1 Week Down, Eleventy-billion More To Go

We've been in Kansas City for 10 very long days. We arrived on the afternoon of the 19th after a long and tedious drive. We brought with us my brother and sister, Tyler and Natalie, and a friend, Carter. They were an enormous help with unloading the truck, cleaning the house, and helping the dog adjust to her new surroundings.

Surprisingly, Godiva did very well on the drive. She slept most the time and never made a mess in the car. She has also adapted well to this house but she barks more as there are a lot of barking dogs outside and the walls aren't very soundproof. We have decided to give her free reign here instead of locking her in the kitchen. She has taken this new responsibility very well and has become a fantastic guard dog, Alexander has never loved her more.

We have had an abnormal amount of trials getting settled. First, I lost my wedding ring the day we moved out of our house. It could be anywhere in Provo or Evanston. I am devastated, as right now there is no way we can replace it. Additionally, the house apparently wasn't quite ready for occupation. It had been a long time since anyone had lived in it and supposedly it was recently updated but there were multiple problems including a sewage leak, a hole in a pipe that could result in carbon monoxide poisoning, and the fuse box wasn't grounded which could result in the house exploding if hit by lightening, etc. We didn't get hot water until yesterday, so we went 9 days with frigid showers and boiling our water on the stove to wash the dishes.

We went to our new ward on Sunday morning. It is very small and they were overly-excited to have us move in. I think that nearly every ward member introduced themselves to us. Interestingly, nearly everyone has lived in Utah, or has a child at BYU, or some connection. The back of the Sunday program lists the numbers for the ward leadership and 4 of 12 were Utah numbers. It was certainly no surprise to anyone that we were from Provo. We were invited to sing in the ward choir and we found that there were only 8 members (including us).

Alexander is enjoying school. It's been a huge blessing that it is a mere 4 or 5 blocks walk. He has already impressed his professors and one has taken him under her wing and spent nearly an hour with him helping him with all the essentials and giving him helpful hints for his plans with grad school. She advised him that it is better to stay at UMKC for his PhD as he can cut an entire year off his studies. Plus, he would be able to cut out a 100 page thesis, which is a big deal. He still would have the 300 page dissertation, but not having to do the thesis would be a big help. We are considering the options, and it is very possible that we will take that route and do 4 years here instead of 2 years here and 3 years somewhere else.

We have decided to take an adventure once a week and do or see something different. Kansas City is HUGE so there is tons to do. Last Saturday, on Alexander's birthday, we went to the area he grew up in and saw his old home and elementary school. We found this really cool, kinda gourmet grocery store and found Alexander's favorite pies of all time there. We bought his favorite, strawberry rhubarb, and it ended up being the perfect birthday present. That night we also went to the Chinese restaurant that Alexander's family ate at for his birthday dinners every year. They now have a small local chain and there is one just 5 minutes from our house. The food was good and the atmosphere was perfect.

Yesterday our adventure was to go to the Nelson Atkins Art Museum. Let me start by saying it is ENORMOUS! We spent 4 hours there and only saw a very small percentage of everything on display. While there we saw 4 Monets, a Van Gogh, 2 Rodins, a Rembrandt, the contents of an Egyptian tomb, and ancient artifacts from Greece, Rome, and Persepolis. Additionally we saw a huge collection of medieval art that included stained glass windows, suits of armor, actual architecture (an entire cloisters from a monastery), and religious art from churches. Best of all, the museum has no entrance fee, so you can wander at your heart's desire and come back as many times as you want, which is good because we still have to see the sculpture gardens, the huge Chinese collection, and much more.

We miss everyone at home immensely and hope that you will continue to keep in touch. :)