The spectacular tree that WASN'T!!!

Every year, the Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree is decorated in traditional Norwegian style, with five hundred individual white lights.The tree itself, a Norwegian spruce, is chosen with great care from the forests around Oslo, it is chosen for Trafalgar Square several years in advance. Well when I heard all of those fabulous details I simply KNEW this was a tree I must see for myself!! So Keri and I ventured onto the Underground and into London!! Mind the gap everyone!!
We stepped out of the Underground at Westminster and the first thing we saw was Big Ben welcoming us!! Anticipation was high as I knew we were moments away from seeing something historic. I mean this tree tradition dates back SIXTY YEARS!!

AHHH how easy we found it!!!! Wait that's not the tree? Nuts....

Well since we have to go searching (and we had no idea where to find the tree) we might as well take a few pictures....

How many pictures can you have in front of Big Ben.... I say you can never have enough..

We started the search out soooo happy.... don't worry that changes in a minute..

Are you SURE that isn't the tree??

Okay seriously how do you get to Trafalgar Square?? We had no idea.. if only Keri would have turned around to check the sign out behind him that pointed the way.... nahhh too easy! Don't let his smile fool you, behind the camera I was definately frowning!!

So we were lost and then we happened upon this sign... ummm should we abort??

Ahh I see a spectacular water fountain.... could we be there??

WE FOUND IT!!! Okay as much tradition is behind that tree... I would have seriously thought they would have found a tree you couldn't SEE THROUGH!! Look towards the bottom... the branches are completely gone..... and we had missed the carolers :(
We were a bit disappointed in the tree but we made up for our disappointment when we spied the Lion statue.... get up there Keri...

One... Two....Three... jump Keri... put down the coke bottle and jump!!

This might go down as my all time favorite picture!! Keri is about 6'5 and he was struggling to get up onto this lion. Mind you I was laughing so hard I knew I was minutes away from an accident not to mention the people around WATCHING!!! You can do it Keri...

VICTORY!!!

Now I'm comfortable...do I really have to try to get down? I'll just rest a minute with my lion..

Okay so we were tired and we walked across the street to hop onto the underground when what do we find??? It locked up!!!!

Let us in! Let us in!!

And just when I thought things couldn't get worse... the toilets were closed!!

What an adventure for sure! I think we can safely say we've seen the tree and we never have to go back.. unless I want to have a good laugh watching Keri try to get onto that Lion!!

33 weeks and counting....

I thought my first trimester was miserable! You know being tired all the time.. the morning sickness... just the overall not feeling good... Then came the second trimester and I was back to feeling good...then entered the frustrating third trimester...

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Reasons why the third trimester is kicking me in the butt!!

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* Sleeping is a joke! If you happen to find a comfortable sleeping position it will only take a matter of moments for the little one inside to make it miserable. The kicking, the shifting of positions. Not to mention the tossing, the endless turning.... and then after all that you realize you can't fall asleep even though you are the most tired you've ever felt in your life.

*The ENDLESS bathroom trips!!! In our house we only have one bathroom and it is unfortunately upstairs.. since we spend most of the time downstairs in the family room you can only imagine how many trips i make up and down those hideous stairs! And just when you get back downstairs and find a comfortable sitting position.... its time to go again! It's an endless cycle..

*The never ending appetite!!! I'm not even kidding, I could eat all day. This is the most hungry I've been all pregnancy! For example just today I made some spaghetti and before I knew it, I had eaten all the spaghetti and hadn't left my husband any!! Well as happy as I was eating all that spaghetti it only took a few minutes for my enjoyment to turn into horror as the spaghetti battled with the baby in my stomach for room!! Oh the discomfort!!

*There is nothing that makes you feel worse about yourself than going up a set of stairs and being winded. Maybe it is just me, but it seems like the tiniest of things leave me gasping for air. My husband and I were walking around Ipswitch and he says to me.... why are you out of breath? I dunno... maybe its the enormous baby inside me making my every step so tiring!!

*Not being able to get off the couch without assistance! I swear the baby has doubled in size overnight because I struggle and I do mean struggle to get off the couch and onto my feet. It could take a good five minutes of inching every so slightly to get me off the couch if I'm by myself. And if I've just settled onto the couch and the phone rings.. forget about it.... there is no way I'm gonna make it up in time!! Not to mention when you've just sat down and the doorbell rings!!!

*The swelling!! Nothing makes you feel more attractive than looking down at your hands and seeing your fingers have swelled into fat sausage fingers. That goes double for your toes.

Well luckily I only have 7 more weeks to go!! I can do it!! Someday I'll hopefully look back and laugh about me eating all the food in the house and being stuck on the couch because I can't get up without assistance! Ahh the joys of the third trimester!!

Christmas in my flat....

Okay I'm not going to lie.... I started putting up christmas decorations the night of Halloween... my husband was on trick or treat duty... and I was on decoration duty...
It started out with just a few decorations here or there of course... nothing too much after all it was halloween night... and we had scary movies to watch still...
Of course I had to show you how cute it looked all lit up, by the way those stockings on the shelf belong to my sister Kelly. I guilted her into giving me them the day I left for England... oopsy!
Okay so like a few days into November my husband was at the computer and I snuck past him with the tree branches... he had no choice but to assemble the tree for me once I put on my pouty face!!

This is what it looked like after about an hour... of course I had to cover the arch with some greenery as well....
And this is what our living room looks like now!! Merry Christmas to me!! I love christmas trees! I know I know you might think I'm crazy for doing all of this soooo early, but you try living in England away from friends and family :( It makes you do crazy things :)

Things I love to hate about England....

After living here a whole three months I've found quite a few things I love to hate about England. Here is my list:

*Driving on roads barely big enough for one car, let alone two... while keeping up with the national speed limit of 60mph on VERY bumpy roads!

*Forgetting if I yield from the left or right while going through a roundabout and then just being too scared to venture in until it is clear. I compare it to jumping rope... once the rope gets going you have to just go for it and jump right in... no hesitating or you will mess up everything!

*Eating at a food court in the mall and having to pay extra for KETCHUP! 10 Pence

*Sight seeing in London and having to decide whether to spend 20 pence to use a port a potty in the middle of the city and not being able to wash your hands, or paying 50 pence at a better bathroom that actually has soap. Yes, we pay for restrooms over here!

*Asking a British person where the bathroom is and having them look at you strange as if you are speaking french.... asking for the restroom they look at you like you're speaking German, but asking where the "toilets" are and they completely understand...

*Paying a tax just to turn on your tv and watch it.... (yes there is a tv tax people)

*Walking towards your British car and pausing trying to remember which side the passenger gets in on .... and still getting it wrong

*Living a house with half 220 v and half 110 v.... and having your 110 v fizzle on and off because of a crappy transformer.... so basically you are sitting in the dark in the living room while the kitchen is still cooking dinner and your tv still works... but using a flashlight to find your way to the bathroom.

*17.5% SALES TAX....enough said

*Parking spaces too small to fit average sized cars

*Contractors who think storing water tanks in the ceiling in order to create water pressure is a fabulous idea. Meanwhile you are getting hypothermia in the shower while waiting for the water to drizzle out!

*MULTI LANE ROUNDABOUTS!!

*Malls that consist of styles from the 80's (bright blue shoes with big bows on them), food courts that consist of Burger King. Period. And everything else costing too much to afford.

*Burger King being EVERYWHERE but nothing else but an occassional McDonalds.

*Speed cameras instead of cops who patrol constantly. You don't get pulled over, you get a ticket in the mail that you usually don't see coming..


Those are just a few tidbits I've learned while living here! Gotta love England!

Mama Mai... here I go again....

For our ONE YEAR anniversary Keri got us tickets to see Mama Mai in London! Mind you he downloaded the music from the movie and made us listen to it everynight for like 2 weeks! He can sure belt out a mean Dancing Queen!!!

It was a freeeeeeezing night in London! Keri braved the weather without a coat, but doesn't he look handsome all dressed up? This is him outside the the Prince of Wales Theater!

Okay so Keri doesn't know how to work the flash on the camera! Every picture he took had me in the dark! Just picture that I probably looked cute ;)

Ummmm funny how I could work the flash on the camera on my first try! ;)

On our first trip to London I spied this quaint restaurant and we decided to eat there for our anniversary dinner... every table has a real lit candle on it... made me kinda nervous ;)

Keri is trying to think of his favorite memory of the past year being married to lil ole me! Plus I thought it was funny to take this picture due to the waiter's behind being right next to Keri! Oh my gosh.. remember when we missed 3 flights on our honeymoon and our luggage got lost? And that guy in Jamacia tricked us into buying those two HIDEOUS idols and wanting to charge us $60 after he already carved our names into them?!

He can't believe what a glorious one year it has been! I can't either! Who would have thought one year after being married I'd be 7 months pregnant and living in ENGLAND!! I'm scared to think what our lives will be like by our second anniversary!!!

Our delightful trip to Cambridge

So yesterday was Friday and I awoke feeling exceptionally giddy. I had my 28th week appointment with the OB the day before and the baby was doing excellent. I had been struggling with a sinus infection and migranes and the doctor finally gave me an antibotic.. so for the first time in a while, I woke up on the right side of the bed!! Oh there was loud singing on my part in the house, I even did a few little dance steps... and basically if I had done all of that in my parents house they would have been yelling at for me to calm down and to not be so loud.... but I was in England and not home so I proceeded to belt out the national anthem....

Well we had decided to spend the day in Cambridge which is about 30 minutes give or take the traffic, and how many times Keri had to circle around the roundabout to find the right exit. You know you can go round and round and round until you figure out which exit you need. And in our short time in England we've done a few circles! So we stopped for some gas and I ran in to get some pounds out of the ATM. So I get back in the car and I jokingly look at Keri and say that I'm going to keep the pounds safe and I proceeded to put them in my bra.

So we head to Cambridge and we stop by ASDA which is really just a british version of Wal-mart. We find a few things and then head to a few other stores. Well at the end of the row of stores was Babies R Us! Yay I love Babies R Us! I would love it even more if everything wasn't sold in expensive pounds.. but still my eyes sparkle everytime I go into that store. So we find a few cute things in the store and we head to check out. Well since they can tell I'm clearly pregnant the lady has me fill out this membership card to start collecting points whenever we buy stuff. So I'm filling out the paperwork and the lady is ringing us up. She tells us how much it is and I'm waiting for Keri to pay as I'm trying to remember what our physical address is. So I remember thinking why is he just standing there and then the lady said a bit too snottily, who is paying? So I look at Keri and he goes lets just pay with the cash. So I agree and I'm still waiting for him to pay and I keep trying to think of our address. (It's not a typical US address mind you hence the blank I was having) So Keri says AGAIN ... lets pay in cash....

Well this time it registered.... and I realized that I had never taken the cash out of my bra!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh I was mortified! Here we had this snotty lady waiting for us to pay and I had to reach into my bra to pull out the pounds!! Seriously I could have died of embarrassement!!!! She was probably thinking... stupid Americans!

Anyway the rest of the day went better. We hit the mall in Cambridge, went and saw the James Bond movie.... our first movie off base!!! Then we ate at the best Italian place called Bella Italia! Mind you as we sat down they had a real candle burning on the table and I almost caught my hair on fire! Oopsy!

Anyway it was a good day... just a word of caution to all your pregnant ladies with a forgetful memory like mine.... keep your money in your purses as to avoid embarrassing encounters with snotty cashiers!

London Calling

Keri and I decided to head out to our few first trip to London a few weeks ago... this sign was our first indication it was going to be a great trip!!

The happy couple on our way to London ... we're on the underground...

Our first view of London after getting off the underground... busy busy bees...

Keri standing on the famous London Bridge..

How come every time I come around those London -London bridge wanna fall down... (Fergie)

This was the ONLY bathroom we could find.... and I simply had to use it!!

Twenty pence to use THIS???

Note to self: Bring soap next time

Keri GET UP.... we have lots to get done.. and I'M HUNGRY...

Now where do I find the millenium bridge...

The millenium bridge..

We make London look good.. even pregnant!

We took an awesome water tour to Westminster! It could not have been colder however! Why did we wear flip flops!!!

You won't catch me on that ferriswheel!

Can anyone else picture peter pan flying past this to get to Never Never Land?

Keri standing infront of Parliment..

No I disagree, BYU has a much better offense than Utah... (That was the ACTUAL conversation I overheard them having)

I think this is still part of Parliment! Its gorgeous!

Charge!! For Virginia... uh England ;) Right outside of Parliment..

The not whatsoever confusing street signs... Keri is trying to point the way to Waterloo...

Taking time out to call a few mates..

Keri lost in England and a jolly man with a nice camera ;)

Where can I find me a hat like that? I must send one home to daddy...

Open the gates and seize the day (reference from my old favorite show Newsies!!)

My home away from home... BUCKINGHAM PALACE!! Soooo gorgeous!

THE QUEEN IS HOME!!! Why hasn't she invited me in for some tea?!

Welcome to my favorite part of London! Picadilly Circus.. First item of business for Keri... eat at McDonalds!! I sure hope they have some fry sauce!! Oh and a bathroom!!

Shaun and I have grown up singing songs from this play! I have to see this while I'm here!!

The Lion King!!

There is so much to do at Picadilly Circus! Every street is lined with shops and naturally I made Keri let me look in ALL OF THEM!!

The big bad Underground!

Our long London Adventure had come to an end!! My feet could literally not take another step but it was a fun filled day for sure! VIVA LONDON!