Our visits to the U.K. are always too short...

I really wish that we had more time to stay in Devon than we do. We leave for the States in just a few days, and it feels like we just arrived and got settled. Nevertheless, it has been a really fun visit, and Moira has thoroughly enjoyed meeting all of her extended family.

On Sunday, we celebrated Gran's 90th birthday (on Alan's mom's side). She had a lovely time, and all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren were present (Scott and Kristin even sent her birthday wishes via webcam)! There's a video below showing the big moment. Moira's second cousins (Chloe, Adam, and Thomas) kept her very busy that day, and a good time was had by all. The weather even held up for most of the day, so we were able to go outside as well.

On Monday, we had a lazy day around the house after all of the excitement on the previous day. We went to the shops and found Moira a few cute outfits (it was so hard to choose), and we also took a short walk that day. Once again, we spent quite a bit of time out in the garden, and it was just dry enough for Moira to sit on the grass and play. Gordon took some excellent photos to capture the moment!

We spent most of yesterday at Nan's house in Dawlish. Lots of extended family stopped by to say hello and meet Moira, and once again the weather was just nice enough to sit out in the conservatory (until later in the day when we had to move in closer to the fire!). Moira had a fine time playing on the floor with Laura, her second cousin who is just 10 months older than she is! And she didn't seem to mind at all being passed from one aunt to the next uncle to the next! After everyone left, we had a lovely dinner with Nan, and she proved once again that she knows how to entertain little ones because she had Moira laughing harder than I've ever heard her laugh before!




























Today we popped over to visit Gran in Dawlish, and she was delighted to see Moira again. We had fun playing with Gran, and we also went for a little stroll around the neighborhood, which was very refreshing. I'll miss the fresh sea air when we're back in the States.



It's hard to believe our trip is already winding down. We have truly been overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and love--and by all the prezzies Moira has received. The Mackintosh and Shepherd families have truly outdone themselves, and we can't wait to see everyone again.


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