Scotland - the Grand Adventure

How time flies when you're having fun! I have returned home safe and sound after a wonderful visit with my family - first in Calgary and then in Scotland. I spent a week with Luke, Mar and the boys as they finalized things for their move to Kamloops. We even had a wonderful party to celebrate Caleb's First birthday amid all the moving boxes. He is a true delight and enjoyed all the festivities. I was able to spend some time with daughter Jana, who helped me greatly in putting my trip together. She has become such an efficient young woman and I relied on her a great deal. I only wish that she could have gone with me. She was such a big help and a delight to be with on our trip to Newfoundland . Then it was on to Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis to spend some time with my sister Debbie, her husband John Murdo and their son Samuel. It was an exciting trip and I loved spending some time with them in their home in Scotland. We had a good time together and I was glad to be able to see some of the true beauty of their home. My nephew Samuel, has grown into a handsome and clever three year old wee boy with an obsession for all things SpiderMan. I guess it's only a matter of time before he realizes that they don't share the same powers. The Isle is a wonderful place and we even had a lovely day driving to Harris where we saw some amazing beaches and visited St. Clements Church and of course, shopped at the Harris Tweed shop in Tarbert. The weather was wonderfully unpredictable although the wind was quite consistent. In fact, when it was calm we knew that we were in the eye of the storm (usually a gale). It was great to see the beautiful beaches in all weather. I visited the Callanish Standing Stones, Carloway Broch and loved seeing the remnants of many buildings with such historical backgrounds. Sheep are indeed a common sight and always have the right of way. The ones in the photo were right outside my sister's kitchen window, but they are everywhere. A special treat was seeing some heather already in bloom. One of my favorite memories of my visit, was spending some time every evening watching the Red Nose Relief Fame Academy with my sister. This is a HUGE fundraising event in the UK and the participants are celebrities (some well known, some not so well known) who compete to raise money for various social causes. We watched the singing competition and loved that some of the competitors could not even sing at all, but all gave their very best effort. The grand finale was aired on the friday night before my departure home to Canada. This was a great evening as we saw the final episode of Dawn French's `The Vicar of Dibley' series - which I LOVE!!! For some unknown reason my siblings and I share a love for British comedy so this was a special treat for Debbie and I. Dawn French is one of my favorites so it really was extra special and a great closure for our visit together. Well, that's a recap of my trip to Scotland - it really is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of experiences and enjoyment factor. I came home to find that our son and his family had made the move to Kamloops and were busy getting settled into their temporary digs before taking possession of their new home in May. They have blessed my socks off in so many ways and what sheer joy it is to spend time with my beloved grandsons! I can hardly wait for our future adventures and making wonderful family memories.