For those following our blog closely, we're sure you thought we quit! But it's just been an incredibly busy 6 weeks as missionaries and now we're playing catch-up. Mike, Katie and their two oldest children, Brooke and Megan, came to spend a long weekend with us and it was "absolutely brilliant" to have them here (aren't we sounding more and more Scottish?). We had such fun and couldn't believe how tall the girls had grown in nearly a year. We ran like crazy to take in as much as possible in our long holiday weekend and here are the pictures to prove it.
Bagpiper on Prince's Street in downtown Edinburgh
Sir Walter Scott's Monument in Edinburgh - we climbed the 284 steps to the top for a grand view of the city.
Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Royal Mile. A must-see in the city.
Great Scottish hero-King Robert the Bruce with four lowly peasants seated below. At Stirling Castle.
King Mike and Queen Katie at Stirling Castle
Brooke and Megan at Loch Lomond with Ben Lomond in the background.
Can you imagine any cuter granddaughters? AND we have 7 others to match them!
Grandpa's specialty - skipping rocks. No one is better . . . and some people thought he wasted his youth! The village of Luss on Loch Lomond.
We were lucky enough to have Megan here for her 9th birthday. The whole weekend was a grand party! A birthday we hope she will never forget.
Crammond Island walk. The island is in the Firth of Forth just 10 minutes from our flat and twice each day when the tide is low, you can walk a mile to reach it on a narrow causeway that is buried under 9 ft. of seawater during high tide. There is a 4-hour window to get out and back to the island when the tide goes out. The causeway was built during WWII to keep German submarines from coming up the River Forth.
Tantallon Castle on the North Sea near North Berwick. Very windy day, but bright sun and beautiful clouds. Have we ever mentioned that Scotland has stunning clouds and bluer than blue skies when it isn't grey and "dreich" (Scottish for a dismal day).
Tantallon Castle with the North Sea in background.
Hope this picture gives some perspective of how high these castles were. Can you imagine the work that went into creating this in 1300 AD?
Scott's View in the Borders (The Borders is the name for an area like a county in the southeast of Scotland down to the English border.) It was Sir Walter Scott's favorite view of Scotland and is one of ours. The River Tweed can barely be seen on the far right of the picture as it meanders through the countryside.
Dryburgh Abbey - one of the most peaceful places in all of Scotland. Located in the Borders near Scott's View, it is an isolated abbey in the country on the River Tweed.
Melrose Abbey - home of the Cistercian monks and one of the best preserved ruins and most successful abbeys in Scotland. The abbeys and castles took a big hit from England during the Reformation, and especially those in the Borders so Melrose is a cherished gem. The girls are listening to an audio tour about the abbey.
All good things must come to an end. Mike and Katie and girls happy to come . . . Grandma sad to see them go as they catch the train at our local train station. But it didn't take long for us to put our missionary hats back on and the memories of our time together made it all worth it.
