Happy Birthday Scotty!

That’s right, the old man turned 31 on April 15. Although, his hip didn’t pop when he rolled over in bed like it did on his 30th birthday, I think Scott felt just as old this year because of his nagging knee troubles. He’s been saying he’ll need a knee replacement by the time he is 40, so I have taken him on as my first acupuncture client! He is a making a great pincushion for me to practice on so far and has only screamed twice (the sissy!). In celebration of Scott’s b-day, I surprised him with a trip to the OXO Tower for dinner. The OXO Tower has one of the best views in London overlooking the Thames (St. Paul’s Cathedral, Big Ben, Parliament, etc) and was easily the best “fancy” meal that we’ve eaten out since we moved to London. Bruno and I decided that the old man needed to keep up his exercise in his old age and we also got him a Nintendo Wii (thanks Jess and Jimmy for the recommendation and to Crazy Dave and Kimmie for assistance helping me get it across the pond!). In addition to working on our golf games and boxing skills, the Wii has truly allowed Scott and I unleash our inner Guitar Heroes. It is SO FUN!!! I highly recommend it!

A few months ago, Bub and Coach Roy had the idea to go to the Canary Islands after the basketball season. So naturally, we decided to ride their coattails and tag along! But since the TarHeels had such an awesome season and decided to make it all the way to the Final Four, Coach and Bub didn’t exactly have time to make it to the Canaries…but Scott and I did! We spent five days there soaking up some much needed sun, watching the kite surfers, eating great food, lounging by the pool, and enjoying being on the other side of the Atlantic. The Island of Tenerife is like of a mix of Hawaii (because it is a volcanic island) and Palm Springs (because the dry climate and dessert landscape). Because we haven’t seen the sun in London for months, Scott got a sweet sunburn. Let me just tell you how sexy he was on the beach - maroon on the front and ghostly white on the back. Despite Scott staying under an umbrella the rest of the trip, we had a great time. We even decided to get adventurous and go sailing on a whale watching tour. There were 5 of us on this small (at least it seemed small to me) sailboat on the windiest day that I can ever remember. The sea was angry that day, my friends. I think that the Captain said the wind was at 22 knots, which in Katie terms mean nothing except really strong and scary. I was white knuckled for the first 45 minutes because I thought we were definitely tipping over. I had my escape route all planned out and even strategically placed myself near the life preserver. That was until I realized that there was a really good chance that I might get seasick. Scott had taken some nausea medicine (I am sure some of you remember the deep sea fishing debacle). I figured that I would be fine, but the waves were like 20 feet trough to crest. Luckily, we saw a bunch of whales so it was all worth it. After the whales left us, the sea captain (Felix) sailed us back towards the coastline where it was a little less choppy and thankfully there was only one boat member that had to lose breakfast over the back of the boat – and it wasn’t Scott or me!

It has finally started getting warm and sunny here and actually feels a little like spring! Since the time has changed, it doesn’t get dark here until after 8pm and Bruno is loving the extra time in the park. Scott just left a few days ago for a business trip to Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand so Bruno and I are holding down the fort until he returns in week and a half. Otherwise all is well here. But the calendar for our summer visitors is still a little bare so help us fill it up! Love and miss you all!