Stirling Castle

On Friday we visited Stirling Castle and the antique shops close by. Stirling Castle has a tremendous history and we always learn something new when we visit. It's much smaller than Edinburgh Castle and much less crowded. But just like Edinburgh Castle, the views are magnificent!

Davis said he liked Stirling Castle because the rooms are more accessible. We saw the kitchen, the great hall, the chapel and the war museum. And just like the Culzean Castle, the staff hid army men (Lego men at CC) in the cases in the War Museum. Charlie loved finding all 8. Jane has mentioned a few times how child friendly the Scottish museum and historic sites are. We take it for granted now but it really is amazing. They make every effort to have the sites and museums user friendly. And that goes along way with 4 little boys!

The King and Queen's seat in the Great Hall.

This gentleman gave us a history lesson about his weapons. He also told the boys how their wives would have been chosen back in the day. He said that it would be better if she had black teeth (evidence of access to sugar (therefore wealthy)) and that she was a little chubby (she would make it through the winter!). Nice, real nice. Oh to be so valued!

Did I mention how happy we are to have Grandma here??

Grandma's Here!

Grandma Nicol arrived last Wednesday and we have been non-stop, action packed since her arrival. And although she's not in the pics from these outings, I promise to post some of her tomorrow!

We've been to the pond to feed the ducklings, to the skate park, had fencing lessons, have been to get our school uniform (okay, maybe that's not considered fun and action packed!), have built more Lego creations, and that was all Wednesday and Thursday!

Here are the ducklings jockeying for position. There must be 30-40 little guys. And they are not shy. We went last week when Ashleigh was here (I forgot my camera that day) and in one week's time, they'd doubled in size!

And here is Davis having his first ever fencing lesson. He did great and it was fun for Ethan to share his sport with Davis. It sparked his interested and Kyndal, I'm sorry. You might need to find a club in DFW. He's keen.

And here are the boys outside the skate park. We were inside the park for awhile but I didn't take pictures because I have a hard time watching them on the ramps. These boys are daredevils! But this little pothole seemed harmless. And it entertained them for half and hour. Especially when I started taking pictures. Big air man, big air.

And then there is this guy. Oh how my heart breaks. My baby, starting school. There is something about this little uniform that makes it all seem much harder for me. He looks too old! And while most children are not thrilled about the uniform, Charlie Nicol couldn't be more excited! He's tried it on multiple times and he tells everyone about it! Oh Lord, help me in a few weeks as I walk this precious child into his classroom for the first time!

So that's all for now. I hope you are having as much fun as we are this summer!

Cairnie Fruit Farm

My apologies for my delay in posting. We are having too much fun. Everyday is an adventure!

Last Tuesday, the boys and I took Davis to Cairnie Fruit Farm, one of our favorite days out in Scotland. We rode the tractors, attempted the puzzle in the corn maze, jumped on the pillow, jumped on the trampolines and picked lots and lots of strawberries. We had great weather and once again, it was a great day out!

Here is the proof:

Baby

No, not ours.

A Barbary Macaque Monkey baby. It might be the cutest baby I've seen in a long time. Well, at least since baby Harry Watson was born (he lives up the street and belongs to our friends Pippa and Neil). Or before that, Florie FitzGerald. Oh my. What a cutie.

But let me tell you, this baby monkey could capture the heart of anyone. Hardened criminals would coo over this little girl.

We stopped at a Forest Park on our way home from London on Sunday. We needed a picnic place and our handy road atlas had "Monkey Forest" printed on it just 20 miles ahead. Thanks to the world wide web and wireless connections, we checked it out and decided the Monkey Forest at Trentham was not to be missed.

These monkeys roam free in a 60 acre forest where you can walk the paths while observing their behavior.

It was fantastic and worth every minute we spent there. We sat and watched this baby (2 months old) for approximately 30 minutes. Oh she was cute.

She crouched.



She steadied.

And she jumped. Back and forth. Back and forth. The mother would hold her back leg if there was some reason she should not jump at that moment. It was so fun to watch their interaction.

This one stopped right at Ethan's feet as he was taking pictures of the baby. He was 2 feet away and was not concerned about us at all. One of the employees told us that he was a few years old and that he too was fascinated by the baby.

And this little rascal was determined to figure out this speaker. The woman in the yellow coat was giving us a nice talk about the Barbary Macaques and this monkey was yanking on that speaker the whole time. We couldn't listen we were giggling so much!

But really, this little girl stole the show. Oh she was cute!

So if you are ever close to Stoke on Trent, England and need a place to stop, check it out!

http://www.trentham-monkey-forest.com/information.php?id_cat=1