Scotland part 1

After the craziness at the end of the school year, we are finally done. It was a great year that Jamie and I will both look back on fondly. It's nice to reflect back on what we've learned. It has been a busy, yet satisfying year. Here's a quick list of what we accomplished:

• finished one year of our master's program
• had a great trip to Dubai
• had a baby!
• finished our 2nd year of teaching
• visited Wisconsin over spring break
• saw the largest oasis in the world (Hofuf)
  
• made some great new friends

On another note, we made it safe and sound to Edinburgh Tuesday morning. Aden did a great job again on the plane rides. He is going to be a pro flyer in no time. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Edinburgh. Edinburgh Castle is supposed to be pretty neat, but that was dampened (no pun intended) a bit by the downpour of rain that soaked us while we were there. Let's just say the next morning we found a Mothercare store and bought a rain cover for Aden's stroller. Since then, it hasn't done anything but sprinkle a bit. I'd rather be safe than sorry though. The funny part was that Aden laughed when the wind and rain hit his face. He has been such a trooper this whole trip. The weather has been much better the past few days. Wednesday we hung out on Princes Steet which has some beautiful parks. We just absorbed as much greenery as we could. We also toured HM the queen's residence in Edinburgh, Holyrood Palace. She will be coming to visit in about a week and will be throwing a huge garden party for 8,000 people. If we have a chance, we're hoping to make it back to Holyrood Park which has some wonderful walking and views.

After a great time in Edinburgh, we headed north. One of Jamie's goals for the trip was to visit a scotch whiskey distillery. We went to the Dewar's Distillery in Aberfeldy. It was really interesting to see/smell how they make the whiskey and compare it to the brewery tours we've taken. Then we drove a bit farther north to Newtonmore where the MacPherson Clan Museum is located. My side of the family has lineage that goes back to the MacPherson clan. The museum was small, but gave a lot of interesting information about the clan and its history. One more trip in the car took us to Braemar, a small town in the Cairngorn National Park. That brings us to today. Jamie and I like to take a day and do some scenic hiking when we go traveling. We ended up doing 2 hikes, both about 4 miles long. We had wonderful views of the mountains, the town, rivers, pastureland, and even a castle. Aden tried out his new backpack carrier and loved it!

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Tara

 outside Edinburgh Castle

 Daddy and Aden posing

 Aden's new aspiration, to be a bagpiper

 We got a sweet deal on upgrading to an Alfa Romero, so we took it.

 Aden enjoying the Romero

 Daddy, Aden, and the Dewar's Whiskey Highlander

 Gillaspie's, you would have loved the curator unfortunatly I didn't get a picture of him. 

Picture crazy long grey hair and a kilt.... pure awesome.

 Unplanned pit stop on the side of the road to change a blown out diaper.

Aden thought it was a lot of fun.

 Hiking in Cairngorn National Park

 One tuckered out little man.