February Winter Break Week

This week Trent and Landon had their Winter Break from school. Luckily we had a few nice days outside as the weather was sunny and a bit warmer! On Friday the temperature reached 55 F which is the warmest day since we have been living here. This week we have been trying to stay busy playing both inside and outside and visiting a few fun kid places here in Aberdeen. The boys have been enjoying bike riding through the neighborhood most days. The terrain here with all the hills makes it a little more interesting. We've had several falls with scrapes and bruises but they always get back up and are ready to ride again. They enjoy riding their bikes to the park or playground and to get snacks at the "Coop" which is like a convenience store in our neighborhood. Its really close to our house. We played at an indoor play area called "Hoodles Playbarn". On Thursday Trent and Landon had their first golf lesson at Kippie Lodge here in Aberdeen.  Coach Craig was a lot of fun.They really enjoyed it and can't wait until their lesson next week! Scotland is the birthplace of golf and with so many amazing golf courses here we all hope to start playing some in late Spring. Today we went to a birthday party for their friend Brantley Hollis at the "Foam Factory". This was their first time to go to attend a party where you shoot foam balls everywhere. It was lots of fun!

We have some new pets in the house! This week Trent and Landon convinced us to get a fish tank and fish. On Thursday we bought the tank and set it up and had to wait a couple of days to add the fish. So today we went to Dobbies Garden Centre and picked out some fish that we were advised would be easy to care for and would last for a while. The boys named them Jack, Cleo and Leopard. They came up with these on their own. The fish are very active fish so they are already having lots of fun watching them.

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Football in the house...this has become an evening routine

Painting...this day we stayed in our pajamas all day

Coach Craig

Its Been A While!

This dreary weather and these cold, rainy days can really get old! Aberdeen just has that type of climate, and thats one thing I don't like about living here. If its not snowing its misting or raining and we look forward to the days filled with sun. I'm really glad the boys are attending a preschool because it would be hard having to find things to do everyday of the week, staying in the house all day is not easy with these guys. The good thing is that they really love their school and friends there and  look forward to going everyday. I'm very thankful and feel blessed for that! We recently joined Kippie Lodge, a sports and country club, here in Aberdeen and I have started working out again at the gym there. It feels good to get back into a routine of some sort. I've been trying to get a little more involved with things at their school and started planning a few vacations in the near future. We will be going to Paris, France and Disneyland in March, back to Texas in June, and on a Disney Meditteranean Cruise out of Barcelona through Italy at the end of July.

We have been doing things around Aberdeen in the last couple of weeks. Our weekend highlights usually involve going to the beach here in Aberdeen and have lunch at the TGIFridays or Pizza Hut. Last Saturday we took the boys to see "The Singing Kettle" at the Aberdeen Music Hall. They are Scotlands' leading children's entertainers and combine Scottish Children's music with fun action singalongs. The Hollis family and Wood family went too and the boys had fun, it was very cute. Valentines Day is not as big here in the UK, you can't get those cute little valentine exchange cards for kids in the stores here! Anyway, Jon was in Norway that day and I took the boys to Build a Bear where they each made their own puppy dogs and had to get them beds!

In other news, we finally SOLD and CLOSED on our house in Greatwood! I think it was on the market for 6 months so we are very thankful for that and enjoying not having any more home bills for now. I know the new buyers will enjoy it as much as we did, I will miss it!

Here are a few pictures from the week:

At the Duck Pond with Brantley and Brady

Playing the Wii with Daddy

Looking for Shells at the Beach and Skipping Rocks

Trent stayed the night in his Tee-Pee, he couldn't wait to do this!

Adult time!

On Thursday I went to a local AWA Mom and Tots dinner to try out another restaurant here in Aberdeen...Royal Thai. It was nice to get out and chat with other moms. We had a great time! 

Jon and I found a babysitter here that we think we really like, so we had her over to watch the boys on Saturday night so that we could have a night on the town for Vanette's birthday. Her hubby was so sweet, he had a decked out pink hummer limo with flashing lights pick us up. Vanette was surprised when we all showed up at her door. We went to a nice steakhouse restaurant called "The Prime Cuts" and it was one of the best meals I've had here in Aberdeen. After that we went to "The Grill Bar" which is one of the oldest pubs here in Aberdeen. It was opened in 1870 as a restaurant and was converted to a pub sometime after. It offers over 500 whiskeys! We also went to "Soul" bar, which is popular here in Aberdeen. We had a great time, Happy Birthday Vanette!

Haggis, Neeps and Tatties (No thanks!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful husband Jon! He is such a great person inside and out who I love more and more everyday and is a wonderful Daddy to Trent and Landon! We love you! For Jon's birthday I decided I would cook his favorite Texas food: Chicken Fried Steak and Rice with homemade gravy. Lemon Pound Cake for dessert! YUMM! January 25 is also the annual Scottish "Burns Night Supper". We took a pass on this traditional Scottish meal but I did buy some in the grocery store to "look at" lol!

Burns Night Supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the poet Robert Burns, author of many Scots poems including "Auld Lang Syne," which is generally sung as a folk song at Hogmanay (Scottish for New Year) and other New Year celebrations around the world. The suppers are celebrated with traditional Scottish food, entertainment e.g. pipers’ music, and often a ceilidh which is a traditional Scottish folk dance. A traditional Scottish food for Burns Night includes Haggis, Neeps and Tatties. Neeps are Swedes, a vegetable and Tatties are Mashed Potatoes.

For those who want to read a little more about what Haggis is (and beware)...its like a sausage. It is offered everywhere here in Scotland. Haggis as described in the encyclopedia is : "Haggis is a dish containing sheep's 'pluck' (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally simmered in the animal's stomach for approximately three hours." Yep... I will not be eating any of this!

Scottish Haggis, Neeps and Tatties