Jessie's big performance...

So, tonight was a big night for Jessie, she was part of the Bethany Elementary School Talent Show. She played her flute - beautifully - and then sung with all the other children at the end. (Star Spangled Banner)

It was a good night, with many kids performing - at very different levels of ability - but fun was had by all!

A long weekend...

Monday was a public holiday in the United States for Memorial Day, although the weekend is to commemorate all those who have served for the US in the military, it is also an extended weekend. We were originally not sure what to do with the weekend, so on Saturday night we decided that we would head out for another "adventure."

We headed south east to a place around 4 hours out of Portland called Bend. It is a sizable place where many people have decided to retire to. It reminded me very much of a large country town like Bendigo or Ballarat near Melbourne. The population is around 75,000 people, but it is expanding. The weather was amazing, although it did not start off that well when we left on Saturday, by the time we reached Bend the sky was a beautiful blue, with very little cloud. It was a little cold in the evening, but that changed the next day.

The photographs below show a little bit of the trip, and some of the things we saw.

The mountain in the background is Mt Washington

This picture was taken on top of "Pilot Butte" a large Lava mound which overlooks Bend and the surrounding area.

This is in front of Mount Bachelor - another favorite destination for Skiers during winter.

How strange is this, here we are standing on a snow field in short sleeves, it was beautiful weather, but we were on SNOW!

Darren's visit to Boston

For work, Darren had to travel to Boston - which is on the East Coast of the United States above New York. He was there for three days, arriving on Monday night, and leaving Thursday night. Boston is a lovely City, and definitely a place that we will be visiting again as a family. Below are some pictures of the skyline, and some of the buildings. You may see - if you look hard enough - the Cheers bar in the bottom photograph.

The food and city in general reminded me of Melbourne. We ate Italian food for dinner one night, with coffee to follow and a desert of an Italian pastry - it was fantastic food. Pasta like we used to get in Melbourne, REAL Coffee!

A huge achievment...(for the car)

This news was actually a little while ago - about 2 weeks. The car we are loaning from our friends hit the big 150! (YES - 150,000 Miles)

I was excited, so I took some pictures to share!

Jessie looses another tooth...

Jessie today was watching television, when she bumped her knee into her top lip - and the tooth that she has been waiting to come out for around a month now - came out! Here is a picture of the tooth and her new "hole" ready for a new tooth.