One conference and one trip down

Hey all!  I just wanted to write a quick update while I had a few minutes.  As reported in my last post, things have been very, very busy for us.  Last week saw us at a conference for work up in Grafenwoehr.  Not really much to say about that as it was work after all and I'd rather not have to relive the experience by writing about it.  However, after cutting out on a Thursday meeting early, we did manage to make our way up to Amsterdam for the long July 4th weekend.  What a great, great, great city that is!  Dawn, Jef and I all had a fantastic time up there and really hope we can go back soon.

The highlight of the trip to A-dam had to be experiencing the jubilation and utter craziness that ensued when Holland beat Brazil in the World Cup.  Having lived in Germany during the WC four years ago, seeing celebrations when a big win has occurred is nothing new to me.  However, this was different.  The entire city went absolutely bonkers, and for the most part, it was pretty civilized.  No overturned cop cars, no looting or burning of private property, and only one little scuffle that we witnessed.  It was really cool to see so many people so damn happy.  I'm not the biggest soccer fan, but I love the spirit of the World Cup.  Quite possibly one of the coolest sporting events on the planet.

I did take many, many pictures on the trip (600+) but it's going to take some time before I get through them.  I just have no time right now.  We leave for the Tuscany region of Italy tomorrow evening and will be gone for 9 days total.  I'm going to be so backlogged on pictures by the time this summer is over.........  Well, it will give me something to do when the weather inevitably turns bad in Germany! 

I hope everyone is doing well!