Just a Wee Bit of time in Scotland

Charlene, Michael & I took a quick trip up to Edinburgh while she was here. It is about a 4.5 hour journey via train, and it was very scenic.

We were only there for one evening, which was just enough time to hike all around the castle, check out the National Gallery, and eat at the friendliest Italian restaurant in the UK. The waiters there could not get enough of Michael, and took turns holding him while we ate our dinner. The free babysitting service was awesome, as was my dinner.

Our God-Fearing Little Girl

God-fear·ing –adjective
1. deeply respectful or fearful of God.
2. (sometimes lowercase) deeply religious; pious; devout.

During Mass, our priest invites the children up to the altar during the liturgy. He is very good at engaging them in banter and asking them questions about the Gospel, and the kids all seem to love it. Kate enjoys going up there about 50% of the time, usually only when we are seated on the aisle and she can still see us from where she sits.
Yesterday, she trotted down to the altar per usual. It was crowded, and our church is very old with only one aisle down the middle, so we couldn't see her. The Priest starts his sermon about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead, when he stops mid-sentence and asks a child at the front: "Are you OK? Do you want to go back to your seat? Where is your Mummy & Daddy? Who is the Mummy of this pretty little girl with the pink ribbon?" Then I hear a loud sniffle that I recognize as belonging to my offspring, and raise my hand, hoping that she'll see me and make her way back to our pew. But she stands there, petrified, while Father encourages her to walk back to me. Finally, I stand and walk down the aisle to the front and scoop her up. Meanwhile, the Priest is silent, the congregation is silent, and all eyes are on me & Kate, who insisted on wearing her Frosty the Snowman sweater yesterday, even though it is March. I agreed, thinking no one would really see her in it. Uh-huh.

When we get back to our seat, Kate announces is a very loud voice: "Mommy, I scared. I scared of JESUS".

Half a Year

Michael turned 0.5 on the 6th. Hard to believe that our baby is halfway to being one!

In honor of the big milestone, he started solid foods. He has been solely on momma's milk until yesterday.

His first taste of real food came in the form of tasty bananas. At first he didn't know what to think, but he got into it very quickly!

Gimme more!




That was so good.


Kate is loving playing with him. This morning she was showing him how to build a tower. Very important stuff, you know.




I'm excited about making baby food for him. I loved making all of Kate's baby food, and the selection of organic fruits and vegetables here ensures that he will have an excellent diet.

All Aboard!

The Hogwart Express. Yes, it really does exist. Well, at least the platform does. We didn't see the actual train.

Tower of Doom

One of the things that I've always wanted to do was visit the Tower of London. The Tower was built by William the Conqueror, beginning in the 1070s. It was intended to be a fortress to protect the monarchy in war and as a powerbase in peacetime. It is most famous today as the site of many executions and torture, although it has had various uses throughout its history, including a menagerie, Royal Observatory, a prison, royal residence, a mint and storage.

I never realized how large the Tower really was...I always just thought it was a singular tower or two.






The Yeoman Warders are the keepers of the Tower. They are part of the Queen's personal guards. I didn't realize that they actually live within the tower. There are 36 of them, and there is a lengthy list of requirements to become a Yeoman. They have to be retired military of a certain rank from the British Army, Royal Air Force or Royal Marines. Members of the Royal Navy are not eligible since they take an oath to the Admiralty, not the Royal Crown.


We were lucky enough to be just in time for a free guided tour led by the Yeomans (aka "Beefeaters", just like the Gin!). They are called Beefeaters because back in the day, most military men were only able to afford to eat mutton. The Yeomans, being the privileged bunch they were, had beef as part of their payment rations. Hence the name. See, aren't you glad you came here today? Tell that fun factoid to your friends and impress people.



This is traitor's gate, by which prisoners entered the tower for imprisonment.


This is known as Bloody Tower, gaining that name in the 16th century because of the murderous deeds which took place there.



The famous Ravens:




Charles II ordered their removal after they proved damaging to the Royal Observatory which was in the Tower. He was then told of the legend that if the ravens were to leave, the monarchy would crumble. So he limited their number to 6, and there have been ravens there ever since. Their wings are clipped so that they remain on the grounds. Most of the ravens were killed during the Blitz in WWII, so ever since then they have kept 9, just in case. Those Yeomans are practical like that. All of the ravens have names, and the average lifespan of the Tower ravens is 20+ years (which is really long for a raven, apparently). I'd live a long life too if I was living in the lap of luxury like these guys.



Michael stayed awake during the tour. He wanted to make sure he didn't get near any of the torture instruments they had on display.

You Say It's Your Birthday...

With apologies for not getting this posted yesterday.



Hopefully this extends the birthday fun for another day.
Hope you had a wonderful birthday Sami! We love you!

We Love Visitors!

Not only do they bring us goodies from home (See's Candy, Chocolate Chips & Yankee Candles-thank you Grandma!), but we get the opportunity to do fun touristy things.

Danny's mom came in for a visit, and we had a fabulous time showing her our new home. I had tried to warn her about the amount of walking and stair-climbing that our lifestyle requires, but I'm still not sure that she was entirely prepared!


We spent a day at Hampton Court Palace, which was a royal retreat just south of London. It was originally the private home of Cardinal Wolsey, who was Henry VIII chief minister. Henry decided that the time had come to trade in his starter wife, Katherine of Aragon, for a new one, Anne Boleyn, and the Catholic Church did not agree. So of course, like any reasonable person, Henry decided just to start his own church and declared the Catholic church illegal in Britain. Cardinal Wolsey was no longer an ally, and his home was seized by Henry.



It was an amazing visit, and we can't wait to go back. Most castles and palaces I've visited only allow you in a few select rooms, and at the end you think "I paid $25 for THAT?", but this one was well worth it. Most of the palace was open to tour, and there were amazing gardens as well. Kate loved the daffodils so much that she couldn't even focus on one of her favorite activities, posing for the camera. Hey Kate, the camera is over here.







The Tudors loved to drink wine as much we do, but they had a better wine cellar.


Kate even had time for a quick Latin lesson.




Michael...well, Michael slept through the entire thing.