Bithday Fun

How fun that we have so many birthdays in August! We had a great birthday mini-celebration with Lindsay. She came over for some cupcakes the boys helped make for her and a fun cake card, as well as a framed photo of her little nephews. A few days later it was Jack and Christian's very first birthday!! We went to the beach and they really had a fun time crawling around and walking in the water. They also had fun opening the present that Nana and Grandpa sent them. Thanks guys!
And of course congratulations to baby Schneider (haven't heard what his name is yet!! please let us know as we are trying to wait patiently for the news!!!) who shares Jack and Christian's birthday. We can't wait to meet you.
Happy Belated Birthday to Uncle Rico too. The birthday party week isn't complete without you.
xo

SCOTLAND!!

Our trip to Scotland was so amazing! David and I enjoyed visiting with Schneiders and Oliver sure loves his Uncle David now- they bonded throwing rocks, and juggling, or in Oliver's case, trying to juggle!! Amidst the pics there is one hidden phrase that contains Auntie Linds' nickname! See if you can find it ;)

David and I climbed aboard a plane after Mom's birthday celebration, and met up with Hannah in London, then headed to Edinburgh, Scotland, where we saw Snej and Little Jo!! It was such a blast to travel through this incredibly gorgeous, historical place! Char was such a great hostess, too! Even though she slept, ate, and walked for TWO.






















We met up with Snej and explored Edinburgh!!





The Botanical Gardens and the Highland games, where we watched some awesome sports!! If you look closely at the first picture you'll see one of the athletes preparing for the caber toss, where he threw a huge log.

Aberdeen University and the park

SCOTLAND!!

Dunnotter



Tried the good ol' battered mars bars... they deep fry everything!! Oliver, on the other hand, is a BIG fan of strawberries. He would stop at nothing to get to them

SCOTLAND!!

Drum castle



The rose gardens near Drum castle. Oliver stormed the gate and took us on a tour.


Oliver does not want to leave the rose garden!


Aberdeen city centre!



Oliver collecting and throwing rocks near his place!

David standing in front of Carthes castle, the old home of the Burnett family, friends of the Queeen!
We has such a grand old time! Thanks Schneiders!!!!

On Our Way Home- A Garden from Postage Stamps

First Photo Mom and me in front of one of the garden's dawn redwoods, once thought to be extinct. Carl English started it in 1948 from the first seeds brought to America after the species was rediscovered in China.

One of the things David wanted to do when he got home to Seattle was visit the Chittenden locks - a massive system built by the US Army Corps of Engineers to lift boats of all sizes from the ocean (Elliott Bay) to Lake Union and Lake Washington.
A big attraction of the Locks is the Carl S English botanical gardens. Our tour guide told us that the 7 acre garden was originally meant to be a parade grounds (flat area of grass) in the military style. But the young officer in charge of the grounds, Carl English, didn’t like the idea of mowing all that grass, so over the course of several years he turned the grounds into a garden, and he did this without any budget or even permission from his superior officers.
This is how he did it. Whenever he and his wife had vacation time they travelled to various destinations and hiked and collected seeds. Then they grew the seeds in their greenhouse and planted them in the garden. They also corresponded with other botanists and traded seeds in the mail.
Today the garden is famous for it’s hundreds of rare and beautiful plants.

It's often referred to as the garden grown with postage stamps.

I think this story has many applications for us as we journey on our way home:
Planning and goal setting are very important.
We need hard work and focus.
We need to gather as much research and information as we can.
We often need to enlist the help of others.
In life, most things of value are a marathon, not a sprint.

I'd be very interested to hear your feedback on this story, and anything else it teaches us.
Luv to all,
Dad/Gramps

Jewel!!

Meliss and I went to see JEWEL at the Hollywood bowl.....