Melanie's Wedding

Lisa's friend Melanie Guthrie got married to David Podley on Saturday in Pasadena at the Valley Hunt Club. Lisa was the token 8 months' pregnant bridesmaid.

Here we are with John and Linda Massei.
Check out that baby bump.
It was a lovely day. Best wishes to Melanie and David for the future.

Baby Room

I had the Christmas week off from work and managed to get the baby room finished.
I put up crown moulding, changed all the power outlets to child safety types, set up our old bedroom furniture in the baby room, modified the old double into a single and organised all the shelves in the wardrobe unit.

Lisa likes it, so big brownie points for me. No doubt I'll be needing them soon.
This weekend we're off to Babies R Us (again) to get the essential supplies, car seat and the like.

Ho Ho Ho!

What better way to start Christmas morning than a quick dip in the pool.

And yes! It was bloody freezing.

A couple days ago we had freezing temperatures and the pool is not heated.









Ahhhhh! Warmth
Good thing the hot tub was still heated.

Merry Christmas........

.... and a very Happy New Year

Love and Best Wishes

from

Stacey and Lisa

Oh yeh! and Somer

Bedroom Furniture

On Friday we had our new bedroom furniture delivered. The two delivery blokes thought I was joking when I told them to take it up the stairs. So they wiped the smiles off their faces and got on with the job they were being paid fro. How nice of them!
We spent all day Saturday setting the room up and sorting out clothes that needed to be chucked out. The room looks nice and organised.

32 weeks

We had grand plans for a mini "photo session" with my dad, and thought going to the beach at Ventura would be nice. So we all got in the car and left a perfectly gorgeous day in Santa Clarita - fluffy white and grey clouds, blue skies - to find rain and heavy clouds as we approached the sea. Still, we made the best of it and had a good laugh. I'm about 32 weeks along here, so officially eight weeks to go.

We also picked up our crib and mattress from Babies 'R Us - thanks Mum, Dad and Nan (Sue, Gord and Mary)! - and got it put together. Somer has only tried to get in a couple of times, and Stace promptly told her off.

Showered

I was blessed with a beautiful baby shower Nov. 25. We had about two dozen ladies, and my dad taking photos. The games were cute, the food and cake delicious and the gifts were lovely. I felt very loved! Here are a few photos: At left, we have our hostesses, the Lindas. Above that, a group shot, of most of the group; and on top are my bridesmaids still in California - Kelly and the Melanies.

Windwhistle golf at last

I finally got to play golf up at my old club Windwhistle. Over the last few years it's either been rained off or the course has been shut. The weather was a bit windy but the sun was out and no clouds. Perfect for the views of the Somerset Levels.
It was great to see Andy "The Cougar" Campbell again and get a game in. The match ended with Andy beating me on the last hole for a draw. A fair result.
Last night I met up with Dunc, Lyndsey, Connor and Chelsea. Little Chelsea has really grown from when I saw her in May.
Dunc and I then went out to play skittles. I hit a very respectable and I must say suprising 51 and we won the game.
Today I spect all morning in Westland Helicopters. It's the first time I've been back since I left nearly 3 1/2 years ago. Everyone was pleased to see me and wanted to know when I was coming back to work. Gavin, my old work mate, picked me up from the main gate security office and we walked around the site chatting to lots of people I used to work and socialise with. It was really nice to see them all again.

With Andy up at windwhistle

The Cougar in full swing

Connor and Chelsea

Back Home

I've taken a trip back home to Martock without the missus.
Dean and I suprised Mum and Dad by my arriving early.
All worked out as planned.
Been spending time with Mum, Dad, Nan, Dean and Jenny and
anyone else I bump into around the village.
I've seen Dunc, Matt, Grinder and a few of the other footballers.
Wayne came down with Dean and Chloe the other night,
we'll get together on Saturady as well for kick-around down the recreation field.
Dean is a budding footballer and a future England player.
On Sunday we all went out for a nice meal at the Carpenters Arms.
Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding can't be beat.
Monday was low key, caught up on some sleep and hung around the village.
Today Mum and I went to Bristol to look at cots/cribs at Babies R Us.
It was bearable, she is the worlds worst shopper normally but was quite restrained today.
Tomorrow we are all off to Exeter to do some Christmas shopping.
Thursday I'm playing golf (in the rain) with Andy "The Cougar" Campbell.
Some time this week I hope to catch up with Gavin and Westland Helicopters.
More Rodent Ramblings soon.......

My village of Martock

Nan was glad to see me!

Zomerzet Zider, best in ole World

Dean Richards and sister Chloe

updates

It's becoming more real that we're having a baby - funny how having a baby shower can do that.
On Friday night, two work friends through a shower for me, and about a dozen ladies from work came to celebrate Baby Howard. We had a very nice evening, and it was fun to open the gifts - once in front of everyone, and twice, to show Stace and Somer the next day. Somer in particular enjoyed opening the gifts. She attacked the tissue paper and the ribbons, and was especially excited by a raffi type ribbon on one gift bag. We should have had the video camera rolling.

In the baby's room, Stace finished the window molding and window sills over the weekend, and he's now looking ahead to starting the crown molding.

Public Property

It's amazing how when you're pregnant, you become so much more popular than you ever were before. Everywhere I go now, I seem to attract comments. From people at events I cover (whom I hadn't met before) to the lady working the counter at the mini-mart, the questions and comments are constant. I don't mind, really, but I do find it strange.
My size, for how far along I am, seems to come up more often than I'd like. Some women have said that I don't look too big, that they were much bigger than me at the same point, while others nearly shudder, I suppose in reaction to how much bigger they think I'll be at the end.
At work, the comments come nearly daily, from people in other departments whose names I often don't know. On Friday, wearing the top you see in this photo, one guy said, "How much longer do you have? You look like you're about to pop!"
Thanks. Um, answer would be THREE MONTHS.
Anyway, Stace and I had a good weekend - got some things done around the house and went to a fun, poker-themed birthday party Saturday night for a college friend. Mark's wife went all out for his 30th, even hiring two dealers and tables. We luckily sat at the beginners' table, which is exactly where we belonged.
On Sunday, Stace worked on getting the window sills cleaned up and moulding put up around the windows in what will be Baby's room. One home project on the go, several more in the pipeline.

Edwards Air Force Show

This weekend was the Edwards Air Force Base Air Show and a chance to see aircraft of yesteryear, modern day and the future. There were flying displays by the US Air Force Thunderbirds, a B1 bomber and F-117 Stealth Fighter as well as static displays of various aircraft including the B2 Flying Wing Stealth Bomber, U2 Spy Plane and the Global Hawk, Unmanned Bomber. It was nice to see the V-22 Osprey Tilt Rotor as we manufacture several of the actuators at HR Textron. There was also an F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which is being funded by Britain amongst other countries. It will replace the aging Harrier. HRT has just won the contract to design and manufacture the aileron actuators and I'll be one of the engineers on the new program.

V-22 Osprey Tilt Rotor

F-35 JSF

F-117 Stealth Fighter

Fairey Firefly

New York, New York

We had a great time on our long weekend in New York - or, as the pregnancy magazines call it, our "babymoon."
We arrived on a Friday night and spent the first two days with Lisa's aunt and uncle, touring the countryside before venturing into the big city.
And it is a big city - people everywhere, at all times of the day. Though we only had a few days in the city, we saw nearly everything on our long list of "things to see," including Central Park, the Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, Empire State Building, old Trinity Church, Wall Street and Times Square.
We stayed two nights in the country, and then took a beautiful train ride along the Hudson River into Grand Central Station.
We walked our feet off, and Stace figured out how to use the NY subway system. We both felt very safe, even getting home after midnight.




Is a caption needed?














At the base of the Statue of Liberty

Lisa in a China Town market (23 weeks preggers)

Stace in McSorleys Pub