As you can imagine, we are getting pretty anxious to see pictures of our new house ... so, I finally emailed our real estate agent in Cold Lake to see if she could take some pics for us and send them. And she did! The pictures aren't amazing, in that they don't always show much ... but better than nothing! The house is not completely done, but is supposed to be finished by Christmas. We are hoping that our move in won't be delayed ... but at the same time, its better that its not going to be sitting vacant for too long. Judging by the pictures it looks like there are just finishing touches left like lighting, baseboards, some plumbing etc. So, we'll see ... All that to say, the house looks great! We are both really pleased with what we can see so far ... looks like we made some good choices with decor ... or should I say 'I' ... : )
So, this is the main kitchen (on the main and also technically 3rd level) ... you can't see the eating area and patio doors, but what I really wanted to see was the counter, cupboards and flooring ... you can see one of the french frame cabinet doors (upgrade) and there is another one in the opposite corner. And another upgrade is the huge pot drawers - I'm excited about those, as much as one can be excited about pot drawers ; )
Next is the living room. This is the first room upon entering the house, and you can see the wall that divides the kitchen and living room - and the vaulted ceilings. The wall between doesn't go all the way up to the ceiling, so it feels very open concept on this main level. I do feel the need to clarify, however, that the paint color in this picture in particular looks kinda peach-y ... when really, the color we chose for the entire house was called 'crouton' and is a light cream color. We are hoping that this is just the lighting or something! (No offence to those of you who like peach-y colored paint).
This next picture is the 4th bedroom which is on the 2nd level. We also have a sub-basement (the 1st level) which will remain unfinished, this is where our washer/dryer, furnace etc are. Because the house is on a slight incline, this room has a full window even though its in the basement. It will make a nice guestroom.
This is the family room ... which is also on the 2nd level ... it walks out into the backyard. We'll have the tv etc down here. Also on this level, is a full bathroom, but we have no picture of that. Please take note of the SNOW outside the doors!!! These pics were taken yesterday when it was -21 degrees in Cold Lake ... good thing we like winter in the Connolly household - especially Fletch. He's going to be thrilled at all this snow when we arrive.
And, up on the 4th level is our Master bedroom ... not much of which can you see, apart from one of the windows in the room. Nice wall though eh? ; )
Last but not least is the main bathroom, also on the 4th level. Sadly, we don't have an ensuite in this house, but I will have drawers in the bathroom cabinet - which I've always wanted so that is pretty exciting! Again, not much to see ... a tiny bit of the counter, cabinetry and flooring which is exactly the same as the kitchen.
So, needless to say we are all very excited to get to Cold Lake. I honestly never thought that I would say that I was excited to move there .. but I am. Part of it is in my anxiousness to get home to Canada, and into this new house. Also, I'm anxious to be settled again somewhere and to see what God has in store for us! I think its going to be a great 4-6 years ... plus, life will change dramatically soon, and I think that will make things all the more fun. By the way, for those of you keeping track, I am 18 weeks today, which means that I am officially entering my 5th month of pregnancy. Hard to believe! In two weeks, we have our ultrasound, and at that point I will be halfway :) AND, I can still fit into my regular clothes ... but I know someone is in there, they like to kick me in the morning and at night when I'm laying in bed!
Team PM & tadpole
Thursday night was the McKenna dinner at the Officers Mess - this is the official ETPS grad dinner. It was a very formal mess dinner, complete with a head table of many high ranking officials including three Generals. Also in attendance was the Canadian air attache who came from the Canadian High Commission in London just in honor of Peter - the only Canadian military member on the course. After dinner we spoke with him - nicest guy ever - he even offered us use of his 4 bedroom flat in London whenever we wanted! So, I think we'll be taking him up on that offer when we visit London in early January before coming home. 
)
Today was a great day for Peter & I! This morning we went in to the hospital for my first ultrasound. It was awesome to see our little baby up on that screen - we couldn't believe how clear it was and how easy it was to see the head, legs (which were moving all around), belly and facial features including eyes, nose, lips and ears! Even the mouth was moving, almost like the baby was chewing a piece of gum. And at one point its whole body jumped, kind of like it had a hiccup - it was so amazing and wonderful! Also, they determined that I am in fact 13 weeks, not 12 so the due date was pushed back a week to April 30/08. I always thought I was 13 weeks, I think the midwife had counted wrong or something. It has made me feel so much more anticipation about having the baby and being its mommy - I felt quite emotional when I saw it, which surprised me. I never thought I could feel that way until I actually 'met' the baby, but not true - we are so thankful for this amazing gift from God. Enjoy the pics! The ones of my 'belly' don't show much, since there is still not much to show! But, I thought I'd post them anyway for you all to see, there is a slight difference ; )
Last week Peter was away in Toulouse and was supposed to spend Thursday night in Northern England. However, on the way back from Toulouse the plane's windscreen cracked and they had to make an emergency landing at Boscombe. So, he was home on Thursday instead of Friday. In the meantime, I decided to go north and stay with our friends Dave & Kristy for a few days. Fletch and I headed up there on Tuesday and planned to stay until Friday, but we came home one day early to see Peter. While in Milton Keynes Kristy took me to the American base for some good 'ol North American groceries! It was great! I got some 'real' peanut butter (not the oily goo the Brits call peanut butter), some KD, and a bunch of other great stuff. Its amazing how much I've taken little things for granted that its such a treat to have them again! They have a great place up there - complete with horses across the street! In the picture you can see Kristy, Lily (who is still very unsure of the horses) and Flynn.
Yesterday Peter and I went to the Bristol Zoo. Its not very far from here, though we ended up taking what felt like a very roundabout way to get there thanks to Mapquest. Once there we were surprised to find the zoo in the middle of a boarding school campus ... it was kind of weird since all the zoos we've been to seem to be way out of the way of civilization. Once inside, it didn't feel at all cramped, and was a nice size zoo for a day visit - especially for a pregnant and therefore much slower and easily fatigued version of me!
Well, as you know, I've been expecting and anticipating the visit of 4 of my Algonquin friends for months. The time finally came ... unfortunately the weekend at the Savoy got a little ruined, but just for me, because I was really sick. They had a good time and took lots of pictures - I was disappointed that I couldn't go, but don't think I would have had much fun anyway. But, following the weekend they came back to my place (I was feeling much better), and we started our week. The first day we headed to Bath, where I've been many times, but this time we did a Redbus tour which was something different. It was fun doing some of the same stuff again anyway - like the Roman Baths. AND, the weather was actually sunny - I don't think I've ever seen Bath in the sun!
My parents flew to England last Wednesday for a week long visit. On Thursday we went to Windsor Castle for the changing of the guard, and also to tour the main parts of the castle. We visited Bath on Friday, and for the first time in the many times I've been, it didn't rain! It was really busy though because it was the last week of school holidays, it took us quite awhile to get in and parked. Saturday was market day in Salisbury and then my mom and I went to the Cathedral and hit the shops in town (the boys went home and came back to meet us later). On Sunday they came to church with Peter and I; my Dad had been before so had met many of the people, but it was a first for my Mom. While at church, John, an older man who attends the church invited us to his home, Netherhampton House, for lunch on Monday. But first, Sunday afternoon we went to the New Forest for a picnic lunch - our lunch was interrupted by some wild pigs who were trying to check out our lunch! Peter had to chase them off with a stick! Finally they left, and we were able to eat in peace. Back to John - he is a retired antiques dealer who used to use Netherhampton House to display the antiques he sold. Since retiring many of the rooms are empty, but are filled with paintings that he does in his spare time. So, on Monday at noon we headed there for lunch; John showed us around the extensive gardens and property which included a magnolia tree and a fig tree. Lunch was really good - John has a cook who comes 3 times a week to prepare his food ... she was a good cook! We sat and talked for a long time after lunch, and then once we left I took my parents up to Old Wardour Castle. It was a really sunny day and nice for exploring the castle and grounds. On Tuesday we headed to Bournemouth for the day. It was really warm and sunny out and we sat on the pier and had tea ... walked down the beach a bit, and then had lunch and did some shopping. It was a nice week, and the weather was fairly warm to my Dad's great enjoyment, but Mom enjoyed the dip in temperature at night ;)
