Scotland

Here is my last installment of UK trips! We not only got to travel to the Scottish Highlands, we were able to do so with our great friends, the Braithwaites (just forgive me that this is a year old!!).
We have been friends with them since we first moved to Maryland and when Holly called me to suggest a visit, I was unwilling to believe it until tickets were purchased.  It seemed too good to be true. Sure enough, Holly flew to visit with her 4 cute boys. Jeff joined us a week later.

Holly's first week was spent around Harrogate.  My kids still had school and without Jeff we didn't do as much sightseeing. Still, we managed to have a really fun time together.  I'm glad we had that first week because it was so nice to have some down time to catch up with Holly.  I had missed her so much and this visit was just what I needed.  The boys were apparently enjoying a little down time as well.  I liked this picture of Grey and Jonas.

They brought the cutest gifts for our family.  Clara loves the family of camels and Jonas loves wearing this hat and shaking his head to hear the bells.

We did visit Skipton Castle on the weekend.

In front of the Yew tree Lady Clifford planted in 1676.

I think the highlight for the kids was this disgustingly long marshmallow roll.  Made for a funny picture at least.

We also took a steam train to Haworth where the Bronte sisters grew up.  The train was a big hit.

Fortunately for us and maybe unfortunately for them, they visited the final week of school.  As a result they were able to accompany us to many year end activities.

Like the gymnastics performance.

And no year would be complete without sports day!  I'm fairly certain Clara's guests came the farthest to see her so I hope she felt extra special.

The biggest event the Braithwaites were privileged to be in town for was the hatching of our beloved butterflies.  This was a kit we ordered as a present and I will never do it again.  Nobody warned me that the butterflies drip when they first emerge...they drip what looks like blood.  Holly and I could not eat in the same room as we assumed these butterflies were bleeding to death.  We were completely grossed out.  After a little online research, we realized it was the pigment from the wings.  Still though...

After Jeff arrived we of course spent a day at Fountains Abbey - no visit could be complete without that!

Devin scared me with this little trick.  I didn't notice until they were already out there or I may have peed my pants.  I just don't really trust structures as old as that.  But maybe I should, it has withstood hundreds of years.

The kids loved running and exploring.  Holly has been living without a lot of grass and greenery for the past couple of years so this probably seemed like heaven on earth to her and her boys.

We then rented the party bus for the first time.  It fit us all perfectly and kids didn't really even have to touch each other!  It made for a great drive as we headed north, first to Edinburgh and then on to the highlands. 

Before we headed off though, we had to release the butterflies.  Thank goodness!

As we made our way through the streets of Edinburgh to our apartment we realized parking was going to be interesting.  It turned out to be quite an adventure as we had to have 3 adults stand on the back to lower the van enough to fit it into the parking area.  Thankfully it did not require 4 adults so 1 could be available to take pictures.  This is a memory I never want to forget.  We were within inches of making it.

Here we are at Edinburgh Castle.  A cannon made just for us!

I love this picture, I can't quite decide who is more upset, Reece or Jonas.  I know one was significantly louder than the other. :)

Here are some plaids being made.  We waited for a while for the worker to get off his break...but it was a really long break so we gave up.  I would have loved to see him working on these.

From Edinburgh we drove to Sterling Castle. 

Miles found a door just his size.

My personal favorite was the photo shoot after the castle tour.

By now we were ready to get to the "Balgowan House" where we would be spending the remainder of our trip.  It was so much fun.  It was not in a particularly exciting area - although pretty enough - but it was situated midway for our day trips.

Sites like this were not uncommon as we would drive around.

We enjoyed a day walking around Inverness and the little island in the middle of the river.  Another great opportunity for a photo shoot.  There were lots of interesting benches.  First up was the kids...

 

Then it was our turn.

 

Only to be outdone by the more creative Braithwaites...

  

After Inverness we went to Culloden.  There was a castle there with some amazing gardens.  In fact I had a hard time not taking too many pictures.

The next day we headed out early to get to some Highland games Jeff had found.  I am so glad he did - it was a really fun day.  Jeff and Devin each entered a race.  Some of the kids raced too.  I loved the traditional sports as well as the dancing.

Check out this guys leg!  Talk about flexibility.

Go Devin!

No trip to the highlands would be complete without a visit to Loch Ness.  We took a boat ride but, alas, did not spot Nessie.  The boat driver did let the kids drive the boat which was exciting.

We also visited Urquhart castle situated on Loch Ness.  It was fun but I'm pretty sure the reason it is more popular than others in the area is its proximity to Loch Ness.

After Loch Ness we did some hiking and exploring.  It was really beautiful.

By now it was time to load up the party bus and drive back to Harrogate.  We were able to drive along some beautiful scenery.

We thankfully had a few more days with the Braithwaites.

Jonas in particular had some tricks up his sleeve he was saving for now.  Do you like his attempt at impressing his older friends? 

We took them to Whitby for a balmy day at the beach along with fish and chips - just to disgust Holly who doesn't really love fish.  Jeff drove there since Devin worked and I was impressed how well he did for being his first time on the left side of the road in a 17 passenger mini-bus.  I would never have had the nerve to do that, so, thankfully, he was willing.

For their last weekend, we went to London.  It was busy but so fun. 

Here's how anything tended to go...Mason or Grey would think of something fun to do and all the rest would follow suit.  At least this is a picture of faces, I felt like most of the trip I was staring at bums hanging over the edge of fountains. :)

We managed to get on the London Eye right as the sun was setting which was beautiful.

When we returned to Harrogate we were left with half a day before they had to leave.  Is it horrible of me to admit that this was almost my favorite day?  Holly and I ditched the guys & children and went to Knaresborough. 

We walked around the historic ruins and beautiful river before walking up into the town and doing some fun shopping in unique little stores.  We snacked on black licorice (a favorite of ours) and were able to shop without worrying about kids breaking things.  It was relaxing and fun and I could have spent more time there but there was issue of wanting to catch the plane on time.

I am so glad I got to spend those few weeks with Jeff and Holly.  They are such good friends and it meant a lot that they were willing to spend so much of their vacation with us.  Lastly, one of my favorite pictures of the trip...