The Saturday visit w/the social worker went well, but led to a late night discussion about the paperwork. We've decided to wait until this process is as complete as possible (171 in the mail) before taking our usual FL/AL trip to see family. I can't believe I'd rather be in KS than St. Augustine, but leaving the final paperwork in the air would be torture.
We left Tuesday afternoon for Wichita so we could make it to our 8 a.m. appointment w/ease. Ate dinner at Ghenghis Grill, where you pile up food (protein, spices, veg, sauce) and it's grilled then served to you. We all loved it, esp Josie.
The Wichita USCIS is an efficient, friendly office but they're not too laid back. I had to return to the car to exchange my knitting for a book. Henry VIII (subject of the book) is probably more dangerous than my little #7s but I did understand why they barred me at first. While we waited, Josie listened to Anastasia on her headphones; John edited a med school application personal statement. What a bunch of geeks.
The nice fingerprint technician at USCIS (no sarcasm) said I shouldn't be surprised if they ask me back bc of my flat whorls. She was not calling me nasty names; it's as if I sanded off my prints. Not sure of the benefit of asking me to return, though, as I'm going to present the same set of hands. Bw teaching and adoption reqs, Kansas/Missouri officials have worn my fingerprints off.
John has perfectly good prints, despite the process. He also has perfectly good veins and never needs to ask for the tiny butterfly needle. He's also a much better sport about innoculations and he can drive around strange cities w/o cursing. He wins something here...
To make all the driving and waiting more child-palatable, we went to the Exploration Place today. I never think of Wichita as a destination, but Old Town is charming, and the museums on the Arkansas River appealing (is it Ar-kansas or Ark-an-saw? Dunno). All in all, a nice mini-holiday.
