Deported :(

So this last week I drove up to Canada to make a trip out to Montreal for my interview to gain residency in the United States. This was supposed to be the last step in a VERY long process. Unfortunately things did not go as planned. We need to submit one more form from someone to sponsor me. Lucky for us we have WONDERFUL family. Daniel's Aunt Terry was so kind to agree to sponsor me and now we are just waiting to get all of paperwork sent in and returned back to me from the Embassy in Montreal. So a huge THANKS goes out to Aunt Terry for helping us out! She was so quick to fill out the necessary paperwork and get her documents mailed out to me within a day which was great! We aren't really sure how long this will take but are hoping only 2-3 weeks since I am not allowed to return to Moscow in the meantime. So Daniel and I are learning to live apart from one another and anxiously waiting for the day when I can return home.

Aside from the bad news of not getting my immigration VISA my Mom and I had an excellent time in Montreal. It was our first time being there and it was really beautiful. We stayed a block from Old Montreal which was great because there was a lot to see within walking distance. I was wishing that I knew a little bit of French for our visit. It was a little tricky finding directions and ordering food sometimes because everything was in French! Too bad that wasn't a mandatory class for me when I was in high school.

Our first night there we had just enough time once we got to our hotel to find the US embassy and grab some supper. The next morning I left at 7:30 for my interview and didn't get back until noon. That was a VERY long morning. At 12:30 my Mom and I took a bus tour around Montreal that was just over 3 hours long. We got to see a lot of sites in Montreal and learned a lot of interesting facts. That night we found a nice little Italian restaurant in Old Montreal that was really good and then we came back to the hotel and hung out there for the rest of the night because we were both exhausted. Between Mom's bad hip and me being 8 months pregnant there was only so much walking we could do in a day. We were the perfect match for this trip!

Our last day we went to a nearby mall and did some shopping and then went to the Space and Science Center which was a lot of fun. Just before we caught our cab back to the airport we made a stop at a nice little bakery for a gourmet cupcake that was SOOOO good!

Here are a few pictures that we took:

 Notre Dame Basilica

 This is a smaller chapel in the back of Notre Dame.

 The Bio Dome and Olympic Park.

 

St. Joseph's Cathedral

 In front of the Space and Science Center

Mom and I loved the skinny mirror!

 

Some cool condos that look like lego blocks

Mom and I are now safely back in Welling. It was fun to have a trip together just the two of us.I have been enjoying some time to rest and relax. Yesterday I read the first book of The Hunger Games Trilogy which I really enjoyed. Today I worked in the kitchen with my Mom preparing for a late Thanksgiving meal that we are having tomorrow and I even made my way out to the garden to help harvest the carrots. Brought back memories of working in the garden when I was little.

I want to say Happy Birthday to Brenda! It is her birthday tomorrow and I hope she has a wonderful day and gets spoiled! I wish I were there to spend it with you. Thanks for being such a wonderful Mother in law, I feel blessed to have you as a part of my life.

Mom's Birthday and some crafting!

First of all I want to say Happy Birthday to my wonderful mother! I'm sad I couldn't spend the day with her but will get to see her in a week and a half which I am so excited for! I am so lucky to have such a great Mom and am so excited for our baby to have the best Grandma ever! I know she was being taken out tonight to one of her favorite restaurants by my Dad and I hope they had a fantastic time. I thought I'd share a couple of my favorite pics of my Mom and me :)

I especially love this picture of my Mom and I at my wedding. She has a picture just like it of her and her Mom when she got married. 

Hope you had a great day Mom!

I had a request to share some of the projects that I have been up to since I have retired. I have been loving my time at home and have been learning to do a bit of sewing. I am definitely an amateur but have been enjoying developing a new skill! It is fun to have the time to do some of the things that I never felt like I had time to do when I was working full time and think I could really get used to this stay at home business :) A baby won't take up that much of my free time......right? haha

Anyways here are some of the things I have made and maybe as time goes on the projects will become a little more advanced :)

This is a family home evening binder that I have been working on. It should make for some fun Monday evenings. It has about 100 different lessons and activities that I gathered from a few different sources. The majority of them I got from my friend Alyson. Thanks Aly!

These are a couple wipes cases and diaper pouches I have made. Since we don't know the gender of the baby, and I refuse to have everything be gender neutral, I have resorted to making a boy and girl colored things. And I must give credit to my SIL for the wipes case since I used her fabulous tutorial!

 This is a nursing cover I sewed

 Necklace holder

 I made these earrings at a jewelery class the Relief Society organized.

 a bag holder.....exciting...i know

 I thought I needed a new apron since I have been spending a lot more time in the kitchen cooking!

 Yesterday I put together a car emergency kit as well as a 72 hour kit for Daniel and I. Since we live so far away from family now I decided that we had better learn to be little more independent. But hopefully we never have to use either one!

Time Flies!

The other day I realized that we have been living in Moscow for almost 2 months! Where has the time gone? I feel like we just got here. And what makes that seem even more crazy is the fact that the baby is due to arrive in about 2 months! WOW! It is coming much faster than I thought it would. I am feeling pressured to start getting everything in order for when the baby comes. The other day I looked online at a list of things you should have before you bring home baby.....where do I begin? I think I will be doing a lot of online shopping until Daniel and I can make a trip to Spokane for a day to buy some baby items. That should be a fun trip!

I feel like the last week has been very busy! Between our own schedules and all of the activities that the ward has been putting on their has not been a lot of free time. But we certainly are enjoying it! 2 weekends ago we made a trip out to Lewiston to explore the city a little bit and also stopped by a State Park that is just outside the city. It's a very pretty city that is right on the river and we look forward to camping there next summer. The campground is right on the river and it has a nice sandy beach and playground (things that we need to take note of for the little one!). Lewiston is about 30 minutes from Moscow and we took a scenic road there called Old Spiral Highway. It was the most curvy, crazy road I think I have ever been on. We stopped part way along the drive and enjoyed a picnic in the back of the car while overlooking the city and river. It was a beautiful night!

 Here is a view of part of Old Spiral Highway with the Snake River going through Lewiston and Clarkston.

 Daniel enjoying our picnic supper!

This is the State Park that we stopped at. It is called Hell's Gate, not really sure why. We thought it was quite lovely but maybe we will look into why is was named that before we stay there :)

Our relief society has been focusing on having mini classes throughout the week. They are small relaxed activities that everyone is invited to in order to have a wide variety of things to do to meet everyone's different interests. I try to go to as many as I can, it is a great way to get to know the sisters. Last week I was able to attend a service project where we made bibs and toys for children in third world countries, I went to a sewing club, jewellery making class, mommy and me which is held at the park so children can play and mom's can talk (I am close enough to being a Mom I figure I can attend that one!) and a walking group that goes out 3 times a week. I certainly don't have to be worried about getting bored.

Last week our ward also had an activity for the adults. They played the newly wed game! When we first arrived they had a backdrop set up to take pictures of each couple which they gave to us at the end of the night. They had all of the guys leave the room while the girls answered some questions and then the guys came back and the girls left and then we met together to reveal our answers. Daniel and I got enough right that we moved on to the finals round which had about 5 other couples. After many many questions and heated moments of competition Daniel and I came out the victors! That's right, we won the title of best couple in our ward. They had a crown and sash for me to wear and then we had our winning dance together. That's right they dimmed the lights in the gym and everyone made a circle around us while they played a nice slow song for us to dance to and they all had bubbles that they blew on us. It was quite the site. For our prize we won a gift card to AppleBee's and some treats, so I guess we have got a date night waiting for us!

Here is a picture with our prize when we got home that night.

And one last picture to share with you. This is a picture of the "bump" last week. 30 weeks down and 10 more to go!

Things to do

It has been a lot of fun living in a new city and country and discovering all the new things that we can do close to where we live. We are always finding new things to add to our to do list and are excited that we can be living here.

Daniel unfortunately spends the majority of his time here....

School is keeping him really busy but he is enjoying his classes and is learning a lot. I already feel confused when he is talking "law" to me! The majority of our ward is also law students which makes getting to know people really easy. Our ward is made up of young married students so it has been a lot of fun!
While Daniel is at school all day I have been enjoying some time at home. I have a handful of projects I have been working on such as a Family Home Evening binder, some baby projects, sewing, discovering my new addiction to Pinterest....and lots more!
I am now 29 weeks pregnant. Here is a photo of me at 25 weeks, I will have to get a new one pretty quick here because the baby has definitely grown since then!

I have found an obstetrician down here to see and plan on delivering here in Moscow at the Gritman Hospital. I am due Dec. 10th and Daniel's last exam is the 15th so that could make for an interesting week! I really don't want to be overdue but for Daniel's sake hopefully baby will hold out until the 16th :) Last Monday we went to our first prenatal class. We have 5 more classes to go to and they are every Monday night which makes for a fun FHE. Hopefully they will make us feel a little more prepared to have a baby!
When Daniel does have some free time here are some of the things that we have enjoyed doing together:

The picture above was taken of my parents in the Arboretum which is about 40 acres that was hand planted by the University over 100 years ago. The next 2 were taken at the botanical gardens. Both places are awesome for going on walks and enjoying the outdoors.

 Daniel and I rockin out at the local furniture center.

 Some local blackberry picking which we made some jam and pie from....yum!

 The Spokane temple which looks almost identical to Edmonton

This last picture was taken at the county fair that we went to last weekend. It was a ton of fun and it felt like a scene taken right out of Charlotte's Web. There were rides, performers, food and prizes for everything from the best pig to the best home grown squash to the best lego structure. We will have to be prepare for next year so we can enter one of the contests.
It is still nice and hot down here and we are looking forward to a great weekend!