Kilconquhar Castle

This year we had to explain that not only would Santa be able to find us in Scotland...but he and his reindeer would also be able to find Emerson and Ward at Kilconquhar Castle, which is a far cry from our little flat. We had a couple of days of luxury while my parents were over visiting. As much as my Mom & Dad would have loved to spend their entire vacation on our bunkbeds, they made the sacrifice for Trey and I. They wanted us to have a few days of "vacation" too. It was really nice to have someone else do the Christmas dinner...and especially the Christmas dinner dishes! Kilconquhar Castle is North of Edinburgh, near St. Andrews. It is an old estate that has been turned into a time-share resort, complete with a fitness center, indoor swimming pool, and equestrian center. Emerson, mom and I went horseback riding on Boxing Day. Emerson got to ride a pony named Pepsi. I think she grinned from ear to ear the entire time. And yes...Santa did manage to deliver a few gifts to our little cuties. Emerson was amazed that she had only asked for a pink camera and paint but Santa brought her a few extra things as well. There are several photos of our little budding photographer below.

Christmas in Edinburgh

Ok for those of you have been waiting on pins and needles...here it is finally! I really have been meaning to update with our Christmas news and photos. We had such a great visit with Nana and Papa and then launched straight into a new family routine with Emerson's new school, ballet, Ward crawling all over the place so my "blog" time has been a little limited lately.

I figured that since it is a month late, I just need to do what ever I need to do to get the update done. So I am going to take the hundreds of photos that my dad took during their nearly 2 week stay and try to whittle them down into some sort of useable fashion so here goes....

Edinburgh is wonderful at Christmas. Downtown there is a quirkly little German village filled with crafts, art, and food. In the area around the Christmas village there are loads of fair rides such as a giant ferris wheel and carousel. There is an outdoor ice skating rink in Princes Street Gardens, live reindeer and a teepee that houses Santa. Yes, you read that correctly...a teepee. I am not really sure why because we didn't go into see Santa, but we did nearly everything else. The festive lights and all of these attractions make it a pretty exciting place to be at Christmas time. Emerson had been looking longingly at the ferris wheel for atleast a month, but we told her she had to wait until Nana & Papa came to ride.

Emerson enjoying the views from the 7-story high ferris wheel. Jenners, Edinburgh's oldest and most famous department store, in the background.A ride on the carosel.

Ward staying warm on a very cold day.Emerson LOVES the Pipers.One of our favorite spots in the city: Hope Park.Emerson and Nana playing at the park.

A view of The Meadows and Arthur's Seat in the background.
Waiting for our bus to church.Our little model- Emerson walking (and posing) on her way to the bus.My boys...looking an awful lot alike!...all we need is a Santa suit for Trey...