Hello everyone! We hope that you are all doing well and enjoying the summer weather! Sorry it's been so long since the last update, but we've had a lot going on lately. We had some visitors and did some traveling in April and May, and we've been in the US all of this month (June). We planned to write the update on our flight back to the US on June 2, but we were up the whole night before our flight, so we slept instead. Here's what happened - I had some work issues that I was working on the night before our flight to the US. I had to get it taken care of, or we would have to stay in London until it was fixed. Jill stayed up the whole night too because she was on the phone with Delta preparing to make alternate flight plans if we didn't make it. Thankfully, we got everything fixed - and talk about just in time - I went straight from shutting down my laptop to our hired car at 6:30am and headed out to the airport. As you can see, we had no choice but to get some sleep on our flight home. And we didn't want to spend our time working on the update while we were with our families in the US, so we hope you understand - we've been really good about getting the updates out regularly for a year and a half though! This update will only cover through May. Let's get to the good stuff...

My parents finally came to visit us (in late April)! I think they waited as long as they could - hoping that we would have moved home by now - and since we haven't moved back yet, they decided to come check things out. My dad and I are alike - neither one of us like flying - especially across the ocean - but he said the flight wasn't too bad. He didn't sleep on the plane, but my mom dozed off a little bit. My Aunt Janet and Uncle David came with them - we all had a great time!

When they arrived, they were ready to go - no nap for them (for those of you who don't know my dad very well, he usually goes to bed around 8:00 or 9:00 - so without any sleep, he was pretty tired - but he was ready to go and he trudged through it). We started off by taking them to see the London Eye, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, and some other cool London architecture. We finished up the evening with a nice dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant in Twickenham. Neither one of them has really had Indian food, so it was an experience for them - my dad liked it and my mom said it was "ok" - I think she would have been happier with McDonalds. I guess it's not for everybody.

After a good night's sleep, they went to play and I went to work. Jill took everyone to Buckingham Palace for the changing of the guard. They spent the rest of the day on the double-decker bus tour (highly recommended for first-time visitors to London). After work, I went out and met them at our favorite (well, Jill's favorite) Mexican restaurant. We finished up the evening a great play - the Lion King. Well, we thought the evening was over, but it was far from that. On the way back home from the play, there were some train issues and to make a long story short, our train wouldn't go any further, we finally tracked down a cab, and we ended up getting home around 2:00am - this doesn't sound too bad, but we had to pack and get up at 5:30am for our trip to Paris. Talk about a long day the next day!

Paris: We had a wonderful time in Paris - it was really cool to see everybody enjoying the sites and being able to show them around (Jill was actually the one showing everyone around, and this made things so much easier, relaxing, fun, etc. - I think she should become a travel agent - yes, she's that good). We did all of the major Paris sites - Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Concorde, etc. David and Janet have a friend who recommended an excellent restaurant for

us - we walked in and they just asked how we'd like our steaks cooked. Steak and fries - very good food and we even got second helpings. If you head out to Paris, let us know and we'll give you the name of this place - it's worth the trip! We finished up with some incredible chocolate crepes on the way home.

Normandy:
The next day, we took a train to Normandy for a day tour. Normandy is different from any place we've ever been - it's not like a "vacation", it's more of an "experience" - and it was very moving. 61 years ago, the allies stormed the beaches in Normandy - and this was the turning point of World War II. A very quick history for those of you who are not familiar with this invasion - Hitler and Germany were taking over the world and killing millions of innocent people. The Germans occupied the French coast and this was referred to as the "Atlantic Wall". The allies knew they had to stop Germany, and even though the odds were extremely against them on this invasion, they knew they had to do it. They lost many, many brave soldiers, but they succeeded - and they went on from there all the way to Berlin - and they defeated the Germans - and we are free today because of their sacrifices.

From east to west, the beaches were code-named Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, and Utah. We toured Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery, Utah Beach, and Pont du Hoc. Now we'll discuss what our guide talked about on our tour. Calais had the best German soldiers - Normandy had young soldiers, including captured British and Russian soldiers. Since Germany could not take England (at least yet), they built the "Atlantic Wall" of soldiers to defend the French Stronghold. The American Cemetery overlooks Omaha Beach - talk about a "moving" place - seeing this cemetery put tears in our eyes. This cemetery is actually American territory - the French gave the land to the US. All of the dirt, rocks, etc. was brought in from America - the troops are really buried on American soil. There are 1557 names of missing soldiers on a memorial wall. The cemetery was finished in 1948, and there are 9387 people buried there. God bless all of those who sacrificed their lives for the freedom that we all enjoy today!

There is a book about Eisenhower and lots of confidential information about this invasion and the war sealed underground, and it will not be opened until 2044 (100 years after D-Day). The reason they are waiting to extract the book is because they want to make sure that there are no soldiers left to see it. The soldiers landed on Omaha Beach during the low tide so they could avoid the obstacles placed in the water by the Germans. There were spiked poles with land mines attached to them all over the place. During low tide, most of them were visible, so this helped the allies avoid them. The first point of Omaha (a bunker) was won by the Americans in 6 hours. Omaha Beach was won in 7 hours.

The Allies used landing crafts - these were big boats made of all wood except for the front door (which was made of steel or some kind of metal). This helped better protect the soldiers as they were fired upon when they came in. Lots of soldiers were loaded into these landing crafts and the door was opened once they got close to the beach. As you can imagine, they were fired upon as soon as the door opened. Many soldiers died before they got off of the craft, and many others drowned on their way to the beach (remember how much heavy gear they were carrying with them). All of these landing crafts were made in New Orleans before being shipped to England.

Keep in mind that the night before the D-Day landings on the beaches, the Allies dropped many paratroopers during the night so that they could start clearing the mines and beaches for the soldiers coming in the second wave the next day. The first wave of the Canadians were late, so they didn't clear the obstacles and mines on Juno. Around 1500 soldiers died during the second wave due to this problem.

After the tour of Omaha Beach, we toured the Omaha Beach Museum. The US dropped 5853 tons of bombs during the war. People are still finding stuff from the war today. A Canadian soldier was found about two years ago and 200 German helmets were found when digging for a motorway. A landing craft door was found in 2003. The German graves did not have the age of the soldiers on them because most were younger than 18 years old. Since there was no big port around Omaha, the Americans made artificial harbors. Unfortunately, the waves from a storm destroyed them because of the way they were built straight out. You can still see a small part of one at the beach. The Germans made the French farmers help build the resistance. This ended up backfiring because they made maps of bunkers, etc. for the Allies, and this helped tremendously during the invasion.

Pont du Hoc is really a massive cliff as opposed to a beach. The Germans certainly didn't expect the Americans to attack there - and the odds were against them here more than ever because the Germans could look over the cliff and fire down on them as they were climbing up. There was one FULL day of fighting at Pont du Hoc - this is a LOT of fighting, and it can be put in perspective by realizing that Omaha Beach was won in 7 hours. 90 soldiers died before reaching the top of the cliff - 225 started. There was a bunker with a roof over it that held a cannon that could shoot all the way to Omaha Beach and to Utah Beach. They didn't have time to put the cannon in place before the attack, but the Americans already knew that it wasn't there. The Germans were pushed back behind the mine fields - they knew where it was safe to cross, but the Americans did not, so they fought and waited for the troops to come in from behind and surround them. There are huge bomb craters from the first wave all over the top of the cliff at Pont du Hoc - still there today - check out the pictures to see how massive these craters are. The Americans built an artificial airport near Pont du Hoc since there was no other airport nearby.

Between Pont du Hoc and Utah, the French farmers had built bridges with doors to flood their fields during the winter. The Germans used them to flood the fields, so many of the first-wave paratroopers who landed in them (they were off-course during the night jump) drowned due to their heavy equipment. Another interesting fact we were told as we drove from Pont du Hoc to Utah is that markers are built from here all the way to Germany to show the way to Berlin.

Eisenhower landed with the troops on Utah beach - some say he was crazy to participate, but he insisted on being with his men. They actually landed in the wrong spot, about 3 miles further down the beach. He made the decision to go ahead and attack there because there weren't as many Germans, and this turned out to be a great decision. There were only 70 Germans compared to 2500 where they were supposed to land. 24,000 American troops landed here, and there were 30,000 that landed on Omaha. Utah Beach was an easy beach to conquer, but the soldiers had more trouble later because there were so many trees, and snipers were all over the place. 200 soldiers died on this beach on D-Day.

The final stop on our tour was at the Ste Mere Eglise church. This is the church where the famous paratrooper John Steele of the 101st Airborn got stuck. His parachute got stuck on the steeple, and he hung there for a while, acting dead so the Germans wouldn't kill him. There is an artificial paratrooper hung on the steeple as a reminder today. The stained glass inside of the church is very unique - it has paratroopers, planes, and other war pictures honoring the Allies. This tour was incredible for me - my dad and I read a lot about World War II and the D-Day invasion, and it was really neat to see the beaches in person. It was really easy to get choked up on this tour, but it was something we're really glad we got to see. Seeing the beaches was a very eye-opening experience. I've read a lot about this invasion, but actually seeing what they were up against with my own eyes - I've even more amazed at how they won - I don't see how they did it. These soldiers are truly heroes - up against tremendous odds - extremely brave and courageous - selfless in their sacrifices - I thank every one of them - God bless them all!

Back in Paris:
After our day trip to Normandy, we took the train back to Paris. The next day, we went to the Louvre (Jill's fourth time), checked out the Opera House, and went to Notre Dame. We also went to Sacre Cour (Sacred Heart) church. This is a very cool area with lots of shops, restaurants, and neat little streets. It has a great view of the whole city of Paris as well. We got to the train station on time, but with the long line, were almost missed our train back to London - I'm not kidding. We were all running for it - Mom, I know I've said it before, but I want to say it again - I'm sorry this happened and that you almost had a heart attack! Next time we'll just jump on a closer car and just walk to our car through the other coaches.

London Again:
Back in London, I went back to work, and they toured Harrods and the Tower of London. I did take one more day off before they left though - and I went and toured Westminster Abbey with them (my first time too). There are lots of famous people buried in this church - it was really neat to see the graves in Poet's Corner - Chaucer, Tennyson, Robert Browning, and Charles Dickens. I found out from my uncle David that I'm related to William the Conqueror, Edward I, II, and III, and Henry I, II, and III. We also did Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, and Piccadilly Circus, and along the way we had a Belgium waffle and stopped into a pub for a pint of Guinness.

My mom did really well on her feet the whole trip - we walked more than she's probably walked in 20 years, but she did great! My dad was exhausted - he wouldn't really admit it, but he's not used to staying up late and not sleeping much - he went with the flow like it was no problem. I'm so glad they came to visit - they had a lot more fun than they thought they would - this was their first time overseas. I'm hoping that it opened up their eyes a little, and they want to do some more international traveling. They have talked about coming back and going to Venice, Scotland, or Ireland. I can't tell if they are just talking or not, but I hope you do come back over here! I know everyone was very thankful to have Jill show them around - she really made it easy on everybody. Without her, this trip would not have been as good as it was - they didn't have to worry about anything - Jill was an outstanding tour guide! Mom and Dad, you better come back to Europe while she's still here!!!

St. Andrews, Scotland:
Before my parents (and David and Janet) came to visit, we went to St. Andrews - the "Home of Golf". We went up with Grant and Kelly - the boys played golf and the women went to the spa for a Swedish massage. St. Andrews is a very small city with a population of 18,000 + 6,000 students (including Prince William), and EVERYONE plays golf. There are TONS of courses all over the place - almost all shops are golf shops - it's all about golf. This place is every golfer's dream. I've already asked my fantasy football group to put this in the calendar for our draft destination for our 20th draft - I'm serious!

There are six Links courses here - The Old Course, New Course, Jubilee Course, Eden Course, Strathtyrum Course, and Balgrove Course. Course No. 7 is currently under construction and will open in 2007. Grant and I played the Strathtyrum and Eden Courses. We would have played the Old Course, but you have to have an official handicap of at least 24, and you have to book several months in advance.

The Strathtyrum Course was opened on July 1, 1993 and became the first new 18 hole layout to come into play in St. Andrews for almost 80 years. There are only 15 bunkers, but they are cunningly placed. These plus the moldings around the greens make iron play accuracy a must. The greens have slopes and burrows which can make taking more than the regulation two putts all too easy. The Eden Course was opened in 1914 because the Old, New, and Jubilee Courses could not handle the amount of players. The use of natural features and partially buried field boundary walls gives the course an entirely natural feel.

We woke up the first morning, and the weather was horrible - it was raining, windy, and very cold. Fortunately for us, our tee time wasn't until 2:30, so we went to lots of golf shops and the rain was almost gone by the time we started. But the wind and cold were still there - and when I say wind, I mean WIND! We both ended up buying a pair of waterproofs (pants) in the shops - it is very normal to own at least one pair of these in Europe - the weather is so unpredictable, they play in the rain all the time - no need to wait for a nice day - just plan it and play no matter what the conditions are.

The courses are pretty deceiving - they are a lot tougher than they look - the rough doesn't look too rough, but you'll soon find out how rough it really is when you try to hit out of it. There weren't too many bunkers on these two courses, but they were in spots to guarantee that you got in them - and the lips on these were steeper than the wall of my house. The back of the bunkers tended to slope downward, so it helped your ball roll right up toward the front of the lip - I only ended up in one, and it only took me two strokes to get out. Grant made his bunker shot look easy by putting his ball right up next to the hole - I'm still wondering if he picked it up and threw it! The courses had a very natural look and feel to them - they weren't all done up with fake waterfalls and stuff. The ground was soft enough to take a nice slice of it, but the ball still rolled like it was on hard ground - best of both worlds there.

The Eden Course was the tougher of the two - there were a lot more bunkers and the greens were very hilly - we both started off with a nice three-putt on the first hole. Given that we went in April, I didn't have the whole summer to practice and get my swing sorted out, so I won't tell you my scores. I did get a par on each course though - and Grant got a birdie. Playing at St. Andrews was an experience in itself - just knowing that I was playing at the place where golf was invented was cool enough - you could definitely tell you were playing golf in the best golf place in the world. It was an amazing feeling.

Surprising, the Old Course is closed on Sundays, so we got to walk all over it before we left. It was really cool to stand on the infamous Swilcan Bridge. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club is actually only open to members - even if you play the Old Course. I acted like I didn't know and I walked in real quick to look around - I didn't get very far before the men and women in suits came up to me knowing that I was not a member. The place looked really nice, but I only saw the lobby.

St. Andrews is a neat little town - they were getting prepared for the British Open that takes place in July. Like I said, almost every store is a golf shop, so I actually enjoyed shopping more than Jill for once. The courses are not too expensive to play either - our greens fees were only about $45 per round. In fact, all courses except for the Old Course costs about that much. The Old Course costs around $230 to play. But get this - if you are a St. Andrews resident, you get to play all the golf you want on all of the Links Courses, all year, for about as much as it costs others to play ONE round on the Old Course. They have to pay extra to join a country club, but those costs are extremely low too. Think about how cheap this is - they get to play unlimited golf on the best courses in the world for about as much as it costs us to play 5 times on regular courses. They do this as an incentive for golfers to retire in St. Andrews - and they do - people from all over the world move to St. Andrews to retire. This town still has the "golf for the community" motto - they want to take care of their own. If you are a woman, or a "non-golfer" I should say, then St. Andrews is not for you - there's just not much more to it (other than the ruins of St. Andrews Castle and the Cathedral). One last thing - remember the movie "Chariots of Fire"? Remember the running on the beach? Yep, it was filmed here - the beach can be seen from the 17th and 18th holes of the Old Course. There's also a pub called Chariots across from the Old Course's 18th hole.

Back in London:
The weather started to warm up a bit - we actually wore shorts and t-shirts for a day or so, but then it got cold again. We went out to the river a couple of times while the weather was nice and warm. We went to a BBQ place with Grant and Kelly - a place called Bodeans. The food was great - wings, ribs, BBQ plates, you name it - it had been a while since we had good ole BBQ. You could tell it was an American style restaurant because they had ESPN and were showing the Kentucky Derby. While we're on the subject, we had a great cookout with all of our flatmates not too long ago. Our house is divided into 5 flats, and there are a total of 9 of us that live in the house - everyone made it, the food was great, and it was a great time. It was nice getting to know everyone better, and some of them had me laughing harder than I've laughed in a long time - The picture from left to right starting on the bottom row is Cassy, Aileen, Juliette, Jill, Paul, Ian, Ed, Jack, Justin, Rachel, and Brad. Hopefully we'll get to have these cookouts all summer!

We went and saw Avril Lavigne play at the Apollo Theater - it was a good show, and it was a neat venue. It was a small place which made it a lot of fun - actually an old theater with the seats ripped out (except for the balcony). And we went to our first rugby match. We both really enjoyed the game, and we're hoping to go to some more games in the future. The weather was perfect - it was the hottest day this day had seen in 50 years - this was in May. These guys are tough - we don't see how there aren't more injuries than there are - and when someone is hurt, they keep on playing while he's down - it was weird to see that since we're used to the whole game stopping for injuries like they do in football.

We'd like to congratulate Chris and Kelly Isbell - they are expecting their first baby, Geno and Heather Preskitt - proud parents of Camden Lindley - born on May 11 weighing in at 9 pounds 9 ounces, Scott and Kim Carter - married on April 30th, and Kendyl Massey - recently married. We are happy for you all and wish you the best! We went to Patrick and Shameem's house to see their baby, Aaliya Yasmin, who was born on Valentine's Day. She is really cute and we enjoyed seeing all of you.

We have been in the US for almost all of June - will talk all about it on the next update. Be sure to check out the new pictures - London, Paris, Normandy, and St. Andrews. I just got an email from CheapTickets.com - you can fly round-trip from Atlanta to London for $325. You have to buy the tickets by August 31, and depart from November 1 - December 15, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, January 7 - February 1, and return by March 17. We hope someone will be able to take advantage of this deal - you have a free place to stay - please come visit! Keep in touch! We love and miss you all! Take care and God bless!