Matt's favorite

(This post could be titled "Matt's favorite" or "the day I wanted 'to batter' Susanne".)

When our Scottish friend Susanne suggested a 3 hour walk both Matt and I quickly agreed!!
It turns out our definitions of "walk" were very different.

We set out on a sunny day, with our lunches packed, for what I thought would be a nice stroll through rolling hills and maybe around a lake.



After an hour of moderate hiking we came upon this lake and I assumed this was our stopping point.

It turns out we were barely halfway there.

We spent the next 1 hour and 20 minutes climbing stone steps straight up the side of the mountain.

now high above the lake

My legs were shaking and Matt (not knowing what we getting ourselves into) was still carrying a sleeping Abigail on the front of him and could barely see the steps.
 I kept telling him it was okay with me if we didn't go all the way to the top.

But we plowed on.

I'm pretty sure this story will someday make it into a sermon on endurance.

And we made it to the top!
Ben-y-Vrackie

Matt, Abigail, Susanne, & her niece Hannah

Abigail was all smiles after her nap

 there's that lake again from the top

Matt felt pretty mighty for hiking and carrying a baby to the top

the way down

me and my girl (on a nursing stop)

a tired mama, it was at this point Susanne told me that in Scotland they have a phrase "wanting to batter" someone and that probably I wanted to batter her at that point for taking us on such a mountain climb.

the sign post to Ben-y-Vrackie and the mountain on the right (almost a 3000 ft climb)

Whoops, we missed this sign on the way up!

So, should you ever be in Scotland and get asked to go on a 3 hour walk - be warned - you may actually be agreeing to a 4 hour mountain climbing adventure!

my favorite

If you were to ask me what my favorite thing we did in Scotland was - it was this:
exploring Stirling Castle.

the view from street level: can you see it way up there?

It was about 30 minutes from Perth (the city we stayed in) and totally worth the trek.

It sat way high above the city of Stirling. 

And it was not a palace (I've seen plenty of those before) - very little parading through gawking at priceless treasures owned by kings & queens. 
It was a fortified stone castle (that changed hands 13 times between the English and the Scots).



 And it was absolutely worth exploring. 


Yes, there were other tourists there (in fact, there were probably a few hundred) but it was so enormous that for most of the time it felt like we had the place to ourselves.
And a castle to yourself, well, that's a pretty awesome thing!



We gazed at gardens


looked down at the city


viewed the William Wallace monument sitting atop an opposing hill

(the monument is the tall white-looking tower in the distant middle)

peered through all sorts of peepholes, doors and lookouts,

we even got to hear the Scottish youth corale sing in the Chapel - absolutely gorgeous!!


3 happy, castle explorers! 

we stayed until closing time 

and getting out the tiny door that sat in the larger castle door was an especially great exit!

welcome

Welcome to Scotland!

Land of driving on the left side of the road,
(way to go Matty!)

beautiful views wherever you go,

 

awesome red telephone booths,

hotels that are actually castles,

the land of Peebleshire - home of the Robbins'
(according to family lore)

numerous stone buildings

colorful doors

 

graveyards 
 (where we had hoped to find some Robbins' but couldn't read anything before 1850)

bountiful cups of delicious coffee and tea

alleys with a view

picturesque towns

this happy, traveling trio

evidence of the Robbins!

 

perspective

A few days ago, I bid adieu to my two precious older ones and left them in 

grandma & grandpa's care.

(not to worry, they are having a LOT of fun)

 And Abigail and I boarded a 10 hour plane ride,

only to discover that the bassinet
 I had requested,
 counted on,
 confirmed
and then confirmed again
was not available.

(the airline booked two babies in the same row and had oversold the flight - oops)

So I got moved to a seat with no bassinet and no way of setting down Abigail for 10 hours.
Did I mention that Abigail starting running a fever just a few hours before the flight and that I was pretty sure she had an ear infection.

This was seriously the makings for a mommy meltdown.
And four years ago I most certainly would have started crying and wondering how I was ever going to make it through to meet Matt.

But you know what?

I stayed totally calm.
I remembered the 11 hour bus ride through West Africa where I only stood up once and
the enormously long flight to India with Hannah and
the time I flew with Hannah & Peter by myself to LA and
Hannah's ear infection that we got treated in Chennai
and I thought what a treat it was for a stay at home mom to travel internationally
with only one child
and I took a deep breath and thought I can do this!

And joy of all joys the stewards found an old bassinet (thanks be to God),
shoved it under the empty seat next to me and Abigail slept for 6 hours of the flight!!

Can you see her down there?

 And we made it!

Reunited with Daddy

and ready to explore!