go to sleep. We spent all this morning giving each other butterfly kisses which is our favorite thing to do. Life is so good. This afternoon, we together with Blake and Keri will go to their new school for open house. It will be a time for Blake and Mimi to meet their new teacher and see the classroom.
Dottie :-)

MAPLE VALLEY BIKERS

All afternoon yesterday, Mimi played and rode bikes with her friend Blake. When she came home, she had kind of a sad sour puss look to her face. We sat down to talk and I asked her what was wrong. She said that Blake rides his bike faster than she can ride hers. She is quite the competitive little one. I explained to her that there are and will be some things he can do better that her and vice versa. So tonight on our way home from the park, Blake rode his bike as fast as he could and OUR MIMI RAN RIGHT PAST HIM ON FOOT!!! She is quite the little speedy Gonzalez. All the neighbors were commenting on how fast she can run. Maybe she is the next Flo Jo in the making ya think?

BACK TO SCHOOL

It's that time of year again. Where does the time go when you are having so much fun? This is a picture of Mimi and her school supplies and emergency kit. This is the first time mama had to purchase school supplies. At Mimi's last school, we paid the money and the school bought them.

Tonight will be our first PTA meeting at her new school. Tomorrow is "Meet The Teachers Day" for all of the students to meet their teachers and see their classroom.

First day of school will begin Sept. 5th. I'm hoping that Mimi will not have any problems adjusting to a new school and teachers. So far she seems pretty excited about it.

VISIT WITH RICK

Our friend Rick was up today visiting from California (Los Angeles).Seated with Rick is our cat Ollie. We had a real good time and was able to catch up on all of the latest news with friends back home.

VISIT WITH JUN

After a busy day at the zoo, we had a surprise visit from our friend Jun. He is up here from California (Los Angeles) working on a commercial for the Washington state lottery. We also recieved a phone call from another friend Rick, who also is visiting Washington. Hopefully we will be able to see him on Wednesday.

When it rains, it pours and we love it.

DAY AT THE ZOO

Today Keri and mama took the kids to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma. Carrie's family is also new to Washington and so it is fun going places and exploring the area together and getting lost together. We eventually end up at our final destination. Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium is not a very big place (only 5 acres) but definetly worth the money and time. It cost us only a smidgen over $29.00 and some odd cents for 3adults, 2 toddlers, 1 baby.

It is located in a beautiful mountainous area of Washington overlooking the lake. There are also picnic areas all around. A good time was had by all.

BIRTHDAY BASH

There are quite a number of kids in the neighborhood having birthdays this month of August. So many of the parents decided to have one huge birthday party in our neighborhood park. We decided to stop by after coming home from the SGI Culture Center where they too had a family festival. Pictured here with Mimi is her new friend Erin. Erin is also 4 years old and together with Mimi, they will be going to kindergarten next year at the same school. It would be nice if they could be in the same class together. Dottie

OLIVER AND COMPANY

Our cat Ollie is also making new friends in the neighborhood. Was he ever just lapping up all of the attention the girls were giving him. He was in kitty heaven.

This morning Mimi and I went to visit with grandma and grandpa. We then went to mickey D's aka "Old Mc Donald's" as Mimi calls it for lunch. When we got home, there was an impromtu birthday party for Marissa (girl on the far left). After the party they all went to the school to play. When that was done a pool party ensued. I was informed by Mimi that "I am not coming home now". However, she did come home long enough to put her bikini on. My baby is growing up too fast for me.

MIMI AND FRIEND

Josh is another one of Mimi's new friends in the neighborhood. Today the weather is soooo gorgeous that all of the kids are playing outside. Mimi is no exception.

MOUSEKATEER MIMI

OK everyone it's time for roll call!!! Mimi found her ears and has been going around the house singing "It's the Mickey Mouse clubhouse..."

PRINCESS MIMI

SHOPPING DAYS

Yesterday mama and Mimi went shopping for school clothes at Supermall. We spent a total of
$300.00. $150.00 for mama and $150.00 for Mimi. Papa nearly had a heart attack when I told him how much we spent. But then I reminded him about the shoes he bought at the Nordstrom yearly sale and that the stores we went shopping at were outlet stores so we did not pay full price for anything. Then he was able to calm down.

We came home with a load of clothing from The Children's Place. In all she has a total of 31 mix and match outfits for this school season. Unlike California where one could wear summer clothing practically year round, here the weather is getting quite cool which is unusual for August. Mimi is now set for the fall and winter season

The neighbors say that last winter they had a good snowfall, so I guess we will have to wait and see about this winter. Mimi can hardly wait to put on her snow clothes. She just loves the snow. This winter she will be going to ski school and possibly with her new friend Blake.

Today, we will meet with papa after work and go shopping again. This time it is for a new washer. The one we have now is ready for the great laundromat in the sky. Dottie

CAROUSEL AT SUPERMALL

This is the first time that Mimi rode the carousel all by herself.

KIDS CUT AT SUPERMALL

BEGINNING OF AUTUM IN MAPLE VALLEY

The weather is getting cooler and the trees are just beginning to change colors. It is quite beautiful here up north.

GOOFING OFF

This is the goofy side of DQ aka drama queen.

DAY AT THE LAKE

Yesterday and today Mimi and mama went with their new neighbor friend Blake and his mom Keri and little sister Bailey exploring Lake Meridian and Lake Wilderness. Both places are very nice and kid friendly. We all liked Lake Wilderness the best because it is the closest(5 minutes from home) and a bigger park. The kids are able to go swimming in the lake where it is roped off. Of course mama forgot to bring the digital camera so therefore there are NO PICTURES!!! What a bummer!!! However she did manage to take pictures with the disposable camera. Yesterday and today, the weather has been gorgeous. It is great swimming weather. Tomorrow is supposed to rain off and on. So therefore it will be grocery shopping day.

LAKE MERIDIAN

Mimi and her new found friend Blake had a great day at Lake Meridian.

DAY AT THE RACES

Today Mimi spent the day at Emerald Downs

Racetrack. Papa's office had a family day there.

The bad news is that mama aka "the gambler"

learned how to place bets. She won a whopping

$18.51 and did not lose a penny. She may go

back again so papa better watch out!

Trip to LA

Last week papa called home to say that he will be going to LA for a business trip. Mama and Mimi decided to tag along. The trip was only for two days and one night, so unfortunately we were not able to see all of our friends. We are really going to try our best to make it to Allyn's wing ding at Disneyland come this October.

The trip started off with us leaving home at 5:00 in the morning on Wednesday. After arriving in LA and dropping papa off at the Children's Hospital job site, mama and Mimi went to see mama's friends at UCLA and Mimi's friends at Pacifica.

We then went to the New Otani Hotel and had a nice visit with Uncle Jim (mama's brother). Later in the evening friend Maggie came for a visit and dinner. Unfortunately mama forgot to bring the camera so there's no pictures. The food was not too bad. By 8:00 pm the Putney's were konked out for the night.

Thursday morning, papa went to work and mama's friend Sandra came to visit. We all then had lunch with papa at Roscoe's in Hollywood. Mama had her favorite fried chicken and waffles with gravy. It sounds disgusting but it actually so goood tasting. Roscoe's has quite a few of good southern cooking. We then went to Mitsuwa market near our old home and Mimi was hungry again. So she ate a bowl of ramen. It's amazing how much this child can pack away. We were able to have a short visit with a couple more friends. Everytime we go there, we always meet people that we know. Then on to Maggie's home for dinner.

By the time we got to LAX at 7:30pm, we were informed that our flight was cancelled due to mechanical error. Ah man!!!

We had been switched from United to Alaska airlines. When we got our tickets, the flight was for 9:54pm and we all had different seating assignments. AH MAN AGAIN!!! Fortunate for us people were nice enough to switch seats with us. I guess they did not want to sit next to a four year old. Mimi slept the whole trip home. When we arrived at Sea-Tac airport, boy was Mimi grumpy when I had to wake her up. She absolutely did not want to get off the plane. She dug her heels in and yelled NO! IAM NOT GOING!!! Mama finally had to carry her off along with our carry on bag. By the time we got home and into bed, it was 2:30 AM Thursday morning.

We are still recovering. Dottie

HELLO FROM MAPLE VALLEY WASHIINGTON

We are now definetly Wash-i-to-nians. Although mama is still a Ca-li-for- nian at heart :-)
The gift basket is a housewarming gift from our realtor Mara Haveson. It was quite a nice surprise for us and heartwarming too.---Dottie