She's leaving on a jet plane...

Today's the day. Today my niece leaves for Japan. She is going to be teaching English to children in a suburb of Osaka, Japan for the next year. Last night the family and some of Sam's friends gathered at my sister's house to say goodbye and wish her well on her journey.

Here's Sam, all packed and ready to go.

Clowning around for the camera!

Getting some last minute advice from the girls.

I set Sam up with a blog. She has promised to post about her adventures and keep us informed of her life in Japan. For those of you who may be interested, you too can follow her adventures at: http://samiaminjapan.blogspot.com/

Best of luck Sam, we will miss you while you are gone!

And we can't forget, that it was also my mom's birthday yesterday as well. Here are some shots from the celebration, enjoy.