Slowly working our way north

Our last few days in Klamath Falls were full of family awesomeness. (Julia has learned to say awesome, by the way)

Julia had a tea party with Grandpoppa Jack

and some quality play time with Olaf

We had a new tree-topper this year, made by Jack.  He made one for me too!

We usually have a silver star of David (tinfoil covered cardboard.)  I was about 20 before I realized that the Star of David is seen primarily as a Jewish symbol. We just like it.

Julia was pretty pleased with herself when she crawled into bed with Olaf.

A last-minute attempt at a family photo! and then we were off. The drive went pretty well. I had been explaining to Julia that she and I and Dad were going to go in the car, and had her help me put her baby dolls in her backpack so she was ready to go. It was pretty sad though. At one point on the drive, Julia and I were walking around a parking lot to stretch and Dave got in the car to mess with his CDs, He turned the car on and Julia started to cry, thinking he was leaving! So she's pretty focused on keeping us both around her right now.

When we got to Grandma Gini's there were more presents and more family to play with!

She was quite comfortable with Grandma Gini and had no problem going potty with her and going outside with her.

Dave cooked a Greek feast and my sister Caroline came up to join us.

Dave, me, Julia, niece Sierra, Dave's brother John, and Gini

A couple days later we went to Grandpa Dave's house and more presents were found! He made a beautiful table and chair set along with a bookshelf and a wall shelf for Julia. She went "Oh!" when she saw it! She knew right away that it was for her. Just the right size!

She got another tea set too! This one has magic tea that "disappears" when you pour the pot and reappears when you set it upright. Julia's a bit confused as to why it doesn't come out the spout though. Julia's still a little skeptical of Grandpa Dave, but is much better than the last visit. She'll even give him a goodnight hug!

We went up to Bellingham to have lunch with Julia's Godmother, Bekah. She gave Julia all sorts of lovely presents, including a market basket and the softest bunny you've ever felt. She gave us lots of grief about being so far away, and we were happy to reassure her that we are very hopeful that this year will see us moving closer.

 

and a family photo for 2012.  We celebrated like true parents, by going to bed at 10 pm!