Cheerio!

Well, its been a while, and so much has happened that I don't even know where to start! So here is everything that's gone down in a nutshell.

Graduation

If I had to sum up graduation in one word it would be -- BORING! Sorry, peeps, but its the truth. I have never in my life been to a graduation ceremony that was worth sitting through. Now I know many of you feel like this is blasphemous at best, but for ME, the graduation ceremony is exactly just pomp and circumstance. The real accomplishment of having gone through the MBA program and worked hard and endured to the end is in no way captured by listening to over 1000 names from the Marriott School being read off in rapid fashion (especially when you can't even whoop and holler as they walk across the stage). So Scott, I love you and I'm proud of you, and I'm glad that we might not have to sit through another graduation until Ethan graduates from high school!



The Vacation

Following rapidly on the heels of graduation was our much anticipated (and semi-feared) trip to England and Ireland. I'll be honest. I was basically dreading this trip. A trans-atlantic vacation with 3 kids under the age of 5 was not exactly topping the list of things I wanted to do before I die. However, one thing I have learned in my life is that it is all in the framing of things. SO, having expected the absolute worst, I was more than pleasantly surprised when the flight over went more smoothly than I possibly could have imagined. And despite the occasional (okay, the more than occasional) melt-down, lack of sleep, and a hospital visit with Sophie (yep), I would still say that this was the BEST vacation we have ever been on. We managed to pack in so much stuff its ridiculous. So now for your viewing pleasure, here is the Reader's Digest version of the festivities.

Ireland

Overview -- It was awesome to be able to spend time with Scott's parents, and even more awesome that they were able to clear their busy schedule to show us around this beautiful country. Luck was with us while we were in Ireland, because aside from a 15 minute sprinkle on our first day there, it didn't rain at all! Memorable moments in Ireland include seeing the Book of Kells on display at Trinity College, taking the double decker bus tour of Dublin, visiting this cutesy little store called Avoca (multiple times), oh and getting my finger smashed in the car door on the first day we were there (and then wondering the whole rest of the trip if maybe it was broken because it hurt so much!).

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Malahide Castle

City of Howth on the coast of the Irish Sea


Here is Ethan waiting to scare Grace while they were playing around some ruins near Glendalough.


And meanwhile here is Grace busily gathering "super cool" rocks to take home.


Walking along the trail to the lakes at Glendalough.


Trinity College at dusk.



The River Liffey at night.


View of the Ha'penny Bridge in downtown Dublin.

England

Overview -- We had so much fun hanging out with Scott's sister Kristin and her family. Ethan and Grace were basically in heaven playing with their cousins the whole time, and we had a blast, too. Beautiful weather continued to follow us in England and all I have to say is that the English (and Irish for that matter) countryside is absolutely idyllic. And the gardens, over there? AMAZING. Memorable moments include Chatsworth House, Tower of London, LONDON in general, Sophie finally learning to walk, experiencing the English hospital system, the Cotswolds, Oxford, and Cadbury World, to name just a few.

Here are some of my favorite pictures:

Does this bust look familiar to anyone?

Some of the grounds at Chatsworth House

The front of Chatsworth House -- look familiar?

The London Marylebone Train Station -- Scott's sister was so kind to watch our 3 kids (along with her 6!) so that Scott and I could see London on our own for our anniversary.

Outside the Tower of London

I had to eat me some fish and chips, right?


The Tower Bridge. Doesn't it look like a fake backdrop?

We saw Les Miserables -- which Scott loved. I had forgotten that there is no talking and only singing in the whole show. After 3 hours I was getting a bit antsy (Scott says thats an understatement).


This one's for Emily:
(Mind the Gap -- hahaha)


(hahaha)


A shot of Big Ben and the Eye of London taken near Westminster Abbey.


We also saw Wicked -- which I LOVED! It was really fun and Scott really liked it, too.



Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds.


Inside Warwick Castle.


Outside a phone booth in Oxford.


I like this picture because it really shows the beautiful color of the limestone that is used in almost all of the buildings in the Cotswolds (which is where Oxford is).


The goodness that was Cadbury World. (They're writing with chocolate).

And finally here is a photo montage of the 3 Amigos --Ethan, Grace, and their cousin Hannah were practically inseparable the whole trip. We are so excited that they will be moving back to the states this summer and will live less than 2 hours from us!!

Whew!!! Maybe that wasn't so Reader's Digest after all. Thank you so much to our fabulous tour guides -- Gordon, Janice, Kristin, and Blake!!! There is no way we would have had as much fun and seen as many things without you.

The MOVE
And now we're back to reality. The flight back was not quite so fun as the flight there, and the jet lag seemed to take a few days longer to get over, but life goes on and here we are in our last week and a half in P-town. There's nothing like moving to make you realize that you have way too much STUFF. As a result, I've already filled 8 garbage bags worth of stuff that will not be moving with us. We' re still waiting on people to finish fixing up the basement from "the flood" last month, and once they're done, I still need to go through everything down there to weed out the wheat from the chaff.

So, that's that. Congratulations if you're still reading. :) I doubt I'll have time to blog again before we move, so until then...