New House

We're in it! It's been so long since my last post because we we've been moving. We've been in our new house one week and we are finally starting to get our heads above water!

We love it. It's huge and charming (100 year old Victorian with original features) and in our same neighborhood.

Scott's been traveling and I've been trying to keep up with the boys while unpacking and settling in. Friends have come to help and we've had a busy week with birthday parties, comedy festival and sports!

Mims and Gramps are coming Monday to help and I've written a list for both!

Will take pictures soon and post asap. Just wanted to give you an update.

Six Nations Rugby

Scotland vs. Italy

Scott, Ethan and Christopher had the fun opportunity to go to Edinburgh to watch the Six Nations Rugby match on Saturday. They travelled with approx. 100 other parents and children from Glasgow (arranged through our mini-rugby club) to see the match.

Christopher said the bus ride was boring but the match was super! With the exception of Ethan, we are all still learning the rules of this game and Scott and I find in so interesting to watch. It's rough but it's fast moving like basketball (think I've said that before).

Just wanted to share a few of the pics. Check out the band. Bet they could give the Aggie Band a run for their money!

Charlie and I hung out at home because some sore throat virus found him! ARGH. He's better now.

The Cleansing Properties of Mud!

We've been enjoying longer days here in Scotland. It's made a world a difference in our afternoons and evenings. Last night it was light enough to play outside until 6:15 pm and our boys made every minute count.

Like the three little pigs. They found a muddy patch in the garden and they entertained themselves for 2 hours. Digging, mixing, throwing, and bathing in it!

Boy do I miss my Texas Size Laundry Room!

Fun, fun, fun.

The Loo

"Charlie, if you could choose, would you choose to live in a mansion or a cabin?" said Christopher.

"Mansion" replied Charlie.

"Not me. I'd choose a cabin becuase you could get lost in the mansion trying to find the toilet. And if you were in a hurry and you really needed to go, you'd be in trouble!" said Christopher.

Good point.

(all this overheard from my seat here at the computer)

Thinking ahead that one! Thinking ahead.

We're Moving......

Down the street!

Remember in October when we were moving to that chocolate box cottage that didn't quite pan out?? And we were devastated. I kept trying to remind myself that everything is according to God's timing and everything happens for a reason.

Sometimes, I have a harder time remembering this than others.

Anyway, we've continued to look for a house that ticked a few more boxes on our wish list and guess what? The one at the end of our street, on the corner, that we pass every single day, multiple times, just became available. It has a garage, a driveway, a few more rooms, a second refrigerator and a laundry room. It is an old Victorian like our current house but instead of half of a house, it's the whole house. It's Texas sized and we couldn't be more excited!

We take possession March 1st and the movers come on March 4th. We are all thrilled and I'll keep you posted over the next couple of weeks. I keep saying I need to be packing or need to be making a list and crossing things off but the movers are doing everything for us. So all I need to do is RELAX. Yea right. Just seems so weird since our last move was one that was a little further away and a little more challenging to organize!

God is good, all the time!

Nicol Winter Olympics

Our family will never be able to watch the Winter Olympics again without an intense interest in a few of the sports.

Bobsleigh, Luge and Skeleton.......and ski jumping......

It's winter holiday here in Scotland and we went to Austria for a little adrenaline junkie fun and a little skiing. Last fall, I attended a charity luncheon when low and behold, an "Olympic Bobsleigh Weekend" was one of the live auction items. I really don't know what struck me that day, but it was going to be mine! The description sounded right up our alley....."the Formula One of winter sports......once in a lifetime experience....." And my cheerful friends were all in to boost the excitement to win the bid.

I bought the event and then gave it to Scott for Christmas. Boy was he surprised! I was feeling a little buyers remorse, wondering what I'd gotten myself into! Anyway, I managed to book the flights and extend the weekend to a week for a few days skiing too.

Graham Richardson is an ex-Great Britain Bobsleigh Driver and now Olympic Bobsleigh Coach. He currently coaches the Dutch team and a few years ago he started IceRush as a side business to give people the opportunity to experience the sport first hand. Graham and his brother Ian (the brake man) went out of their way to accommodate our family over the weekend and we all had a blast.

We stayed in a wonderful family run Austrian hotel where Graham and his team often stay when they are training. It was terrific and one that we never would have found on our own. There were 2 other pairs of charity auction bobsleighers in attendance and we enjoyed our meals together. The boys were very tolerant of all of the adult conversations and lingering meals and the adults were extremely tolerant and interactive with our 3 boys! 4 and 5 course meals in true European style are not really suited to 7 and 4 year olds; but they were total troopers.

We arrived on Friday, played outside in the snow and then enjoyed dinner with the group. Saturday morning after breakfast, we all loaded into the vans and headed to the track. Graham, his brother Ian and Ian's wife Dil, educated us all on the particulars of Bobsleighing. We learned about the sleighs, the track and the nuances of the sport. We walked the track from bottom to top all while Graham explained the sport. That morning, a local Austrian Luge and Skeleton Club was having an event so we were able to see these young athletes (Ethan's age) perform these exciting sports. It's crazy fast and Ethan asked multiple times if we could move to Austria!

Then our time came to get in the sleighs and give it a go. We of course did not manage the true running start but climbed in and were pushed off to start our one minute of fun! Each pair raced 2 times and tried each sleigh and driver/brakeman pair. (Graham had 2 other athletes come and help him for the day.) On the first run, I was sitting in the third position and I had a hard time seeing around Scott. When you can't see the track, it's hard to anticipate the turns and therefore your head bumps the side of the sleigh. Also, in the biggest turn the G-Force is so strong that it was impossible for me to hold my head up in that position. Strangest feeling. Then on the second run, Scott traded places with me and I was able to manage the head thing a little more. It's one minute. ONE MINUTE. It was crazy, fun and terrifying, all at the same time!

One of our fellow participants, Mark, held his video camera during one of his runs and it will give you a little more insight....his description...."utter maddness!!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjIKf_LpWUc

(wish I knew how to embed the link...)

After everyone was finished, we went back to the hotel for lunch and then most of us went tobogganing. Graham and Ian took turns driving us up to the start of the run and we raced and raced all afternoon. The boys had an absolute blast! and the grown-ups too! One of the other participants challenged Ethan to multiple races and you should have heard the banter! Hilarious! It's like we were all 10.

Saturday night, Graham arranged a terrific dinner at the hotel with t-shirts and awards for all of the participants and we stayed up super late chatting with the other guys. Everyone went their separate ways Sunday morning.

Graham had arranged for us to move to another hotel closer to the ski mountain that morning so Ian and Dil, picked us up and transported us to our new digs. He'd arranged the family apartment in this hotel which was so fantastic. I think is was originally the owner or manager's apartment on property because it was three rooms of retro wonderfulness! No standard hotel furniture but all mid 50's and 60's style furniture and light fixtures in this great little spot away from all of the other hotel residents! We all loved it! Charlie asked to move there!

Sunday afternoon, we took the tram from Igls to Innsbruck through the mountains to check out the Olympic Ski Jump. Amazing. Can't believe people really do this. We walked the stadium and jump area and gained perspective on the size and scale of this event. We enjoyed lunch at the restaurant there looking over the town of Innsbruck and then headed back to our hotel. Ian and Dil were still there so we had dinner with them Sunday night.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, we skied and tobogganed to our hearts content. We had 2 sunny days and one day of a foot of snowfall. It was beautiful and we all loved this holiday! Scott and I said multiple times that having Graham's connections made all of the difference for us to explore this part of Austria and made our time that much more enjoyable! Thanks to Graham. Check out his website if you are in need for some speed! http://www.icerush.co.uk/

Guess what these guys are doing? Cracking a whip everytime someone passes them by to ward off the evil spirits. Just something they do in Igls on a Sunday morning??? What?? You could hear the whip blocks away.......Just a little bonus picture for you!