Some final London sightseeing

Hanging out by Big BenWe took the Overground train to Richmond to see Kew Gardens. All Otis wanted to do was eat the flowers
A little over-excited about the flowers
Ty on the treeline terrace
Another day we went to Grenwich, because Ty hasn't been there yet. Of course it wasn't as excited as when I sprinted there with Nanette to see "the weather ball drop", but fun nonetheless.

Ty and Otis on the Prime Meridian
National Meritime Museum
All tuckered out on the tube after a long day. Otie makes a perfect heard rest. I think the lady next to me was sitting with her back to me so I didn't sleep on her shoulder.

Remember when....

Otis was 10 days old?


I don't think I ever posted these. Oh how time is flying...

6 months

As you can see from the soggy, ripped up corners on the paper- this month Otis is less interested in the panda, and more interested in eating the paper.

We went to our last appointment with Dr. Wengrowe- he kept saying, "I'm really going to miss this happy lad"

weight 18lbs 9oz
length 28 inches

I guess this is posted a little late, but I'm trying to get all caught up with pictures from here before we move. Otis is so much fun right now. He is such a little flirt. He is so smiley at strangers. I love going on the tube with him because everyone keeps so much to themselves normally, but he will just stare at someone until he gets there attention and it's so fun to see the happy reactions he gets from people.

He's 6 1/2 months now and just this week he is getting so sturdy and can sit up on his own. He loves eating real food...and loves rubbing it all over his face and hair- this deserves a whole post of it's own.

Smoooch

getting into position...going in for it...
a big wet one for his Dad

They can take away Ty's job, but they can't take away our FREEEEEDOM!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDF7QogcFmU&feature=related

We felt like we were in the movie 'Braveheart' the whole time we were traveling in Scotland. It was breathtaking and amazing and maybe our favorite place we've been. We decided that our new motto is, "When life hands you lemons-Travel. Then find a job".

St. Andrews- the birthplace of golf. Sounded boring to me, but ended up being a cool college town with so much energy mixed with cool ruins and an awesome quaint feel.
Edinburgh Castle- inspired J.K. Rowling's Hogwarts!



Edinburgh was such an amazing city. We loved the Royal Mile and all the cobble-stoned streetsPoor Otie was getting over a little cough and it was pretty cold so he had to view Scotland through the rain cover of the stroller (I'm going to get out of the habit of calling it "buggy" so I don't sound like a complete loser in Utah).



Ty was very excited to be able to play the Old Course at St. Andrews. He played with this group of Scotsmen which made for a very authentic experience

Swilken Bridge at the 18th Hole
Teeing off at the Road Hole
I love you Scotland.

No one can say it like Neil...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtMmSU88PdA

So the decision ended up being made for us. Before we took the trip to Qatar, they decided that they didn't need anymore Jr. Associates there. I must admit that I am pretty relieved that we didn't have to make the decision. It was the risk averse side of us that thought we should maybe go to Doha for the job security, but we never felt quite right about it.

So we're coming to America!! We'll probably be moving in the next month or so. We're going to live in my parents basement until we figure out what is next for us. We're excited, sad, nervous and freaked out. The last few days have been quite a roller coaster, but we feel peace about it and are very excited to be closer to family and friends!!

Not part of "the plan"

This is not part of my 5 year plan. This was not supposed to happen, it's something that only happens to other people. I feel like I only blog about the good times with us, so I might as well blog about the bad, or to stay optimistic- the unexpected. Last week Ty's work announced that it was eliminating 190 attorney positions and Ty's was one of those affected. Different from lay-offs in the US, the UK has redundancy consultations which require UK companies to try to find another position for the employee within the business before letting them go. Initially we didn't understand that there is a difference between lay-offs and redundancy consultations so we assumed that Ty had lost his job. We have now learned that Ty may still have a job but the only catch is that it is in Doha, Qatar.

Next week, we are going to visit Doha and Dubai to see if we would want to make the move. It feels like a huge decision because we are either going to end up in the states much closer to home (unemployed) or in the Middle East, much farther from home. However, given the state of the economy and the massive amount of lawyers that have recently been laid off, the opportunity to keep Ty's job is pretty tempting.

The last few days have been quite a rollercoaster. But it seems that our time in London is definitely over and this brings tears to my eyes. We will always treasure our time here. As for Doha, we are both excited and apprehensive and our minds change from one hour to the next.

I can only assume that we would have as many visitors in Qatar that we have had in London, so make your reservations now because they're filling up quick. Maybe Otie's first word will be in Arabic.

Spain

We stayed in a really cool town called Nerja. Otie was the best little traveler.

In the Caves of NerjaGuinness World Record for biggest stalagmite
taking a snooze on the beach


O doesn't yet get that sand is for playing and not for eating
We drove to Grenada to go to the Alhambra, an amazing palace and fortress built by the Moors
A big thanks to Ty's fam for giving us this backpack. It is perfect, Otis LOVES being in it. We were told that Spain was really baby friendly and that couldn't have been more true- everyone wanted to touch him and hold him. I couldn't get over how cute he looked in the pack, he just looks like a little monkey hanging on for a fun ride.


O and Ty checking out the Islamic architecture in the Palace



He also loved being in a high chair- he was barely big enough for this one, and after awhile he would get tired and just slump over the edge.

Arsenal Game

Ty got to the Arsenal soccer game ( I can't bring myself to call it football like they do here) with tickets from work.Ty with Cian, our friend from Ireland