Scones & clotted cream, please.

Being in the city was amazing, but so was the second part of our trip, the countryside.  We put over 700 miles on our rental car.  We left London and drove south to Dover & then wound our way through Canterbury, Hastings, Battle, Salisbury, Bath, Stratford-upon-Avon, the Cotswolds and Cambridge.  It was a dream.  I loved driving the tiny roads with Mckay & taking in the beautiful scenery together.  The beauty of this place was astounding to me.  

Dover Castle.  We spent 4 hours here.  It was amazing.

Medieval castle wall at Dover Castle.

The White Cliffs of Dover.  So romantic and breathtaking.  This was my favorite "countryside" part of our vacation.  It was peaceful and picturesque.

Canterbury Cathedral.

Jeake's -the most adorable house we stayed at in Rye.  Our room (the Apothecary room) has been standing since 1589.  Charming.

Herstmonceux Castle.

Jane Austin's home where she wrote & finished all 6 books.

Jane Austin's grave site, Winchester Cathedral.

Stonehenge.  Unbelievable.  

Bath Abbey & the ancient Roman baths.

17th-century farmhouse we stayed at 5 miles outside of Bath.  Every night of the countryside we stayed in a different B&B.  They were so beautiful.

Avon River in Bath.

Castle Crown voted "most beautiful village in England".  It was too adorable.  There was one street, named "The Street".  

Antique shop in Stow-on-the-Wold in the Cotswalds.

 Driving the countryside was so fun.  I loved the sheep grazing everywhere.

 He became the best wrong-side-of-the-road driver.  & I the best navigator (with the help of our best friend the GPS).

Ended our trip back in London & saw the wonderful Wizard of Oz!

Anne Boleyn & Harry Potter stompin' grounds

I don't have many pictures from this day but it was a great one!  We started the morning off by going to the Tower of London.  Along with over 100 others, the Tower is where Anne Boleyn, Catherine Howard, Jane Boleyn and Lady Jane Grey were executeed.  Three Queens of England in there!  The Tower of London is also where the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom are housed as well as an impressive armory full of hundreds of years worth of swords and armor worn by fancy people.

On our way back to our hotel we stopped at King's Cross Station because we just could not pass up an opportunity to get this picture:

We grabbed our bags, checked out of our hotel and took a long, stinky, uncomfortable, crowded ride to the airport via underground (rush hour).  At the airport we rented a car and Mckay so bravely tackled the challenge of driving on the wrong side of the road!  He adjusted fairly quickly, but navigating out of the airport (which is hard in your own country!) was extremely tense.  We drove Southeast to Dover, England to start our tour of the English countryside!

Day 3 in London

Highlight of Mckay's day:  Traditional English breakfast -fried mushrooms, fried tomatoes, fried bread, poached egg and beans.  Okay, that is a big fat lie, he was actually quite frustrated with the breakfast selection during the entirety of this trip.  He did love the British War Rooms: learning tons about WWII, seeing the underground space from which Winston Churchill directed the war, & listening to every word of the audio guide.

Highlight of Nicki's day:  Mckay being done with the audio guide (kidding!).  Being front and center at Buckingham Palace with a million crazy people pushing and shoving at the gate.  Eating dinner at a French restaurant (Cote) where we indulged in the best fried calamari EVER.  

London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, my fair lady.

Saturday was our first full day in London.  We started the morning off right with fish n' chips.  I love fish and chips and Mckay doesn't, he's not a seafood person... we had breakfast/lunch (we way overslept because of the time change and jet lag) at a cool pub in Camden, then spent 4 hours at Camden Market.  Camden Market is a huge outdoor market every Saturday that is bustling with food, crafts, art, trinkets and clothes.  Part of it is held in these old (1854) stable arches, hence, me with the giant horse head.

It was ridiculously large, we walked around for hours and still didn't see all of it.  We were sad that we had eaten at the pub because once we entered the market place we realized that there was a whole entire avenue of food carts and stands.  It all smelled so good and fresh but we were stuffed with mediocre pub grub.  Of course that didn't stop us from indulging in more than a few baked goods.  I got a pair of cutesy little fabric earrings too.

After the market we walked across the London bridge!  It was fairly anticlimactic but gave us access to St. Paul's Cathedral and the Tower of London so we were happy to stroll across the sing-song, infamous bridge.

The Tower of London Bridge, much cooler.

It was rainy off and on, which was annoying because we walked everywhere, but who can even be sad about rain when one is in a wonderful city like London?  Actually for a minute I forgot that as we stood under bridges and buildings freezing (we were under-dressed seeing as how it was the middle of June!) waiting for the rain to pass.  Thankfully, it only rained in 5-15 minute intervals and then the sun would shine again and we'd prance off to the next destination.

St. Paul's amazing Cathedral.  This was the first Cathedral we saw and it was amazing.  I didn't know picture taking was not allowed and got snapped at by a lady there. WOOPS!  St. Paul's Cathedral has been standing in that exact spot since 604 AD (there have been restorations and renovations of course).  It was magnificent inside and we learned a lot about its history and other jolly Catholic things.

We had dinner that night at an Italian restaurant called Zizzi.  It was fan-flipping-tastic (I maybe used to say that in middle school).  I had pumpkin and pancetta risotto with sage.  It was one of the most delicious meals I've ever had.  Mckay had a traditional lasagna and liked it, but was not as happy as I was.

After dinner we went to Shakespeare's famous Globe Theatre for an evening production of Dr. Faustus.  That was really cool.  Initially, we didn't have tickets but got lucky when an older couple sold us their son and his girlfriend's tickets after said son decided to go on a "drinking vacation instead"!  Sad for the parents but we were feeling pretty lucky to score the best seats in the house! (note the people that stand through the entire performance... I'm not fan enough to endure that).  The globe theatre is outdoors and it was quite cold when night fell.  Despite my bare legs, I really enjoyed the play.  It was funny and deep at the same time.  

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Anyone who knows me knows it is an absolute dream of mine to see Les Mis in the Queen's Theatre in London, and a few weeks ago I was able to do just that!  We decided a few months ago to go to England in the summer and the Les Mis tickets were my thoughtful husband's idea, love him.  June 16th we flew the 6 hours to London and arrived the next day, Friday June 17th.  We got out of the airport and made it to our hotel, crashed for a few hours, and then headed to the theatre.

 A yummy Italian dinner first to quiet our angry stomachs.  The tickets!  I was so excited- literally  giddy with anticipation.

 Waiting for the show to start, the theatre was absolutely breathtaking.  It was really small but so regal and beautiful.

 A generous hobo charged us 1 pound to take this picture, but I'm glad we have it.

 Ceiling/Chandelier.

The night was everything I hoped it would be... and more.  Cliche, but so true.  I cried at least three times during the performance.  It is such a beautiful and entrancing story, and seeing it performed by the best of the best was unbelievable.  Even Mckay, lover of Phantom of the Opera that he is, said it was the best play he'd ever seen.  It was absolutely magical, so well done and the sets and logistics of it all were stunning.  Not to mention the music!  This was my most favorite thing we did while in England, & that is saying a lot, because it was the best vacation I've ever been on.  

My birthday honey.

Sunday, June 5th Mckay turned 29!  I made him Korean food!  Booya.  It was a chicken/Korean sauce/veggie stir fry over WHITE rice (he gets so sad when I make brown).  Corn on the cob isn't so Korean but it's sweet summer corn so I couldn't resist.  

Blowing out the candles- I look crazy because I am inviting kids over to help him & I want to make sure they get to the cake before he is done.  It was probably counter productive because look how scary my face is, I would have stayed put too.  

I forgot to ask him what he wished for... Last year when I threw him this party I posted a picture of him and his freshly extinguished birthday cake on Facebook and my friend Ashley commented, "That means no girlfriends... only a wife?".  I DIED.  Deep down in my heart I hoped and dreamed and knew, but I was so embarrassed and scared that Mckay would freak out a little.  Luckily he didn't, and by the next birthday I was the wife. 

He got 'em all.  

 Happy!

We had to relight so the cutie pies could have their turn blowing out candles.  Three times.  Thad was hilarious and kept asking and asking and asking for more fire.  Seriously, two of the cutest kiddos I've ever seen.

We had a great night visiting with our friends, downing german chocolate cake, and watching the basketball game (him).  Mckay is great, it was fun to devote a day to celebrate him.  I quite enjoyed it & think he did too.

Utah

It was so great to be back in Utah for a visit.  Cache Valley is more beautiful than ever to me.  I hadn't seen most of my family in eight months, so it was time!  Mckay and I decided that since he would be in full blown-study mode, it would be good - for both of us - if I took a vacay!  Having him at the office studying late every night was wearing on my nerves and he was guilt ridden & didn't want to worry about neglecting me.  So off to Utah it was.

I arrived on Friday.  My parents picked me up at the airport in SLC and we had lunch together before heading home.  As we drove through the canyon I noticed the mountains were covered in snow.  Still.  The end of May.  Poor Cache Valley residents.  They are so fed up.  I was welcomed home by my sweet sisters and a dashing "Welcome Home" banner, so cute!  A few hours later Trev got home from school and that night we all relaxed and caught up.

Highlights:

New haircut!  Utah is so affordable.  Connecticut is not.  So I only get my hair cut in Utah now.  And it's under $70 with a scalp massage to boot.  Yes.  My hair looks just the same, but 3 inches shorter.  I'm disappointed.  Mckay begged me not to cut it short, and this time I heeded.  But when we're there for Christmas, it's coming off.

Friends. I know I saw most of these people at my wedding, but that doesn't count because I hardly got to spend 2 seconds with any of them.  Shanna girl and Ashley girl, two of my best friends from college, came to visit me and spend the night.  I hadn't seen Shanna since before she left on her mission in 2009!  We did crafts all night and ate pizza and hung out with my Mom.  It was so great.  

I had dinner with the Kimball girls, Kassidy and I were the best of friends during high school and Jacki is her little sister, and an equally good friend.  It was great to catch up with them.  Kassidy married her husband 9 months before I married Mckay, and Jacki married her love last week, almost 9 months after my wedding.  We had a grand time talking about love and marriage and men and all the funny things in life.  Love those girls! 

Later in the week I had dinner with my dear friends from when I was a nanny in NY.  We were all out here on the East Coast for the same year and had a blast seeing the sights together.  It was (again) so wonderful to catch up with them.  I miss having them out here with me.  They became such close friends in the year we were together.  We were always going to trendy restaurants, having sleepovers and on new city adventures together.  

The 25th was Stacey James' (soon to be Garrett) birthday, so she, Krissy and I got together for a birthday celebration.  The cake was a poop and didn't come out of the pan all the way, so it was an ugly, coconut-flavored birthday celebration.  We still had a riot together.  These girls were also dear high school friends and we have had yearly get togethers every year since 2007 when we graduated (so proud).  A big feat when we all went totally separate directions after graduation.  This was the first year that one of us was missing, Ali was traipsing around Europe instead.  Her loss.

The temple. It was so wonderful to go back to the temple that Mckay and I were sealed in 8 months ago.  My parents and I spent an afternoon there and it was simply beautiful.  I loved it.  I'm so glad we did that. I was very emotional, partly because I missed Mckay and partly because it was so easy to remember and feel the emotions I felt on our wedding day.  I will always be so grateful that Mckay and I were sealed together for eternity in that lovely place.

Girl's Weekend! A McAffee family favorite, and definitely a highlight of my visit.  My fabulous cousins and Aunts came to my Mom's house for a sleepover.  This has become a yearly tradition and I have been missing it year after year so my Mom made this years' get together happen while I was home.  I met three new babies, the most precious and happy little things (my cousins make the prettiest of those).  We munched and cooked and laughed and shopped and cried, played Loaded Questions and didn't get to bed until 4:30am.  We were also stupid and forgot to bring out the camera until after half of the party had left. Dumb, dumb, dumb.  But the pictures we do have are priceless.  We really missed the cousins and Aunts who couldn't make it!

(Trevor snapped this photo before we were prepared.  It was supposed to be our "Blue Steel" picture, but we were still trying to figure out the logistics. I LOVE IT.)

Sewing. While I was home, my fabulously talented Mother helped me make pillows for my living room and cafe curtains for my kitchen.  I couldn't have done it with out her. Seriously, I was barely able to handle it with her.  She had to rethread the bobbin after almost every stitch I did.  I still do not know what kept happening.  She even graciously endured me accusing her of cutting the fabric wrong... oh dear.  Thanks Mom! Sewing with you was super fun and I love my loot.  (pictures later).

Movies, Mom's home cooking, babies, neighbors, family time, walks, shopping, laughing, Cami Adair, church ladies, slow drivers, friendly sales people, the beautiful mountains. 

Nine days in Utah with my family was truly divine.  Coming home to Mckay was wonderful too.  I was so happy to see him at the airport.  I'm glad I don't get sad to leave my family and come home to him, it's great to be so excited to go back to real life.  Nine days was a long time to be apart, we cuddled and watched movies and chowed on popcorn and soaked up each other's awesomeness all night long.  (Mean Girls!)  There's no place like home!