Finally out of the Hotel - Aberdeen, Scotland

The last week of "living" in a hotel was not as much fun. Jon and I were both ready to have a little freedom in the evening to watch our TV and just have adult time. After 17 nights of staying at the Marriott here, we have finally moved into our house. I have to say that I will miss the breakfast buffet every morning, room service everyday, the indoor swimming pool and how could I forget seeing all the men in kilts dressed for weddings on Saturday. I'm sure they will not forget my loud energetic boys running through the hallways and revolving doors over and over thoughout the day. What can I say, there is something so fun about staying in a hotel as a kid, its always a vacation! I must say that the highlight of their stay in the hotel was probably staying right by the airport in Dyce. It is a major airport so Trent and Landon would watch large jets taking off and landing all day long right from their window. It is also close to the the largest heliport so they would see hundreds of helicopters taking off and landing as well. We will miss the hotel as it was the first place we stayed and started learning a new culture. These first few weeks have been exciting and stressful all at the same time but we have managed to get through it. Some of the hardest things have been the different terminology for things, slow pace lifestyle, different accents, converting everything from USD to British Pounds for everything we pay for, opening a bank account, buying a car, driving on the other side of the road, getting insurance for a car, getting a cell phone for myself and learning how to get around.

We are excited about having more space and settling in our house here. On Saturday we left the hotel and moved into the house. Our neighborhood is very family oriented which is great for the kids. They have enjoyed playing outside when they can and running around in the house. It is a 2 story house with 4-5 bedrooms and 3 baths. We have a conservatory (like a sun room). I will try to post pictures of the house in a week or two when I have everything unpacked from our sea shipment. I can't wait for that to arrive!!!!

On Sunday we attended our first church service here in Aberdeen at St. Mary's Cathedral. It was a beautiful church and the service was wonderful. There are many beautiful churches here in Scotland! This afternoon while we were upstairs in the house we could here something and looked up to see sleet falling on the skylights. The weather is always changing here, we never know what to expect!

St Mary's Catholic Cathedral 

Sleet on the Sky light

Relaxing with Daddy in the new Recliner

First Day of Snow here in Aberdeen, Scotland

Today it SNOWED! It was quite a surprise this morning when we all woke up to look out the window and see snow. Of course the thing I love more is to see the excitement in my kids eyes! We even drove in the snow all the way to school. Later this afternoon we went to our home and found snow on the ground still, we decided it was play time. There was not much on the ground but it was a big deal for these Texas natives. Trent and Landon loved it, they do not mind the cold weather. I just want to stay warm, it will be a cold winter for me!

First Day of School in Aberdeen, Scotland

Trent and Landon had their first day of school here at the International School of Aberdeen yesterday. There are 5 teachers in their class of 30 which is divided into 2 groups. The teachers all seem so nice and fun! Trent is on one side of the class and Landon on the other. They were very excited as it is the school is in a new building with its own playground, gym and indoor swimming pool. They have lots of play time indoors and outdoors and will enjoy music class and spanish class. I was a little concerned that Landon would not want to go because he told me the night before he would cry. However, he was a very big boy and walked right in and started playing. Trent was a little timid but quickly warmed up and told me today he had met some new friends. 

First Day of Driving

Well we searched and finally found a used car that was somewhat bigger with 4x4 (I will need it in the winter) but not too big for these narrow roads here! We purchased a used BMW X5. It is really nice and plenty of room for us with two car seats. I found it really easy to drive here and it is quite popular here. This one even has navigation which has already been helpful.  I put in my house address and I can always find my way back home! Today I drove my car around some to run a few errands. I had been practicing with Jon but today I was on my own, along with my two monkeys in the back seat. I've learned how to drive most of the roundabouts and drive on the opposite side of the road. I have to "think" about driving the whole time and keep reminding myself which side of the road to be on. Its just all really different, even going through a drive-thru line! I had no problems except for parking. It may have taken me 5 minutes to back out of a parking spot at Tesco but thats ok. I had a few stares and I'm sure I will get that for a while! I drove from the hotel to Westhills, to the Tesco store where we purchased a few needed groceries, to the Subway where we ate lunch, to our house, to the Royal Bank of Scotland to convert some money to British Pounds, and then back to the hotel. It looks like we will be going to visit Trent and Landon's new school tomorrow at 8:30! 

The Stirling Castle more Views

Stirling, Scotland Continued...

On a Bridge Driving back to Aberdeen

Saturday - Stirling, Scotland

Saturday we spent the day visiting the Stirling Castle, seeing the National Wallace Monument and meeting some friends at the Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park, all in Stirling, Scotland. The Stirling Castle was amazing, and especially exciting for us as it was the first of many castles for us to visit here in Scotland. The Palace part of the castle was built in 1540. The National Wallace Monument was built in the 1860's and you may recognize from the movie "Braveheart". I really want to watch the movie again now! We met the Hollis' and the Woods at the Safari and Adventure Park where the kids really enjoyed themselves. Trent and Landon loved playing in the children's castle with slides, the sand, the sea lion show, the bird adventure show, seeing the chimps, lions, camels, elephants, riding a paddle boat and other activities. It was so much fun and we enjoyed watching the boys play with their new friends as well. The moms even rode the zip-line and they enjoyed watching us!  What a fun day we had! And...I finally have a car to drive this week, I will post a picture later this week. I've been driving more today with Jon but tomorrow I will be on my own...wish me luck!

Traveling by Train

On Friday, Jon and I found a used car near Stirling, Scotland that looked like a great vehicle for me and decided we would take the train from Aberdeen to Croy to purchase the car and drive it back. The train ride was around 2 hours long, with so much countryside to see! Of course it was beautiful, we loved the opportunity to sit back, relax, look around and not worry about driving. It ran along the coastline most of the time as well. Trent and Landon really enjoyed traveling by train and seeing all the trains at the station. This trip worked out really well as we already were planning on meeting some friends in Stirling the next day so we decided we would just stay the night at a local hotel. Here are a few pictures.