The Last of the Highland Pictures

On day 4 we did some more exploring on the Isle of Skye. This is Blake at the Quiraing. I read that it is a great place to hike, and it was very beautiful.We didn't do any hiking with our little ones, but we found a nearby stream to throw rocks in while we enjoyed the view and ate a snack.Next up was Kilt RockDiaper change at Kilt Rock

(Note the important camping equipment about to tumble out the car door - Junie B. Jones book, teddy bear, light saber, bucket for sand castles, lysol wipes. Makes me laugh - kids are fun)That vertical pinnacle of rock at the bottom of those cliffs is called the Old Man of Storr. We stopped in Portree for some lunch and souvinier shopping.

Fish and Chips (and chicken nuggets for the wimps).


This is Amy at Dunvegan Castle.





We spent the rest of the day at our campsite, just letting the kids run around and play. They got swords from the Dunvegan Castle gift shop for being such good sports on this trip.

These guys were awesome campers


On day 5 we started the LONG drive home. We stopped at beautiful Loch Lomond on the way and had a picnic. Blake is in his PJ top in this picture because he went through his clothes much faster than I had anticipated.

The Highlands: Part 2

On day three we packed up our camp and drove to the Isle of Skye. On our way we stopped to see a beautiful castle - Eilean Donan on Loch Duich.

Once on the Isle of Skye we drove down toward the Cuillin Hills. Down a single track road in the middle of nowhere this trail can be found:After a one mile hike we suddenly came to the Fairy Pools. These pictures just don't do this place justice. When I saw them it actually made me catch my breath. Beautiful pools of water, one higher than the next, connected by little waterfalls. There were only a handful of people there - this place actually wasn't in either of my Scotland guidebooks, I just happened to read about it on a Scottish website. It was by far our favorite spot on the trip. The kids started out by just dipping their toes in, but all three ended up completely drenched by the time we headed back down the trail.

After the fairy pools we headed to our campsite in Dunvegan. We set up camp and then set off to find the nearby coral beaches. It was a 1.2 mile walk to get to these strange beaches, but it was absolutely worth it. We were the only people on the beach, we had a picnic, skipped rocks, and collected shells.

The beach wasn't actually sandy, it was made up of little bits of coraline algae skeletons. It was a bit rough to walk on, but the kids didn't seem to mind.

Starting the long walk back

Looking back at the beach

One of the really neat things about this camping trip was that the sun didn't set until 10:30pm, and although it did eventually start to get a bit dark, even at 1am there was no need for a flashlight.

Stay Tuned for days 4 and 5!

The Highlands - Part 1

Last night we got back from a five day camping trip in the Highlands of Scotland. We came back filthy and exhausted, but we had an amazing time. On monday we drove up to Loch Ness and set up camp at a little campground in nearby Cannich. This is the boys enjoying a dinner of french toast and sausage. Later that evening we drove up Glen Affric - said to be the most beautiful glen in the highlands. The river starts to drop off at the bottom of this picture, which is the beginning of Dog Falls. On tuesday morning we started our drive around Loch Ness. We stopped in Fort Augustus at the bottom end of the lake and watched boats going up the locks of the Caledonian Canal. Cade was upset that we made him leave his sword in the car when we got out at Fort Augustus because he wanted to fight the "pirates" in the "pirate ship" that was going up the canal.

Next it was on to the Falls of Foyers, which is a series of 2 falls, this is the upper falls.

At lunch time we had a picnic on the shore of Loch Ness, and then spent a couple hours playing in the water and throwing rocks. I expected the water to be icy cold, but it was very pleasant.Amy can someday tell her grandchildren about the time she fell into Loch Ness and got very wet.Blake helping Amy

Last on our list for the day was a drive to the Black Isle and a shady walk to the Fairy Glen, which is a couple waterfalls set deep in a shady glen. The kids ate icecream along the way, and Cade fell asleep which made for a very sticky, melty mess.

Saturday Again

A little village near us has a place where you can pick your own strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries and currants. Right now strawberries are in season so we took the kids and picked a basket full. It was definitely a two parent job - one to keep Cade from accidentally stomping on all of the strawberries as he walked along, and the other to make sure the berries that were picked made it into the basket. I'm excited to go back again- I don't even know what gooseberries are, but I think we may need some.

After lunch we drove to the beach at Felixstowe (that's East of us, mom) where Blake immediately headed into the water to try out his new wellies. Shortly after that it started pouring rain and Matt took the bags he was carrying and ran for cover. I couldn't leave because the boys were playing in the water, but Matt had the beach bag that was holding all of our umbrellas, so I had to stand there in the drenching rain until it stopped and Matt sheepishly came back. Eventually the sun came out and Matt and I sat on a blanket and ate our very first British fish and chips (Delicious) while we watched the kids play.

Amy and Blake spent the afternoon filling their bucket with little jellyfish-like creatures and giving them names like "jelly", "peanutbutter", "whole wheat bread", and "fat free milk."

El Kitchen

Here's our kitchen - it is so much fun to cook in here. We had to buy new cookie sheets and stuff because stoves out here are smaller, and it has been very interesting trying to convert temperature from Farenheit to Celsius whenever we use the stove (which we now call the cooker).
the door in the background leads to a laundry room, which leads to an office. Washing machines are also much smaller here, and ours is eco friendly and only uses cold water. It also takes 2.5 hours to wash a load of clothes. I've timed it.Popsicles and a thunderstorm (and a glass ceiling)

Here You Go . . .

My family has been asking to see pictures of our place out here, but I am still unpacking, so for now I'll post the two rooms that are finished. Here is the boy's room.
And here is the master bedroom. Check out the awesome window above our bed! I've seen these on a lot of houses out here and someday when we settle down buy a forever house I'm going to insist on a window just like that. It is so lovely to fall asleep and listen to the rain falling on the window above us. Oh, and I would like to point out that we are renting this house and I DID NOT choose this paint color. It's a dusty rose color, and I have slowly learned to just ignore it.View from our bedroom window (not the awesome window, the regular window) at 10pm.

Drive Along the Thames

Today we decided to go for a drive along the Thames west of London. We stopped in the town of Henley where we walked along the river, got ice cream, and Cade was almost eaten by a swan (They don't run away like ducks and pidgeons do). There were lots of people out today, strolling along the river or lounging in the grass, and boats were slowly making their way up and down the river.We also stopped in Pangbourne where Kenneth Grahame, the author of The Wind in the Willows lived. The illustrations in his book were based on this area. Amy and Blake kicked a soccer ball/football/(whatever you call it) around in a grassy field along the river and Cade chased a stray cat. There were actually kids swimming in the Thames and I was envious of their courage - I have a paralyzing fear of swimming in places where I can't see what might be looking up at me.

We got a late start on sight seeing today, so by the time we were finished hanging out in Pangbourne it was late and we headed home. On our way back we got to drive through the Chiltern Hills and it was BEAUTIFUL!

Taking the Leap

So I have always been a propane guy. At least for my entire adult life. At least for the entire three years that I have owned a propane grill. We didn't bring our nice grill over here for fear that some Mad Cow quarantine would prevent it from coming back with us, but I have been Jonesing for a burger for a while now. So tonight on my way home from the grocery store I took the leap and picked up a Weber. It took a little longer to get the coals ready than just pushing the 'ignite' button on our other grill, but the burgers and dogs were worth the wait. I'm not saying I definitely prefer charcoal over propane, but the meat sure was delicious. Even the kids ate them which is no small feat:

Thought Provoking Question

Dinner With Dad

Blake has the world's most energetic kindergarten teacher. In the three months that we have been here they have had a movie night, a fancy Mother's Day breakfast, a family nursery rhyme night, Philippines day where they made Adobo and Lumpia, Japan day where they tried sushi, a young authors tea party, a talent show, and a few days ago we had "Dinner With Dad" in honor of upcoming Father's Day. They had relay races like this one where they had to race down the cafeteria and back while holding an apple between their foreheads . . .

And they had to race to the chairs where they sat on and popped balloons . . .The kids had made shirts for themselves and their dads. Other dads had shirts that said things like "Cameron's Giant Dad" or "Kyle's Handsome Dad." This is what Blake chose:

What we did today

Today Amy bridged from Daisy to Brownie Scouts . They had a big bridging ceremony in the high school gym. Amy and all of the Daisies sang a song together up on the stage, they recieved their pins for their brownie uniform, and after the ceremony was over they celebrated with cake.While Amy and I were doing scout stuff, Matt and the boys drove to London to pick up our cat from the airport. Our very sweet old neighbor has been watching her since we left in March. Black Ears couldn't come with us when we moved because her 6 month waiting period after getting her rabies vaccination wasn't up yet.We celebrated her arrival with cupcakes!

The Black Widows

Blake's last TBall game is tomorrow. We have had so much fun going to his games and hanging out as a family. Amy has decided to give softball a try next spring - Matt bought her a mitt and she loves playing catch.

Matt was thrilled that he got to be the 1st base coach. He loved this Tball season even more than Blake did.

Skipping
The mighty Black Widows
Had to throw this one in because I like it.