Home... but truckless

We are home!! What an adventure. On last Thursday the dealership said that the car would be done on Friday afternoon so we booked flights to Spokane and then have a shuttle come pick us up and take us to Kellogg to pick it up. When we arrived there on Friday we were told that they had broken a piece while putting it back together and it would be done on Monday/Tuesday.... if it worked when they started it! James by this time was going INSANE so we headed to a motel. It wasn't long until we were on the phone with my parents trying to figure out how we could fly home. We eventually booked flights home for the next day and my parents' friends from Spokane came out to pick us up. We flew out of Spokane at noon, arrived in Seattle at 3, flew to Calgary at 5, and then flew to Regina at 8! And we were home at 11! It was so nice to sleep in our own bed and put Sommer in her crib. James will be flying back down to Spokane (and then heading over to Kellogg, where the truck is) in 2 weeks to pick it up. Plenty of time for them to have the truck fixed!

Sommer was an excellent little traveller through all this. We are so fortunate to have a good baby. She slept during each plane ride since I fed her while we were taking off. But after 3 plane rides she was a little crabby when we got home but I got in the bath-tub with her and she settled down nicely for bed. Today she is enjoying having her swing back and has spent much of the day sleeping in it.

Truck Troubles!

For those I know who don't know we are stuck in Portland. On the way down here (2 weeks ago) our truck's front end blew up in a small town in Montana. We got in to this small town after noticing smoke in our rear-view mirrior at 4:30 pm, just as the local mechanic shop was closing down. They said they could not fix it for us but could tow us to a dodge dealership an hour away. So we spent the night in this dingy $40/night motel. The next morning this guy came and loaded our truck (and us!) on the top of a flat deck truck and towed us an hour away. It was quite the experience going through the snowy mountains on the top of a flat deck, one I'm not sure I want to experience again. We reached the dodge dealership and they said that it could be a couple weeks before it was fixed. They were nice enough to shuttle us to Spokane (an hour an a half away) so we could rent a car. We rented a car and drove the last 6 hours. A long adventure with Sommer! So, we have been hanging out in Portland anxiously awaiting a phone call letting us know our truck is ready. James called this morning and they are still waiting on parts, so it could possibly be a couple more days. James is anxious to return home as he is eager to go back to work! I don't blame him, it's hard to be here because there is only so much that can be done over the phone. He has been in good spirits so far so I pray he keeps it up but I notice his patience slowly leaving him.

Since we had so much time here we decided to take a trip up to Vancouver BC to visit James' grandparents, aunt, uncle and cousin. It was wonderful for them to finally meet Sommer! His grandpa loved her so much and couldn't get over how small she was. He has dimensia so it was hard for him to understand who she was but it was still great to be able to tell her how much he loved her. We also had the chance to visit my sister's place in Bellingham, WA. She lives in an old Bed and Breakfast with 12 other girls. It's a big old house on the top of a hill. It could use some redecorating but it does the trick for the 12 of them. What a college experience that would be :)

Well, I should head to bed here since Sommer is down for the night already. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and the new year is treating them good. Pray that the truck will be done soon so we can return home and get on with work and life!