Elsa's Nursery

A little of everything....

I get a kick out of looking at the pics of the guys in Dublin...those three definitely know how to have a good time!  

Lots to report here since my last entry.

1.  I passed boards!!!!!  What a huge relief that was.  I felt good when I walked out of the exam, but then, started going over everything I should have said, didn't say, etc....  But, no more tests for 10 more years when I take my recertification exam.  Until then, I am a Diplomate of the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (board certified).

2.  We enjoyed having Amy and Mike visit.  We met them in London and took the Eurostar to Paris.  The Eurostar is a new high speed train that was AWESOME!  We went from central london to central Paris in about 2 hours!  The weather in Paris was okay, but very chilly and on and off rain during our three days.  But, it was fun, nonetheless.  The first place we went to see was the Arc de Triomphe.  

Then, the next day, we took the opportunity to visit the Notre Dame Cathedral and the Eiffel Tower.  We took the elevators to the top of the Eiffel Tower....I was fine once we got to the top, but the ride up there was not fun!  It was so windy, so the elevator was shaking gently...palms were sweaty, heart was racing.

And, when you have two pregnant ladies...finding bathrooms are a necessity and when you gotta go, you gotta go...even at the top of the Eiffel Tower.  They had to be the smallest bathrooms ever!

And, on our last day we went to the Louve!  By this point, I was so exhausted after trekking around Paris and my ankles were so swollen, that I probably didn't enjoy it as much as I would have other wise.  We could have easily spent two days there and still not have seen everything!

And, Aaron imitating art....

After Paris, they came up to our house for a few days and we went to see a castle in the nearby area.  But, we mostly just hung out...which was a nice break from all the traveling we did.

3.  Things are continuing to go well with the pregnancy.  My OB put me on half day profile (meaning I only work for half days) until I deliver!  A nice little perk of the military.  He wasn't concerned about anything in particular, except wanted me to stay off my feet because my ankles were getting swollen and I was having a lot of back pain after operating.  So, I plan on finishing the nursery and starting her scrap book.  I can't believe she will be here in about 4-5 weeks!  

My friends Jess and Liz planned a baby shower for me with some girls I work with and for some wives whose husbands I work with.   Here is a pic of me at 34 weeks right before the shower.

And, some of the girls I work with (Heather, Jess, Amy, me, Liz, and claire (Liz's daughter))

We are lucky to have such great friends over here.  Little Claire was so cute...she kept staring at my  belly.  I kept rubbing my belly saying how full I was from eating so much fondue...she got this huge grin on her face "its not fondue...its a baby!"  

Well, that about sums up everything in the past few weeks.  We finally feel settled into our new home and love living on base.  It takes me a whole five minutes to get to work!

Dominating Dublin St. Patty's Style

I thought I would post a few photos of some friends that came to visit us here in England during St. Patrick's Day.  Jeff and Brendon flew into London and we spent the first day in Cambridge hitting a few pubs with the wife and her friend, Jess.  

After spending the day in England, we thought it would be wise to get the hell out of this country and go directly to Dublin, Ireland for St. Patty's Day.  Upon arrival, we went directly to the Jameson Distillery for a tour and some free hooch!

After this tour, we hit the streets of Dublin for a little "Irish Fun", which is basically drinking at every bar in site.  From what I could see, this is basically the only fun to be had in Dublin, but thats just my opinion.  Here are some of the scenes from Dublin during the St. Patrick's Day celebration:

One of the highlights of the Dublin tour was hitting the Guiness Brewery for some live band music and free beer...for about 2 hours!  A steal considering every pint of Guiness was about $8.

Well, that about wraps up the St. Patrick's Day Celebration!  Courtney is going to publish photos of our Paris trip next.  Take care!