Ashley in London Towne!!!!

April 19th-28th went by like a whirlwind. I can't believe that it has come and gone already. My bff Ashley came to see me in all my preggers glory, oh, and do a bit of sightseeing too! We had an absolute blast! Here are some highlights from her time in the UK.

Wednesday, April 20th: Ash & I headed up town for some sightseeing.

The tall building under construction is called 'The Shard' and when it's completed, it will be the tallest building in Europe. The egg shaped building to the left is City Hall. And of course, the Thames River.

Tower Bridge

View of the City from Tower Bridge. Modern buildings juxtaposed with the ancient Tower of London. The building in the center that looks like a space ship is known as 'The Gherkin' (or pickel)... I think it looks more like a space ship, and Ashley thought it resembled a Faberge egg.

Tower of London

Thursday, April 21st: We were off to Windsor Castle!

When we first arrived the Union Jack flag was flying, which means the Queen is not there.

However, a couple minutes later, they raised Her Majesty's flag! She arrived while Ash & I were there, AND, we found out it was her 85th birthday! So, basically, we celebrated the Queen's birthday with her, at her house... don't worry about it!

One of my favorite English traditions: Cream tea and scones. Although Ashley & I didn't stop there... we got the works... Yummy!

Friday, April 22nd: Neil was off work, so he chaffered Ash & I up town for some more sights.

Our first stop: Primrose Hill. It is literally a park with a big hill in the middle that overlooks the City. Everyone takes picnics and makes a day of it. You can't beat this spot on a sunny day! (Ashley lucked out, it was glorious and sunny almost everyday while she was here! 80F!!!)

Regent's Park

Cool sculpture in town

Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and the London Eye (ferris wheel) in the background

St. Paul's Cathedral

View of St. Paul's from the Millennium Bridge

The gates of Buckingham Palace

Touristy, yes, but we had to do it! Abbey Road crossing from the Beatles album!

Sunday, April 24th: Easter service at Westminster Abbey and lunch at Babylon roof top gardens, off High Street Kensington. The service was chilling. Being in that environment on such a special occasion was indescribable. Not to mention the fact that we were there just a few days before the Royal Wedding!! Neil dropped us off about an hour and a bit before the service was to start, and we got prime time seats!

Entertaining our guest :)

Tuesday, April 26th: Ash & I headed up town again to see Phantom of the Opera! Neither of us had ever seen the show performed on stage, and it was incredible! The music and singing was beautiful. Afterwards, we met up with Kathleen for dinner in SOHO.

Me & Bump on the Tube

Her Majesty's Royal Theatre on Haymarket, Piccadilly

Where we saw Phantom of the Opera

Ash & Kathleen at the site of one of Mozart's houses

It is now the back stage door for the Jersey Boys show

Wednesday, April 27th: Ashley's last day.... a day for SHOPPING!! We hit up Carnaby Street, with all it's cute boutiques, Oxford Street, TOPSHOP (a must), and then last but not least, the infamous Harrods.

Harrod's

37 Weeks

36 Weeks ASHLEY IS HERE!!!!! ooxx

Portsmouth & Isle of Wight

This is officially my first week, of 39 :), on maternity leave.

I am loving my hubby's occupation at the moment. He was assigned several jobs on the Isle of Wight this Tuesday, and I thought, I have nothing else to do... might as well tag along! Fantastic!! We got an early start (6:30AM) YIKESY... but I didn't mind because we were off to another adventure! The Isle of Wight is a small island off the South coast of England. We drove down to Portsmouth, which is a major dockyard and base for the Royal Navy, and got a ferry across the English Channel to the Isle of Wight.

We drove Neil's van onto this ferry to get to the Isle of Wight!

There were sailboats everywhere!!

Beautiful white cliffs on the Isle of Wight

Hovercrafts!! An alternative, instead of the ferry, for foot-passengers to get to the Isle of Wight So cool!

View of Portsmouth Harbour, {Spinnaker Tower (big white one) and Gunwharf Quays}

Neil and I sat and enjoyed this view while eating dinner....

(hot dog, fries & a coke... yikesy, hehe, I usually don't eat so healthy)

35 Weeks

Fitpregnancy.com 35 weeks:

At more than five pounds and between sixteen and twenty inches, your baby is becoming more ready for birth with every passing hour. She's the size of a small roasting chicken. Her nervous system and immune system are still maturing, and she's adding the fat that she'll need to regulate her body temperature. But, everything else, from her toenails to the hair on her head, is fully formed. If she were born now, she'd have more than a ninety-nine percent chance of surviving.

Get your belly out... it's beach time!!!

Sunday, April 10th:

Neil and I got up and decided it was a perfect day for the beach! We drove about 90 miles south of London to a small beach town called Boscombe.

The drive down was beautiful in its own right. The English highways, or as they call them, motorways, are cut directly through the countryside. There are no billboards, gas stations or roadside hotels... what they do have are 'services' which are located about every 15-20 miles that have all the necessities in one stop. The views from the motorways are so peaceful. Most of England is rolling hills and farm land. And due to the wet climate, everything is a rich green color. It reminds me of drives to Tennessee, visiting my grandparents, when I was young.

Okay, back to Boscombe... We had a glorious day, walking on the beach, sunning our pale ghostly bodies and eating ice cream by the sea :) Seriously, it's gotten bad,.. I eat ice cream on a daily basis. Yikesy! That

will be a habit to break once the baby arrives, but for now... :)

34 Weeks

FitPregnancy.com: 34 Weeks

Your baby weighs five pounds or more, about the size of a bag of sugar. She will continue to gain about two or more pounds in the next six weeks. Now that your baby's brain has formed billions of neurons, it must accomplish the even more complex feat of hooking the neurons and synapses together. Your baby's brain is forming trillions of connections, making it possible for her to learn in the womb. All of this brain development may be the reason that your baby sleeps frequently at this stage. She may even be dreaming—her eyes dart around rapidly just as an adult's might in REM sleep. Your child's development is in no way complete at birth. In the first year after birth, a baby's brain triples in size and becomes three-quarters of its adult size.

Midwife appointment April 5th: Another great check-up! Baby is the perfect size and heartbeat sounds great! The baby's head is now engaged in my pelvis with his/her back against my tummy, which is the ideal position for birth!! AHHH!!! At my next appointment, 36 weeks (April 19th), we will talk about my birth plan! I can't believe the weeks are ticking away!! Soon there will be a little one in my arms!!! :)

My thoughts about week 34... Sleep is a thing of the past... I seriously cannot remember the last time I slept through the night. I think it's my body preparing me for sleepless nights to come when the little one arrives.

MY LAST WEEK OF WORK!!!!!!

Wahooooooo!!!! Then I'll be a kept woman... HA... NOT! We have seen first hand, through Amy, that this baby thing is no walk in the park! It makes me savour these last few weeks of selfishness. The little one is very easy to take care of inside my tummy :)

I am in full fledge 'nesting' mode. It's gotten bad... some would say obsessive... :)

Angela and I went shopping for the last bits on my list. I felt extremely type A, whipping out 'the list' at the cash register, checking all the items I just purchased off. The lady at the register commented, 'wow, you're organized'.... what I think she meant was, 'Man, you're OCD' Which she would be correct. The joy I get from crossing those items off my list is disturbing! HA!

Now that I've purchased all the necessities, it's time to organize and reorganize them. Hehe, I'm pretty sure I'm driving Neil absolutely MAD!!!

Ta ta for now

ooxx LAGob