1.
39 Clues
Compassion - Passion - History - Wonder

2.
Our Family
Kim and Scott started dating when
they were 18 years old and living in
Pullman, WA. They met their first
day of school at Washington State
University.
In the first 15 years of marriage, they
have lived in 25 different houses.
They enjoy traveling and trying new
things.
Ryan and Ally were born in
Annapolis, MD and Richland, WA,
respectively. They are both
homeschooled and enjoy reading
and trying new things (they would
rather eat sushi than hamburgers).
Kim and Scott have had a date night
every Saturday night for the last 15
years.

3.
The 39 Clues
For our 15th anniversary, Scott surprised the family with a three week vacation based around the
kids’ favorite book, 39 Clues. One Sunday after church, we took family portraits and Scott pulled
out a folder asking if the kids wanted to exchange a trip to Dave and Buster’s for a clue to learn the
world’s greatest treasure. Ryan jumped at the idea and, after a little coaxing, Ally agreed, too. Over
the next 3 weeks, we were directed by the clues to go to New Orleans, Paris, London, and Cairo.
Lots of great memories were made and experiences were had. This book chronicles our adventure.
May 16, 2010 - June 4, 2010

4.
Some Tweets
May 16 - Hot clue#3. Clue 2 said to goto the
bookstore between Mexico and the US. Kim
wanted to drive to TX.
May 17 - is listening to Kim teach Ryan that the
10 second rule does not apply to restaurants or
public places (after he picked BBQ off the floor)
May 18 - Great quote from Ally on Bourbon
Street outside a cabaret "mommy, what is that
man selling?"
May 20 - Bills are in EURO. Train ticketing
system will only take coin. Shops will not give
change. French just look at us like "not my
problem”.
May 24 - darn metric system. I tried to order a
half bottle of wine at lunch. I think we just
purchased a round for the bar.
May 24 - is playing Taste Daddy’s Finger in a
five star restaurant in Paris.
May 26 - Somebody took our bag @ last train
stop. We got theirs. Swapped back. Nice people
in London. Cool accents
May 29 - Ryan just ordered a pint of sprite at
the bar and told them to charge it to my tab.
May 31 - In a taxi in Cairo. A non-english
speaking driver is teaching Kim Arabic by yelling
words at her (no volume control).
June 1 - During a nice Egyptian dinner Ally
loudly declared "I have a great idea, but I need a
goat." She then waited for someone to get her a
goat.

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7.
Our compassion project involved laying sod at the New Orleans SPCA on a hot Louisiana afternoon. Neither
of the kids complained about the work. Both the SPCA workers and the other volunteers were thankful for
the help. Ally really enjoyed lovin’ on the puppies.
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One of Ryan’s favorite things on the trip was eating beignets at Cafe du Monde. They had loads of powdered
sugar and were very tasty.
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10.
We found jazz in New Orleans! After listening and enjoying the show for a bit, Ally said to Kim, “Mom, will
you dance with me?” This was one of Kim’s favorite moments from the trip.
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11.
It was hot outside so
we decided to take a
break in the New
Orleans Aquarium.
New Orleans 9

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15.
Our first day in Paris. After lunch and our first of many trips to the Eiffel Tower, we boarded a tour bus.
Kim, Ally, and Ryan slept through most of the tour and Scott took pictures so he’d stay awake. Thankfully, we
bought 2-day passes and got to see everything the next day.
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16.
Paris Bus Tour
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17.
Foie “gross”
Ally had been wishing for a
trip to Paris at some point in
the next few years to eat some
real french foie gras. However
when she ordered it, it was
served uncooked and was
terrible. Ally was
disappointed since it is her
“number 1 favorite food in the
world”. Yet she continued to
try to eat it and was happy all
evening. She has such an
adventurous spirit.

18.
Paris
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19.
The Louvre, Paris. Going into the largest museum in the world we didn’t know how well the kids (or Scott)
would do. However, we stayed until it closed. The kids were attentive and took in all the wonderful exhibits.
We even got a “Wow” from Scott.
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20.
Ally was not impressed that Venus De Milo didn’t have her towel pulled up far enough on her back side. She
started singing, dancing and pointing, “Pants on the ground, pants on the ground, she has her pants on the
ground”.
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24.
Paris
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This girl will try anything
We took the train from Paris to Versailles. We
had planned to picnic but instead found
ourselves stopping for a fantastic lunch where
Ally continued her culinary adventures.
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The Chateau de Versailles was a “hunting lodge”. It was huge and beautiful. We enjoyed walking the
grounds and taking a nap in the park.
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31.
Some of the greatest moments involved meeting random people. We met multiple people from East
Tennessee during our three weeks. These girls were all studying abroad and helped Scott as he planned
where to eat for our last two days in Paris.
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34.
On our last full day
in Paris we braved
the lines and went to
the top of the Eiffel
Tower. Our kids are
bookworms. They
both read for the
entire hour or two
we stood in line.
Eiffel Tower
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36.
The food in Paris was great. As a family we learned to “dine”. Kim and Scott defined “dining” as a meal that
involves at least one bottle of wine and takes over 90 minutes to eat. The kids defined “dining” as any meal
that includes desert. Some days we dined at breakfast.
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37.
Creme Brulee and Chocolate Mo
usse
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38.
We took the high speed train from Paris to London.
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39.
London Bus Tour
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40 Tower Of London

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44.
The Lion King
Our hotel in London was on the West End, so
of course we had to see a show. We saw “The
Lion King.” The kids were mesmerized.
Halfway in Ally yelled, “I’m so loving this.”
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45.
We took the public bus system to Studham, England. We had such a great time in Studham we lost track of
time and had to hire a private driver to get us back to our hotel in London.
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47.
The Studham Commons
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48.
46 The Bell Pub in Studham, England

49.
We went to the original Hard Rock Cafe. One of Ally’s favorite memories of the trip was sharing her
milkshake with Scott. After lunch they let us in “the vault” as part of a tour. The kids sat on Jimi Hendrix’s
couch. Ryan rocked out with Gene Simmons guitar from KISS.
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51.
By the end of our second week of being tourists, we were all exhausted. We spent the night in a hotel at the
Heathrow airport so Kim and Scott could talk and the kids play in the pool. We then took a five hour flight to
Cairo, Egypt
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52.
The Egyptian museum is like nothing anything we have ever seen before. Unlike the Louvre which had great
treasures that were a few centuries old all locked behind glass and velvet rope, the Egyptian museum has
4000 year old artifacts out in the open where you can touch them.
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We went to the Coptic Museum and got to see a copy of the books of John and Thomas from around 300AD.
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Step Pyramid of Djoser
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57.
We stopped with the kids at a
Carpet Making School. The
handmade rugs were beautiful.
The children working to make
them were joyful. Both our kids
got a better understanding for
how lucky we all are to be born in
the USA.
#(% '&%$#"!
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58.
Memphis, Egypt (Capital in 2,000BC)
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60.
One of Scott’s
favorite memories
was that he slowed
down enough on this
trip to try new
things. Kim talked
him into going
inside the Pyramid
(Scott’s a big guy &
the tunnel was
small).
Great Pyramid of Giza 59

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65.
Ryan was not impressed by pub
lic urinals
We had a half day layover in Amsterdam. We
took the train into the city, ate, did some
shopping and walked around. We all were
excited to head home.
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66.
Compassion - Passion - History - Wonder
We are each others greatest treasures.