Well, I thought since it was almost Christmas time, I better upload the summer photos from the camera and start to play catch up.   Im seriously the absolute worst blogger.  I go in spurts.  It just takes too long and I rarely have the time to fiddle with it.  So here is the condensed version of our summer!

T-BALL

Rose actually really enjoyed T-ball.  Daddy was her coach and so, that in itself, made for a fun season.  Also, its not a contact sport, so it was a lot more pleasant.  Im starting to think baby girl will need to stick to non-contact for her future...  bless it.

Just candle handle such Loooooonnnnnngggg Games.... of like 35 miutes, tops. 

THE BEACH - Memorial Weekend

This one...  be still my heart.  She hears the sounds of waves, and within 5 minutes - its lights out.  every. single. day.

Kid literally goes so hard for so long... she crashes face first into the sand.  I joke you not.

It is amazing to me how much they have grown and changed in just 5 short months.....

so much love

Also, we went to Gatlinburg for 5 days toward the end of summer.  I honestly cant even remember if I took my camera or not.  I cant find documentation of that trip except on my iphone so im gonna go with NO.  That trip was actually a lot more fun that I thought it would be.  So much fun stuff to do in the mountains and on the strip.  We never even left Gatlinburg - never shopped Pigeon Forge - never went to Dollywood - never went to any shows - and we STILL had more than enough to do.  I took the kids "white water rafting" (aka - a float trip, but with some ripples) - it was fun. I have to kids the props, they did pretty well, other than the helmet (which was a must.)  The girls LOVED playing in the creek and cooking out in the park for lunch.  They had a blast at the visitors station.  I think we were there like two hours looking at the animals.....  They played hard and we had a fabulous time! 

SOMETHING TO BLOG ABOUT

ENGLAND

SEPTEMBER 28th - OCTOBER 3rd

DAY 1

(of sightseeing)

Big Ben, Parliment, Westminster Abbey, Churchill War Rooms, Jewel Tower

Big Ben - under construction

side entrance - Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

DAY 2

Borough Market, Southwark Cathedral, London Bridge Experience, Tower Bridge Exibition, Tower of London, St. Pauls Cathedral, City of London Distillery

Could grocery shop here - all day. every day.

The bread was good.  The cheese was even better.  But the grilled cheese - in the bread - was PHENOMENAL

Southwark Cathedral

The London Bridge

Queens Walkway - shop your heart out

Tower Bridge

View from the top of the Tower Bridge - yes, Mark even made the climb!

outdoor dining

City of London from the other side of the Thames River

Westminster Bridge

London Eye and Pier

Wellington Arch

Tower of London

St Paul Cathedral - SO MASSIVE. 
Also to note:  my fathers first (of 4) incidences with the Police
Side note #2 - dont bring a US military knife into a cathedral......

cant even get the entire church in one photo...

City of London Distillery

DAY 3

Buckingham Palace, Harrods, Hop On / Hop Off Bus tour around the city

Royal muse

Queen Elizabeth rode this carriage to her Coronation

wearing those headphones - getting his english education on!

DAY 4

Windsor Castle, Wimbledon

Windsor - a favorite from the trip for sure!

Windsor - the Queens "other" residence

No Caption Needed....

Court #1 - getting an enclosed roof - will be ready summer 2019

much smaller than either one of us thought it would be....

Film Crew Patio Deck

Princess Kate's box

 DAY 5

Stonehenge, Kensington Palace, Caledonia Midnight Rider

I was actually very surprised at how much I enjoyed Stonehenge.  It really is beautiful and a great experience.  

Sadly,  all of my pictures from the train ride are on my phone... but just know, that was the worst idea I have ever had.  NEVER, under any circumstances, rent a "sleeper cart" on a train....  Just fly and then get a room.  It was miserable.  Not a highlight of the trip - unless you are looking for some sleep-deprived laughs - then it would score a 100.

SCOTLAND 

OCTOBER 4th - OCTOBER 8th

DAY 6

Edinburgh Castle, The Scotch Whiskey Experience, and the Royal Mile

Please take note at how high we had to climb to get there.  In Scotland that is known as "The Mound."  This was also the only day that my mother complained.  I complained also.

Edinburgh Castle

View from the Top

The hole in which Royal Crown Jewels were hidden during WWII

DAY 7

The Boys played Golf

The others... Did Greyfriars Bobby, Holy-rood Palace, and shopped and dined on the Royal Mile (just couldn't get enough of it)

The Story behind Greyfriars

Holy-Rood Palace

Arthur's Seat - we did not hike it - you could if you wanted to

Palace of Holyrood Abbey

DAY 8

Deanston Distillery, Glencoe, Fort Augustus, and Pitlarchy

A.K.A. - THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

Hairy Cows

They say the mountains cry.....

Isle of Mull seen in the background

Fort Augustus - small little town at the entrance to the Loch Ness Lake

Loch Ness Lake

Did I mention it was cold???

The mark of death.... headed to the slaughter

We had a wonderful trip.....  lots of "touristy" stuff ...  I think the next trip will be a little more relaxed and not so rush/rush.  So... that gets me to thinking... where to now???