£120 later = a fixed computer

The boys just left to rent a scary movie in honor of Halloween. I knew my movie vote would be ignored since It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is about the extent of my Halloween-scary desires, so I decided to stay home and catch you up on the little things that have been going on with us.

BABY NEWS: I've had many requests for belly pics, definitely a request that only becomes normal when you're pregnant. I haven't taken one in a few weeks and there's been some major growth (in my opinion...no one else seems to be able to tell yet) since then so I'll wait till I have a more recent photo to post. I was staying pretty aware of how much weight I was gaining in America, attempting to stay within the "normal" range. Here, however, the only time I get weighed is at the doctor and they weigh me in kilos or stones. A lot of good that does for my America-doesn't-use-the-metric-system-like-the-rest-of-the-world knowledge. After weighing me the last time the doctor asked if the number seemed light? I had no idea! Oh well. Last week I started feeling the baby move! It's been very exciting, and has already increased in frequency and intensity. I still can't believe there's actually a little baby squirmin' around in there! We get to find out the gender in two weeks. I CAN'T WAIT! I'm so very eager to find out what it is. I don't have a preference one way or another, I just want to know so I can stop referring to it as it. I've already had nightmares that the baby's legs are criss-crossed on the day of the appointment so we aren't able to find out. As a result, I have vowed to ground the child for one year, starting on his/her 16th birthday, if such noncooperation takes place. Hardcore parenting right from the get-go! Other than ultra-sound nightmares, I feel great! Thoughts of the baby consume me and I could talk about my excitement (and some fears) all day, but in an effort to not bore my readers to tears, I'll call this sufficient, concluding with an open invitation for baby-oriented phone calls, emails, etc.

OTHER NEWS: See following posts

Care Package

Last week we received a package from my mom filled with "American essentials" that we were already starting to miss. THANKS MOM!!

Cafe

Have I mentioned our favorite cafe? Best hot chocolate EVER!

Matriculation

A few weeks ago Justin attended his Matriculation Ceremony. This is somewhat like a rite of passage, after which a "commoner" officially becomes a student of Oxford University. The robes, suit, mortar board, and white bow tie were my (definitely not Justin's) favorite part. Even better, he has to wear the ensemble while he takes exams. And we thought BYU had strict standards! Come to find out I wasn't allowed into the ceremony, so I took pictures of some of the buildings around me while I waited.

Headed into the ceremony

A matriculated Justin. So scholarly.


I can't help but think of Mary Poppins when I focus on the rooftops. Chim-chim-chery!





I also had time to read the newspaper while waiting. This headline in the World News section caught my eye.

Busted

Our computer took a fall from table to floor,
So now I can't blog all I want any more.

It's in a shop across town receiving repair,
That it won't cost a fortune is our little prayer.

There is so much to share I can't hardly wait,
But for now that's it: a busted computer update.

Justin + Pregnancy

Justin asks me nearly everyday how many weeks along I am and then responds, "16 weeks (or whatever number of week I happen to be on)! Weren't you 16 weeks last week? This pregnancy is taking forever!" He's so eager for the baby to arrive. Don't know that I've ever seen a cuter daddy-to-be.

London

We spent the day in London on Saturday. The weather couldn't have been more beautiful! We saw the "classics" (i.e. Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, London Bridge, etc.). Good times.

This video is for my brother, Casey. Listen close, Case. I know you'll love it.

My Favorite Thing to Do in Oxford...

Go to the doctor. I know, right?! It sounds bizarre, but it's so great. I had the *opportunity* to go to the doctor's office twice this week, once for a regular check-up and once for some blood work (standard stuff, nothing to fret about). Both were such lovely experiences, I can't wait to go back in another couple of weeks when I get to see a midwife (every pregnant person is assigned a midwife here). I've been told that their medical technology is about two years behind the states, but their patient care is WAY better. The doctors act like YOU are the reason they came in to work that day. Even the blood-drawing lady wanted to talk all about how my pregnancy was going and was thrilled to find out that I would be here all the way through delivery so she would be able to "meet the baby." The blood girl! The blood girl I had in CA seemed annoyed that she even had to look at my vein, let alone draw blood from it. She couldn't have cared less that I was pregnant. I've never donated blood before because it totally freaks me out, but for my Oxford blood girl, I just might.

My Walking Spot

I've discovered my favorite spot to go walking here in Oxford (thus far), and I invite you on a cyber-stroll with me today. Let's begin:

(Click on the slide show to view captions with each picture)

Nice workout! Don't forget to stretch and rehydrate to avoid soreness tomorrow.

A Night on the Town

A little over a week of being here we realized that we had been home, "turned-in" for the night by about 7:00 p.m nearly every evening. How old and married can we be?! So we went out to discover what was to be discovered, and happened upon a delectable little ice cream shop/cafe. It sits on a quaint street that has lights strung from one side of the street to the other. (Unfortunately most of the lights are burnt out, but we used our imaginations and envisioned an enchanting scene.) We shared a scrumptious brownie sundae, which I have battled cravings for every night since.



We may be an "old married" couple now, but we've still got the passion...ahh yeeeah.

Luggage

Combining our flights from Sacramento to Philadelphia and Washington DC to London, I think we were legitimately subject to about $600 dollars in extra baggage/overweight fees, but in total we paid $50. How blessed!

I Love You More Today Than Yesterday

Happy Anniversary, Babe!



Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry.
-Tom Mullen

To keep your marriage brimming,
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you're wrong admit it;
Whenever you're right shut up.
- Ogden Nash

Washington D.C.

Our first stop in Washington was the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. There is SO much stuff in there! We saw some of the materials that were used on the Wright brothers original airplane to space ships that have been to the moon!

A couple weeks before our trip we saw Wally Herger (a California Congressman) at church. We told him we'd be in Washington and he gave us a business card with his office phone number on it and told us to give him a call when we were in town. Well, we did and he hooked us up with a personal tour of the Capitol building. We got to see the same stuff that a regular tour would see, but instead of being in a group of 30-40 people, it was just us! Justin's favorite part was sitting in on a session where the House of Reps were discussing the economic situation and the bill they developed (which at that point had not yet been passed). It was really interesting (more so than watching it on C-Span). Representative Herger also invited us into his office and we got to sit and chat with him for awhile. It was very cool, and nice of him to take time to do that with us.

The weather was a little gloomy, but (1) It prepared us for England; and (2) We decided that we preferred it that way over it being hot with all the walking that takes place to get from monument to monument. There's a ton!

The Washington D.C. temple is exquisite. We were also surprised by how big it is! We haven't been inside a big temple in a long time. I was able to talk to some missionaries from the area who gave me directions to the closest stake center to our hotel so I could watch the R.S. broadcast. It was very good. However, in one of the talks an experience was recounted of living far from their mother for a time. It got my tears flowing, which didn't stop for nearly the rest of the night. Justin was a little late picking me up and when he saw my tear-stricken face he thought I was upset with his tardiness. He felt terrible. Unfortunately when I tried to explain why I was crying it just made me cry more. Poor guy had to live with the guilt of driving his wife to tears until I was able to clarify a couple hours later. I share this to simply reveal that while our trip was great and our move has gone smoothly, I'm not a robot. It is terribly hard adjusting to being so far from family and dear friends. Justin has been amazingly patient and comforting. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

One of the unpictured highlights of our trip was The Office season premiere. Oh, how we love that show. We've discovered that in order to watch it over here we'll have to buy each episode from iTunes. It's worth whatever it takes.

I'm probably forgetting a million things from this leg of our trip, but this posting is already long enough, so oh well.

Gettysburg, and a little Hershey

Gettysburg has a very beautiful, hushed, almost reverent atmosphere about it. You can sense the sacrifices that were made there and the significance of the events that took place over 200 years ago.

So much to say

You know how when you have a million things to blog about, you don't have any time to blog about them?  That's been the case in my life.  There has been so much going on, I hardly know where to begin.  I'm sure you're probably all interested in hearing about our new overseas residence (or maybe you feign friendship and couldn't care less), whatever the case may be you'll have to wait.  I have to update about our Tribute to America vacation before I move on to Oxford.  

The trip was amazing!  We went to Philadelphia (my favorite destination), Gettysburg, and Washington D.C. (we also made a short stop in Hershey, Pennsylvania for all you chocolate lovers out there).  We saw so many things that have contributed or are currently contributing to making America great.  We saw other less significant but equally cool things as well, like the playground where Will Smith was "chillin' out max and relaxin' all cool, and shootin' some b-ball outside the school" in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.  

Another favorite part was driving from place to place.  The countryside in the East is unbelievably beautiful!  We decided to take that area into consideration when the time for selecting a permanent residence rolls around.  Mom, I know it's far, but at least it's closer than England!

Here are some of our photo memories from Philadelphia: