WEDDING VIDEO

Later in the day of the wedding mom found out from dad that during the wedding ceremony, the guy who was assigned to take the video did not have any batteries for his video camera nor did he pack any extra batteries. Therefore he does not have any video to give to the bride and groom. YIKES!!! Turns out that the video man is the bride's cousin. Fortunate for all involved mom likes to take pictures and videos of all events especially the special ones such as graduations weddings and so on. While mom was busy taking the pictures, dad took the video. When dad gets a chance to take a breather, he will make copies to give the bride and groom plus one for Uncle David and Auntie Setsue and grandma and grandpa (since they were not able to attend).

FATHER/DAUGHTER DANCE

This is Mimi and dad's very first father/daughter dance. Don't they make a lovely couple?

DANCING WITH JOE

This is Mimi and Joe dancing to "Love Shack".

DANCING WITH MARI

DANCING WITH AUNTIE SETSUE

THE PUTNEY FAMILY

Mom just thought of it now that she could have got someone to take a picture of the whole Putney family. Oh well que sera sera.

THE WEDDING CAKE

PLACE OF THE RECEPTION

Can't remember the name of the mansion but do remember that it is in a gorgeous setting. It is over a hundred years old and was originally owned by a Army General. Many, many rooms inside.

FAMILY DAY

Not only was September 27th Joe and Niclole's wedding, but it is also our "Special Family Day" at our house. So here we are toasting ourselves with Champagne for mom and dad and sparkling apple cider for Mimi.

UNCLE DAVID AND AUNTIE SETSUE

Mom thought that she would take this picture of Uncle David as it will most likely be the first and last time anyone will see him dressed up again. He likes to be as comfy as he most possibly can which is usually a pair of sweats. Auntie Setsue always looks good no matter what she is wearing.

MIMI AND MARI

This picture was taken after the ceremony outside of the church. The church is located in the countryside of Maryland where it has very lush green hillsides.

MR AND MRS JOSEPH (NICOLE) PUTNEY

WHUT?????

We arrived home yesterday evening at around 7:00 p.m. last night. After traveling nearly 15 hours total, mom is quite exhausted. This morning Mimi woke up at 5:30 a.m. (she's still on Virginia time) and decided that everyone else needed to wake up also.

Mimi: Mom, can I watch tv???
Mom: NO!
Mimi: WHY NOT???
Mom: Because I would like a little peace and QUIET.

Needless to say Mimi played quietly on the computer but mom was NOT ABLE TO GO BACK TO SLEEP!!! Several hours later mom told Mimi that she needed to get ready for her piano lessons.

Mom: Mimi, you need to put your clothes on.
Mimi: Whut???
Mom: You need to put your clothes on (voice a little louder). Seems that I am always repeating things these days. sigh.
Mimi: What about SEX???
Mom: WHUT???
Mimi: What about SEX???
Mom: WHUT???
Mimi: Oh never mind (heaving a heavy sigh). Forget it.

Turns out Mimi was saying "What about socks?" Either mom is getting old and losing her hearing or it's the lack of sleep that she's not been getting lately or no coffee yet or all three.

WEDDING REHERSAL

In the late afternoon we left Joe's and headed over to the church for the wedding rehersal. The church is located waaaaay out in the boonies of Maryland. Very picturesque tho with the lush green hillside farmland. The only problem with the church they picked is that there is no bathroom believe it or not. Does not quite work too well when one has a 5 year old. I was told that the only restroom available was the one across the street at the restaurant. It's a little trek from the church. It's located at the same place where we had the rehersal dinner pictured above. Here Mimi is enjoying one of her favorite games of tic tac toe with Auntie Setsue.

MORE HORS'IN AROUND

HORS'IN AROUND WITH JOE

GUITAR HERO

When the Wii was done, it was time for Guitar Hero, another game that Mimi loves playing at home. Pictured here are Joe, Mimi, JR (Joe's BFF & best man) and Mari. Whenever Mimi's cousin's are around, mom and dad get dropped like a hot potatoe. She loves being around them soooo much.

HANG'IN OUT AT JOE'S

Yesterday morning after breakfast at The Waffle House, we headed over to Joe's place where Mimi found Mari and Setsue playing with the Wii. Of course she had to join right in. This is the picture she made for herself.

PHONE CALLS

The other night dad said that while they were up in the bedroom star gazing out the window Mimi made a wish to see her friends soon and that she misses them a lot. She also misses our kitties Ollie and Stanley and so do I, After a day of driving back to Fredrick Maryland for Joe's wedding, we checked into the hotel, went to dinner at the Olive Garden with Joe, Mari and their friend JR. Finally around 7:30 p.m. we made it back to the hotel where Mimi made phone calls to her friends at home. Made her feel a little better.

ROCK CLIMBING

After arriving in Norfolk, Cousin Mari spent the majority of her time visiting old friends which is understandable since she now lives in Japan. On this particular day (Tues. 9/23) she and her friend Jon were nice enough to take Mimi rock climbing which is something that both Mari and Jon love to do when they have the time. Mimi loves to climb. She's always been that way since coming home from China way back in 2004. Hence the gymnastic classes. Mimi did pretty doggone good that day scaling a 30 ft. wall. She not only climbed the wall once but twice, then she tried another wall that was a little more difficult but was only able to scale it half way. Pictured in the video is Jon giving her some advice while Mari is at the bottom being her anchor. She even received a t-shirt for claiming her victory. After rock climbing the rocks we all went out to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. While waiting for the food, Mimi and Jon played one of Mimi's favorite games of tic tac toe. Next we heard Jon tell Mari that she needs to finish the game with Mimi because "I'm not going to be beat by a 5 year old!" Mimi had him positioned so that no matter where he put his move, he would lose. This is after getting beat up 3 times by Mimi that morning before rock climbing. They were horsing around at the house and Jon said to Mimi "Let's fight!!!" So she did and kicked him in the family jewels. As he was bowling over Mari he says "Who taught her to fight???" Mari then reminded him "Well you told her to fight!" That's our Mimi.

WILLIAMSBURG REVISITED

Last Monday (9/22) Uncle David and Auntie Setsue took Mimi, mom and dad to Williamsburg to revisit our colonial past history. As usual dad being the architect that he is, had a good time taking pictures of all the historical buildings. A grand time was had by all.

WASHINGTON D.C.

We finally made it up to Washington D.C. Mimi's cousin Mari was not quite the great navigator as her parents led us to believe As you may have guessed it we got lost. We were to go to the train station and take the train but since Mari made a boo boo we ended up driving into D.C. It worked out for the best though and fortunately all roads lead into D.C. Since it was Sunday, it was hard to find a parking spot but we finally found one and it was quite a distance from everything. We sure did a whole lot of walking. Sunday in particular was oh so hot!!! The only place of importance that we really was able to see was the Washington Monument and the Veteran's Memorial. Unfortunately we could not see everything we wanted to see. All the places of importance are spread so far apart plus mom was starting to get heat exhaustion and had blisters on her feet due to some ill fitting shoes. We did get to see the White House from the car but traffic was moving too fast to get a picture. When all was said and done it was 5:00 p.m. and time to make the 3-4 hour trip up to Norfolk, Virginia.

LEAVING ON A JET PLANE.........

Well folks, the Putney's are finally here in Maryland and Virginia and we finally have internet access, woo hoo! We left home last Saturday morning at 6:00 a.m. and headed for Sea-Tac Airport. Mom and Mimi had just enough time to use the ladies room and buy sandwiches (for lunchtime) to take with us on the plane before it was time to board. Upon arriving at Chicago's O'Hare Airport we had just enough time to disembark the plane, run over to the next terminal and board the next plane. Thankgoodness mom had bought the sandwiches and snacks to tide us over till we arrived in Baltimore that late afternoon. Airlines no longer give lunch or dinner however you can buy a cheese and cracker snack for $5.00. Whoop Tee Do! By the time we went to get the rent a car we were quite hungry needless to say, so we took our chances at eating at the Golden Corral which mom found out later that it is quite a popular chain down in the south. The cuisine was a complete southern style buffet and pretty good too. Quite tasty if I do say so myself. We finally made it up to Joe's (groom) place. Of course he was out at his bachleor party and mom had quite a time explaining to Mimi where he was.

Mimi: Where 's Joe?
Mom: He's at a party.
Mimi: What kind of party?
Mom: A big kids party.
Mimi: Well, I'm a big kid how come I can't go???

The next day we met Nicole (bride) and together with Mari (Joe's sister) we all went out to breakfast. unfortunately Nicole was not feeling well and left for home while the rest of us ate and then headed to Virginia but not before stopping in Washington d D.C.

WITHDRAWLS

This evening while Mimi was over at Blake's having dinner and dad was not home yet, mom sat down to leftover pizza and bbq wings watching the Disney Channel. Not sure of the girl's name but she was showing how to do Disneyland and California Adventureland. It showed all of mom's favorite things to do there. Mom was having withdrawls and almost crying into the pizza as if it is not salty enough ;-( We are really going to miss Allyn's bi-yearly get together at D-land for sure. Mimi is home now and Blake is purely estactic that his mom said ok for to sleep over since they will not see each other until we get back from Virginia and the end of next week. Dad is now reading them both a bedtime story and they are having the time of their lives. Things are back to normal.

BIG PROBLEM

Our Mimi bless her little heart is smart as the dickens. Yes I know that I am biased, but it is true. Part of her kindergarten curriculum is that she has to spend at least 10 minutes or more reading to mom or dad. The problem for Mimi is mom knows Mimi way to well. Mom lets Mimi pick out the book she wants to read and mom also knows what words Mimi knows and recognizes. These are words such as : and, in, at, the ... and so forth. Mimi knows that mom knows that Mimi knows these words and she will play dumb and pretend that she does not know the words. This irritates mom to no end. Have I confused you enough by now??? Well let me tell you, last night while reading, Mimi decided to play that game of S-T-U-P-I-D. Therefore mom told Mimi that she will no longer be playing games on her favorite websites. She could only play Superkids or Starfall. That sent her into the world of disbelief. "NOOOOOO" cried Mimi. "Oh yeah" says mom. Sure enough, as soon as mom laid out the conditions to which Mimi will be able to play her favorite games, Mimi read the words correctly without a hitch. This morning Mimi came running into the bedroom at the ungodly hour of 6:30 a.m. telling mom that "THERE'S A PROBLEM WITH THE COMPUTER!!! COME LOOK MOM!!!" So mom dragged herself out of bed to see what the problem was to which Mimi pointed and said "Where's the Disney, Nick Jr and Noggin websites?????" To which mom replied "They are gone for now" "Oh good Lord" says Mimi. Mom then proceeded back to bed.

ANOTHER SUPER BUSY WEEK

Yes folks, this week started off with another "Manic Monday" what else is new??? Monday morning started off with piano lesson, oil change and maintanence for mom's car, going to the post offiice, and lunch all before school. Then while Mimi was in school, mom came home to clean house and next thing she knew school was over and it was time to go pick her up from school. Then it was time to head over to the gym for a make up gymnastic class for one hour then quick dinner before our first PTSA meeting. As soon as the meeting was over, mom headed over to Red Robin for a "girls night out with a couple of her friends". That did not make Mimi to happy but then she asked "Can I play with him (pointing to dad) ???" "Of course you can" replied mom. All was ok again in her little world.

Tuesday morning we had gymnastic class and this time we brought along our new neigbors Brandy (mom) and Haley who is now Mimi's new friend and classmate. Then it was time for a quick lunch and school. More laundry for mom to do while Mimi is in school. I tell you it's a never ending chore. Soon as school was over we all headed over to the park to enjoy this very last bit of sunshine we will be getting until this weekend when it is suppose to start raining again ;-( When we came home from the park we received a phone call from grandpa to come over and meet grandma's sister Marion who is up here visiting from Arizona, plus grandpa had some stuff for dad to do.

Today we have just a smidgen of a breather, Blake will come over to the house for lunch and then we will head over to the school and then it is soccer practice later in the afternoon. We may head over to the park before practice. Gotta get the sunshine in while we can.

Then tomorrow is packing day. Friday, mom will take Ollie and Stanley to their kitty condo out in Federal Way, then Saturday morning we are off to Virginia for Joe's wedding and to see the rest of our family.

KNOCK OUT

After coming home from our scrumptious brunch, mom and dad watched their beloved Seahawks lose to San Francisco 49er's doggone it. The weather is gorgeous still so mom decided to take Mimi to the park. We picked up Halley and Blake along the way. A short while back mom was just a smidgen worried about how rough Blake will play with Mimi. There were a couple of times when he would get mad at Mimi and hit her. Mom talked it over with her friend Sandra and Sandra told her not to worry and that Mimi is a scrappy little girl. Well, this afternoon it happened at the park. Blake hit Mimi with a small kid size basketball and Mimi clocked him good! When mom relayed this story to dad his response was "did she win???" He was just joking. Blake came running over to mom and said "Mimi hit me in the face with the ball Dottie!" Mom then explained that he too had hit Mimi in the stomach and made her cry but most of all we do not hit anyone for that matter. Blake said that he was told by his mom that whenever HE hits someone, they can't hit him back. Now where's the logic in that may I ask? When I mentioned this to Keri she said that she had told him that he should NEVER hit anyone especially girls. None the less as quickly as this incident happened, it was over. Blake and Mimi are BFF's again. They kissed and made up.

SUMMER'S OVER

Although technically the fall season starts on the 22nd of September, up here in the northwest the colors are already starting to change. This pic was taken just outside Snoqualamie Falls Lodge.

GOT MILK?.......

Or in Mimi's case hot chocolate?????

MORE FAMILY DAY PICS

Pictured here is what we had. Hueveos Rancheros for mom, Pancakes, Fruit and Eggs for Mimi, Steak and eggs for dad. Mimi ate all but the fruit so we brought it home. Princess Teri isn't the only one who takes pictures of food. We do too.

FAMILY DAY

Although our family day is everyday especially on Sunday, this year our "Family Day" falls on Mimi's cousin Joe's wedding day (September 27)and we will be in Virginia helping him and his fiance celebrate this auspicious day. Mom had this great idea to celebrate early this year and we headed up to Snoqualamie Falls for a deeeelicious brunch.

BEND IT LIKE MIMI

This morning was Mimi's first ever soccer game and she was grrrrrrreat!!! Before the game started we swung by grandpa's to pick him up and take him to the game with us. Anything that involves running and kicking, our Mimi is all up in it. In the beginning of the game Spencer was the goalie and if I do say so myself he was pretty darn good himself. Didn't let the other team score a point. Then came Mimi's turn to be the goalie and she too kept the other team from scoring that is........ until she let a ball get by her that was kicked into the net by HER OWN TEAMMATE!!! Mimi's teammates kept trying to kick the ball to her and Mimi in turn was yelling to them saying "GO THE OTHER WAY!!!" What can one say? After all this is the pee wee league that consists of 3-5 year olds. All in all everyone had a good time.

IN FULL SWING

We are in full swing now. It's been almost one full week come this Friday since Mimi has started kindergarten and she absolutely loves it. Almost everyday Blake will stop by the house and we all walk to school together. Mimi has made a couple of new friends Zoe and Halley. Halley's family just recently moved up here from Orange County, California. Another homegirl. YIPPY! Her mom's name is Brandy and seems to be a very nice person. They moved into the house just across the street from us. After school we all walk over to the park stopping by the house to pick up a drink and some snacks. This week the weather has been absolutely GORGEOUS so who wants to stay inside when we will be most definitely be doing just that next month? NOT MIMI AND MOM! That is for sure! All of Mimi extracuricular activities are in the morning before school except for soccer which is after school. So before going to practice today we stopped by grandma's and grandpa's house for a few minutes. She always brightens up their day. One good thing about keeping the girl busy the majority of the day is that by 8:30 p.m. she is completely out like a light.

FIRST PIANO LESSON

This morning was Mimi's very first ever piano lesson. Ever since coming home from China way back when, Mimi has always loved music (she is now a "Rockstar" or so she says) and always loved sitting down on the bench to tinkle the ivories. For almost a year now mom has been searching for a teacher but could never find one to suit our needs.

Finally one day Mimi and mom were driving down the highway near our home and saw a sign for piano lessons. Then mom lost the number and went back to where she saw the sign and the sign was GONE! A few days later mom found the number and gave the teacher a jingle. Ms. Celia sounded very nice on the phone but she was just a smidgen apprehensive about teaching piano to a 5 year old. She said that most 5 year olds don't have the attention span that is needed to sit for a half hour to learn the keyboard and notes but let's give it a try anyways. So we did.

Mom went down to the local music store and they all knew Ms. Celia and helped mom with finding the necessary books. Mimi took to Ms. Celia right away and was very comfortable at the piano. Ms. Celia said that Mimi did so well that she just skipped pages 1-19 in the book and went straight to page 20. By the time the lesson was done, Mimi had learned a short song to play titled "Batter Up" and was quite proud of herself and so was I.