this dojo

The boys had their first karate grading today and are now orange belts. The first night I tried to take them to karate I got lost driving and the car almost overheated. Atlas REALLY didn't want to go and it rained so hard and so much that I thought we were all going to float away. Karate makes me laugh. I loved the first karate kid movie and even did a semester of karate at BYU! My mom has been telling me to sign the boys up since we moved here. But karate makes me laugh. I changed my mind about karate this past summer when we were in Paris. Richard and I were watching some boys dance in a little park when one of them started doing a kata. The other guy could not get the moves and the karate dude was a better dancer... do you see where this is going? I resolved that my boys would get rhythm and be coordinated in any way possible. The boys have admitted (finally) that they enjoy it. We tease them and make all sorts of karate jokes but we do take them and would make them go.... The night Atlas got his karate gi he put it on for me and I laughed so hard I cried. He indulged me by letting me take pictures of him in various stances. My camera light broke (why I usually NEVER let the kids touch my camera!!!), so the pictures aren't great. He is totally the bad boy in The Karate Kid!

It's November!

The leaves on some of the trees are gone!
I took Emilia out to lunch one day last week (I never came back) and we went to this great little cafe called "Heart Buchanan". If Williams-sonoma was ever a cafe this is what it would be. The food is gourmet and simple and there is a little shop. My favorite is their rocket pesto. Not cheap but worth every pence!
Paris turned 6.
We had a birthday party for her. Richard and I took 9 little girls to a craft shop where they decoupaged animals.
And of course the kids dressed up for Halloween.

October week

The kids got a week off from school last week. I didn't. Richard worked. So we sent the 3 littles to Theatre camp for the week. It was a huge hit. (Atlas spent the week at the skate park) Leif and Paris starred in "Peter Pan". Leif was Peter and Paris Tinker bell! They had just a week and the play was great. All the kids memorised their lines and we enjoyed watching it!!! Paris died, Leif had his first sword fight, stage kiss... so fun.

This autumn has been beautiful. Last year it rained and rained and rained (I could keep going). The rain hasn't started yet... All around it is so breath-takingly beautiful. I could post so many photos, but these few will give you the idea.

A new leaf

I am in my last stretch here at 'uni' with just 9 months left in Glasgow. We plan on leaving right after graduation. So I thought that instead of trying to blog about what I am doing and trying to make it interesting, I would blog about what I like here. Yesterday was absolutely beautiful, the sun was out and the leaves so many amazing colors- it was a spectacular day. So I am going to post photos of my favorite venues here. The first up is Crossraguel Abbey. It is located about 45 minutes away by car, south, near a quaint little town by the name of Maybole. I tried to go to the Abbey 3 years ago on a day out with Atlas. We took the train and then the bus and then tried to walk the 2 miles, but as we had no idea how far 2 miles was we never quite made it to the abbey. Instead we stopped at a shell of a castle that was filled with hay. There were giant rounds of hay stored in the building. When we finally got to the abbey a few weeks ago, we could see the ruined castle from the abbey grounds. The Abbey was just 500 yards around a bend and could not be seen from where we stopped! We took a picnic lunch and my mom and explored the beautiful ruined abbey. The kids played tag and hide-n-seek. My mom did the abbey worksheet given to the kids (word puzzles and clues) and I had a great time ignoring my rowdy children and playing photographer!

The last image is from another outing- Stirling Castle, about an hour north of here by car. We visited the ancient graveyard and challenged the kids to find the oldest grave. The kids found a lot from the 1500's! I found this statue of a child. Unfortunately it lost its head.

School time

School is in full swing- this is the kids' 4th week. Their first day was great. It was pouring rain, a first for us, but because we were ready for Glasgow, all went well. The 3 youngest rode their bikes and Francie and I ran behind. Francie is a better runner than me. The second day as we went to unlock the bikes, we discovered that Leif's was stolen! We were in shock. The antique cast iron fence had been kicked? sawed? the bike was gone and so was the chain. Leif rode on the back of Emilia's bike that day and quite a few since. We are trying to replace it, but all things are difficult to get done here. The second week Emilia and Leif ran for Pupil Council. They made badges and posters, at school- everything is very fair here. The two wrote speeches and gave them. On Friday both were elected. We were so pleased. BOTH!
Then Rich and I took off for a little trip, just the two of us. Long over due. I booked cheap tickets to Malaga back in the early spring. As the date was getting closer, both Rich and I started dreading it- too much work for Rich and he wanted to just stay- and for me it was just letting go and not worry about the kids. I told Rich he could stay home, no hard feelings! That got him a bit mad at me and then he for sure was going to come with me. We had no reservations for anywhere- the plan was to camp. We had no travel guide. Forbidden! We didn't want to have to do anything or to miss anything. I booked a car. We just knew that it would be warm and sunny. At the airport Rich said, "Let's get away from the British"! I laughed so hard. There were so many and they all had a zillion kids. Spain is for families. We didn't realise that the "Costa del Sol" is really built up and touristy. Like Waikiki? never been there, but so I was told. Any ways, touristy was not what we were after. I was driving the tiny stick shift car so I drove south. Richard wanted to go east, but I won. This was my idea and I always wanted to go to Gibraltar. Then we could go East. If he still wanted to... We sunned and swam and then went to Gibraltar. It surpassed my expectations. We were like little kids at Disneyland. We saw the Macaques first as that was my main reason for going to Gibraltar- yes driving 150 kilometres to see monkeys in the wild. They were beautiful and scary! As we were watching them play in a little pool, one used Rich as a spring board to get higher. He got muddy monkey paws on his white shirt. We laughed so hard.
We visited a Moorish castle and saw the old fortifications and tunnels. We then saw the grotto- the biggest stalactites and stalagmites that I have ever seen (and I have been to a few caves). A part of the cave had a stage where weddings, ballets, operas etc are still performed. Classical music was piped through out the cave.

I think it was Gibraltar where we finally found our grove. Luckily it was the first day. We camped in amazing places, climbed amazing sand dunes and sunned and swam in crystal clear water. We stayed in the south. Apparently it is touristy all the way to Barcelona and where we were, the most southern spot in Europe, it was rural and lovely. It was a perfect way to end summer. I had a permanent smile on my face every day- even when my bottom lip swelled horribly from the sun, like a bad botox job (I imagine) and it was hard to drink water. We kept saying that the kids would love this or that and we hope to take them this spring...That is Africa in the distance.

Camping

No summer is complete without a camp out. I love to camp. I grew up camping with my dad and sister Cammie. While the kids were finishing up school and I was trying to play the uke, every day was cold, windy and cloudy. I need sun. I love the sun. So after searching for deals, I booked a "free" flight to Sardinia. I didn't want it to cost a fortune- the hotels weren't being compliant, so Cammie came over and practised her Italian and made a few phone calls for me about getting camp spaces. The first phone call was a wrong number- it should have been a camping place but was a residence. What did Cammie do? She didn't hang up like I might have. She asked the guy where a good camping place was. He asked his friend and then recommended a place. We googled it and then called- the place didn't have a website, but the camp manager sounded really nice on the phone and said there were always spaces for tents- no reservations needed or taken!. That was enough for me. I found a tent and sleeping bags super cheap and best of all they fit in our carry-on bags! I took Atlas and Emilia and for 5 blissful, warm and quiet days (I don't speak Italian) we camped on the beach. The camp place was great- low key with families and couples and grandparents and we were the only Americans- maybe in all of Sardinia. Atlas was thrilled to see wild flamingos. The water was crystal clear and snorkelling great. We got a little too much sun and the ground was hard but it was just perfect.

family vacation

To say that we are geographically challenged might be a bit of an understatement. When we got off the plane in Beauvais the sun was shining and it was so warm. Deliciously warm. Our apartment for the week was up 108 steps (the Sacre Coeur is up 211 steps). It was at the top of a 5 story building and we climbed them at least once a day- sometimes 2 or 3 times. We showed our kids such a good time that they all agreed that they would like Paris to be their next home!



I have been to Paris many times. I stayed outside the city for a few months and took the train in almost every day, but this trip was the first time I saw the Moulin Rouge and took a ride on the Batteau Mouche.

From bike riding (the Velib is awesome and so simple to use), to rowing boats, swimming in fountains and pony riding, we absolutely love Paris. Richard is already checking out Masters of International Law Programs in France for me...