Double the Grammas= Double the Fun

The Grandmas, both my mom and my mother-in-law, just left us in Scotland a couple of days ago.  Yes, they came together and we all survived;)  Claire absolutely loved having a playmate at all times as well as a sleepover every night for two weeks as one grandma shared a room with her.  And, with the help and attention Autumn received, she is now able to slowly crawl around the room.  We are waiting for her to speed up any day now....What did we do during the glorious grandma visit?

We spent a significant amount of time at the grocery store, watched Braveheart and the first season of Vicar of Dibley, shopped St. Andrews out of their tourist stock, enjoyed taking turns dropping off and picking up Claire from school, stayed in a gay hotel in Glasgow (straight and baby friendly gay that is;) ), raided McDonald's in Glasgow for a nightly ice cream craving, partook in high tea at Cup in Glasgow, explored the famous Stirling Castle and its tapestry weaving center, stayed in a very crowded and very strict Holiday Inn (just ask Grandma Chris) in Edinburgh connected to their lovely zoo which is now home to 2 pandas we were able to see, AND Keith and I managed to escape for a Valentine's date (one of 3 dates since September). 

Grandma detox has begun for all.  Claire is cranky without a constant playmate.  Mum is cranky without 2 extra maids, cooks, and babysitters.  Dad is cranky now that he is back to changing diapers and trying to manage Mum and daughter chocolate withdrawal.  Autumn is not cranky, but that's to be expected with her cheerful personality (personality disorder if you ask me;) ).  Claire is back to school tomorrow, Mum back to housework and coaching, and Dad back to diving into PhD. 

What is in store for us this spring?

Claire is continuing to up her reading level and looking forward to all the upcoming birthday parties in her class. 

Autumn is on her way to learning to walk in a couple of months.  The world will look VERY different for her soon.  I'm hoping to get her a playpen (aka prison) before she takes off too far.

Eve is going to be taking some coaching education courses alongside of continuing to coach one of the women's football teams at the university.  May even be looking for some part time youth ministry jobs...Will be visiting my friend, Lori, in Germany in March to see her wonderfully pregnant belly and get a sense of Koln and her life there.

Keith has a portfolio of sorts due- he needs to compile his research from this year and turn in something substantial to the school to show evidence of his work and progress.  Probably some late nights ahead for Keith. 

We hope to make our first trip to the Highlands- likely to the Isle of Skye to visit Peter's (Lori's husband) family there and witness its infamous beauty.  We are weighing the options as far as moving to a new house or location for next year...Also, waiting to see how the LORD is going to provide for us to stay and study another year in Scotland.  As always, visitors are welcome!  I will be posting pictures soon...