Can't get enough

Orford Castle

Sitting on the pot in the castle. This castle had more 'toilets' than any we have ever been too. The Constable even had his own urinal or hole in the wall in his room. It was because he was that important. :)

They had some really neat artifacts in the museum. I think I enjoyed them more than the kids, but for a moment they thought they were cool.

This is inside the bread oven.

They put this oven on the top of the castle incase of any accidents they don't want the whole castle to go up in flames.

How big is this little man?

What a surprise Taylor and Carter climbing on the castle.

The big kids with 'Uncle' Garry.

Shit happens to most of us

So sometimes I feel like blogs are like church. We all dress up act like the world is our oyster and that nothing goes wrong. I read people's blog and how perfect this is or how wonderful that was. Rarely a complaint happens. If there is a complaint then it is softened by some humorous spin. I have fallen into this trap many times. Go back, you will see.
I may laugh about books being dumped from the shelf, cinnamon being thrown through out the house, powdered sugar everywhere. For the record..it is not funny and I do not like it!!! I may say, "oh look how cute mason was when he did this." Look how great it was when Carter got out every clean towel that I JUST put away from out of the dryer. They are now all over the bathroom floor as my 'new colored floor" that he thought would be a great idea. My point is this, all of us have a messy kitchen at some point in time. Well, unless you are my sister Heather. We are all afraid of everyone else seeing this disaster of a mess. We are all afraid of what someone might think of us. So here I am letting you all see my kitchen in the worst state possible. I told myself when I started this blog that I wouldn't put all this fake happiness on it if it wasn't there. Yes, most of the time we are happy people with great memories. However, I have a messy kitchen as well and I am glad that I am honest with myself about it.

Last but not least

This really was a fabulous trip. It went just as we wanted with the not surprising attitudes of children to make it all the more interesting. The RV was well worth every penny and I am happy to report it lived up to the expectations of the children as well.

We enjoyed coming upon many signs with names of relatives and such. It was fun just trying to snap a shot as we passed. It became kind of a game. We did miss a few that we would have like to get. If you see a sign you will know it was meant for you immediately. There is one with the pictures of the ships that you can't see the name. It was all about Clan MacKenzie.

One would have thought we might have looked at the tripometer and kept track of the miles we covered, but we aren't that smart. This is what will happen if you don't keep Hollie entertained in a conversation on your trip. She will randomly start making faces at the camera and snapping shots of anything she thinks will bring her a little joy. Maybe 8 days in an RV will make one go a little loopy. On that note I sign off of this blogging expedition that took almost as long as the trip. Once again if you are just checking this for the first time you could scroll down and then start at day one, it might make more sense that way.

This is Hollie I'm now "oot N aboot" (that was on a T Shirt in the shops) :)

Scotland day 8

Brennan was being pretty loud and crabby. All of a sudden he was quite and I looked back to find that Carter had helped the situation.

Mason thought that Freddie might make a fabulous snack on our drive into Edinburgh. His coloring on top is a little weathered now.

The International Festival and Military Tattoo were main events in Edinburgh on Saturday. That made for some big crowds and crazy times. The guy that was miming the statue was so good. Carter thought he was the best thing ever! He really was incredibly talented. Edinburgh Castle was a site to see. We didn't see the whole site but we managed as much as we could.

Carter did the audio tour and in the Great Hall he leaned over to me and said, "Mom, these are impressive walls."

The kids got to see the room where Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to King James. We had a read a little story about her and her life the night before. It was neat to have the kids learn some new things along the way. Even if they don't retain any of it they knew it for a moment and thought it was pretty cool.

The Great Hall was an impressive site as Carter said. The weapons everywhere for decoration were very cool.

When we were in line for tickets there was a man from Canada in front of us. He mentioned it looked like we had our hands full and he thought it looked great. We learned him and his fiancee are wanting four kids. Great, all the pressure now falls to our family while we are in this line to show this man that four children can be fine and nothing to be scared of. He did ask how we manage. Bribery was the first word that came from my mouth. I did tell him it was a lot of fun, that I wouldn't trade it in, and you learn so much that you couldn't learn in any school setting. The kids did great in that line so I feel we did our part in making sure he doesn't run home to his fiancee begging her that they have no children at all. :)

Back to the bribery. Ice Cream man was outside the castle and the kids were set on a 3 strikes your out law. Ice Cream being the reward as long as they didn't have 3 strikes. They all succeeded and enjoyed every last drop of the overly priced cold treat!

Mason was on top of Mike shoulders when we passed this musical group that was in the street. I would have got a picture of the group, but the camera was securely around Mike's neck. Mason was LOVING this music. Carter was in amazement and Taylor was dancing away. It was a bagpipe and drum group called Clanadonia. Carter begged us for their CD they were conveniently selling and we thought, "why not!"

Scotland Day 7

Rain, Rain go away come again another day. That best described this day. We stayed at a caravan site in St. Andrews a lot of this beautiful wet day. I had to do some laundry because the eight days and the extra clothing were all used up. Imagine that, the children went through more clothes than I anticipated. Good news and a highlight of my trip, the site had an American sized washer. People just don't even understand how tickled I was about that. So some good times in the RV and laundry, then we headed out. We knew climbing castles were not in this days future. On the map about 6 miles south of St. Andrews I saw a name and we had to drive there because it was even spelled properly.

That six mile journey is dedicated to my little sister. I went and surveyed the castle to see if it was a learning or climbing. After hearing it was a learning the kids were not thrilled about going and we decided it would be better to drive on to Edinburgh and get set up for the night. After we were a few miles down the road Mike says, "You know I would have hung out with the kids while you went in." Nice thought a little too late. :) Thanks babe.

I mentioned in the previous post that Mike had intentions of going golfing. He decided he would rather wait and try to actually get on The Old Course than just gold any course there.

This bridge is a train bridge built in 1890. We thought it looked like quite the accomplishment!

Teriyaki chicken was on the menu that night. After I taught Carter how to play War with our new deck of cards he was pleased with winning and thought he was cool stuff. Mike built a little rain prove hut beside the RV and it turned into a family fun time night. Mason was in heaven helping Dad BBQ and Carter always got in on it. Brennan was in heaven being outside until the late hours of the night. All in all this was our slowest day, but it was fun and relaxing.




Carter is eating his chicken. We looked over and saw him gripping it like an animal and ripping it to bits. Seriously, this boy loves this recipe(thank you Grand Forks Bowman family). We did tell him that we weren't living in the dungeons of castles and that he was permitted to eat with a fork.

DISCLAIMER

It has been brought to my attention that my grammar, my spelling, and posting has been a little crazy. We had a repeat, we did not go to the same castle twice...that was just me blogging to late into the night. I will try to slow down my brain and let it stay with my slow fingers for more blogging fun. 900+ pictures is a lot to keep track of and this week hasn't been the best to try and do all of this. Oh well, back to the last couple days.

Scotland..day 6

There were a few castles in the surrounding area of where we stayed and we started our day early and ready to roll. First castle, Craigievar, it was covered in scaffolding. I mean covered!! There was not a lick of that castle except for the very top spire that you could see. We decided not to let that hinder us from having some fun. The grounds were pretty neat to walk through and we found some trees that we have never seen before. Mike especially enjoyed this pine tree looking thing. The sap running off the tree was pretty cool because it was just collecting on the very tip, but would not fall. The tree that I am standing in front of with the kids was HUGE! There were plaques next to many of the trees saying types and such. This particular tree was 100 feet high and 22 ft around in 1975. I completely forgot to pack my measuring tape and so we could only say it is much bigger now. Because I did these days so that you are reading them backyards(thanks Jamie for pointing that out) some of you may not know about Taylor and hills yet. This was another moment where sprinting down a hill did not work out as planned. I guess technically it did because she did get there faster after sliding in mud and grass for about 5 feet. At least there was no blood this time around.

Castle Frazer was a learning castle and I thought the kids did great. They unfortunately didn't have an audio tour with this one, which Carter always enjoys. I really enjoyed myself in this one, they had some gorgeous paintings, interesting artifacts, and I wanted the library for my own. There were some books that I would have given just about anything to get my hands a hold of and thumb through for awhile. Maybe one day I will have that option. :) You don't get pictures of the inside because they weren't allowed. They had a little children's play area and the kids did that while I went into the garden. There are only a few pictures included here, but I got plenty more for you, Christy. :) We loved the super tall castle carving in the play area. When it started to rain there was a group that got up and packed it out. Taylor took her chance to go swing when they left and couldn't have cared less it was raining.

Favorite castle alert!! We just happen to glance on our map and realized how close we were to this castle. We decided to drive over and check it out. It was an incredible detour. There were a million stairs going all the way down to a beach area and then back up to the doors of the castle. So fabulous! I loves the green moss that covered much of the castle stone. There was a large water hole in the middle of the grounds. There were stairs going down into the water. This was gated off and had a big stone wall around it. We assumed it was used as a water source and our more adventurous spirits thought a secret way out of the castle during siege. :) There was one room that was intact completely. They had redone the roof with something that was there over 300 years ago. We left right as they were closing the castle door. They were using one of the biggest skeleton keys I have ever seen. Well, our kids are cute, so we asked if they could hold the key and have a picture. This was to show Aunt Kellie the wonderful key to the castle. She has a love of skeleton keys. :) If you enlarge the pictures you might see the gorgeous aerial view from our helicopter ride.

A small portion of the stairs we had to climb for this castle. The little dark figure is Mike hauling Mason back up the stairs who gave up effort going back up.

We stayed in St. Andrews that night with the intention of Mike golfing the next morning. Mike was like a little boy about seeing The Old Course and just getting the golfing vibe in the air. I know, cheesy. :)

Scotland Day 5

This is the flag of Scotland aka...The Cross of St. Andrew. Before we left for Scotland the kids and I had a learn about Scotland week in Mommy School. We talked about the flag and Carter was very excited that he remembered it was called the Cross of St. Andrew. He shouted, "Look the Cross of St. Andrew," EVERY time we saw the flag, anywhere. On someone's car, gift shops, flag poles, shirts, etc.

Loch Ness was next on the list and the kids were looking forward to finding Nessie. Although none of us saw her Carter does claim a siting for the famous Monster and he said she looks very big! If you look closely at the pictures you might see the newest Monster of Loch Ness, we call him Freddie. (Skye and Wynter that is for you). The kids were something very unique and special during this castle. Their temperments were not the best and that was a challenge. Food was a great reward at the end in the Cafe there and it was tasty. :)

Brennan was happy to be out of his carrier and getting some lunch.

Inverness was a pretty town, however, due to the for mentioned temperments of the children we opted to not struggle and find a parking place to go to a 'learning castle'. :) It looks like something that we will explore later in life.

I loved this sign and I don't know why. Just kidding I do know, it's a fork, plate and knife for crying out loud. So cute!

The Well of Lecht. Don't ask me, it just looked cool.

The roads were FREAKY!! Not all of them, but today's journey was especially adventurious. There were a few times I thought that we were going to have to decide which way would be better, into another car or off a road. Everyone fell asleep on this part of the journey. Mason had to have some M&M's before he took a snooze.

This was a little castle that we saw a sign for and thought to go take a look. The sign said No coaches or caravans, bummer deal. Carter, Taylor, and Mom walked the 1/4 mile up and had a look. It was actually really cool. There were some scary tunnels and rooms in the basement area. Carter wanted to go clear in and check it out. I had to use the flash on the camera to even see where we were going. Let's keep in mind it was still very bright outside. It was a really great, still mainly intact for climbing purposes, fun castle.

All that exporing was great and we were happy to get to our parking place a little earlier than normal so we could play and have fun with each other. What better way to pass the time than grabs some sticks and sword fight. Brennan found an old stump and was thrilled when he was able to climb on it. Pure excitement. We also took a walk into the local village for some milk and chocolate. You know, just the necesities.

Scotland Day 4

Monday we ended up pulling into a layby for the night. Mike was getting tired and we were not close enough to a Caravan Park to make it. There were a few other RV's and so we figured it was safe. At that point it was dark and we didn't see what a gorgeous sight we would wake up too. Mike and I slipped out before the kids woke up and enjoyed the fresh air with no noise. That didn't last long as we approached the front door of the RV the noise level increased and we found one child awake with turned to four awake very quickly. Our 3 minute respite was just what we needed to energize us for the day.

See what I mean about those clouds swallowing the mountains?

Mike was quite pleased on Sunday when he got accepted into the RV club. It was hilarious. Apparently when you have an RV and pass fellow RVer's you wave. Some were quite cheerful, others out of obligation. Then we had super enthuasists that smiled, waved, and even bounced a little. Couples participate in this fun game, so it is not just for the driver. NUMBER ONE RULE: You ONLY wave to RVer's. The people pulling caravan's DO NOT WAVE!!! We thought this was hilarious.

Inverlochy Castle was great fun. It is deemd by my family as a climbing castle and so everyone enjoys themselves. Mike likes to see just how high he can get and I could not let him have all the fun. Brennan was unstrapped and I had a bit of a climb myself. We had this man take our family picture as we were leaving and it would have been fabulous had he noticed Mason's head was not really in it that well. That is what you get for asking someone else...you are just grateful that you can be seen. As I was on top of the castle Mike was able to run and get a picture of this steam train that was flying by. The kids figured that was an extra treat for their entertainment.

Need to know traffic in Scotland...ok seriously? No mobile phone while driving, but sure hop on the internet and check that traffic! Loved this!

This picture is for our niece Skye. Thought she might enjoy that. We wanted to go over to the Isle of Skye, but time wasn't on our side. It is noted for another trip.

Loch Garry

Eilean Donan Castle was one of our favorites. We even got there to find a bagpiper setting the mood for the day. That was awesome. The kids had just been coloring a picture of a bagpiper and learning about this special musical instrument of Scotland. They were tickled to see one in action.

Our last stop of the day was a side note that we happened to pass and thought would be fun. Turned out we were right. The small picture of Mason grabbing his face was great. Let me tell you why. We soon realized that Mason really didn't want to eat, we didn't think anyone should be allowed to use the toilet, we were just suppose to go go go. If we stopped he was franatic with anticipation until we were on our way. This was through the whole trip--kind of fun and annoying.

Although we have seen larger falls it was a fun little hike. Mike was very proud of his awesome wife for crossing this suspension bridge. If you know Hollie, you know this. Water-fear, Bridges above water--worse! Although I don't want my kids to ever know so I do breathe and get through bravely. Mason loved when Mike took him out to the middle of the river on some rocks. Which meant Mason had intentions of jumping in and was quite disappointed when we said no way!! Carter was anxious to follow that brave adventure and did great. Apparently water is fine in Carter's eyes, but height if the fear. Brennan kept yelling at the water in high pitched squeals and wouldn't let go of the rails on the side. A man offered to take our picture...will we ever get one with all our kids looking? Oh yes! The one under the rock we took ourselves and it was the best yet. :)

Hopefully this way of doing the pictures was easier than before. :) I did figure that going through a post with 34 pictures was a bit much. My family asked me to take lots of pictures...I think I came through.