Weston's Birthday Party

Weston invited over 40 people to his birthday party in Omaha last weekend. It was quite the bash! There was tons of food, a snow cone machine, a jumpy house, sprinkler for the older kids and of course, lots of gifts for the special birthday boy.

Robert, the grilling machine.

My sis, Weston, and me.

This is his new thing...throwing his head back when something isn't going his way. Kids are silly.

Weston with some of his neighbor friends.

Loving life.

Happy 1st birthday cake.

He had lots of help opening his gifts from all of his girlfriends.

Parties wear me out too.

Trying on our cool new shades, yo.

Stopped in Ankeny to see Tara, Laney and new baby Brodey. Love him!

Happy Birthday, Brooke!

Happy 2nd birthday to our niece Brooke! She is hilarious and we love her so much. Sometimes I forget she's only two years old because she's so tall and she does just about everything her big bro, Grant, does. Brooke adooores him and Grant thinks she's pretty cool too. So sweet! She is already a solid athlete (you should see her on the scooter and how fast she is when she runs.)

Here we are in September 2008 - meeting Brooke for the first time. She was three months old.

September 2009

Happy birthday, Brookie! We think about you all the time and miss you lots.

Best of Scotland

Is our two week dream vacation really over? Sigh....

I do believe it is.

It's hard to believe we left almost a month ago and have been back for a week and a half already. Time flies, my friends! Alas, we are left with hundreds of memories and treasured pictures. I will share my favorites...

Here we are at the airport eagerly anticipating our departure.

Our layover in Iceland proved to be a disappointment due to inclement weather.

Welcome to Scotland!

Thank you very much.

We flew into Glasgow where we spent the first night. We had a fabulous dinner and woke up at a decent time the next morning to explore before catching our 1:30 pm train to Edinburgh. The hotel concierge recommended we go to the Barras - a local "market". I asked if there would be food and he said, "oh, yes." He also told us it was a very popular place and that everyone would be there.

Great! We love checking out popular, well recommended places.

Except Barras was NOT popular.

We spent 30 minutes walking to the "market" each way and about 5 minutes going through it. It wasn't anywhere you would want to stay for longer than that.

Finally we found some good shopping and food and ended up meeting an adorable couple who told us that "no one goes to Barras." It was quite humorous.

We had been told to try Irn Bru.

We loved it.

This is our first dinner in Edinburgh at Maxi's Restaurant. 

Both of our meals were fantastic and made with fresh, local food. Yum.

Cheers.

Morning cup of tea anyone?

Edinburgh Castle - magical!

Goosebumps. Brought tears to my eyes.

Reminds me of our wedding. Love bagpipes.

There was a wedding at the castle the day we were there. That'd be quite the wedding!

One of our favorite parts of the castle was the dungeon where the prisoners of war - American, French, Spanish, Dutch and British - were all held during the War of American Independence from 1776-1783. 

We both thought this was really cool - an American soldier had carved an American flag and ship in one of the thick doors of their cell. It was the actual door, which I find fascinating for some reason.

After our three and a half hour tour of the castle, we made our way down the Royal Mile and stopped for lunch at Deacon Brodies Tavern at the recommendation of our FAB concierge, Scott, at Channings Hotel.

And guess what he recommended we have there?

Haggis, neeps and tatties.

Basically sheep heart, liver and lungs served with mashed turnips and potatoes. And a whiskey sauce.

Doesn't that sound amazing?

No, it does not. But it was really good. Like, really good.

It was a long day so we took a short nap in the sun. My favorite kind.

The next day we went on a day tour with Rabbie's Tours. Our first stop was Doune Castle, set of Monty Python's "Holy Grail." (Never seen it.) The fresh air smelled just like Minnesota.

Beautiful loch.

I make friends constantly. I can't help it.

In front of Kilchurn Castle, situated at the head of Loch Awe and surrounded by mountains. Loved. It.

"Rest and be thankful" pass to Loch Lomond. I love the story with this spot: Rest-and-be-Thankful are the words which are located on a stone near the junction of the A83 and the B828, placed there by soldiers who built the original Military road in 1753. The original stone fell into ruin and was replaced by a commemorative stone at the same site. The section is so named as the climb out of Glen Croe is so long and steep at the end that it was traditional to rest at the top, and be thankful that you had made it to the highest point.

It was beautiful. 

Here is Scott, our ever so helpful concierge. 

Packed and ready for our next adventure. Off to the Shetlands we go!

Multitude Monday

Counting my way to 1,000 blessings...

#321...A two hour drive...just me and my music.
#322...Hugs from a walkin' baby. (Not so baby anymore *tear.)
#323...Caring for our small garden.
#324...A Saturday morning run with my sister.
#325...Summer grilling.
#326...Girlfriends celebrating new babies and wedding anniversaries.
#327...Beth Moore and the way she cuts to the core.
#328...Finishing a really good book about God's will and plan for our lives (which is surprisingly uncomplicated and quite simple.)
#329...Having the house back in order after a two week vacation to Europe. (Pictures are coming!)
#330...Coming home to a handwritten love note. I love my man of words.

God has included you in his plans - have you included him in yours? - Paul L. Powers

Happy Birthday, Weston

Happy 1st birthday, Weston! You are such a little toot - I can't believe you're already walking. I have thought from the very beginning that you were going to have a lot of energy (could you possibly get it from your father?) and I was right. I love being your aunt and wish we didn't live so far away. I can't wait to see you very, very soon to celebrate your birthday! 

Here you are a year ago...

and here you are in May of this year. Such a big boy!

He's a walkin' and so pleased with himself! (sorry for it being turned the wrong way.)

Andrew, the Shetland Pony

I have over 1,000 pictures to edit and go through but I know you're all waiting for an update about my Shetland pony driving lesson. I hate letting people down, so I thought I'd touch on this topic rather than wait and include it with details about the rest of our (amazing) trip to Scotland and Ireland.

First of all, I got to go out to the pasture and help the owner, Jo, call in their 10 Shetland and Icelandic ponies. I wish I had a picture of them all running towards us, eager to go "work" but I was nervous and giddy and therefore didn't think to take my camera. Jo picked Andrew for this lesson. He seemed to be a good choice when she told me some of the others were a little wild. I like calm when it comes to large animals. We became fast friends. Of course.

Apparently Andrew has a lot of friends, which didn't surprise me one bit. He was a nice guy. He'd even let you sleep on his back if you were tired.

Jo taught me how to put all his "gear" on. I knew reigns and harness but the rest was new to me. A lot goes in to getting a horse ready to pull a cart!

Learning the hand movements to turn him right or left.

My turn!

Off we go!

After my lesson, Andrew took me, my dad and Tom for a ride. It was quite humorous and we didn't realize it cost extra until after it was over. No big deal. You only live once. Everyone needs to be pulled in a cart by a Shetland pony. Don't worry - they're very strong and the weight was shifted more on the cart than on him. I learned all about it.

Andrew back out to the pasture with his friends.

And then, in common Shetland fashion, the owners of the horse ranch invited us in for tea and soup. The people were so nice.

Dreams do come true *smile.