Finally Summer

Although it has been a long time coming, the rain has finally stopped and we have gotten to actually enjoy our first English summer. The weather for the past few weeks has been beautiful and still mild enough to enjoy life outside. Bruno has (as always) been taking advantage of being outside in the parks and loving every minute of chasing pigeons, stealing little kids' ice cream cones, barking at anything that moves, and trying to fulfill his lifelong dream of peeing on every blade of grass in existence. We enjoyed our first musical concert in the park too. It was called Ben and Jerry's "Sundae in the Park" and there were 17 different flavors of ice cream that you could eat for free once inside! Who could ask for more?!

I (Katie) have been enjoying working (yea! finally!) at a neurological rehab hospital. It is a "bank" position which means that I work when I want and when they need me. It is great for us because when we have people visiting or when we fly home, I don't have to work! The hospital has given me the option of basically working full time until Christmas of this year so I am getting plenty of work when I want it. Life in London is going much more smoothly now that I feel that I am actually giving something back to society and putting all my years of education to use.

Despite the fact that the bond market has absolutely been in the toilet recently, Scott is still loving his decision to move to London. Hopefully things will start picking up for him at work soon! In the mean time, he is focusing on his true loves...no not me and Bruno...but grilling, exercising, and napping. So things are going well for him. And speaking of true love, we are celebrating our 2 year anniversary August 13th!

Our trip for the month of July was to Lucerne, Switzerland. It was a great trip and such a beautiful place. We ate lots of Swiss cheese fondue and a ton of Swiss chocolate. We also took a cogwheel train up to the top of Mount Pilatus which was amazingly high and somewhat frightening. The angle of the train was about 45 degrees up the side of this mountain but it felt more like 90 degrees. We also rode the longest summer toboggan run in all of Switzerland. In traditional Scott-style, he almost hit me four different times because he was going so fast!

Brad (Scott's best friend) and his wife, Jocelyn, have been here visiting for the past week. And I think it is safe to say that we sufficiently wore them out touring around the streets of London. At one point, I made them sit in the front seat of the bus so I could show them some sights on the way home and they both fell asleep. Literally, Brad almost hit his head on the windshield! The four of us took a long weekend and went to Venice and Rome. We were exhausted by the end of it all but it was wonderful to tour Italy with some of our best friends. We ate our weight in pizza, pasta, and gelato! Venice was so unique and unlike any place that I have ever been. The waterways are really pretty and romantic (although Jocelyn says that they are so polluted that if you jumped in, it might eat away your flesh). Still nice to look at though! We also toured all the historical sites of Rome (Coliseum, the forum, Spanish steps, Trevi fountain, etc) and even got to see Vatican city, the Sistine Chapel, and St. Peter's Basilica. The Pope sends his love to you all! We had such a great time with Brad and Jocelyn here - we were sad to see them go! Bruno was especially sad to see his new friends leave! But that just means that the spare bedroom is open once again for the next guests to visit...so hop the pond whenever you can! Love and miss you all!