guess what?

The McKenney's have some news......

(click play and listen while you read)

I know what you're thinking -

and that's not it!

We are moving back down south!

I have accepted a job as the Lower School Art Teacher at 

Durham Academy in Durham, North Carolina.

We are thrilled to head home and be closer to family and friends.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Durham, England friends we will miss you tons!

The hills are alive (it's about time)

A few months ago Cullen and I went to Austria and Switzerland with our good friends Graham and Elizabeth.  I think I was a bit overwhelmed with the amount of pictures I took and all the editing, so I procrastinated posting.  I have yet to do much editing, but wanted to post anyways - it was an amazing trip!

VIENNA

 St. Stephen's Cathedral 

Schönbrunn Palace Gardens

A night at one of the wine gardens outside Vienna

The Belvedere Musuem 

Gustav Klimt, Death and Life

 

Karlskirche Church

The Leopold Museum

Leopold has one of the biggest collections of Egon Schiele's work (one of my favorite artists).

I also think Johnny Depp should play Egon Schiele in a movie - they look identical!

SALZBURG

  

INNSBRUCK

 

 The amazing sunrise we witnessed while leaving the city.

LAKE THUN

 

We took the boat to Interlaken and spent the night in Faulensee.

 MURREN AND THE LAUTERBRENNAN VALLEY

 

 The view from our hotel in Murren

We took a cable car to the top of the Schilthorn for a view of 

the Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau Mountains.

Graham and Elizabeth went paragliding  from Murren into The Lauterbrennen Valley.

  

Anyone want to meet somewhere fun?

Home for the Holidays

Cullen and I went home to Atlanta for Christmas this year.  

We had a great time being home with family and friends. 

We started off our journey home with a night in London.
We had a great meal at Polpo and saw
Les Miserables at Queens Theater. 






Here are a few highlights from our time in Atlanta.

The whole fam
 

Mom and Dad's amazing tree

Meeting baby Baddour

Hanging out with family

 

Celebrating with friends

New Years at the Lake

Happy Birthday Dad!

 

Thanks to all those who made our time home so special!

The hills are alive....

and we're off!

Cullen and I are off to meet our friends 

Graham and Elizabeth in Vienna.  

We will be traveling around Austria and Switzerland for a week.

More updates to come!

  credit

We moved to England August 10th 2011-

officially one year ago

(well a little more than a year now, but you get the drift)

Looking back it feels like we haven't been here that long and 

then in other ways it feels like we have been here forever.

Here we are, our first weekend in Durham

A lot has happened since then and we are thankful for this part of our journey together. 

This month I completed my old job and started a new job in the business school -
getting used to working 9 - 5. 

 I definitely prefer a teaching schedule and the surprises each day brings.

 

 England has so much to offer and

 we still love exploring and of course taking pictures of Weldan - 

 

Cullen and I recently discovered a new walking route that has become one of our favorite local spots. 

Also not sure if I shared our DIY project from a few months back.
One of our good friends gave us some old cottage doors and Cullen and I sanded and stained them to create a headboard.  



That's all for now.

I am back from my 3 week American adventure.  

Cullen and I spent two nights in London before I flew out

(where I realized my passport was still in Durham - long story for another post)

Then I headed to Boston for painting and photography classes for my MFA

Spent 10 days working in Boston

Flew to meet my family at Grayton Beach, Florida for a week

Then drove back to Atlanta for a few nights at home with family and friends.  

Now that I am back in Durham, I have been thrown into a crazy busy week at work, organizing an international humanitarian aid conference, lots of overdue school work, and the OLYMPICS!

So a few highlights from my trip

But more to come once life slows down a bit.   

BOSTON 
view from my dorm

Fine Arts Department

Hard at work

 

Red Sox Game

 

GRAYTON BEACH

 

Lindsay's Birthday!

 

ATLANTA 


Girls Dinner
 

Borderlands

Thanks to the Queen and her 60th year of reign we had Monday and Tuesday off last week to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.

credit

Cullen and I went to Scotland with some friends for the long weekend.  We stayed in the beautiful estate, "Towerburn" that one of our American friends' parents own.  They were kind enough to offer it to us for the weekend.  

Towerburn is divided into a few apartments.  We were on the second floor on the left with the little patio.  The grounds were spectacular complete with wild pheasants roaming around.

Melrose Abbey 

One of the richest abbeys in the medieval world.  For all you Braveheart fans, legend has it that Robert the Bruce's heart is buried there.

Cullen and I went on a beautiful walk one afternoon up to Rubers Law. 

The view from the bottom of the hill:

 

These guys weren't so sure about us passing through their field 

 

I didn't have any group photos on my camera -

 I promise we actually went with friends!