After nearly eight months of being unemployed, Sam got a new job and starts on Monday! We are very excited to be getting a paycheck again. We wanted to make the most of his last few days of freedom and had decided to go see his grandmother in Oregon. The day before we were going to leave we found out that she had fainted at a Relief Society meeting and they had to call an ambulance. She was dehydrated and had a minor infection but was okay. We were glad that we were able to go out and make sure that she was taken care of for a few days. We left on Friday after Sarah got out of preschool and drove straight through. We arrived in Cottage Grove about 2:00 in the morning Pacific time. The girls handled the drive very well. We spent the weekend visiting and going on walks along this wonderful paved trail that the city has put in. It was a wonderful weekend and we were sad to see it end. We left early Tuesday morning and drove all the way home that day. Again, the girls did wonderful on the drive. We did have one minor meltdown from Sarah. She had been playing with a balloon all weekend that she had named Balloonie, of course. Before we left she asked Grandma Spady to draw a face on her balloon. While we were driving we heard a loud pop from the back seat followed by a wailing cry from Sarah. "My best friend popped!" She was so upset that Lily started to cry. I couldn't help it, I started to laugh so hard I had tears in my eyes. She eventually got over it.
Here are a few highlights from the trip.
We went to church with Grandma Spady on Valentines Day. Sarah went into primary and she got this huge heart shaped sugar cookie from the teachers. She also got a bunch of Valentine cards from the other kids in her class. When we got home from church, Lily climbed up on the table and she and Sarah started eating the little candy hearts off of the cookie.
Later that day we went for a walk along these great exercise trails that they have in Cottage Grove. It had been raining all day and the smell was wonderful. It was a mix of rain, earth and wood smoke from the surrounding houses. It was just what I needed.
The next day we went and got some KFC and went to Dorena Lake. It's kind of a tradition that Sam's mom and her family used to do when she was growing up. There were also walking trails along the lake and after we ate we explored for a little while. It turned into a beautiful day.
Lily really enjoyed the corn on the cob. Sam found some deer tracks and was showing Sarah.
Lily discovered pussy willows for the first time.
We found some violets, one of my favorite flowers.
We met this sweet German lady in the parking lot as we were leaving. She let the girls pet her dogs and Lily took right to them. Sarah needed a little coaxing but she warmed up after awhile.
It was such a nice trip and I'm very glad that we went.
