Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Isle of Lewis and Harris

Last weekend our family make the journey to the Isle of Lewis.  Joe was asked to preach at a church there, so we happily obliged and boarded the ferry to make the 3 hour trip from Ullapool.  We've always wanted to go to Lewis and were so excited about the trip.  We were there from Thursday to Monday, and it was such a blessing!  It really turned into a small family vacation.  We rested, we explored, we worshiped.  It was fabulous!

Our first adventure on Friday was to explore Harris, an isle next to Lewis, connected by a narrow strip.  The  beaches on Harris are famous and compared to the Caribbean.  We HAD to see this!  We drove and drove and had almost given up hope when we came across an amazing beach!  BUT, we had no idea how to get to it.  After passing it, we turned around and decided to try a small path that lead to the local school.  Sure enough, this sign met us so we hopped out of the car and began the trek to the beach.  

A short hike through sheep fields later, we found this!  It was absolutely gorgeous!


The boys ran around and played ball while Eilidh and I watched.

All to ourselves.



This shows our walk back to the car :)

OK, we had to take a picture of this!  Basically, we decided to follow a sign to a Harris Tweed Company.  What we found was totally desolate terrain that reminded us of ''the end of the world'' :)  We kept going and going until we reached a little village and a small shop.  No purchases made but worth the memory!

Sweet girl.

We were placed in a wonderful home that belonged to a couple in the church.  We all loved it!  Here's what our mornings looked like.  Sky TV was really exciting for the boys!

''Tooned'' out!

This was the beach that was just down the road from our house.  We had fun one morning letting the boys run around and explore.

With the beach at my back, our house is just in the distance...first one on the left.



Amazing Dan!

Races with Daddy.

Run!

This is how Eilidh and I enjoyed the beach that morning.  I know, I know, but Eilidh couldn't stand the wind! We rolled the window down, sipped coffee and watched our men (big and little).


On Saturday we toured around Lewis.  We follow all of the historical markers and had so much fun with what we found.  A number of the markers took us to traditional ''blackhouses''.  These are thatched roof houses where families lived (with their livestock).  The smoke rose from an open fire inside, saturating the thatch which was changed from time to time and used to fertilize their crops.  It was fascinating to see them.


An old mill and kiln.


Boo!


Dan took this one!
One of our last stops was this blackhouse village.  It was evacuated by its last inhabitant in the 1970s!!!

Our trip was amazing.  The church there was so friendly and welcoming and we so enjoyed being with them!

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Birthday Boys!

Well, we now officially have a big THREE year old and FIVE year old in the house!  Here is a glimpse at our family celebrations this year.  The boys each got to choose what they wanted for breakfast and dinner.  It was fun to make what they chose.  Inbetween their birthdays (they are so close) we had a family style birthday party with two church families.  The boys put in a special request for a castle cake.  Mama did my best, and they seemed pleased :)

Caleb requested homemade bagels for his birthday breakfast.  He also chose to place his birthday band-aid smack dab in the middle of his forehead. (I know this won't make sense to some, but Caleb loves band-aids, so I told him he could put one anywhere he wanted simply because it was his birthday, no wound to be found! :) We love you, sweet boy!

THREE!

Birthday dinner: pepperoni pizza and pumpkin cake

I'm strong!


New toys!

Eilidh at 5 1/2 months enjoying the celebrations too.

A castle cake for my boys...so fun to make!

Many special requests came along with the excitement this year.  Both boys wanted to have their faces painted for the party.  Zorro and tough tiger made another appearance this night.

Happy Birthday to you!

Dan is FIVE!  He asked for eggs, bacon and scones...yum!


So happy!!!

I'm five!!!  It's hard to believe that Dan is really five.  This seems like such a milestone to me.  He is such a sweet boy and we are so thankful for him.