Edinburgh

Our Edinburgh trip was coordinated

by the one & only Miss Heather.

and what a trip a was...  

When we arrived, it started to rain, like so...

No worries though, a little rain never hurt anyone,

& besides when you've got buses in front of you with 

signs like this, it's quite entertaining.

 

But, back to our adventure...

We spent quite a bit of time navigating this great city

via Grandma Nona's Honda Jazz .

We had conversations with bus drivers and everything.  

We eventually put two and two together and

figured out the driver was telling us to

get out of his lane.  Oh geez!  Good thing we were

just tourists!  So, we eventually arrived at a parking garage

safe & sound.  Next task, find Auntie Heather, Steve, &

Auntie-Cousin Kate.  Shouldn't be very difficult, right?

After successfully unpacking the well-packed Jazz,

we loaded up Piper in her stroller and we were off to the castle.

At this point, we couldn't see where this castle was -

so a kind stranger told us, "Yep, just go up the sidewalk here

and take the stairs on the left."

And we did just that-

good Lord it was a lot of stairs!

 

  

But, we made it and I'm fairly certain

we were all a little more breathless than

we'd care to admit.

And there they were patiently waiting - 

Auntie Heather, Steve, & Auntie-Cousin Kate :o)

The view was just breathtaking & the rain just

made all the bricks look glass-like.

 

For crying out loud we were at a castle.

A real-deal castle, like in a Disney cartoon.

Wow, just wow! 

It was an adventure that I'll remember for always.

Scotland 2014, The Things I'll Remember Most...

I was both ecstatic and nervous for our

first trip to Scotland with a little one.

I was most nervous for the flight part..

you know, changing diapers - oh my gosh

what if she has a melt down, who's going to

hold the winning ticket to sit next to us?

 

But, it actually was not...that...bad.

We sat next to a really nice college girl who was on

her way to Rome for her spring break on the way there.

She was gaga for Piper.  What a relief.

And the bathroom/ diaper changing situation - 

totally not a big deal either.

However, I have to say I did have to throw

away some of Piper's clothes on the way there

and on the way home.  Traveling can really 

mess up a baby's system.

And I learned the hard way 

that it's not a bad idea to pack an extra outfit 

for yourself.

Here's the things I'll remember most:

Daffodils.

Everywhere.

  Yellow, cheery daffodils-

everywhere.

These were the best to see after leaving

a very brown Chicago behind.

Bucks runs.  

But, in Scotland (well, Aberdeen anyway)

the restroom keys are

like the keys you see in Harry Potter.

How cool is that?

The coolest playgrounds ever.

We need giant cobweb shaped swings here.

Dancing to Elvis with the grandparents.

It just melted my heart.  How adorable are they?

 

Snow White costumes - courtesy of Gramma Nona.

The Cove.

and garden centers.  

Gramma Nona has a garden center radar, 

which is a really valuable tool.

 

 

..and Grandpa calling Pipes "flower"

any chance he got :o)

 

Gramma Nona's Arctic Visit

Gramma Nona came across the ocean

again for a visit.  And we couldn't be more excited

because she's basically a cross between Mary Poppins

and Mrs. Doubtfire.  All around awesome.

I'm not sure she'll come back in January again though.

She came during a polar vortex.  Geez Louise it was cold...

Since Gramma Nona is an artist,

we took her to the Milwaukee Art Museum.  It

was a first for all of us.  We'll definitely be

going  back.  It was super kid friendly.  We went on

a Saturday and surprisingly, it wasn't overcrowded.

 

  

We went out to eat a couple of times.

But, my favorite was this trip to the Olive Garden

where Gramma chatted up the waiter.

This is where we found out Gramma has a business card!

How cool is that?  She even tweeted about Aaron (the waiter)

when she got home.  She's into her social networking :0)

 

Gramma's last full day here was a girls day.

Poor mister had to work.

We trekked down to my home town to see my

mom and Great Grandma.

It's not too often that you get to take a photo

of a girl with three of her grandmas.

 

 

On Gramma's real last day of her arctic visit,

we visited the Apple store where she got herself an iPad.

Told ya she was cool. 

 

We didn't really want to take her back to the airport.  

But, I suppose all great things must come to an end.  

We miss her already!  The countdown till March has begun.

Gramma Nona's Visit

Gramma Nona was Piper's second

overseas visitor.  We are sooo happy

she got to come visit.  The mister was especially 

excited - it had been 3 years since we

last saw her in person.  (geez--that was for our wedding...

3 years ago..really?)

First stop, the Chicago Botanic Gardens.

This place was way more impressive than I thought

it would be.  It was a first for all of us.  We'll

definitely be visiting again.

We had to show Gramma Nona the Volo Antique Mall.

Wouldn't it be pretty sweet to have a vintage

VW beetle as the family car?  Way cooler than

a minivan, right?

And we can't let any overseas visitors leave

our neck of the woods without taking them to Lake Geneva

...at least once.

...and last but certainly not least

we took Gramma Nona and Piper to their 

first Japanese restaurant, Kyoto.

It was delish--but, made Gramma Nona

nervous with all the fire at the table.

 

And every time a Scot visits, I'm bound

to learn a new word or two.  This time was no

exception.  Gramma calls baby toots "windy pops" 

and dirty diapers "a whoopsie".  

Adorable, just adorable.