An "Eore" type of day

Things should be great! I got up on time. I cleaned out my dresser and closet. I scrubbed the bathtub. That's it. That's all I've done! I am exhausted.

James went snowmobiling with his brother Daren, my brother Josh and their friend Jeremy today. They had a blast. I went to pick him up from his parents' house afterward. I was still in my groove.

I put on a babydoll shirt. It's just what I'm comfortable in right now. I only have pre-pregnancy babydoll shirts. They are all short sleeve. It's still too cold for that. So we came home and I put on one of my regular long sleeve shirts. Usually looks great, but today: I feel like I have a funny looking beer gut! That's my "Eore" moment for today! I just don't feel pretty and cute. I'm sure life will go on and things will be ok. I just needed a moment to vent. Sorry All!

It's Official!!!

Yes! We are PREGNANT!!!! Our little one is scheduled to arrive on September 7, 2009. We've already been to the doctor twice. We have the cutest little pictures from the ultrasound. I'll do my best to keep it all posted on here!


By the way, check back again and I'll have the London pictures posted. I'm just exhausted.

What James Does

I've had a few ask what it is that James does. Lately, he's been able to do some traveling (domestic & foreign) for work. Technically, he is the Project Manager for S & S Worldwide's "Frog Hopper." It's a child's ride. I love it. Here's a few pictures of ones that he has set up.


Zoombizi Bay, Columbus Zoo, Columbus, OH


Isotopes Baseball Stadium, Albuquerque, NM


Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea


Lotte World, Seoul, South Korea


Legoland, Carlsbad, CA
(This is the same model that James is setting up here in England.)

So that's kinda a little tour of what my husband is usually up to. He's got 3 more scheduled to install in Billund, Denmark. They are for Legoland there as well and look like huge lego's.

TaDa!

Yesterday was a good day. James has convinced me to do the relax part while he's at work. That kid's got a good head on his shoulders. So I decided to take him up on it! I woke up around 10 am London time. Got showered. Cleaned up the room a little. (I'm such a neat freak!) Then headed to this huge grocery store. It's basically like a Super Target. They also have a travel agency though. I was able to exchange my American money for British Pounds. Can I just tell you, we sure get ripped off! Take in $300 and get 186 pounds back! Absurd! Oh well. I'll deal. Then I went down stairs to enjoy myself a late (very late) breakfast. Mmmmmm. They are just as good here as they are at home. The staff was a bit nicer here though. Very pleasant to be around. On my way back to the hotel I stopped at the train station. It's actually located right outside my hotel window. Very nice.

When James got home from Legoland, we got to go to the temple! We had planned to go early and eat dinner at the cafeteria then make the 8 pm session. On our way there, I decided I would be brilliant and call to see when the cafeteria closes. Don't worry. It's actually only open for lunch. Fantastic! I told James we would just have to go on faith and we would find food. We ended up getting to the temple without food. We got our clothing and went through a session. It was so wonderful. And beautiful, too! The building was exquisite! While we were there we got to meet a couple that is serving a mission at the temple from Manti. They were so very nice and kind. They helped us get some pictures and tried to point us in the right direction for food.

I made it through the session, but was starving. Our GPS took us up to the next town. It was nice a peaceful there too. Cozy little place. We ended up finding a McDonald's. I have to admit. . . there was some pushing my pride aside going on. Not a fan. But at 10 pm that was the BEST darn quarter-pounder I've ever had! Lesson learned. Eat earlier. Don't wait until starvation sets in.

So, TaDa! I went exploring! We found the temple! First try! (Not like in Korea) Got to go through a session! Got food! And finally, made it back to the hotel safely!


A little dark, but still a pretty picture.


My husband is so handsome!


Side view with the moon.


On our way out, past the front.

Picture Time!

James and the car


We made it safely to Windsor. Windsor Castle in the background.


One of the towers on the way into the castle.


James was taking a lot of sneaky pictures of me.


It's ok. I got a few of him too :)


The belt with the cross in the middle is the symbol of the Order of the Garter. It's one of the oldest and most important orders of chivalry in the world, founded by Edward III in 1348. There are still knights appointed to this order today.


This is some of the beautiful architecture. I believe that George III was responsible for this part of the castle.


More architecture from George III.


This is the moat area. It looks like it now is a garden area.


We went on a free guided tour. I tried to learn as much as I could. Here is our guide with St. George's Chapel in the background.


They had BIG guns!


This is the entrance to the State Apartments. That's where the queen does her entertaining with important people. We were not allowed to take pictures in the inside at all. So we just took the pics outside and bought a few books with pictures of the inside.


Another view of St. George's Chapel.


Thi is the Lower Ward. Retired members of the armed services who represent the Garter Knights at services in the chapel live here.

That's about it for now! Love you all!

Three letters of the alphabet I've come to love, G.P.S.

Yesterday, we set out to go to church.
Prior to arriving in England we had gotten a schedule of the nearby wards and found the one that would suit us and our schedule the best. The addresses over here are a little bit different. There’s not always a house or business number, you’re just given the street and city. Sometimes you will get a nearby crossroad. That being said, thank heavens for GPS systems! Find the address you want to go to, hop in the car, plug the addy into the GPS and your set. A pleasant lady tells you when to turn what direction and which exit on the roundabout to take. If you still go the wrong direction, no worries! The GPS will automatically re calculate your route and the best new directions in a matter of seconds. AMAZING!!!

So, we’re on our way to church. With the GPS and directions previously printed we find the meetinghouse without any problems. Except. . . the building is being renovated. It doesn’t tell you that on the church website. And there are no directions to where church is currently being held. So we turned around and went back to the hotel. We made a few wrong turns but that’s when we were pleasantly surprised to find the GPS re directs the route.

We were able to find another ward that started a little bit later. On this outing is where we discovered the importance of nearby cross streets. THANK YOU GPS!!! We were able to make it to church on time and it was a wonderful meeting.

We didn’t get to go to Stonehenge as planned yesterday. It would have just been closing as we would have arrived. So we will try and fit that in later on this week. I’ve still been suffering from some jet lag, so after church it was back to the hotel and nap time for me!!! James is such a sweetheart. He was only supposed to let me sleep for an hour. He doubled my time though. It was nice because I got to cuddle up against him for my whole nap. I think he enjoyed himself too.

After nap time, we decided we had better get some nourishment. We headed back into Windsor and learned you have to pay to park anywhere. I think it’s crazy. I guess it’s something that I take for granted back home. You can park almost anywhere free of charge! That’s a blessing! We found parking and set out to find somewhere to eat. We didn’t get too far. It was raining and we forgot our umbrella all the way at home! (We will run out for one of those later today!) There was this cute little pub at the base of Windsor Castle. We stopped in there. They had a separate restauraunt so that’s where we ate. Their menu wasn’t large, so I was a little concerned that James wasn’t going to find anything to satisfy his palette. Luckily he did. I had the traditional fish and chips. James had a beef and ale pot pie. They were both absolutely delicious! Wow the chips are amazing!! We topped it off with Sticky Toffee Pudding. That was to die for! It was like a toffee bread covered in a warm toffee sauce. There were a few drizzling of chocolate syrup over that and it was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. MMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm good

Safe!

We have safely arrived in England! James is becoming a professional at driving on the wrong side of the road in the wrong side of the car. I just have to remind him which lane is his as he's turning. We had time in between our arrival and when we could check into the hotel. . . so we used it wisely. We went to Windsor Castle and took a tour. It was so pretty! Pictures will come later, as jet lag has set in and requires me to nap. Much Love!

Hangin' at O'Hare

We are currently hangin in what my be said as one of the busiest airports. It's definately different than Salt Lake! We arrived here at about 11:40am Chicago time. Our departure isn't until 5:55pm. I really can't complain. Some people have longer layovers than that! We were laughing for a bit though. I was calling ourselves airport bums. When we got here there wasn't a scheduled gate for our departure yet. So we were slummin it looking for power outlets for the computer. We found one!! But our flight has now been posted and James went to find an outlet in the other concourse. I think we're computer junkies or something. Gotta go meet my love! More to come later:)