The Last Few weeks

Alright, so we have had some fun times over the last few weeks. When I say fun times I mean FUN times and "fun" times. Here are the "fun" times.

Our fridge broke:
This happened about a week after our washer broke. However, unlike the washer Mike was unable to fix the fridge. We tried everything but it soon became apparent that it had bit the dust. Thankfully we have the most fantastic landlords ever and they quickly ordered a new one and we got it a little less than a week later. Perhaps that sounds like a long time? Not for Scotland. It was actually pretty quick, and although living off of canned veg and tuna got old, we were back to business in no time. (Oh..and thank heaven--literally--for food non-perishable food storage)

The other "fun" thing was that our car broke. Sigh...just a few days ago actually. We had been driving it normally all day, then we parked it for about 15 minutes, went out to use it again and then the key suddenly wouldn't turn in the ignition. I called like 15 different people to see if they could came take a look (Mike and I tried EVERYTHING you can possible imagine to get it working)and most people said we would have to pay to have it towed to the dealer where they could fix it. Um....that option is like crazy expensive (almost more than the car is worth) so I continued calling and finally found a lovely local mechanic with experience in this problem who came to our flat for free to see what he could do. I love this man! Anyway, turns out he fixed it for a fraction of the cost and we are back in business! So, although it was annoying, it could have been a lot worse!

On to the FUN things!
Mike's parents were so nice and offered to take us on a little weekend getaway to Edinburgh. We spent about three days there and really enjoyed the experience. We went to the Zoo, walked around Edinburgh castle, saw many of the historical sights (Scottish parliament, etc), went to church (which was a HUGE ward) and visited Rosslyn chapel. Any of you read the DaVinci Code? Well, Dan Brown writes about that chapel in his book. The actual Rosslyn chapel is not the one filmed for the movie. It is so much better! Honestly, by now I have seen countless cathedrals, churches, castles and this one is probably my number one. It is the most intriguing and beautiful and inspiring building I have been to yet. It took over forty years to make and although it is quite small, it's architecture and design is probably some of the most impressive I will ever see. Nearly every inch of that thing has some design, story or meaning. And a lot of it is VERY intriguing. For example, there are carvings of corn maze and aloe vera which at that point in time were only found in the America's. Thing is...this chapel was completed 50 years BEFORE Columbus sailed the ocean blue so it begs the question if he REALLY was the first to discover America. In addition to this, the tour guide explained that one of the native tribes in the Canadian area have accounts in their history of white sailors getting lost and landing on their shore. These white visitors lived with them for a while until they fixed their ship and went home. It's hypothesized that these men were some of the Masons who worked on the chapel or even members of the St. Claire family (who commissioned the building of the it). Oh! And speaking of masons this chapel is clearly tied to free-masonry there being many signs and symbols subtly carved which indicate their involvement. Very, very cool things...

Anyway, I really could go on and on and on about the Rosslyn chapel but suffice it for me to say that it was very fantastic and I am so glad we got to see it (and REALLY thankful Grandma and Grandpa West watched Andrew so Mike and I could go in without worrying about him touching things. THANK YOU!)

Well...here are some photos of the events.

Driving to Edinburgh over a cool bridge.


Some fun ZOO pics
Oh Andrew...he sort of had meltdown or two while at the zoo so unfortunately we didn't get many great photos. However here we at least managed to get one with him eyeing the Zebra. He loved the Zebras and the penguins the most.








Downtown Edinburgh

There was sooo much to see! We tried to get as much in as possible and we got to see a lot. (Unfortunately we didn't get to see a really cool underground city. Yes, that's right apparently during the Black plague times, in an effort to try and control it and save some money, they city built new buildings on top of old ones. The people who lived in these homes didn't really have a say. Anyway this essentially created a whole underground city and we were super bummed we didn't get a chance to see it. Next time!)

These photos are of the Scottish Parliament building. Honestly the whole building was a bit weird! It's new and was designed to look very modern and artsy. I guess I can appreciate it for what it is but is just seems sooo out of place amongst such old, historical buildings!






I guess this could be considered something like the Buckingham Palace of Scotland.


These are just some old city "cottages". The picture doesn't do it justice, looked so rustic and authentic in person!


Outside some lovely gold embossed doors. I think this was at the Queens theater (?)


Outside Edinburgh castle. It was HUGE!!!


So...Andrew loves Dr.Who. It's the weirdest thing, he's only seen it twice but he goes around the house all day pretending to be Dr. Who. For those of you who don't know what I'm referring to...look it up online. It's this fantastically cheesy British Sci-fi show that has been going on for YEARS and YEARS! The main character (Dr. Who) travels through time in a spaceship that looks like a police box. Well, we saw this police box downtown and Andrew starts saying, "Dr. WHO!!!, Dr. WHO!!" So, of course we stopped to do our best Dr. Who impression.



These next photos are of the Rosslyn Chapel. We actually weren't allowed to take photos once inside so I found these off the internet.





These are some of the grounds surrounding Rosslyn. Green and beautiful like most places in Scotland!




Last but not least...
I have had a couple people bug me about putting up a legit pregnancy pic. So...I finally decided to give in and appease these certain complainers. BUT keep in mind, it's my blog so I chose a picture that doesn't make me look like the gargantuan wildabeast that I am. Ahem...so I guess here is my 7 month picture.

This Speaks To Me...

Alright. Sometimes I get tired of the penny-pinching grad-school student life (even if it is in Scotland, although that simple fact sure helps a ton). Don't get me wrong, SUPER grateful my hubs is doing what he loves and what he is good at AND for the fact that we even get to have this amazing opportunity to go grad school when I know not everyone gets that chance but...sometimes I just get a little tired of 650 sq foot living space, Ramen noodle meals and ghetto rigging cars. And in these moments I find myself daydreaming about that affordable starter home with the white picket fence and fixer-upper yard. Or that sweet little SUV that can hold my chunky stroller, soon-to-be-TWO car seats and provide enough shoulder room for all.

This being said, here is my confession: When I get in these little moods I sometimes look at used cars in the classifieds or browse my most favorite website, realtor.com. Just a little pick me up...it totally gets rid of the grad-school budget blues for a month or so until another one hits. Well, today I had a little case of it and as I was browsing some listings of cool family cars I came across this youtube video. It sang to me. I decided that someday I will rock my own swagger wagon. YO!

Alright...A Much Needed Info Dump-Update Post

Okay...so other than my most recent broody epiphany, I have not posted anything for too long a while. I have some serious catching up to do. Read on if you wish...otherwise look at the pics and enjoy!

ITEM #1: BABY NEWS
I have hardly posted a thing about this and I am fast approaching 7 months! Can't believe how quickly this one is going. Probably because I have an active little 2 year old for company this time, but I still can't help feeling like this baby is just sneaking up on me!

I have had a lot of chastisement for not sharing any baby bump pics or telling the gender, etc so I have decided to address these things. Ahem...as for the gender...drumroll please...it...is...a.....UNIDENTIFIED AMBIGUOUS BABY!!!! Alright, alright...I'm sorry but we still don't know and we wont find out for certain until, well, the baby's birthday, ha, ha, ha. WHY, you ask!? Well, it is certainly NOT because we want to be surprised or whatever, seriously don't have the patience for that but it's more like a force of hand. You see, it turns out that Aberdeen is one (if not the only) place in the UK that will not tell you the gender as part of the normal set of ultrasounds. I guess there has been issues with people suing if the gender is wrong, or people getting violent if the nurses can't find the gender (crazy scots!) and so they basically put out a decree saying, "if you can't play nice then you can't play at all." So...I could go get a scan done privately to find out, but I'm afraid it's pretty expensive and won't happen on a grad student budget. So...we are just going to be surprised! (Seriously annoys me...I am too much of a future planner, but perhaps it's a good lesson on patience, right?)

However, I was little cheeky when I had my ultrasounds. I told the nurse I was looking to find evidence of the gender (and I have been taking on-line quizzes, yes they have those!) and she was nice and obliged a bit. Once she got to the, um, tell all areas, she was really slow and explained very carefully, "Here are the legs, this is the bum, see how the legs are apart...." Long pause. Anyway so although nothing is certain, Mike and I both think it's a girl. We saw no evidence of "outdoor plumbing", if you will. Doesn't mean we could be wrong, but I would say we are about 80% sure.

So that's the DL on the gender issue. As for belly pics...I have taken some. I feel fat and I have gotten bigger with this one at a quicker pace than with Andrew. I suppose that is typical, though. I attached a picture of one that gives you an idea. It's the most current (the most recent "official" baby bump photo was taken two months ago and I am much bigger now). My sister was just here and she took this while we went out to see some cows. It's not the best, but it gives you an idea anyway...plus I am standing in front of cows...makes me feel a little better about myself. :-)



Everything is going well. The baby looks healthy and is moving like crazy. The official due date is September 17 and we are excited for the challenge of adding another little member to our family. Andrew is cute...he looks at my belly frequently these days and says, "Baby in deer..." and gives it a kiss. Yes, Ive been coaching him. I think it will be a bit of shock at first, he is the king of the castle, but ultimately I don't think it will take long for him to adjust. Only time will tell though...

ITEM #2--MIKE UPDATE
Mike is about halfway through his first clinical rotation. His program will have six total throughout the 2 years he is here. To make a long story short it was quite a challenge his first week and really threw us for a loop. We both thought the rotation would be a nice, relaxed break from all the course work but we were SO WRONG!

Mike has been doing the rotation at the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (hospital) and his coordinator (the woman he is working under) is a very high ranking physio and has a reputation throughout the UK for being one of the best in her field(which is great, Mike has been learning A TON from her) but also, for um...being...strict, high expectations...and really, really beasty! Mike is there with one another student from his program and they have both felt major pressure and acute stress as they see probably 5 or 6 of their own patients a day in addition to shadowing, paper work, other observations and oral quizzes from the coordinator. (When I say oral quiz I mean, asking grilling questions like, "Why are you doing that? Explain the anatomy of this. What gave you the idea THAT would work?" And so on WHILE they are treating the patients. So...yes, pressure...absolutely! But after getting his bearings and figuring out how best to learn and do well, Mike has really been improving and LEARNING so much. Yes, this lady may be difficult and hard (think Dr. Kelso from Scrubs) but ultimately it has been really good and they seem to have a good understanding of one another now.

So we are really proud of Mike and all his hard work. We certainly don't get to see him very much, but it's worth it in the end. Plus it makes us really appreciate the weekends when we get him a little more to ourselves!

(SIDE NOTE: Mike is also staying busy with homework and his three church callings...one of which is in the stake young men's. He has been on a couple camp outs and here are a few pictures from that)





ITEM #3--SCOTLAND FUN
So...the next bit is just going to be some fun pictures and a few explanations about we have been up to. My sister, Jeanette, just recently came for a visit and it was really great to have her here. We did A LOT of things and I think she had fun. I know I did! However, other than that life has been pretty much, "business as usual". Nothing too exciting, but it sure is pretty.

We do a lot of laundry. Can you see why? Andrew loves to finger paint but it sure is messy.


This is our little yard in the back of the complex. Yes, we do hang up our clothes to dry!!!




Andrew and I love to go for walks. Sometimes we go with our friends, Camille and Rachel, and other times we just go and see where the roads lead. Here are some pics from one of our outings.

Andrew running down a path.


Looking at the interesting flowers




What a great looking stump!


Perhaps I can use it for a tower. I HAVE THE POWER!!!


This one looks nice and soft. Perfect for a....


...little nap!



I think I could see myself staying here! This looks like fantastic mixing pot! What more do I need?


LOOK! A four leaf clover!!!!!! Now I'm supposed to be real lucky, right?


Here are some pictures of a little day trip to the the beach. What a fantastic day!












WELCOME JEANETTE! Here is some evidence of the fun things we did.






One day we went to a little farm. We saw this goat and decided it should be named Gandolf!








We went to an amazing castle one day called, "Castle Frasier" and Mike stopped to do a bit of studying under a tree. I love that view!
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There was a really nice kids play area at Castle Frasier. Who knew we would find a Tipi in Scotland?











We were able to spend some time in England with my in-laws during Jeanette's stay. It was fantastic. I absolutely LOVE spending time with them and they were sooo nice to drive us around to see the beautiful sights of the area. Sadly, Mike was unable to come but Jeanette loved the amazing scenery and beautiful houses and Andrew and I really enjoyed seeing Grandma and Grandpa West.






ITEM #4--ANNIVERSARY
This also seemed to sneak up on us. We didn't really do anything too special...Mike is sooo busy, life just gets crazy so we just decided to enjoy a night in which we did. I made a big Endlish meal, Jeanette helped a lot with Andrew (THANKS JEANETTE) and we watched a movie. (THE INVENTION OF LYING...I do not recommend...pretty stupid). All in all it was a nice day. Can't believe it's been four years already!!





Well there is a lot more I could share but I have officially spent way too much time uploading pictures and Andrew is feeling neglected. I also uploaded a bunch more on facebook for any of you who may wish to see more scenery and Andrew (that's for you, mom).

PHEW...update complete!