Terry & Jan Do London!

Near the end of April, Gramp Terry and Gram Jan arrived from Nebraska for a 10-day visit. Britain was in full bloom, and the weather was fantastic! Natalia made so many fun memories with her grandparents. We spent several days at home in Richmond, just exploring the town, walking along the river, and playing in the garden. We even took our first riverboat ride.

With visitors in town, we tend to get out a lot more and explore the local attractions. With my parents we saw the Tower of London, the Science Museum, Windsor Castle, and Kew Gardens. The grandparents also took Natalia on her third ride on the London Eye. On a couple of days, Dad ventured out alone and checked a few more sites off his list: Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Imperial War Museum, and the Hard Rock Cafe. He also went geocaching in Richmond Park. Mom and I enjoyed a day out in London and had a delicious dinner at the tapas bar at Harrods. That store may be a glaring, gaudy tourist destination, but they know how to do food!

It continues to amuse me, how small our world has become. We see more "passing through" friends now that we live in an international city. It's interesting how many people from our college and Seattle years have business here, or whose paths we cross for other reasons. During my parents' visit we connected with some Boeing colleagues (Brad and Jan) who were here looking for a house, as well as MBA-school friend Dave Janssen from Seattle. My college friend Lyle was in town at the same time; although we didn't get to see him, I still had to laugh that all of these people had a reason to be in London during the same week.

A new house always feels more like home after having family and friends under its roof. This certainly held true during my parents' visit; however, having them here at such a crucial time (6 months in) also seemed to increase our longing for home. Plans are in the works for a long summer visit to Chicago, Nebraska, and Seattle (watch this space!). Meanwhile, it's time to prepare for another Frazier invasion at the end of May: Monte's sister, brother, sis-in-law, and niece arrive in three weeks!

Mass quantities of photos from the month of April are available on Flickr; see the link at left!