Tomorrow: Croatia & Slovenia!

It's been a while. Most of May/ June was spent in China and because of all the restrictions in The People's Republic, I didn't post.

After China, we celebrated 4 wonderful years of marriage in Thailand. It was a belated trip at the end of June, and it was incredible. The weather, the sun, the sea, lush flora fauna, exotic animals, and delicious food - it was a trip unlike any other. Unforgettable, I hope we go back to Koh Samui soon!!

We got back at the end of June and welcomed several friends in London. We saw Mark & Debbie, Thompson and his roommate Watson, Matt & Kate, some Huntsville people for the air show and a reception at Kensington Palace, and Walt with a few new friends from Birmingham and Atlanta. So much fun with so many friends! We saw Stahler off, so he's back home in the States, and we're making the most of our last months here.

Mark & Debbie

We got tickets to Wimbledon!

At first, we entered with regular grounds tickets, where we saw tons of singles and doubles, my favorite of which was watching Americans Blake and Querrey take on Marrero and Seppi. We also luckily got tickets for Centre Court to watch Novak Djokovic play American Ryan Harrison. It was awesome.

Novak and Ryan - we actual sat 6 rows back, right behind Ryan!

We also spent a day in Cambridge! We had so much fun. It's such a quaint and perfectly English town, full of academia and countryside. We had the best time and spent the better part of an afternoon taking tea at The Orchard Tea Garden in Grantchester!

Saturday we helped Alexander celebrate his first birthday at a beautiful party in Surrey. It was full-on fun with bouncy castles, kid entertainment, catered eats, drinks, and CAKE! Katia & Bobbie's amazing home in Oxshott provided the perfect setting for a classy but fun kid party. We had a blast.

Yesterday we explored Brighton with our dear friends Nate & Kate. It was pleasantly surprising and we had great weather and blue skies (that rarely happens here!). We walked around, saw the sites, and rode the rides on the pier!

Tomorrow Kate and I are embarking on an 8 day excursion to Croatia, Slovenia, and beyond! We're booking some of it as we go, but we know we're kayaking the Soca River, hiking around Lake Bled, trekking through Plitvice, and snorkeling along the Dalamtian Coast. Whether we go south and east into Bosnia, or we go north into Austria (or north west into Germany) will be game time decisions. Smart phones and the internet are amazing.

Lake Bled, Slovenia

Soca River, Slovenia

Plitvice National Park, Croatia

Dalmatian Coast, Croatia

When I get back, Grant and I will only have:
16 days until Grant's man trip to Iceland
21 days until his parents come to visit
23 days until his graduation

28 days until I'm turning in my dissertation early
29 days until we head for America the Beautiful

What a whirl-wind year of adventure!!