Monday 29 September 2008

Hanging Out with Angus

This little kitten has quickly adjusted to our noisy, busy house! He is super friendly, frisky and fun! We love him so much already and he loves to cuddle and follow us around.

He is still loving Scott a little more than Scott loves him!

Charlie, Ethan, Angus and I are snuggled up inside today while Scott and Christopher went mountain biking with friends. The boys had off Friday and today (bank holiday) and Charlie and Ethan are a little under the weather so we are relaxing and chilling out with Angus Kitty!

Autumn

Autumn makes me a little homesick. After celebrating all of the birthdays in our family, we always move straight into Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities! Although those things are happening for us here in Glasgow, it doesn't feel quite the same. The weather here helps as far as changing the season. The leaves are turning, the air is COOL and crisp (and mostly wet) and the days are shorter. But when you've spent your whole life in one climate where the fall is a few weeks long (and warmer than most), you kind of miss it. Never thought I'd say that!

I miss feeling cold at 60 degrees on the football field early on Saturday mornings. I miss our veggie co-op and the bounty of fruits and veg our neighbors selected. I miss the Town Creek Neighborhood Halloween carnival. I miss our big yard and the work associated with it. I miss the State Fair. I miss St. Lukes and all of the Rally Day festivities. I miss Tex Mex on a lazy weekend night. And I'm sure Scott and the boys miss Sunday or Monday night football!

Of course, we are enjoying cold rugby games and it's nice to see the color on all of the trees. And we look forward to Halloween here with our neighbors. We are enjoying new autumn traditions here. And most of all, we are looking forward to a host of Autumn visitors. Grandma and Grandpa Nicol are coming in 2 weeks, followed by our dear neighbors, Rick and Terri Hawkins, and then their daughter Lauren Hawkins since she will be working in London.

I know I am rambling but just thought I'd shout out to our friends and family in the USA that we that we miss you and all of the everyday, ordinary things that we shared during the fall!

Wednesday 24 September 2008

Angus Nicol



We have a new addition to our family! His name is Angus Nicol and he is 10 weeks old. The boys have been asking and asking to adopt a little bundle of joy and after kidnapping our neighbors cat for 24 hours, we decided now is as good a time as any! I picked him up yesterday afternoon.

He is so sweet, cuddly and playful. We are all smitten. Well, maybe not Scott yet but of course, that is who he loves the best so far! Notice what he thinks about Scott working on his computer late at night in bed! When I returned from tucking each of the boys in last night, I found Angus basically sitting on Scott's head. (he moved while I went to grab the camera) So sweet, so cute, and just like a tiny baby! What was I thinking????



Monday 22 September 2008

Ethan's Birthday Party

Ethan celebrated his 10th birthday this weekend with a handful of friends. They went rock climbing at a local gym and then had a sleepover. Fun times for all and we even kidnapped the neighbor's lost kitty for the night! (we didn't know who he belonged to so we brought him in, fell in love, posted signs and now he's gone home - more on this later)

So they stayed awake until about 2, as you do, and then Ethan played rugby in a tournament for about 5 hours Sunday morning; so what do you think he said this morning?? Do I have to go to school mom????? Of course you do. And remember to take your swimming kit and your rugby kit, you have both today!

Can't believe our sweet boy is 10!



Tuesday 16 September 2008

Strawberries and More Strawberries









Boy are we enjoying these fresh picked strawberries! We've had strawberries and whipped cream, strawberry cheesecake to celebrate Ethan's birthday, Strawn's Strawberry Pie (luckily found this famous recipe in the Red River Revel Cookbook so I could relive childhood memories!), strawberries for snack at school, chocolate dipped strawberries, strawberries on our cereal. Yummy, Yummy, Yummy! Maybe strawberry ice cream for dinner??


Monday 15 September 2008

Body Combat

Well, I have to confess. I have just gotten back into the regular routine of going to the gym now that I can make it to class and have a little camaraderie!

In Dallas, you see, I was able to go early in the morning to the YMCA to Daryl's class before anyone else was awake in my house. This worked well for our family. Here is Scotland, people think something is wrong with you if you get up at 5:30 in the morning. The gym doesn't even open until 6:30 and there are no classes because no other crazies are up. So I could never find the friends to hold me accountable in the morning and also, wasn't quite enough time to get back home and get my crew rolling. (Scott lives on an island early in the morning before he's had coffee and put his thinking cap on so can't rely on him to rally the troops for school.)

So, back to my confession. Now that I've got a little extra time in my schedule, I can make it to classes at the gym after the morning school run! Yippee. So in Great Britain, there is a series of classes offered by most gyms and rec centers that involve some pretty hilarious moves. http://www.fitpro.com/bts/program.cfm?program=BODYCOMBAT

Monday morning, it's Body Combat. Well, that means fighting moves. All choreographed and neat and clean. Get the picture? So the instructor is yelling (over the pop music) to think of your opponent and really mean it when you strike! Like who is my opponent? The kids that may have bullied my children? the guy that cut me off on the way to school? Can't think of anyone today. Sometimes it's hard not to laugh in class! And anyone that went to Daryl's class with me in Dallas can attest to the fact that I am really not coordinated when it comes to choreography! On the step or in a combat class.

I am sleeping better and I sweat like crazy in the classes. So can't complain really.

So next time you are working out, doing whatever it is that keeps you healthy and clears your mind, have a laugh thinking of me fighting imaginary people in Scotland!

Pedal for Scotland and the Cairnie Fruit Farm

Scott and our friend Joe rode in the Pedal for Scotland bike ride (not race) on Sunday. It's a fifty mile ride from Glasgow to Edinburgh. The boys and I and Joe's family, Katy, Ethan and Noah, drove over to meet them at the finish and to picnic in the park. It was a beautiful dry day and they said the ride was a good one.





After lunch, we headed north for one of the best "days out in Scotland" that we've experienced so far. We went to the Cairnie Fruit Farm to run in the corn maze and to pick strawberries. If anyone needs a business model, their's is a brilliant one to follow. The farm is located outside the town of Cupar in the Kingdom of Fife. It has beautiful rolling hills and they provided all things a family could need for a great day! We enjoyed the corn maze, tractor/bike track rides, tractor train rides, hay bale maze climbing and hide and seek, in-ground trampolines, a jumping pillow and more strawberries than we've ever seen before!























And did I mention they have a cafe and a gift shop??? It was so much fun and we look forward to going back! We all ate our weight in strawberries while we picked. Even Scott who normally doesn't love strawberries, tasted one and said it gave him new purpose to pick!

We enjoyed strawberries and whipped cream after dinner. We enjoyed strawberries in our cereal this morning. The boys took strawberries for snack. I'm making strawberry cheesecake to celebrate Ethan's birthday (early) tonight and a pie is in the works for tomorrow! Yummy! so yummy! Life is GOOD!

Rugby 102

We learned a little more this weekend at Ethan's second match. His team won and he scored the last try of the match! Fun, Fun!







This is the scrum and Ethan is right in the middle. I think those are his legs reaching for the ball in the second picture.




Ethan after his try and with his friend Owen.