Dry Erase Markers

Siena wanted to work on writing her letters during quiet time so I left the dry erase marker with her with the conditions that she wouldn't use it to draw on her bed, blankets, toys or carpet.  She's a very obedient child and followed my directions.  Next time I guess I need to include her face.

But I really couldn't be that upset at her because apparently it's in her genes as documented by this picture taken 5 years ago.

 All of her doodling has paid off though because yesterday she spelled her name for the first time!

U.K. part 6

Edinburgh was our last leg of the journey.  The last day we were there we walked for at least 8 hours straight.  It was so cold out!  Thankfully there was lots of shops to step in to and warm up.

With William Wallace

 I felt like we had stepped into a Lord of the Rings movie

 Holyrood Castle.  The start of the Royal Mile. 

Edinburgh Castle

After we left Edinburgh, we drove 8 hours back to Heathrow to catch our flight home.

It's been bittersweet since I've been back.  I'm so happy I'm with my family again, but I miss Scotland so much.  It felt like home to me.  The people there were so incredibly friendly and the history surrounding the land was breathtaking.  I had so much fun with my mom and sister on this trip and I can't wait until we get to do it again!

U.K. part 5

The North Sea at Stonehaven.  Quite possibly my favorite place in the whole world!

 Dunnottar Castle near Stonehaven.  This was by far the coolest castle that we saw.  It sat against the North Sea up on huge bluff

From the castle we saw a pod of 20 dolphin swimming right off the shore.  It was kind of a picturesque moment.

 

 Glamis Castle.  Childhood home of the Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth the 1st. 

 I can only imagine this is the kind of castle most little girls dream about.

U.K. Part 4

Brodie Castle.  Honestly, the least impressive of the castles we saw.  It was home to something pretty amazing though...

 We affectionately named this horse Brodie, after the castle.  I don't think Brittany was happier than when she was with this horse.  He was so sweet. 

 Huntly Castle, originally called Strathbogie.

 This is pretty much how the trip went for the three of us.  Brittany and I were all fun and games, but I think it was more torture than anything for my mom.  (Sarcasm implied!)

 Culloden Battle field.  Apparently in the movie Braveheart this is where William Wallace had his big last battle, but Culloden happened 400 year before William Wallace was even born.  We didn't find this out until after we came home, so Brittany's "You may take our lives, but will never take our freedom" speech below was a little inaccurate. 



U.K. part 3

Easter was spent traveling almost all day.  We took a windy road that traveled through the highlands and up the Loch Ness.  Our plans had been to attend church that day, but since it was the Easter Holiday, we were not able to find a hotel near civilization and were hours away from a chapel.  Thankfully there were plenty of sights to see along the way that did not require spending money.

 

Inverlochy Castle near Fort William Scotland. 

 Urquhart Castle near Loch Ness.

 Nessie!

Our destination that day was Inverness, Scotland.  Pictured below is Inverness Castle.   

 Such a beauty!  (My mom, not the castle!)

 This is where the Lady Flora McDonald saved Prince Charles by dressing him up as a woman to save him forever giving him the name, the bonnie Prince Charles. 

 This is the view from the castle, overlooking the river.  The building you see to your far right is where our room was for two days.  Across from our bed and breakfast was a beautiful cathedral.  It was quite the experience to step outside your hotel and see a castle every day. 

One of my goals on this trip was to eat haggis.  I'm pleased to say I accomplished my goal and although I may choose to never eat it again, it wasn't really that bad.

U.K. Part 2

From London we rented a car that we used the rest of our journey.  We logged in over 1600 miles of U.K. soil on our trip.  Because my sister had just had surgery on her shoulder a few weeks prior, I was the primary driver.  I'm not going to lie, the first few hours of driving on the other side of the road were terrifying! I really ended up loving driving on the other side of the road though.  I had so much fun in round abouts and taking corners in our VW Golf.  Since I've been home, I've even had urges to drive on the wrong side.  It just felt natural after a while.

Our first stop outside of London was Bolsover Castle.  It was an incredible sight to see from the highway.  

Again, it was freezing and any chance we got to warm up, we took it!

One of the best parts about our trip was going to visit the farm my grandpa Scotty grew up on in Strathaven, Scotland.  The home he lived in with his parents was still there, but had two homes built off it to accommodate the generational family that was living their now.  They welcomed us into my grandfather's home which was undergoing a remodel, but we got to get a sense of the life my grandfather had lived as a youth.

U.K. part 1

Part 1 of I don't even know how many!  There are just too many photos I want to post and I'm not good about being selective about photos.  Here is Day 1 and 2 in a nutshell.

 

We left Portland on March 26th at 8 a.m. and arrived in London at 6 a.m. the next day.  We were exhausted, but as soon as the we came into view of the landscape on the plane, adrenaline kicked in and we couldn't wait to get going. 

Our first of many self-portraits.  (at Heathrow Airport)

From the airport we took the Tube to Victoria Station in downtown London where we stored our luggage until we could get into our hotel. 

 

We spent two full days in London taking in the sights.  It was beautiful and full of history, but so incredibly overcrowded.  Two days was the perfect amount of time there, anymore could have been overkill. 

 At Trafalgar Square. 

We spent most of the first day on the tour bus looking at the sights.  We didn't even attempt the upper level the first day as it was FREEZING outside.  It even tried snowing on us.  We were so cold and honestly miserable by the time 4pm rolled around that we decided to get off the bus at Trafalgar Square and walk the mile back to our hotel so we could get warm and sleep.

 The second day was infinitely better than the first.  We dressed appropriately for the weather and faired much better.  Despite the cold, we even made it to the top of the double decker that day.

 We took the tour of the London Bridge and Engine room.  Honestly it was a little boring and kind of waste of that much money, but at least we can say we've been to the top of the London Bridge.

 The London Eye.  We did not go on it, but it was quite the sight to see.

 Big Ben.  Our hotel was less than a mile away from here and if you were outside you could hear Big Ben chiming every hour. 

Kensington Palace, home of Prince William and Dutchess Kate. 

 

We also saw Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and St. Paul's Cathedral.