Lovely Norway!

Hey all! No time to write right now, as it's bed time. I know my blogs are fewer and longer times between, but I sure appreciate your comments. Good to know there's still a loyal readership out there, even when I'm not a very consistent blogger. (Confession: the computer makes me queasy, so I stay away as often as I can.)

Anyway, we just returned from a GREAT weekend trip to Norway. We had a bank holiday weekend, with Monday off work. So Brian tacked on one more vacation day and we spent Saturday - Tuesday trapsing about some of the most beautiful countryside I've ever seen! It was really a nice trip, and I want to write all about it. For now, here are some of the fabulous pictures, mainly of the famous fjords...

Some Saturday Fun

So, we've actually been having some nice weather here in London these past few weeks, for a change. (I say that as it's sprinkling outside tonight, but, well, generally speaking...) With the sunshine, we've enjoyed some fun Saturdays lately. Thought I'd share some cute picts of our good times...

Ashridge House:

We saw this place last summer when we were on a country walk. It is a huge mansion house that has been turned into a private business school. (Tuition fees for one year are 29,000 GBP = 58,000 USD.) I always wanted to go back and visit when the grounds were open because it looked so beautiful. It was/is!

Behind the school there are acres of gorgeous grounds... Some manicured flower beds, a little pond and fountain, and then a forest with avenues and little walkways, stretching nearly a mile back. It was so peaceful, and we were practically the only ones walking the grounds. Here's our pictures...

We spread out our blanket and lounged/smooched (don't tell Sammie) for a bit, then had a little picnic with fun snacks.
Sam and Daddy climbed a big hill together. Cute! She was actually pretty tame that day... no running away, if you can believe!

Swim Time:

When we were in the US, Grandma Hone (my mom) gave Sammie a little inflatable swimming pool to take home. It's a big hit, Grandma! We spent a good part of one Saturday afternoon watching Sam enjoy her new pool. She can even say "pool," though it sounds more like "poo" right now. Cute.

Brian rigged Sam's slide so it went right into the pool. She was thrilled with the result, and would clap her hands every time she splashed into the water.

Look at those cute swimmer buns! What a cute little diaper tush.


She even invited Daddy to join her for a few minutes at the end, lucky Daddy!
At the Park:

So, these next ones aren't from a Saturday, but they are some nice-weather picts I thought would be fun to add. There is a darling little park on the heath near our house. Most the toys are wooden, like the one here. Sam loves it.

Pointing at an airplane as she swings. (She points at airplanes about every three minutes when we're outside, as that is how often planes go by when you live in London!!)
One last goodie, just because it's too funny... What a fashion statement, eh? Every time I put Sam in this little red sweater, she ends up pulling one arm out, like so...

Woes of the Nose, and other pregnancy stuff

Well, 10 weeks and two days along, according to our visit with the doctor yesterday morning. It was quite exciting to see our little gummy bear baby on the ultrasound screen. His/her little arms and legs are tiny, with a big belly and a very big head. He rubbed his little face with that stubby arm while we were watching. It was amazing enough to make me cry, just watching this little person who has already grown so fast!


Doctor says everything looks good, right on track for a due date of March 13. This was my first visit this pregnancy, so I was quite relieved to see a healthy baby, and even more relieved to see there's only one in there. (Any other mothers have a dreaded fear of twins??)

So, the not-so-pleasant part of this is the daily wretching and gagging and constant nausea that is just "part of the game." My super-human sense of smell is about to drive both me and Brian crazy, I think. Top smells that just about send me over the edge:

• Rotting oranges: You US'ers probably think, how often does one really have to smell rotting oranges. Well, over here they rot within the week we buy them! If we buy a big bag of 10-12, no doubt two will go bad before we can eat them. And my goodness, they smell TERRIBLE!


• Our office: I'm not sure what it smells like, but I gag every single time I open the door. Maybe it's a little musty?? Anyway, it sends me running to the toilet in dry heaves just thinking about it.


• Laundry: Clean or dirty, it doesn't matter. I had to do away with all laundry softeners because they were too strong smelling. Even just pouring in the detergent sometimes gets to me. If clothes have been in a drawer for a few days, they smell stale. In the hamper, they smell sooo rotten!


• Samantha's dirty diapers and bedroom: The diapers are a given, I know. But even just going in her room can be damaging if she's soaked through or poopy. Sneaking in during the night to check on her is very rough sometimes.


• Food cooking: Dinner is sooooo hard, when I can't stand the smell of whatever's in the oven. Chicken, potatoes, lasagna, beef, whatever... I just hate to smell it as it cooks. That's usually when I end up losing it most often, just before or after dinner.

Well, I'm sure all you lurkers were just so curious to know all that fun stuff. All in all, I know it could be much worse, and I'm very grateful for a healthy pregnancy. But I'll be happy when I'm not feeling queasy all the time, and when I'm able to sleep a little better at night! Bye for now!

Fun with the Bishops

We had a great time with Brian's family! We started with 3-day camping reunion with his mom's side of the family. It was up in the Sawtooth Mountains at gorgeous Lake Alturas. We had a nice lodge, with several cabins in the woods. I'm sad to say, we hardly took any pictures at the reunion! I guess we were too busy having fun and we kept leaving the camera in the cabin. Rats! Here are the few we got...
Here's the lake, but it really doesn't do it justice because this shot was taken when the wind came up. Believe me, it was gorgeous!

We all went to the beach at Red Fish Lake, which was nearby. Brian took the kids out in this little raft, cuties. Poor Sam wasn't too happy because she got sunscreen in her eyes. But she tried to enjoy it!

On our way to the reunion, we stopped to see Mt. Borah -- the tallest peak in Idaho. Here Sam and I are standing in front of the Challis earthquake faultline from the early 1980s (Mt. Borah in the backgroud). The sign said the valley sunk by 9 feet during the quake. You can see the faultline run for miles along the bottoms of the mountains nearby. Fascinating.

The MAIN EVENT for the Bishop family was the wedding of Reed and Alysa on 7/7/07 (isn't that the coolest wedding date?!). Reed is the youngest and last to marry, so it was really an exciting time for all of us to be part of their special day.

Here's one of the whole wedding group, trying to get organized for a picture. (The Bishops are on the left, not very organized yet, hee hee.)
Some handsome boys on the wall, trying to cool themselves in a tiny bit of shade. L to R: Cooper, Tyler, John.
Family photo op for us, too!
Cutting the cake at the reception. Yum!
I have to include these cute pictures of Janice's bunch... Brian's sister, Janice, brought her own two kids, along with her step-daughter's three kids, all such cuties! They came camping, then stayed for the wedding, and for a few days after. I just thought Janice was such a trouper to be single mom to five for a week! (Her husband, Jay, had to work and could only be there for the wedding weekend.) She just took it all in stride. Here they all are, lined up in front of the temple.
Left to right: Chelby (4), Allie (4), Connor (almost 6) holding Caden (5 mos.), Caeidence (3, and I think I spelled it wrong).

Photos with the Hone Fam

We had a fun time with the Hones, just hanging out, eating good food and visiting with each other for a few days. We tried to do some family pictures in the back yard. My camera didn't take the clearest shots because of the time of day, but here are some cute ones anyway...

Here's everyone except me and Wade...

Photos of all nine grandkids (sorry so blurry). Left to right: Josh holding Sara (belong to Trent and Melissa), Tristan, Ryan holding Anna (belong to Lance and Jennifer), Brandon holding Samantha, Brittany, and BJ (minus ours, they belong to Blaine and Lisa). This is one of the only shots where Sammie wasn't trying to run away!
Grandma Eva jumped in this one... and Sam jumped out.
Grandpa and Grandma Hone with all the kids.
I took a few cute picts of the little baby kids, just have to share! Here's cutie Anna (6 mos.) with her mom, Jennifer.

Baby Sara (9 mos.), just days before she started crawling.
BJ (his name is Bryan Justice, but he goes by BJ, which I sometimes like to shorten to Beej.) He's 11 1/2 months in this picture. News is that he has now started trying to walk!
Samantha Susan (18 mos)... she just was not in a mood to pose for pictures, but I still think this one is kind of cute.
Joshua, now 2 1/2, can say his ABC's, count to 20 and work miracles!
Tristan (3) and Brittany (3). I tried to get them to pose together, but Brittany kept wanting to stand right in front of Tristan for the picture, so she's pouting that I made her kind of stand by him instead.
Ryan (7) and Brandon (5), best buddies, most of the time.
We took a little picnic in the hills one day, and stopped at one of my favorite spots on the way back. We're standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Blackfoot River. Just five feet from where we are is a huge drop off, with old cars and junk at the bottom. My grandpa and grandma used to let us stop there and throw rocks off the edge and see if we could make it to the river. Grandpa Hone's rocks always made it clear across the river!