Infiltrated

The Malden household has been infiltrated by new 'dos.  Here are some looks at our luscious locks "before": 

(Justin's stylists was a bit on the eccentric side)

There should now be "after" pictures, but neither one of us was in the mood to model our posh new styles, so you'll just have to keep an eye out for them in future posts. 

Crafty Carol Makes a Comeback

I made more bows AND I knitted a pair of booties.  Ahhh yeeeaah.  

You can call me Queen of the Craft if you want.

An Equation of Love

THIS

PLUS (+)

THIS

EQUALS (=)

i LOVE birthdays.

Winter is Finally Over!

This won't seem like a big deal for those of you living in warmer climates, but spring has finally hit the UK.  We've had a few days of beautiful sunshine with temperatures finally hitting the mid 50's (for most of the day)! Surprisingly, after just a few days of sun, everything began to bloom.  I finished my second term this past Friday and since then Jill and I have been going for lengthy walks to enjoy the weather and to get the baby moving. We've discovered more of what Oxford has to offer in the last three days than in the first 6 months we've been here. 

What'dja do last night?

We went to listen to the philharmonic orchestra perform in the Sheldonian Theatre.

  

It was brilliant.  

(Up until the emergency alarm sounded and the entire theatre had to be evacuated...)

Is it possible??

Every night I go to bed thinking my belly can't possibly grow anymore.  Every morning I wake up flabbergasted to find that I'm bigger than I was the night before. 

Everything is still going well for the most part.  I'm having some issues with dizziness/feeling faint, but I haven't actually fainted yet, so *{shrug}*.  I guess my blood is just struggling to pump through my now massive body at an appropriate pressure.  Understandable.  

We went to a prenatal class on Saturday and met a woman who is having twins at the end of April.  She was pregnant from her chin to her upper thigh.  We're talking HUGE.  If I hadn't known her due date I would have guessed she was 3 weeks PAST due.  I can't recall ever wanting twins, but if I ever did the desire was firmly laid to rest.  Poor, poor lady.  

My goal was to have everything ready for Baby's arrival by the end of February.  Didn't happen. Maybe by the end of this week?  So while we're not quite ready for the actual appearance to be made, we're still excitedly anticipating it.  Countdown:  3 weeks, 5 days!  

Switzerland

This past weekend I took a short trip to Switzerland, one of the top three places in the world I want(ed) to see: 1. Fiji 2. Africa (check) 3. Switzerland (check). Don't ask me why these are my top three, although it is probably because I was looking through a "places of the world" calendar ten years ago and thought the pictures looked nice.

Anyway, it was an ideal time to go because it was the last weekend my friend Ken would be living in Geneva before he and Rachelle flew back to California.  Jumping on the opportunity (and a plane) I took off to see what being 'neutral' was all about.  Yes I left Jill behind and yes she was 35 weeks pregnant but there were still 5 weeks to go; we had plenty of time, plenty of time.  Don't judge me.

Ken and Rachelle were great tour guides.  We rented a car and drove out to Montreux (Mon-troe) which is a really nice city at the other end of Lake Leman (the largest of the alpine lakes).  The whole region was beautiful with acres and acres of vineyards, but in Montreux the mountains come right down to the lake. 

Another important fact about Montreux is that it was the home of Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of Queen, my favorite band! Here is a statue and plaque commemorating his life's contribution to awesomeness.

Our next stop was Gruyeres (Gree-air).  This place is famous for Gruyeres Cheese (Which I had never heard of until we got there).  It also had a really cool Medieval Castle overlooking a valley in the Mountains.

Finally, we went to Bern where the LDS Temple is.  It was the first Temple built outside of North America. 

The last day of my trip I went to the UN and Red Cross Headquarters.  Both were pretty good although I must admit that I am not a fan of the UN overall.  Thanks Ken and Rachelle for letting me sleep on your couch and to Jill, thanks for not having a baby while I was gone (I love you babe). -Justin