Day Ninety Four - Thurs 1st of Dec

Lucy and I stayed at home today. I was trying to get some baby quilts finished for a friend who is having twins. I have to give back the sewing machine soon that I borrowed off another Mum. It was Ward's last day at Uni for classes today so he got home early and we went to the post office to mail some Christmas packages back home and Mitchell and Jessie's baby quilt to them. We picked Leah up from her last day of Girls on the Run as she is doing her 5 km run on Saturday. In the evening I went to the Ward Relief Society Christmas function. It was so nice to be with other ladies in the ward enjoying a yummy dinner and listening to musical items.
Ward took these photos of Lucy with her new Dora blanket, we found the material at the craft store. Lucy was putting her baby to sleep on the stairs.

Day Ninety Three - Weds 30th of Nov - Leah's Birthday

Leah's birthday today. She was so excited. I woke up early and laid out all her cards and package. She didn't realise how many cards she had as I had put them away so it was a surprise on her birthday.
We woke her up in the bed and gave her our card, her present was coming later. I had set the table ready for her birthday breakfast, including her crown ready for her to wear.
She loved opening all her cards. It was so nice to see how many people remembered and how loved she was.

All her cards and gifts.

During the day I completed Missy's quilt ready to send.

Ward was home by lunch and we saw a family of deer walk behind our house.

Lucy's new accessory (when she can find them) are Leah's swimming goggles. She looks so funny

The photos are a bit backwards but we took Leah out to dinner after we bought her birthday present and then when we got home we had cake and skyped family in Australia.

Lucy ready to shop for Leah's birthday present. Leah loves shoes and we have said she can only buy one more pair of shoes in America. She really wanted a pair of Vans shoes. So we took her to the mall so she could choose her own pair.
After we got her shoes we took her out to eat (Thanks to Aunty Debbies present to me - a gift voucher to Red Robin) Red Robin is one of Leah and Ward's favourite places to eat. They even came out and sang to Leah for her birthday and gave her an ice cream sundae. I think she had a great day.

Day Ninety Two - Tues 29th of Nov

Lucy is obsessed with 'Boots' (we know its Dora but Lucy calls her Boots) I know I have said it before but she is obsessed. As you can see today Boots had to sit with her for lunch.

We went to Time in Play today to catch up with friends and then home to try and finish some sewing projects while Lucy had her nap. Ward drove up to the Ice Hockey in Canada that night. He had the photos but he said it was great to get to see a live game.

Day Ninety One - Mon 28th of Nov

This morning I went through the quilt stuff Sharon had given me. Inside was this beautiful quilted nativity. I just love it. I had seen it before at a quilt shop but thought I couldn't make it. I was so happy. It is really special to me. I had to hang it up straight away.

In the afternoon I helped at Leah's school again. I love being in a school again.

Day Ninety - Sun 27th of Nov

Today we left Portland. We had breakfast first at the hotel which was the nicest breakfast we have had so far in any hotel. It was going to take us around 4 and half hours to get home so we left by 9:30am. It was so cute as we were going over this big bridge you could see the city of Portland and Lucy said 'Oh Wow'. Lucy is obsessed with Dora the Explorer which she actually calls Boots. So she loved watching the Dora Dvds and reading her books. Leah is always so good with Leah and is so helpful. With traffic and a few potty stops we ended up getting home at around 3:30pm. It was so good to be home and out of the car. After we tidied up and started the washing we went for a walk around the neighbourhood. We can see a big change in the trees now. We all wore our beanies that Sharon gave us. The girls looked so cute!

Day Eighty Nine - Sat 26th of Nov

Today was our last day at Sharon and Jim's. It was a great morning but was a bit sad knowing that we had to say goodbye.Lucy absolutely adored Molly and I think by the end of it the feeling was mutual. In the morning they gave each other love.

We had breakfast altogether. We had Sharon's yummy biscuits and gravy and of course Aunt Betty's yummy homemade jam.

Lucy getting messy during breakfast.

Lucy got her chair and she was ready to watch Dora on TV. She is obsessed with Dora. It was so sad to leave. I didn't want to cry to much and just as I was getting emotional we realised the keys were lost. We looked for about half hour, searching everywhere. Just as we were looking up locksmiths I found them in some fold up chairs. Lucy must have got a hold of them and put them there. We said our goodbyes and I did well to hold it in until we drove away. I just said to everyone, 'I am okay, just let me get it out'. I hate the fact we live so far away from people we love so much. It is like a home away from home.

The drive took us about 5 hours and we didn't get traffic that was too bad. Luckily the weather was really good too. We managed to get into Portland when it was still light.

Day Eighty Eight - Fri 25th of Nov

We were all going to church with Aunt Betty this morning. Leah remembers going to Aunt Betty's church last time we came 6 years ago and was looking forward to it. Lucy was all ready and starting colouring while she was waiting. The church was putting on breakfast before the service so Lucy and Ward were coming to breakfast and then going home because the service was during Lucy's sleep time.

Ward, Jim, Aunt Betty, Sharon, Leah, Lucy, Me, Ron and Sue.

Me, Sharon, Aunt Betty and Sue

Aunt Betty's church. I really quite enjoy the service with all the singing. I like to sit and think what my Great Grandpa would have been like when he was a Preacher. Everyone was really nice and welcoming.
For lunch we had left over Thanksgiving dinner, yum. In the afternoon we all went to the shops - all different ones. Leah, Lucy, Ward and I went to some material shops, looked for a new camera and then to the mall. The above photo is of the girls relaxing that night watching some Dora.
Ward made pavlova for everyone that night. It was so great to spend time with everyone. We looked at some old photos that Aunt Betty had and learnt about our relatives. I wish I knew more about a family history.