New pics of Bubs at 34 weeks

We had a late growth scan this week after a routine check up found Jayne was still measuring a couple of weeks ahead. Good news is all's well and that's just the way it is. Maybe Bubs will put in an early appearance... not if he/she is anything like his/her mother tho!

As with our 23 week scan, good old Frank (the sonographer) played nice and let us have a quick look in 4D. Well, when I say 'quick' he took ages jiggling mum's belly trying to get the best view of Bubs.

Get that camera out of my face!

OK, I give up.

Frank assured us the apparent 'Shrek ear' in the second pic is just an artifact of the technique so Bubs's ear will hopefully be quite normal! We're not too worried - we actually have eight pics from this scan and this is the only 'odd looking ear' one! So, no nightmares Mam, please! ;)

So it seems Bubs is still cosy and quite happy in Mum's belly, and head down thank goodness, but we reckon he/she looks just about done to perfection already! :)

Locks Get Stripped in Boston...!?

OK, you don't have to worry... we didn't lose our clothes in Boston. We went to see Stripped, the new Eddie Izzard show, and man was he funny!

For our 3rd wedding anniversay and as a last fling before Bubs arrives we took a short but sweet trip to Boston at the end of April... as with most of our 'holidays' we stopped en route for Adam to give a talk to one of Vermont's big dairy groups. At least it broke up the 4-hour road trip... tho Jayne wasn't convinced that a full morning sitting in dairy talks was quite the break her back and derrier needed! ;)

Strangely enough, this is the first wedding anniversary we haven't celebrated in Vermont.

Anyway, we made it to Boston (Adam even drove about half of the journey!) in good time to have a quick look around and get dinner before the show started.

The Orpheum Theatre was literally 2 minutes walk from the Nine Zero hotel where we stayed - very convenient!

Adam gets up close with Eddie

We then had a short stroll around Boston Common (they used to graze livestock and hang people here in the olden days!)



Massachusetts State House, the oldest state house in use in the USA - and yes, it is actual gold on the domed roof... 23-carat gold leaf, last regilded in 1997




We hit Starbucks for a quick drink before heading back to the hotel. This kettle has been steaming in Boston since 1873! The 200 pound Steaming Kettle was cast in 1873 and put in place over a teashop. The Oriental Tea Company had a contest to guess the capacity of its new Kettle. (The correct answer was 227 gallons, 2 quarts, 1 pint and 3 gills. The grand prize was a chest of premium tea.) In 1967, the Kettle was moved from 57 Court St. to 63-65 Court St. The Kettle is fed steam continuously from the building's boiler room. Today, a Starbucks occupies the retail space below.




The restaurant where we later splurged on dinner - a very fine steak they do too!

All dressed up ready to go out... well, when I say 'ready' and 'all dressed' you'd never guess Adam was stood there in his pants! ;)

Bump is ready to hit the town

After a yummy meal we finished with a chocolate mint souffle between us - awww, and they even piped 'happy anniversary' on our plate. :)

Back where we'd been earlier in the day we joined the line to get in to the show...

Almost at the front now...


In our seats ready for it all to begin

Those last few pictures aren't very good sorry - the camera phone isn't all that! The snaps I took once Eddie Izzard was on stage didn't really come out at all, and the video was pants too. Suffice it to say the show was brilliant. Eddie was on stage for over 2-hours non-stop, and didn't even stop for a drink or anything! I don't think either of us had anticipated how exhausting laughing for 2-hours solid would be :)) but it was well worth the sore back and sides to see him live. Remember to look out for the 'Stripped' show whenever it gets aired on TV, as I'm sure it will at some point.


The next day we decided to take one of the infamous Boston Duck Tours before heading for home... a fun way to see the sights and learn a little of the history of Boston. This was a non-stop tour so here are some of the better photos we managed to snap on the move.

Our trusty vehicle, Beantown Betty - one of the original DUKWs in the fleet, built in 1945 and used in World War II

Our driver (or 'conDUCKtor') Biff was hilarious and very informative... like Eddie the previous night, he barley stopped talking for the duration of the tour which lasted about 90mins!

Through the windows you can see part of the New England Holocaust Memorial - 6 glass monoliths reach skyward, engraved with 6 million numbers symbolizing the six main death camps and six million Jews who died.

The Old State House, now surrounded by the tall buildings of Boston's financial district. This East Front shot shows the balcony from which the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence in Boston took place. You can't really see but there is a lion and unicorn on the roof of the building, the same used in the Coat of Arms of the UK, reminiscent of the building’s past.

The Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts, the very first one in the USA, this year celebrates its 275th anniversary. In 1733, Henry Price, a Boston tailor and merchant, received a charter from the Grand Lodge of England to organize the first Provincial Grand Lodge in the Americas. This precedence gives the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts the distinction of being the third oldest Grand Lodge in the world and the oldest in the Western Hemishphere.

Cheers! The original Boston pub that inspired the setting of the hit TV show, 'Cheers'.

Founded in 1969, the Bull & Finch Pub as it was then known, actually won 'Best Neighborhood Bar in Boston' the year Cheers premiered on TV. http://www.cheersboston.com/bh_history.htm if you want to read more about it.

The exterior of the Hampshire House is no doubt familiar to most of you because you'll have seen it in the opening shots of the series. This façade was actually filmed in Boston - no replica was created in Hollywood, so we saw the real thing when we passed by the exterior here.

So, as well as having many fine historical and pop culture landmarks, the city of Boston is packed with splendid shopping opportunities too. We passed this Chanel store as well as many other high end temptations - Jayne definitely needs a trip back with the girls some time in the future!

Hmm - I forget which church this is... but there's the DKNY store!

Hancock Place (aka The John Hancock Tower). Boston's tallest building at 790 feet and 60-stories tall. As of 2007, it is also offically the tallest building in New England, the 45th tallest building in the USA, and the 135th tallest building in the world.

You might recognise 'Five Hundered Boylston' if you watch 'Boston Legal' on TV.

The most acclaimed sculpture on Boston Common - Augustus Saint-Gaudens’s Robert Gould Shaw Memorial. It depicts Colonel Shaw on horseback leading the Massachusetts 54th Regiment, the first all-volunteer black regiment in the Union army organized in a Northern state. Shaw and many of his men died at Fort Wagner, S.C., in July 1863. Saint-Gaudens took almost 14 years to complete the monument, which was unveiled on May 30, 1897.

U.S.S Constitution (aka 'Old Ironsides'). The oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world, and still with a US Navy crew onboard. Launched in 1797 and commissioned in 1798 she gained her greatest fame during the War of 1812 when she fought three major engagements with British warships. She got her nickname when British cannonballs were seen bouncing off her sides! 33 engagements and never defeated.

The Zakim Bridge, Boston's new bridge over the Charles River.

Also termed the jewel of 'The Big Dig' - a $460m project to dismantle Boston's aged and inefficient elevated 6-lane highway and build a new 8- to 10-lane expressway underneath the city. The Central Artery/Tunnel Project in its final stages of construction remains the largest and most complex highway and tunnel project in the nation's history.

The bridge from an unusual angle - very few people ever see the bridge from here (well, just all us tourists and some locals I suppose!) cos most are rushing along the bridge itself or viewing it as per the previous pic.

Beantown Betty takes to the water with ease...

... and so does Adam it seems! He was first to leap into the driving seat when Biff requested a volunteer to take over for a while... funny how all the other volunteers were under the age of 12!!! ;)

"So Adam, what do you want to be when you grow up?" !? :))

An amused Adam makes his way back to his seat beside his mortified wife! :) Captain Jack Sparrow eat yer heart out!

Boston from the water

Back out onto terra firma

A weary Jayne and Bump stop for one last pic on the way back to the motor.

We marched and you donated for babies!

After so many days of beautiful sunny weather we were disappointed to wake on Saturday morning to rainy grey skies. Bloomin' typical, when this was the day of the Burlington March for Babies (http://www.marchforbabies.org/).

A rudely early start (well, for Jayne at least) and a cheeky bacon and egg McMuffin sandwich later saw Adam, Jayne and Safi down to the lakeside in good spirits and in good time to register and have a coffee before activities began.

First off Governor Douglas said a few words to rouse spirits and then followed a poignant reminder of what we were all walking and raising funds for - this year's ambassador family, The Meyers, (http://www.marchofdimes.com/files/chapterFiles/BTV_Amb__Mision_Sign_Sign2.pdf) got up and told the story of their triplets who were born 3 months prematurely in September 2007... one of their sons sadly died 8 weeks later after an enteric infection set in. Dad did ever so well making his speech considering he was virtually in tears the whole way through and I think he summed it up well when he said they were walking so that one day no mother would have to rock her baby to the heavens.

Jayne was of course in a teary mess by then and quite ready to get on with the walk...

Long story short the walk went very well and we accomplished the rather wet 5 miles with relatively few aches and pains. In fact, the biggest challenge for Jayne was mastering the en route portaloo - no mean feat with only 6 weeks of pregnancy to go!


THANK YOU!
Thanks to the generous support of so many friends and family Team Lock managed to raise over $500 for the cause. Tremendous!



Here are a few pictures from the day...

Not one to let a little bit of rain spoil anything Jayne has plenty of layers on to keep her and Bubs warm and dry

Adam and Safi came prepared for more of an exotic safari trip than the somewhat dreary lakeside walk! ;)

Vermont's answer to Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor Jim Douglas, who Adam has met three times now

Off we all go...



And on we kept coming... an estimated 300 walkers turned out despite the rain

Back at base 5 miles later!

HOORAY! American Flatbread were cooking up free nosh for the walkers on their return. Yum!

Back home a somewhat knackered and bedraggled Jayne and Bubs model their snazzy March of Dimes t-shirt.

Although the event has already taken place you can still find out about the cause and support it by going to http://www.marchforbabies.org/jaynelock