Happy Birthday to Ric and Dad!

Yesterday was a big day in the Yarmey/Bremer households. Ric turned 28 and my dad turned one year older than he was last year... (don't worry Dad, I won't give away the magic number). There was a weekend full of celebrating across the Atlantic, which included a Friday night in Leeds, Van Morrison in Hampstead Heath on Saturday, Sunday lunch at the Wolseley, and a home-made taco dinner on Sunday night (Ric's special birthday request).

Leeds was quite an experience. I've been told it's a "traditionally Northern" UK town, which I think means it's a little rough and tumble. We did see a metal detector (or "knife arch" as I like to call them) along with 20-30 cops stationed outside of a club that looked to be full of teenagers. That doesn't tend to inspire confidence, but the town overall was very nice. There was a gorgeous outdoor shopping area, and a couple nice/trendy restaurants. Now that we've seen it, there is definitely not a huge rush to go back.

Van Morrison put on a pretty good show... I've heard mixed reviews from people who've seen him. Sounds like he's either "on" or really not. And if he's not the in mood it can be an uninsipring show to say the least. This one was being filmed (not sure what for) so I think he was trying a little harder than he may have otherwise. He played some of his hits, including Brown Eyed Girl, and did a cover of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, which was cool. He played for 90 minutes exactly (which the signs all over the concert venue told you to expect) and everyone boo'ed when he didn't come back for an encore. I think he's just getting old and probably doesn't love performing live as much as he used to. I'd imagine it's more of a financial thing for him these days, but nevertheless it was really cool to see him live after listening to his CDs for so many years.

We're now getting ready for our next big trip. We leave for Kenya on Wednesday evening and are on safari for three days. Can't wait! I then go to Cape Town for a week to meet our new employees and see our brand new office.

Another big happy birthday to Dad and Ric. Here's to many, many more!