Back to the Grind... and a Weekend in Aviemore

The past few weeks have been busy, just getting back to our normal schedule of activities. I'm really glad the days are getting longer. In December we were really missing the sun. Daylight started around 8:30 and it was getting dark at 3:30. Right now daylight is around that time but it is getting dark at 4:30. Yay for longer days, it just keeps getting better from here and into the summer!!

Trent and Landon are enjoying Kinder and Preschool and their afterschool activites...football (soccer) 2 days a week, swimming and basketball for Trent. We will start golf again in February. I have been enjoying working out most everyday and catching up with friends. I've been spending a lot of time researching and planning our trips this year. There are so many places we want to visit!! I still have not booked our Spring holiday trip. Lets see, it started with planning a snow ski trip to the Swiss Alps. After spending much time looking into this we finally decided we may not want to be in a cold climate for a week break after its been so cold here in Aberdeen, Scotland!! We decided we want to go someplace warm and get some sun!! Next place on my bucket list...Turkey or Greece. We also would like to visit Florence and Venice, Italy. Looked into this, but it is still cold there in March and April. So we looked into going to Tenerife in the Canary Islands, which is where most of the locals go for a holiday as it is beautiful, warm and there is a direct flight out of Aberdeen. Considering this, but last night Jon and I got really excited at the idea of going to Dubai and staying at the Atlantis. Super awesome hotel, beautiful, tons of things for the kids to do, and we can do some sight seeing. It is a 6 hour flight from Amsterdam, not too bad.

This weekend we took a last minute trip to Aviemore to let the boys see some snow. Not much of that here in Aberdeen yet!! We were going to attempt to ski on the mountain but Trent came down with a terrible stomach virus. So we did as little as possible and mainly stayed close to the hotel. We drove up near the mountain to watch the Husky Dog Sled races which was interesting because there wasn't much snow at the base of the mountain! We let the boys play in the snow at the top and saw a heavy snowfall, and played some put put golf at the hotel.  We really enjoy driving around Aviemore as it is a beautiful area of forests, lakes and snow topped mountains. Love it!!

December Visit to Texas 2011

We had a great time visiting Texas and our wonderful family and friends. We left Aberdeen on Saturday, December 17 and after barely making our connecting flight we arrived on time in Houston. It sure was nice to enjoy some sunshine most of the time. I could not get enough of the sun and cool but warmer than Aberdeen weather. We could stay outside most of the day!! During our visit we spent most of the time out at the farm. The boys wanted to duck hunt, bow hunt and deer hunt and I enjoy nature and being in the outdoors. I did go out on a duck hunt once and sat in the deer and bow stand a couple of times. Of course I also did some shopping at the Galleria!!

First stop when we arrived was Pappasitos. We could not wait to have some chips and salsa, fajitas and margaritas! The next day we visited with Nanny and PawPaw, Gamma and Gampa and went to cousin Myatt's 1st Birthday party. I still can't stand that we are so far away and in 1 year he has grown and changed so much! Such a cutie. Trent and Landon loved playing with their cousins Drake and Carter.

We saw some of our friends in Greatwood with a caroling hayride. During that week we made several visits to Chick fela, ate plenty of Mexican food and visited some friends including Eileen and her kids Alexa and Sienna, and family including GiGi (Jon's Grandmother). Friday, Dec. 23 and Saturday Dec. 24 we stayed with my parents to celebrate Christmas. It was nice having the whole BIG family around, it sure gets loud and fun and Mom cooked a wonderful lunch for us. Mom, Dad, Eric, Megan, Jill, Kyle, Clark, Katy, Neal, Jason and Alyssa were there. Of course the boys loved playing with cousin Ally. She has also grown so much and is trying to keep up with Trent and Landon. They had jumping competitions over the weekend :) I enjoyed visiting with my Grandma Schoenfield that afternoon and my Aunts, Uncles, and cousins I have not seen in a while. It was great catching up!

Christmas eve we had dinner at Perry's Steakhouse with Jon's family. We also spent the night with Anita and Tom and had Christmas lunch at their house. We enjoyed a great lunch cooked by Anita. Ramsey, Jess, and Stacey were there along with cousins Drake, Carter and Myatt. We also enjoyed visiting with Jon's Aunt Susan and Uncle Jon. That afternoon we drove to my Grandma Leopold's house to see more cousins there. It was a busy few days but I'm so glad we were able to see everyone and spend time with them.

The beginning of the next week started out with a visit to the farm again, a night at my parents, and then a couple of nights at the bay house in Port O'Connor. Jill, Kyle and Ally joined us. We had beautiful weather the whole time and I took advantage of some sun light. I spent most of the time relaxing on the deck. We made a trip to Sunday beach, walked in the sand, did some fishing and it was just gorgeous there. Back at the house we did a lot of fishing off the pier. Trent and Landon caught 17 Sheepshead in 1 hour. Those are fun fish to fight. Trent and I caught a flounder off the pier and we broiled it that evening. It was yummy!

Thursday evening we went to visit our friends, Rebecca and Brian and their kids Austin, Nolan, and Reagan. Friday night, Dec 30, the boys spent the night at my parents and Jon and I met up with some Sugar Land friends for a night out in Town Square. It was a blast, we have a fun group of friends!! We spent New Year's Eve at the farm watching the Aggies on TV and sitting around the campfire and popping fireworks with some family and friends. We started the New Year 2012 with a wonderful Church service. I pray for a Blessed 2012 for our family in Scotland and a Blessed 2012 for your family too!! We had a great trip and look forward to our next visit. It was so fun meeting up with everyone even if it was for just a short time!! I look forward to both of my sisters and their families coming to visit this Spring. And for those of you who we didn't get to catch up with this trip, we hope to see you in the summer!!

Flying in Style....First Class from London-Heathrow to Houston. 

Trent practice shooting his Bow and Arrow at the farm

Duck Hunt

In the Duck Blind

Hay Ride with Friends - Thanks Lauren and Stacey!

Our forever favorite House at Christmas - We lived a few houses down the street from this house and ever since the boys were born we were heading down Wood Fern Drive each night around Christmas to see Santa on the "Roller Coaster". 

Trent and Landon received their first deer rifle as a Christmas present from Jon and I

Landon and Mommy hanging out, watching deer at the feeder

Cousins Trent, Landon and Ally

Christmas at Mom's

Ally

The whole family..Jason, Alyssa, Clark, Katy, Jon, Sara, Dad, Mom, Eric, Megan, Kyle, Jill, Neal, Trent, Landon, and Ally

Happy Birthday Mom - December 21!! The boys picked out a Rudolph cake for her this year. 

Grandma Schoenfield

Grandma Schoenfield and all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren

Cousins - Trent, Drake, Landon and Carter

Dinner at Perrys

The Richards family - Ramsey, Jess, Stacey, Myatt, Drake, Carter, Tom, Anita, Sara, Jon, Trent and Landon

Hanging out with Uncle Ramsey

Myatt

Our family with Uncle Jon and Aunt Susan

Grandma Leopold

Soccer time with Uncle Jason and Uncle Neal

Fireworks at the bay

Night Green Light Fishing at the bay

Visit to Sunday Beach - Landon, Ally and Trent

Fishing in the Surf at Sunday Beach

Enjoying some sunshine on the deck

Barge - Honk please!!

Trent and Mommy catch a Flounder!

Visit with Nolan, Austin and Reagan

Rebecca and Brian

Eileen, Lindsey and Stephanie

Night out with friends - Stephanie and Jason V., Eileen and Jason K., Leigh and David P., Stefanie and Steven A., Audra and Mike O., Erica and Mike N., Lauren and Jeff B., Stacey and Jess R., Jennifer and Jason F., and Lindsey and Travis T.

Roasting Marshmallows at the farm - NYE

Sparklers

Trent gets his 1st Deer