"Tire, nose"

We were eating lunch and Link was playing with one of his toy cars. He has this weird thing where he likes to take off any tires that can be removed from his toys - I have a bag full of tiny tires that I have collected from him! We were preoccupied with the dishwasher repairman and then we hear "Tire, nose".

Oh, please NO!! I see a car with no tires and search frantically around his high chair for the loose tires. Nothing. I ask the dishwasher guy if he has a flashlight, but he doesn't. Luckily, I decided to ship our 72 hour kits with us over here - which happen to include flashlights and batteries. Also, luckily Ryan was at home today in honor of celebrating the Fourth tomorrow (it's our patriotic right as Americans, right?!) so he was able to put Link in a headlock so I could look up his nose. Yep, a nice little tire shoved up into his right nostril. After some unsuccessful blows we determine it's definitely stuck.

Okay, now what?? We don't even have a pediatrician here yet. Do we go to the ER? Try to find a doctor? Could I possibly pull it out myself?? I reluctantly chose the latter and ran to my huge first aid kit in hopes that there were some nice long tweezers. No luck, just regular ones. Praying for the nurse in me to come forth, Ryan held Lincoln's head while I held the flashlight in one hand and the tweezers in another and went in for the tire. After a couple attempts...I had it!! No damage, no blood, no crying (from me or Link - he was very brave), and no day waiting in the lovely National Healthcare ER.

I will always be grateful for my education and experience as a Registered Nurse...I just hope I won't have too many chances to put my skills to work at home!


PS: Our baby girl is due one month from today!!! (Maybe she'll be better about keeping things out of her nose)

An {Interesting} Day at the Beach

Yesterday the weather was supposed to be completely rubbish (new English lingo we're picking up) - but instead it was absolutely gorgeous, so we decided to head to the beach. Not quite the beach that we native-Californians are used to, but lovely and fun in its own regard.

If you're unfamiliar with Brighton beaches, they're made of stones, not sand. The water must be quite chilly too because there are rarely any swimmers - maybe a kid dipping their toes in or a person wearing a full-body wet suit braving the water. Lincoln loves playing with the stones and was entertaining himself really well by rolling them down a little concrete wall and saying "Rock slide!" Then he decided to toss a stone in the direction of an old man wearing a Speedo laying on his stomach. I don't know if it actually hit him, but we decided it was probably time to leave the beach and give Link a lesson in not throwing things at people...even if you are trying to tell them to cover up more...because, who wants to see old guys (or anyone really!) in Speedos??

Another difference we noted: nude sunbathers!! Yep, we look over and some woman is bearing it all while she soaks up the sun. Are we in Southern France?! Sheesh! I don't know if this is allowed or how common it is here, but next time we come to the beach I'm going to have to bring blinders for Link...and Ryan.

Hallelujah!

We have internet!!! It only took nearly 3 months, but we have real internet - so now we can catch up on blogs, download shows (still haven't seen the end of seasons for Lost, Chuck, 24, or The Office), and generally waste time. It also means that we can post more often (theoretically), and fill you in on all the latest fun from England. Thanks to all who still check our blog, even with the lack of activity!

This is Lincoln's favorite job: watering "his" flowers. He takes very good care of them and gives them PLENTY of water. It's fun to have our own backyard for the first time.



Two weekends ago we took a trip up to London. The purpose was to see "Les Miserables" and Kimber so graciously offered to watch Link while we went to the show. We got to take in some of the London sights beforehand, including an amazing fly-over by old and new military planes in honor of the Queen's birthday. Lincoln LOVED it - but actually we all thought it was really spectacular! Here we are in Trafalgar Square (notice Big Ben in the background):



The story as to why we saw "Les Mis" goes back almost 6 years to the day. The touring show came to Salt Lake and Ryan bought tickets - intending to ask me on a date. He then found out I was dating someone else at the time, so he ended up finding another date. Since then, he has always wanted to take me, but as soon as we moved to New York the show left Broadway. When we moved here and found out it was still playing in London Ryan jumped at the chance to get tickets for Mother's Day. The show was amazing - well worth waiting 6 years to see it with Ryan. I wonder what would have happened if we saw the show together in 2003??

What we've been up to the past month

As unbelievable as it is, we have been living here in England for 2 months already. The time really flies when you are as busy as we have been the past month or so. I would love to have kept up with all our adventures, but we still don't have "real" internet service yet! If everything falls into place we might have internet installed before the baby is born. So here is a quick recap of the past month:

Went to the beach and pier here in Brighton

Brighton Pier has the most fantastic fresh donuts and candy floss (cotton candy). It takes real restraint not to go there every day. Aunt Kimber and Uncle Julian spent a fun weekend visit with us "at the shore".

Took a trip back to the US for Aunt Ashley's mission homecoming and Aunt Kelly's graduation

After serving in the freezing cold (Canada) for 18+ months, my sister Ashley returned home from her mission. It was a joyous reunion and all the family (except Ryan who had business in NYC) was there. Link loved playing with his extended family, going to the petting zoo, and spending almost every day outside in the yard.

Had Nana, Pop, Ashley and Kelly come visit us in England

What fun to have a house full of visitors! Link especially loved all the extra playmates and still talks about his adventures at the beach.


Ryan and I took a fantastic getaway [sans Lincoln] to Italy!

Leaning Tower of Pisa, ride through the Tuscan countryside, great Italian food, The Uffizi, David, shopping, walking along the river in Florence, Duomo, music in the Piazzas, relaxing, and LOTS of gelato. This was the first time I have been away from Lincoln - ever. It was hard to leave him, but I knew he was in good hands with my parents and we had a wonderful time.



Baby Girl Giles continues to grow! Only 7 weeks to go!

New Pictures of our Little Guy

Jamie and I wanted to post some updated pictures from our move and our new place in the UK. I don't have time for any great captions, that is generally Jamie's domain. But here are the pictures.

English Language Tutorial

There are a lot of funny words/phrases that they use over here in the UK. Even though we are all speaking English, sometimes it is practically impossible to understand what people are saying. Some seem really strange, but they do actually use them instead of the "American" words we are used to!

English - American

nappy = diaper
lift = elevator
pushcart/buggy/pram/carriage = stroller
ice lolly = popsicle
fizzy water = soda
lemonade = Sprite or other lemon-lime soda
chips = fries (as in fish & chips)
crisps = chips (as in potato chips)
top-up = fill-up or refill (I need to top-up my pay-as-you go phone)
having a laugh = making a joke
nicked = stole
candy floss = cotton candy
motorway = highway/freeway
sleeping policeman = speed bumps
manor coach = station wagon
trolley = shopping cart
let = rent
hash sign = pound (#) sign (I guess because their pound sign is for money!)
hob = stove
post = mail
garden = yard/backyard
cheers! = catch-all word that can mean thanks, good-bye, great, etc.

I'm sure there are more; this is what I could think of for now!

I wanted to include some pictures, but we have temporary pay-as-you go mobile internet (until our real internet can be connected in 3 weeks!) that is SO SLOW. Doing much else besides checking email is practically impossible. I can't complain too much - we were without internet for a week and I quickly realized how technology dependent I am. At least now I can check the weather and email!

Our Son Named Alex

Last week we went to Preston Park, which is a nice park right across the street from Ryan's new office. The grounds are lovely with well-cultivated gardens with flowers and shrubbery. There is also a big playground with slides, swings, and sand. Lincoln loves the park, and particularly loves sand, so he was in heaven!

There were a couple older boys playing in a little wooden playhouse in the sand who were about 7 and 4. Link came over and wanted to play and they said (in British accents, of course) "What's your name?" [We have been working with Lincoln on answering this question, but without too much success. He can answer "How old are you?" but not what his name is. oh well] so we don't know if he said something or just made a noise, but the older boy said "We can't understand you" (We can't understand much of what people here say either!!) They were still trying to shoo him away, but apparently changed their minds and called "Little one! Come back!" and let him join in their fun. Then one boy said "We don't know his name, so let's call him Alex." Ryan and I were sitting on a bench very close so we could see and hear everything, but we didn't make it apparent that we were Lincoln's parents so we could observe this funny exchange. It was really hard not to laugh out loud!

Soon they were laughing, playing, and ruffling his hair - all the while trying to get his attention by calling him "Alex" which obviously wasn't working very well since he doesn't know to respond to "Alex". Finally the older boy must have caught on that we were showing a little too much attention to them and asked "Is he your kid?" and we said yes, and he asked "What's his name?" and we told him, and he said "Oh, I like to call him Alex."

A while later the boy told me "I wish Lincoln was my little brother" which I thought was so sweet. That's probably the best compliment a little boy can get! So Link is already charming the kids of England!