Catch up

I just realized that it had been a while since I posted anything. I don't have much of an excuse as I have been lying around a lot, too tired to really do anything. This last month is harder than I thought. I feel like a barge with this belly.
Despite the month 9 woes, I much has happened in the last week including Tim and my 2 year anniversary! Yes, that's right we have been married 2 whole years. And might I say what a great 2 years it has been. When I think back on all the stuff we've already experienced together it just amazes me. I can't wait for the many adventures to come.
For our anniversary, Tim had planned a cute picnic trip to Ann Arbor but it decided to downpour and spoil that plan. Instead we went out to Ruby Tuesday's and then to the Library where we checked out a season of the Office. We are such romantics. I love that we can have a blast no matter what we do. Tim also gave me an amazingly comfortable rocker/ recliner that we found at a discount furniture store. As you can see, I am already enjoying it and am sure it will be even more handy when the baby arrives.
Well, that's a little about my life lately. I probably won't have a chance to post for a while as Dave and Katie (and Andrew) are coming to visit tonight. Yea!!!!! But I am sure I will have tons to post about our fun trip after they leave.

Goodbye London, Hello Paris!

May 4th
Early Sunday morning we headed to the Eurostar station to catch our train to Paris. The security and wait time was so much nicer than flying. Once on the train, we read books and chatted at the countryside flew by. It really was a rather comfortable ride and we saw some beautiful scenery.As the train pulled into the station, the announcer on the train switched to French only (a sign of what was yet to come) We got out of the station and wandered around until we found out hotel. It was really close to the station which was awesome. Our room was on the 6th floor and was a mansion compared to our tiny room in London. There were two rooms with a large bed in one and a smaller bed and sink area in the other. It was great to be able to move around the room without falling on each other. The one downside was that the Grand Hotel Magenta did not provide free showers. By the last day, the man at the desk offered us a discount as we had not yet used the shower key. Needless to say the first thing we did in Brugge was shower. After resting from a long morning of travel, we decided to head to the Louvre. It is free the 1st Sunday of each month, so we figured we would hit it up. The metro in Paris was a lot harder to figure out than in London and it smelled really bad. I don't think the French know about deodorant yet as we smelled better than most (even after day five with no shower). Luckily, the Louvre and most of the downtown Paris sights were on the same line and only two stops away.
When we surfaced after our Metro ride I looked around trying to guess which building was the Louvre. It is amazing that no matter how many travel books you read, you still have no idea what to expect. We finally spotted the distinct glass pyramid and headed in. The place was crowded, but once we got into the exhibits it wasn't too bad.I don't know how to explain everything we saw in the Louvre. Of course there is the Mona Lisa, Winged Victory, Venus de Milo and countless other famous works. Tim really liked the statues and the "old stuff." I couldn't name a favorite, it was all too amazing. I think seeing it all at one time makes it hard to appreciate it, but it would also be hard to spend a week there. Another thing that made it hard, was that all the signs and descriptions were in French only. So if I didn't know who the painter was and the story behind the art it didn't mean a lot.
One thing we were surprised by, was how cool the building itself was. Serving as a fortress, prison, palace, and museum; the building had quite the history and we often caught ourselves staring at the ceilings and walls instead of the paintings.We stayed at the Louvre, until we got kicked out at closing time. We then walked across the river to the St. Michelle area. It was booming with life with street vendors along the river, cafes everywhere, and tons of people. Here I tried my first banana-nutella crepe (as suggested by Marissa). They were everything she claimed it to be and I already miss them. After dinner, we strolled around the area and then headed back home very tired.

Last day in London

May 3rd
We started out our last day in London with a trip to Hyde park because Tim really wanted to see guys standing on soap boxes yelling stuff. After wandering around the huge park, we found Speaker's Corner only to see very little if any radical behavior. Tim was a little put out, but it was a nice stroll anyways.Next we headed to the National Gallery which is filled with tons of famous art. Tim was a real trooper as I dragged him from one picture to another excited to see the stuff previously seen only in my textbooks. Tim did like the paintings by Michaelangelo and Raphael, but it was a good thing the museum was free or he may not have liked it.Outside the National Gallery is Trafalgar Square with the huge monument to Nelson who conquered Napoleon at the battle of Waterloo. It was full of people waving signs and we soon caught on that it was some sort of communist rally. That was pretty entertaining and we stayed to watch the speakers scream about social injustice. Apparently Speaker's Corner wasn't a big enough venue for these guys.After the we noticed the nervous faces on the many bobbies (police) around us, we decided to skedaddle off to find some lunch. My dad really wanted us to eat at a traditional British pub, so we wandered off until we found one. The pub we found had really good food, but lacked crazy drunk guys. I guess we came at the wrong time.After the pub, we decided we needed a little religion so we headed to Westminster Abbey for their Evensong. It was a really cool program with a great boys choir. The lesson out of the Old Testament was pretty long, but the booming voice of the preacher kept Tim awake. Westminster was probably the most amazing of all the cathedrals we went in. Probably because it was so old and ornate, but their was so much going on in the interior. Every square inch of the walls was covered with monuments to dead English guys. I guess it is the ultimate who's who cemetery.After Evensong, we tried to head to the Tate modern museum, but after getting a little lost, decided to head back to the hostel for an early night. After all we had a very early train ride the next morning and needed to pack as well. Kinda lame for our last night in London, but a good start for our next destination; Paris!

The Grand Tour

I finally feel like our house is for the most part "put together." So, I thought I'd make a photo virtual tour before someone kicks a hole through a door or spill finger nail polish on the carpet (I have seen both done before). There are still a few more pictures to hang and the baby's room will be totally different, but here is the state of things for posterity and those few interested in the interior of my home.
This is our entry way, apt 11677. We are the bottom right door and the only ones with a door mat purchased prior to 1980. You can't even read "Welcome" on most of them anymore.
Here is the first room you see as you enter; the living room. Pictured is the Clawson Family heirloom futon, so uncomfortable that even non pregnant women cannot sit through a movie without the assistance of three large pillows to sit on.Looking the opposite way from the living room, is the entrance "hall" and piano wall. We finally got our piano bench repaired after the brilliant movers disassembled it and forgot a piece. It all worked out though because the moving company paid us $75 dollars to repair it and it only cost me $20.The next view is our dining area with our previously lauded dinning room table. The two pictures on the wall are the oil paintings we bought on the streets in Paris. I hope to make this a little Parisian nook eventually, but I'm not exactly sure what constitutes "Parisian" so the process will be slow.Here we have the kitchen notable for the fabulous dishwasher! I don't know how we ever did with out it and looking back, it's a wonder we didn't food poison ourselves with all the half cleaned dishes. I love that the kitchen has a window to the backyard so I can watch the crazy animals while I cook. Squirrels are highly entertaining creatures.The first door off the hall is the baby's room, although it doesn't look like it now. We will eventually get a crib and hopefully a rocker for me. This may force out Tim's sacred yard sale chair that I have (for the time being) cleverly covered in green throw blankets. Curse that yard sale!
Across from the baby's room, we have what the apartment brochure describes as the "utility room." As you can see we are getting the most utility out of this room as we can with our food storage, pantry goods, cleaning supplies, and boxes of old clothes and text books shoved into the tiny space. Oh and don't forget the washer and dryer, both of which work and neither of which sound like a train is coming.The next door down is the bathroom. Not much to say about it except that the shower has really great water pressure. However, the water comes out so fast that the hot water supply is used up in half the time. Tim and I are still trying to figure out how we can both enjoy a hot shower in the same morning.The end of the hall is the "master bedroom" with the extra space and walk in closet (again quoting the brochure). The prized cuddle bag has made its home here allowing for an excellent reading spot if I do say so myself. The bag may get moved when we set up the baby bassinet, but I'm enjoying it for now.
Finally, our backyard as seen from the living room. Here you can see the crazy amount of trees that keeps us feeling like we live in a forest.
Out back we have my meager attempt at a garden or what's left of it after the killer rain storms. I am pretty sure all my cilantro and carrot seeds were washed throughout the garden and will be popping up every where. I hope the carrots and tomatoes play well together.
On the other side of the patio is my flower patch filled with the free flowers a lady in my ward gave me. I also bought a few purple ones and a really cool magenta one that doesn't really match the others, but who cares. Perhaps I will try to color coordinate my flowers next year.
Well that about does it for the grand tour. I know this will make everyone want to come and see this amazing place for themselves and who can blame you. I sure like it.

Tribute to Dad

I know everyone says that their dad is the world's greatest, but I am afraid that only my pops can claim that title. I mean anyone that knows him thinks he's a great guy, but for us privileged five Bradshaw kids who get to call him dad, he is something more. Now I didn't know him when he was growing up, but all the reports I've heard point towards him being a all around good kid who stayed out of trouble (for the most part) and tried to do his best. However, by the time I came on the scene, he was already one of the coolest guys on the planet. He took me in for my first check up, let me sleep on his chest, and taught me how to escape my crib. All this with virtually no baby raising experience.
As the years went on, we became best friends throwing rocks at cows, singing "wheels on the bus", and downing Aggie ice cream. I have so many memories over the years of the special one-on-one time we shared. Popsicle nights (when he would sneak me out of bed to eat popsicles with him) and working with him on his many woodworking projects or garden jobs. He always had time to talk and loved to listen to the endless things I learned in school or read in a book. I never felt like my conversations bored him or that I asked too many questions. He had such fabulous insights too. He really could be a psychologist for all the life problems he helped me solve. Looking back, my teenage years were pretty smooth sailing with his help. I think that is what I miss most since I moved out; our long talks when I would sit on the edge of his bed and we would solve all the world's problems or wear our brains out discussing the meaning of some abstract gospel principle.
He taught me so much by talking, but even more by example. From observing him I learned the value of work and hope that I can one day be as committed as him in getting a job done. He was like superman when it came to a huge task. He plowed away until things were taken care of, not letting weather or complaining kids get in his way. One of my favorite memories was on a Christmas day when he decided that our house needed a bigger family room. The very next day a wall had been knocked down and we were on our way in a huge remolding project. I don't know where he learned how to do all the things he does, but from the garden to the house he's the man.
His example has also taught me to have dreams, set goals, and make things happen. A few years ago he wanted to get in shape and decided to start running. We all thought it was pretty funny that our dad was going to the gym to run each day. Not long after he started, he set his sights on a marathon and despite the obstacles he entered and completed a marathon. Not only that but he went on to run every marathon in Utah and the Boston Marathon all in the same year. He is like a work horse, just plugging along until he achieves what he sets out to do. Willpower incarnate.
There are too many great qualities about the guy to even begin to state them all. It has been hard leaving home for college, marriage, and now life in Michigan; but my dad has still managed to be just as great of a friend as ever. He encouraged me get a good education, work hard at my job, and follow my dreams across the Atlantic Ocean on a once-in-a-lifetime trip. Things will never be the same is when I napped on his chest or when we snuck off to Artic Circle for a bag of burgers, but he is still my dad and I will love him FOREVER! As Tim and I look forward to the birth of our own little bundle of mischief, I only hope I can be the kind of parent he was to me. Happy Father's Day Dad!!!!

More London

May 2nd
We slept in this morning and took our time heading out the door. No matter how tired you are from running around the day before, those hostel beds keep you tossing all night. We started off the day at Regence Park hoping to see the amazing queen's roses Marissa told us about. Unfortunately they were not yet in bloom, but the other flower garden's were beautiful. We walked about halfway around the park when a huge thunderclap when off and the skies opened up. I have never been in such a downpour. We decided we would get soaked if we tried to walk, so we just huddled under our umbrella and waited for it to pass. Despite getting wet, it was one of my most memorable moments of the trip. The garden was so beautiful and green, it was like it was drinking the water in and getting greener by the minute.
After the storm, we walked to the British Museum (a much longer walk then we planned) to finish seeing what we missed the first day. Tim was so excited by how old everything was. He also couldn't get over the fact that the British had essentially stolen the entire Greek Parthenon and set it up in the museum. It was really amazing all the things they had and it was so cool for me to see artifacts from the cultures and societies I had studied for so long. I really liked the Assyrian art, especially the lion hunt of Ashurbanipal. I think Tim like the Greek and the Egyptian stuff the most, but how can you choose a favorite?
After spending almost all afternoon at the museum, we headed to Victoria Station to buy tickets for Wicked that night. Then, with a lot of time to burn before the show, we set off to eat a nice meal for the first time on our trip. After walking down about every street in the area looking for a good place with a reasonable price, we found a cute little Italian restaurant right next to the theater. Food never tasted so good. We both loved our meal and were full for probably the first time so far in the trip. To save money, we had been loading up on the free breakfast of toast and croissants. We would steal a few extra pieces of bread and put peanut butter on them for lunch. And then for dinner we would share a plate of chips (fries) and starve to death. Not a good strategy for the pregnant lady, but this Italian meal convinced us to loosen up and eat real food.
After dinner, we headed to Wicked. The theater was awesome and had been totally outfitted for the show. Everything was green. The set was absolutely amazing and the actors stunning. It was kinda weird that they had British accents, but I guess that made sense since we were in England. Even though I had heard all the song a million times, it was so good to see how they came together. The plot was a lot different than I expected and I really liked the message of friendship and sacrifice. I think Tim liked it a lot too. I may have me a musical convert!

London Day Three

May 1st
We were very tired and wanted to sleep a little extra. When were finally headed out the door, we hopped on the tube to Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard. We had no idea were the palace was and stood in the rain to watch some guys do something that looked like the changing of the guard only to see them march to the actual palace for the real deal. This taught me that hyped up things like the changing of the guard are usually lame or less than you expect. It was at this point that we had a mini crisis and our camera woudl not work. I started to freak out, but cool, level-headed Tim just found a camera store and bought a new memory card, thus fixing the problem. What a guy!
We then walked through St. James' Park and saw crazy pigeons. Next we stopped at Covent Garden's and Tim was part of a street show that tons of people gathered to watch. I always knew he would be famous. Unfortunately the street show turned ugly and Tim ended up having to do some pretty weird things. The guy preforming took off his original outfit to reveal a nasty wife beater with "Beast" written on it and a red thong over very tight black spandex pants. Tim got roped into buckling the guy into a straight jacket meanwhile the guy kept trying to hug Tim. After the show Tim ran right to the nearest "loo" to wash off the dirty old man smell.
After the show we headed to the Jake the Ripper Walking Tour which was pretty cool. We went around the more shady east end of London and learned a lot of random things. It gave me a whole new perspective on what London was and is today.
After the walk we sat down to eat some fish and chips and two Korean guys kept staring at Tim. Finally one of them leaned over and showed Tim a picture of him and the nasty guy preforming in the street show. The Koreans thought Tim was a celebrity and wanted a picture with him. I snapped one of Tim and his new fans.
After our lunch we walked along the Thames on our way to Shakespeare's Globe Theater. Here too we walked along some less than nice areas and decided that the banks of the Thames are nothing to write home about. It was pretty cool crossing the 'wobbly bridge" to get to the theater. I guess the guy who designed the bridge made a mistake and the whole structure wobbles during a storm. Yikes!
We ended the night at the Globe Theater where we had tickets to King Lear. The atmosphere was so authentic right down to the pre-show music and wooden set. Tim didn't really appreciate the play very much, but it was a definite "must do" if you visit London.

More about Europe

April 30th
On Wednesday we woke to a then novel breakfast of toast and juice. We felt pretty good and set off with a full agenda of sightseeing and fun. Taking the advice of my dad, we boarded a bus tour which proved to be a very good idea. It was fun to hear random facts about the surrounding buildings. It seems like every square foot of London has a notable history. It all seemed so old and cool I probably took a hundred pictures of random buildings just because they looked so old. Unfortunately, the weather was spotty and we have sun mixed with down throughout the day. We took the train into the heart of London and drove by Buckingham palace, Big Ben, Hyde Park, and a million other places. We decided to get off at Parliament square and see the Churchill War a museum and secret cabinet rooms. This was a really cool experience and I learned so much about Churchill and the war. It is crazy to me that they hid the national leader in a spartan bomb shelter to conduct the business of the war. It really hit home what a big deal the war was to England especially when they were bombed constantly. It was apparent that everyone, even the leaders were nervous about a German invasion. How scary.
Next we set off to see the current parliament in session in the ancient House of Commons. The building was gorgeous and I could not believe the amount of stained glass, sculpted stone, and rich tapestries. The actually parliament was rather boring. They were discussing some energy bill or something and everyone looked like they were going to fall asleep. We then hopped back on the bus and went around the rest of London. We saw everything along the Thames and got off at the Tower of London for a river tour. The guide was pretty entertaining even though there wasn't much to see. After the boat we tried to take the bus back to our hotel, but there was not a close stop. It was raining pretty bad and Tim and I wandered around the streets trying to get home. Tim was a great navigator, but the rain and lack of sleep made the trek rather trying. That night we crashed and didn't even stir when the crazy drunk guys at the local pub cheered their local football team on to victory.

NOTE: All the pictures from this day are on our 1st memory card which we cannot get to read. I am going to see if someone at a photo shop can get the pics onto a cd. If that works I will post the pics ASAP!

Quest for the green thumb

I finally got our garden planted today and at least for now it looks pretty good. I put in four tomato plants, seven peppers, a row of cilantro, and a row of carrots. I am not sure how they will do in the sandy soil I had to work with, but I'm hoping for the best. I also planted a few begonias in our little flower garden.
If the garden can survive the crazy rain storms, raccoons and rabbits, and my lack of gardening expertise I will post pictures of my harvest in a few months.

Downtown Plymouth

Last Friday Tim and I went to an outdoor concert at the park in downtown Plymouth. I guess all through the summer they have a free concert Thursday and Friday nights. It was really fun and was a great family atmosphere. The band was great and played old jazz hits while cute old people and little kids danced. The weather was perfect and we had a great time.
Even when there isn't a concert going on, downtown Plymouth is a fun place to visit. They have tons of cute little shops and great places to eat. The park at the center is always full of people playing. There is also a cute old theater that is kind of the equivalent of the dollar theater except it's three dollars to see a show and they only do one movie at a time. The whole area reminds me of main street in Park City, but without the old west theme.

Misty Michigan Morning

It has been pretty rainy the last few days and this morning we woke up to almost foggy mist. Today is my day with the car so I dropped Tim off at work and then came home to take some pictures. They really don't do it justice, but you can kind of see what it's like. By the way this lake is the one right behind our house. It has been awesome to just walk out back and have such an amazing view. It amazes me all the different animals I run into each time I step out my door.
Today I ran into two swans with their new gang. (I must say that swans seem much nicer than geese) Tim has more than once seen raccoons when he goes to take out the garbage and we have both gotten used to squirrels darting in front of us as we walk around. The one creature I wish wasn't so abundant is the mosquito. Marissa, you would be toast out here. I got about 3 bites while gardening the other day and it seems like the rain has doubled their numbers. It reminds me of our trip to Nauvoo.

European Adventure

Where to start on our amazing trip to Europe?
Well, as a wise Julia Andrews once said, "Let's start at the very begining, thats a very good place to start." For me it all started in 6th grade when I fell in love with history. My love for people and cultures grew throughout my formal and infomal education. I loved learning about the familiar history of my English heritage as well as the thousands of other various cultures that have graced the world stage. When I went to BYU I looked into a various study abroad trips and really wanted the experience to see what life was like away from home. But I found my true love a little too quickly to join the university study programs. As graduation loomed near Tim and I wanted to go on a trip to end things with a bang. We may never have this much freedom and time to travel and despite the fact that I am 6 months pregant, we many never have this much energy again. So we went for it!
On April 28th we set off from the SLC airport on our way to our first destination; London. I am pleased to say I handled the plane ride rather well and after a layover in Chicago we were on our way to London.
We arrived in London on Tuesday April 29th. Right from the airport I could feel we were in a different country. The accents sounded so funny and the people looked (and smelled) different than I was used to. There I had my first encounter with the spartan London "WC" an adventure that continued throughout our trip. We set off to find the tube station and to attempt to navigate our way to the hostel. Luckly everything was still written in English and we found our way to the correct tube line and train. I hate to brag, but I really did catch on to the transportation systems rather well.
Our hotel could not have been better situated right next to the major Earl's Court station. While its location was great, the Court Hotel did have something to be desired in the way of room size and bathrooms. Our room barely fit our bed and we soon got used to the one way path around the bed to the sink. They did have a pretty good breakfast there and it was the only place with a TV (not that we cared to watch).
Our first day in London the weather stayed pretty warm and sunny, but we soon got used to this dodgy pattern. We started off our afternoon with a quick walk around the area. Then we hopped onto the tube and after only one wrong train set off to find the BYU London center. While we did find the place it was a rather pointless trip.
Next we headed to the British Museum to see some cool old stuff. And see it we did. We started with mummies from ancient Egypt and African masks. Our jetlag soon talked us out of anymore museuming, but we vowed to return later for the real museum experience. Too tired to anything more than sit, we headed to the Theater District to see a play. We payed a few extra pounds and landed great seats for Les Mis. While we waited for the show, we went in search of cheap food, a difficult quest in pricy London. After much futile searching we sighted the golden arches and settled from a hamberger and fries from McDonalds. McDonald's is a pretty classy joint in Europe by the way. They have flat screen tvs and are not the pigstys I've seen in the states. We killed time and ate our fries really slow because we thought we had a long time before our play started. It turned out that my watch was wrong and we made it back just in time. The show was amazing and I found myself crying at the end. I love the message "to love another person is to see the face of God." Tim really liked it too.

First Furniture Purchase!

After almost two years of marriage, Tim and I made our first furniture purchase. We would like to thank the generous contribution of all those who allowed us to put this moment off for so long. We really like our new table and think it goes well in our new home. It has four chairs and a bench for when the leaf is added. It is pretty cool because the leaf is actually hidden under the table and folds out when needed. Very high tech. Well I'm just excited to have a place to eat on after two weeks of spilling food all over myself.
I guess this purchase is a good thing to break us in for the baby stuff we still need to buy. I am shocked by how much a crib and other baby furniture costs. Tim has decided that yard sales are the way to go and they are actually not that bad out here. A lot of people have one kid and sell the whole nursery for way cheap. Not a bad deal.

Michigan Living

Well, after a month of chaos and adventure we are finally home. I have decided that home equals your own bed which I appreciate more than ever after our run of dirty hostel beds. Here is a picture of Tim on our air mattress bed we bought when we first got into our apartment. The moving company couldn't get us our stuff until three days after we arrived so this impromptu bed had to do. Our biggest problem was that we had no blankets and Tim kept waking up cold at night. We finally tried draping jackets over his feet while he slept.
Now that we are settled in I have had time to take in our new surroundings. Our apartment borders a lake/ nature reserve park so I feel more like I'm camping than living here. It really is beautiful. I will have to post some pictures of the lake. Just today I was getting our little garden area ready and 2 geese and their gaggle come walking up right behind me. They were no more than 5 feet away from me. After papa goose started hissing at me I ran inside and snapped some pictures from a safe distance. How crazy is that!
While the family of geese were not very friendly, our ward has definitely made me feel at home. We were essentially attacked when we arrived by all the people that had heard we were on our way. We have had two dinner appointments and I have already joined the book club and mother's group. However, we were also put to work right away and both Tim and I have callings after only one Sunday. Tim is the 11 year old assistant scout leader and primary teacher and I am the ward choir director. We are both excited to get started on our new callings.