Tap O'Noth

After eating one too many christmas cookies, the few of us with dogs left in Aberdeen after Christmas decided to get out and stretch our legs and let the dogs burn some energy.  We piled into two Land Rover Defenders and headed about 1.5 hours northwest of Aberdeen to Tap O'Noth.  The online review of the walk said it was a hill but when we pulled up to the little parking lot at the base Laine exclaimed that it was not a hill but a mountain.  Needless to say we climbed it anyway.  It was a bit windy when we reached the top but the views were well worth it.

Bailey photo bombing the picture, but she is sure a sweetie!

Every hill/mountain top in Scotland has some sort
 of stone plack to tell you where you are 

Kady and I bracing the wind

Ryan and Angus

Ninja stealth time

Home for the Holidays

I decided after five, read it, five home trips in 2011 I would only go home once in 2012.  This resulted in people coming to visit me and me being able to do some traveling myself.  So my one and only trip to the good ol' USA was for Thanksgiving to Seattle where my sister and her family live.  Once my mom and dad found out I was spending Thanksgiving in Seattle they too decided they were coming.

It ended up being a really great trip home with some much needed family time.  My sister and I were able to take a whole day just the two of us visiting and shopping (thanks again Brent for watching the kids!) before mom and dad arrived.  Once my mom and dad arrived, the three of us moved into the condo we had rented for the week thus not over crowding my sister and her family.

All in all we had a great week of laughing and visiting and eating and playing.  We all went to an indoor trampoline center where Aislin and Cadel (and the adults) had a blast jumping.  We went down to the Seattle Space Needle where the Chihuly glass exhibit is on permanent display.  And we celebrated Aislin's 5th birthday a few days early.

My dad 

My mom

Chihuly

Rachel and Aislin

Sting ray

Aislin taking pictures with her mom's phone

Cuddly Cadel

Space Needle

 

Cadel being goofy

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Birthday Celebration times 3

A few days after Halloween we had our birthday party.  Julia and I were born on the same day, same year and are 4 hours apart in age.  Andrea celebrates her birthday a few days later so we decided that we needed to have a birthday party.  When Julia and I were discussing ideas, we both agreed that with our birthday just a few days before Halloween, we were never able to have both birthday parties and Halloween parties.. so this year we were going to combine them.  Here is what resulted in this idea.

Carmen San Diego and the Mad Hatter (birthday twins)

Our American friends in their great costumes!

Getting ready for the line of 50 shots that were included in our party package

The three birthday girls with the 50 shots, no we didn't
drink them all ourselves, we shared them with our guests

Gerald attempting to not topple over the giant Jenga game

Three of my local Aberdeen friends, like I said before the Scotts really get into Halloween fancy dress

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Halloween

This year we spent Halloween at Slain's Castle, a local pub in Aberdeen that is.. well... interesting.  The pub draws its inspiration from Bram Stoker's Dracula and is set in an old church.   Really can you think of a better setting for a night out on old hallow's eve??  Celebrating Halloween in Scotland is becoming more common and there were actually a lot of people out in costumes, or fancy dress as the Scotts refer to it.  Here are a few pictures of the creativity of my friends... I must admit that James (skeleton) and Tash (zombie girl) who are both Welch really got into it!

Tash (zombie girl), me (Cleopatra), Nary (Tagness Everdeen from Hunger Games),
James (skeleton) and Gerald (tiger)

Nary, me, James, Tash, Ram (20's gangster) and Gerald

Tanvi (20's flapper)  and I

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Ice Ice Baby, Iceland that is

Iceland has always been a big bucket list item for me and with it so close to Scotland and cheap non-stop flights from Glasgow I decided it was a must while I'm living on this side of the pond.  When the group of fellow Americans and I got together to see if our bucket lists overlap it was obvious that Iceland was on several peoples lists.  So it was decided that we would see if we couldn't get a group together to explore this amazing ever expanding island.

Jon, Julia and I all agreed that we wanted to go and that we had the vacation days to make it happen.  So we started looking into the trip and very quickly booked it!  Jon was only able to be on the trip for the first half and Julia and I spent 10 days exploring Iceland.  

Iceland was a trip of many firsts for me.  First time inside a volcano.  First time on a glacier.  First time in a helicopter.  

This was a trip of a lifetime and the 2000+ pictures I returned home with are proof of that.  I have managed to narrow it down to just over 1400 photos, but it is a trip of a lifetime that the memories won't fade quickly from.

The church in Reykjavik

Julia and I getting ready to go down into the belly of the beast

View from the bottom of the volcano chamber looking
up to the entrance we just descended through

Me in the belly of the beast

One of many waterfalls

All geared up and ready to hike around on the glacier

Jon and Julia climbing the glacier

Ready for the zodiac ride across iceberg lagoon

One of many icebergs that have calved off the main glacier 

Jon and I doing a little kung fu?

Puffin with dinner

Beautiful sunset

There she blows!

On top of the unpronounceable volcano that erupted in 2010

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