Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun...

... if the sun don't come you'll get a tan from sitting in the English rain....

Actually, John and I just got back from our trip to England and the weather was amazingly sunny while we were there! We didn't see a cloud from the time we got there until a couple of days before we left! John said at one point that he never imagined he'd go to England on holiday and come away with a tan.

It was a wonderful trip. We started with three days in a recreational park with John's college mates. We had 30th birthday celebrations for John, Jon Salmon, and Paul Shirley, all of whom turned 30 within a couple of weeks of each other. We did all sorts of fun things, like badminton, tennis, lawn bowls, and water rapids. I was actually talked out of the tennis; apparently there is a bit of a risk if the ball hits a pregnant woman in the belly. But I was able to do the rapids which made me very happy as they are the funnest things ever.

Then we spent a couple of days with Madeline and Michelle. Michelle took us to Mountfitchet castle, which was really cool. There were all types of animals -- goats, chickens, ducks, even deer -- wandering around and we bought bags of food to feed to them which was very cool.

That evening we went to our friends Mike and Debbie's. We got a curry takeaway and watched the Chelsea vs Man U match, the combination of which assured John's trip on the whole was successful. His favorite foods and football -- a 'match' made in heaven! Get it?

The next day we spent with our Basingstoke friends. The boys (John, Rich, Scott, and Wyn) played golf all day while we girls (me, Anita, Gemma, and Helen) did girly things. We first went to check out Anita's new house, which was magnificent. She has a gorgeous back garden with a koi pond and very pretty landscaping. We hung out in the garden for a while in the morning, then headed to Bournemouth for shopping and lunch. They got me some advance birthday presents at Accessorize; in fact I'm wearing a pair of the earrings they got me as I type! We went to H&M which has fun, fashionable, and cheap maternity clothes. I'd been looking forward to getting some casual tops from there, and the girls helped me find some good stuff. Once I was done buying more than I had intended we went for some cream tea. I had hot chocolate since I don't drink tea, and it was sooooo good that I've had about 4 hot chocolates since that day hoping I can find one that is just as good. They put big fat marshmallows in it. That must have been the trick because I just cannot find one quite as good! In the evening we went out for dinner and drinks in Basingstoke. A few of our old work buddies from Lilly met up with us which was really cool. It was great to catch up with everyone and find out the latest gossip, of which there seemed to be plenty of good stuff. ;-)

The next day was John's actual 30th birthday. We met his dad and friend in London for the day. We took a boat along the Thames to get around which was fun. We went to Shakespeare's globe theater and had a guided tour. They were in the middle of rehearsals, preparing for the start of the season. We got to see them rehearsing some of Othello, which is apparently a unique experience due to the time of year. That evening we met loads of friends in a bar in Oxford Circus. It was really nice as almost all of our friends showed up, as well as John's mum and sister.

The day before we left we met up with Jon and Marianne. The boys played golf (I think I must have been tricked considering there were two golf days in a one week trip! ;-) ), while Marianne and I played with their 11 month old, Isabella. She is the most beautiful baby. We took Isabella into town for a little shopping, had some cake (I have a real thing for cake right now), and spent a lot of time catching up. I really enjoyed hanging out with Marianne being a mommy -- it got me even more fired up for when it's my turn!

We knew the trip was going to be jam packed with going here, there, and everywhere, and thus not terribly relaxing. I could use a vacation to recover from our vacation! ;-) I wouldn't have changed it for anything, though. As Rich would say as he's quoting Lock, Stock, and 2 Smoking Barrels -- Bed is for sleepy people!!

And on an unrelated topic, just because they make me laugh, here are some pictures of Lucy and her best mate Macy. Aren't they just the CUTEST!!