the biggest move

Believe it or not, we made it to London. It was a relatively stress-free journey, complete with Maya having her own seat on the plane, meeting our luggage at baggage claim, having a transfer service drive us to our new flat, stepping into a very old, large and empty flat and feeling completely displaced from our world and reality. After several runs to the store, hauling a lot of stuff down some busy roads (mainly Brett), our place is beginning to look and feel more like home. We didn't realize how much of a job it would be getting set up before Brett started school, but it has been one long week.

Brett has had a lot of meetings this week and orientation. His actual classes start on Monday. We all went to campus yesterday and it is so much different than any other campus we've seen. It is right in the middle of the city in some large buildings kind of spread out. Brett would show me the LSE logo on the front of different buildings in the area just as we were walking down the road.

Maya loves the hustle and bustle of the big city...the cars, buses, and she especially loves the tube. Yes, we took her on the tube. It really is entertaining to watch her talk to everyone around her and try to grab their newspapers or watches. Some people drool over her, while others do everything in their power to ignore her completely. She has definitely kept me sane while trying to adjust to this new lifestyle. I just look at how happy she is no matter what her surroundings and am reminded of how I should be :)

We're happy with where we live for the most part. It's just a really old house that has been converted into apartments/flats. There are 12 total and we are on the first floor. It is kind of off the busy roads and in a quieter residential type area. Everyone living in our building attends LSE. We've met some nice neighbors so far, even some with kids. There is so much diversity here.

All in all, we are adjusting and things are starting to fall into somewhat of a routine.

So here are a few pictures of our journey...

Thanks to all of our family for your help and support. We love and miss you!

Countdown UK: 1 week

We officially leave for London in one week. To sum up things going on around here: crazy! I'm really excited to be there, not so much for the journey...(a 7-month old crawling baby who doesn't like to snuggle and is into anything and everything within her reach doesn't make for a relaxing plane ride.)

An adventure awaits...

I'm more than ready to get away. I feel as though we've been in limbo since I found out I was pregnant. Now this is the first big step we're making as a family and I couldn't be happier. I even have a little papaya to keep me company while Brett slaves away at school. All I have to say is that I'm so grateful that my husband is a hard worker and is willing to do what it takes to provide for our family. He really is quite amazing and I consider myself so lucky.

On another note...Maya's world has been vastly expanding. She now can crawl and loves to discover new things. It is awesome watching her eyes light up from the most random things (i.e. a vent on the kitchen floor).

At just 7 months old Maya...

rode her first horse with cousin Colton;

saw her first BYU football game, and

can legally enter the United Kingdom;

This girl has been busy!

Until next time, from over the ocean...

Yard Sale Theft

In pursuit of our move to London, we had a yard sale to raise funds and clean out our storage unit. We advertised only a little and had a tremendous turnout. Having posted the start time at 9, we found ourselves scrambling to get everything out on the front lawn for everyone arriving by 8. We sold almost half of everything we had out before 9.

Feeling successful and pretty good about our day, I had the urge to take a picture, only to find that where I had last left the camera, on a chair by the cash box, there was no longer a camera. My heart dropped and I asked everyone if they'd seen it. We looked for a while until the inevitable realization came upon us suddenly; someone had stolen it. I guess they read our signs as, "buy a $2 shirt and get a $200 camera for free!" Who are these sick people? The worst part was how violated I felt. Luckily there weren't more than 10-20 new pictures of Maya that I hadn't uploaded. Brett kept reassuring me by telling me that whoever took it will have to spend a lot of money to keep it working.

At least we made enough money to buy a new camera and have a little leftover.

Our advice to all: don't take pictures of your yard sale!

visas & allergies

It is August and we are finalizing all of our preparations for the big move. I can't believe it is already here. This summer has flown by and Maya is already 6 months old and almost crawling! She's still very small for her age (5th percentile) but is so active and happy. Brett calls her his little capuchin monkey.

We took her to an allergist last Friday for concerns about hives and allergic reactions she was getting from milk products (formula). She was so funny at the doctor's office; smiling and happy, completely unaffected by the nurse scratching her back with common allergens; she just wanted to play. Everybody loved her. She is always bringing out the best in people with her magnetic, charming personality and crazy attitude about life. I hope that continues throughout her life. On to the bad/disappointing news: dad's childhood food allergies were passed on! We found out she is allergic to milk, egg, peanut, and dog.

{sigh}

"She'll grow out of it," is everyone's response, and I can only hope that comes true and that they don't become worse. So, yes, my baby girl has an Epipen Jr. and it makes me so sad. All kinds of thoughts keep running through my head...what do I make her for her 1st birthday without eggs and milk? How will she survive her young childhood without Grandma's famous chocolate cake and a (real) warm chocolate chip cookie? I know I'm probably over-reacting, so we're taking it one day at a time. I am not supposed to wean her off nursing as soon as I would have liked, but I know that's probably a good thing. We just have to be careful of what we eat and hopefully it won't last forever! At least she doesn't realize what she's missing, me on the other hand....

We are looking forward to a British holiday season. Hopefully we'll receive our visas soon, (so we can actually go!) which will be the last big thing we need to do. Overwhelmed...anxious...nervous...excited...happy...all of the above, we actually can't wait to have our own place again! It will be sad to say good bye to family and friends, but hopefully we can convince people to come visit...any takers? We do have a one-bedroom apartment!

summer

family reunions...4th of july...baseball...swimming...bear lake...grandma's house...friends...

The Last Frontier

We finally made it to Alaska! It was awesome. We were so happy that we were able to go. I loved showing Brett and Maya around all the places that I grew up visiting. We went fishing, hiking, took the Moku (our newly acquired family boat) out in the ocean, and saw eagles, bear, and a ton of moose! I was really nervous about taking Maya that far on an airplane, but we figured it would be good practice for London. She did so great too. She slept through most of both flights and endured a 10-mile hike, hanging out by the side of a river while we tried to catch fish and a lot of long car rides. Here is a small preview of our ten days in Alaska

Mine is the biggest :) 60 pounds!!! I couldn't even reel him in by myself.

It was a beautiful day, but we didn't catch any big ones.

Hiking the Russian River twice in one day! (The things we do for fish!) Dad carried Maya in the Moby and it was so cute. We even caught some fish!

Fishing off of Moku. It was BEAUTIFUL!

Brett's proud catch

Maya driving the Moku!

Her first ocean experience.

We're officially moving to London in September. We just received baby Maya's passport, cutest thing, and we finalized our living accommodations. We're becoming very anxious and excited!

We are going to...

Maya is very excited!!!

Having fun in Pine Valley with Wade, Hil and Grandma