Edinburgh & York

Edinburgh Castle, there you are. Can you believe it was warmer in Edinburgh now in March than it was in May last time I went? Brent and I took the tour there... it was lovely- although a hair boring I must say. Somehow the cliffs and walls are so romantic looking... they take my mind off all the history of the place. In the 1800s a lot of new stuff was built around the castle, so its not quite as old really as you think. The foundations of course are way older. The oldest building there is St. Margaret's Chapel- from around 1100 I think. There she is below.

Glastonbury Tor

My dreams came true. I've been wanting to see Glastonbury Tor since I saw a beautiful photograph of it in 2011 before I went on my study abroad (it was a random photograph displayed in a building on campus, come to fine out it was England). We drove through several adorable towns, with one lane roads (one lane... but two way mind you, so we would have to pull over if there was someone coming the other way), mossy stone walls, and old stone houses and churches to get to it. Then, we hiked up the tor, or hill (thank goodness it wasn't a hard hike) to get to St. Michael's Tower up top.

The views were mystical and fabulous, and the weather? a bit crisp yet sunny, windy, and just beautiful. Perfect for a little hike.

Also, Brent is fitting right in with the aggressive British drivers. :) The roads are narrow and curvy, but no one takes a mind to slow down too much. Thank goodness I'm not driving- we'd be in terrible hands. 

The walk down from the tower led us by this grazing ground. The colors were just so crisp- England's rain makes that green just pop.

P.S. we practically drove right by Stonehenge on the way to Glastonbury without even noticing. We came up over a hill and Brent goes, "Look at that, that's nice." and I'm like-- that is Stonehenge. I'm stunned... and Brent has the mind to tell me to get the camera. Somehow these beautiful sheep got in front, what luck! 

Arrived.

Arrived in England today at the Gatwick airport. Reminder to myself: flying on an airplane is such a pain. Too bad it's always necessary for such fun vacations and to see loved ones (our layover in Iceland didn't even make it better. I was hoping for green lushness out the window... but all we could see was snow. Although- the Reykjavik airport in Iceland seriously looks like Ikea decorated the whole place- wooden floors, clean lines, and other fabulous minimalist design those Swedes have perfected). We had fish and chips for dinner tonight from this dirty little place-- but they were so delicious. Wrapped up in paper that couldn't even handle the grease. Such a delight.

Brent is driving the rental car LIKE A BOSS. I hope I didn't jinx it by saying that.... but seriously, if I was driving, several accidents would have already happened, I'm such a spaz. 

We are taking the train to London tomorrow. Fingers crossed for good weather like we had today (as you can see on the beautiful grounds of the London LDS temple we stopped by). love to all and can't wait to see family soon.
xoxo

What's Up

I am this excited for our England trip. We leave this upcoming Wednesday... eep! I can't even believe it. It's bringing back deja vu feelings from last time. I know this is so crazy, because I only lived in England for a few months, but it does kind of feel like home a little bit. Why is this? Just because I love it so much? Must be.

A few baby items of business:

She showed that lil mug at the last ultrasound, Feb. 17th. I needn't have worried about her being too big- she actually measured 4 days too small! The OB said anything within a week is considered normal, so girlfriend is good to go. About diabetes, I have had to up the amount of insulin I take by quite a bit, which is normal in the second trimester. The placenta gives off some kind of anti-insulin hormone that makes the insulin not work quite as well as it usually would-- so I have to take more to make up for it.

P.S. A huge shout out to Brent who is recovering from his back surgery so nicely. SUCH a blessing.

love to all. Fingers crossed I won't want to die on the long plane ride. xoxo

Mapping Out Our Trip

Our invasion of Britain is fast approaching. One month from tomorrow we will be on our way. As you can imagine, we are very excited. Luckily, Brent is comfortable driving over there (or at least he says he is) because it gives us quite a bit of freedom during our stay. We are landing at the Gatwick Airport on Thursday, March 6th. The car we are renting is a 3-door Kia Picanto. It is only 3595 mm long.

This is the Kia Picanto. Supposedly it gets over 50 MPG, which is great because gas (or petrol) is $8.38/gallon