Walter Dances

Documentation of firsts....
Walter may have danced before, but this morning was the first clear moment. He crawled over to the stereo and rocked back and forth to non other than Madonna, who else?

State College!

We made it to State College last night on schedule and collapsed together on Walter's sheepskin on the floor to sleep.

Here we are bright eyed in the morning at the great cafe just down the block from our new home.

Grandparents arriving soon to occupy W. during the unpacking! Thank you!!

A few things to remember for us....

Great romance story of the trip: Anna and W. were listening to a dark and stormy book on tape, just as the devil appears and follows the young protagonist Anna got a sick feeling and realized her ring finger was empty. She suddenly remembered waking up and taking her wedding ring off in the night.... Dan was further back in Indiana and went back...W and Anna spent a lot of time tossing balls around Ohio service plazas. Amazingly we all got to State College within minutes of each other.

Carbon footprints:

Toyota: 30 gallons of gas

Moving van: 100 gallons of gas

Last day of MN: Drove past St. Joe's where W was born. Bfast at Common Roots. Drove past Lake Calhoun and Isles. Waved goodbye to Colin and Colfax. Slept on air mattress in W's room. Hot cocoa with Colin, Jane, Nick, Felicia - a great surprise. Dinner at C&J's, an oasis of peace, real dishes and eating at a table. Cleaning with help of friend's holding and walking W. A coffee at Gigi's.

State of things now: We all smell like spit up.

Update

I stepped on the camera a month ago so we are at a hiatus in documentation.
Over the weekend, with a lot of Rob and Jane's help, we packed. Then some friends came by and held Walter and we packed some more....
Last night we packed the moving van with everything big and heavy. It is amazing how many folks came over to carry things or to watch Walter while we carried things. For odd moments it felt like a birthday party. We had a big pot of chili going on the stove, toppings, beer, lots of laughter and chatting.
The state of things today: a sea of chaos covers the floors. We need to pack that. And clean. And sleep.
Stress level: pretty high.
ETA in State College: Saturday night.
What we are crossing our fingers about: Friends come by and hold W. Fin and we get to hug them goodbye.
What we hope to do, but probably wont have time for before leaving: Run around Lake Harriet one more time.
Last thing we will do before driving away: eat a croissant at Patisserie 46.
Who we will miss like crazy: Everyone!!!!!
What you should think if you have not heard from us in a while: Our thoughts and our actions are not inline, but we are thinking of you as we chase W.Fin under tables and across playgrounds ( while we are dizzy with sleep deprivation and cleaning floors...as the case may be).