Bowlin Beige

Yes, I realize summer is over and I've been very neglectful of my little blog. As usual, I had great intentions but life took over. Here's just a little summary of some other fun things we did (aside from our amazing trip to Scotland).   The kids got to spend those two weeks with Nana and Papa enjoying Vacation Bible School, swimming at the lake, hiking in the woods, and helping with the garden. Then we got to spend 5 more days at the lake later August - more swimming, s'mores making, fishing, and outdoor fun! And this time the dogs got to come with us. Blue thinks he found heaven!  He loves catching them but doesn't want to get too close. Not sure who is doing the fishing... No clothes? No problem! In July, Ainsley joined her cousins for two weeks at 'Camp Grandaddy' in North Carolina. They hiked, swam, camped, learned about butterflies, created a tree book, fished, made sailboats, climbed apple trees, star gazed, ...

To see all of the photos from our trip, please view my Flickr album  https://www.flickr.com/gp/126220784@N06/jQAy1Z Now that we are back in the good ole U.S. I feel like I should take some time to reflect on our trip. It was amazing, beautiful, breathtaking, fun, delicious, and relaxing (not a sit-in-a-beach-chair-all-day kind of relaxing, but more like escape-from-children-and-drink-when-you-want-to relaxing). The landscapes are unbelievable and it's impossible to accurately capture it in photographs. The cities are historic, quaint, and interesting. It makes you remember how 'new' everything is in America (also how much we tend to build with crappy materials that don't last very long).  There are things that were awesome about the country and things that were annoying - like the sinks with separate hot and cold faucets.  The country is so clean - we didn't see litter anywhere. They are so smart with their roads - I just can't say enough good things about r...

Although our trip to Scotland appeared  to be picture-perfect, we definitely had a few camera bloopers along the way. Didn't want you to think that we were that perfect... Boob shot The sun is too bright!! How does this selfie stick work?? The sun is still too bright!! Did I turn off the camera? Can't you see I just shoved a whole granola bar in my mouth? It's too windy!!

Well, the day I've dreaded has finally arrived. Our last full day in Scotland - we fly back to the States tomorrow. It has been such a great trip and we've done so much in the past nine days! Today we explored more of Stirling, starting with Bannockburn Battlefield. This is where Robert the Bruce beat the English in the early 1300's, even though they were highly outnumbered. Scots consider this the most important battle in gaining Scottish independence. Lunch at a local pub with a great quote on their bar. Next on to Edinburgh Castle, probably the best preserved castle in Scotland (and certainly the most historically significant). Built on high rock with beautiful views of the surrounding areas. Another Heilan Coo! She even posed for me. We stopped at a cafe to meet Maggie, a Scotland artist who is a friend of my mom's. My mom has taken several of her pastel workshops (including one in Scotland a few years ago) and Maggie always stays with my parents when she comes to t...

We  had such a good nights sleep in our dark castle room and woke up ready for our next adventure. After breakfast we popped back in the car and headed east. We had been staying in the Argyll region and covered the last bit of the southern Highlands as we drove through Glen Lochy and south to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. We made it almost to Ayrshire, but we'll have to come back another time to visit my (maiden) namesake. This is the park where the Scots go to vacation, and it's easy to see why. It's an hour from Glasgow, Stirling, and Edinburgh, so that's most of the population!  We stopped for lunch on the loch and then headed through the middle of the park. My DH was so excited to drive through Dukes Pass, especially because he happened to be wearing a JMU shirt! So many beautiful places to stop for a walk. I'm constantly amazed by how green everything is. "Cow and Castle" My highlight from today was finally seeing Heilan Coos that were ...