We're in Portugal!

Yes, we have left Edinburgh and we're now in Lisbon, Portugal. It's a little sad to have left Edinburgh, but we're all looking forward to being back in FL soon. Only six more days. Wow!

I'd like to say that the trip here was uneventful and that we're well on our way to transitionally smoothly back to the states, but that would be a lie. First, we had to start by waking up at 4:30 in the morning. This was a bit difficult since we don't have cell phones (or mobiles) and there are no clocks in the flat. But, we were able to use my new running watch and Cole's iPad and were able to get up easily enough. We showered, woke up the girls, got some food, and deflated Claire's air mattress to bring with us just in case. Cole shuttled suitcases outside and did a quick check of the upstairs while I made sure the girls were all still with us.

The cab was supposed to be there at 5:30. By 5:35, there was still no cab. So, Cole ran back inside to call them, and they had no record of a cab coming to Davie St. Argh! A cab shortly arrived and we all commented on how we might not be able to put all of our bags and kids in the same car! But, we managed. We got to the airport with plenty of time for check in. When they asked how many bags we had, I said, "Seven." But, we only counted 5. Oh my goodness!!! We realized that we had left 2 bags at the flat! I had put them in the closet to keep them out of the way, but forgot to move them out while Cole was taking bags outside. And, since they were in the room that Claire was sleeping in, we didn't get much of a chance to check that room! The bags we left were 1: my clothes, Claire's clothes, a toddler air mattress, air pump, and everyone's swim suits and 2: miscellaneous gifts for people, a little Scottish money, some stray clothes, and other assorted items.

What a wonderful way to start our trip! We figured that we could always buy some more clothes for me. Claire could wear her sisters clothes if necessary. We were fortunate enough to pack the extra air mattress just in case we needed it. And, we needed it now! The other items are a big disappointment. We hope we'll be able to get them back, but if not, it's not the end of the world.

We had to take 3 planes to Lisbon. The first one was about 1.5 hours. It went smoothly. The girls had fun playing together and were fascinated by being in the air. Then, we got to Brussels, and we had to check in again. This time, we did it at the gate. Fortunately, there was someone there. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to have any record of our tickets! Cole stood there for what seemed like 30 minutes. At the end, Claire was screaming and almost fell asleep. Then, it was time to board the next plane! Now Claire was back awake, it was lunch time, and we had no real food for the girls. There was food on the plane, but it was expensive! So, we all ate some granola bars and cookies. This seemed to be fine. We were also fortunate in that Claire fell asleep on the plane without having to scream first! She slept most of the 2.5 hour trip, and I think I dozed off a little as well. We landed in Madrid, happy that there was only one short flight left. There was one part of this flight that made us all laugh. We hit a bit of turbulence when landing. A few people gasped in surprise. Katie whooped in sheer joy! Cole was sitting next to her and he said that she was so excited because she felt like she was on a roller coaster and she wanted to do it again! The people around that heard what was going on couldn't help but laugh.

Once again, there was a problem. We had our five tickets. However, 3 were together, and the other 2 were in different locations on the plane. Cole waited at the check in line for a long time only to have someone finally show up and a man pushed right in front of him and started asking questions. Ah, Spain. When he was able to talk with the lady, she said to ask the flight attendants to help us out since the flight was full. Fortunately, the flight attendant was able to talk to people and work it out so that all 5 of us were sitting together. Dani got to sit with Cole and I sat with Claire and Katie. We tried to put Claire and Dani together, but realized that wasn't a good option!

We arrived in Lisbon, Portugal after about 13 hours of travel. We got our bags and got a taxi to our hotel. The first room we got had only one large bed. Ooops! So, we had to switch rooms. Fortunately, we got the room adjacent to it and didn't have to work very hard at moving our luggage. We found a mall, the Colombo, that isn't too far away and were able to get swim suits for the girls and a few items for me. The girls got dinner (pizza with no sauce) at the mall and then the 5 super tired Smiths returned to our hotel. The girls crashed quickly. It had been a long day with no naps and it was already past their bed time. Cole and I ordered some room service and shared a bottle of wine. It was a good way to end the night!

The trip was full of drama and problems, but everything did end rather fortunately. I'm not excited yet about visiting Portugal. I feel more jet lagged here than I did when we arrived in Edinburgh. I think I'm too excited about returning home and to "normal." But, Cole's done A LOT of research on the cool things that we can do here, and I'm sure we'll wind up having a lot of fun!

Katie Climbed the Mountain!

I can't believe that we've only got one full day left in Edinburgh! Since we arrived, Katie has been asking to climb the "mountain." A few weeks ago we finally decided that we could find a way to make that happen. But, she would have to pick which parent took her up the mountain. The other one would have to stay behind with her two sisters. Katie chose Mommy! I was a little surprised and a lot flattered!

Well, we have 2 days left before we head off to Portugal. Wow! It's been raining off and on since before our mothers left. So, I decided to take Katie up the mountain some afternoon when it was sunny. Today seemed like the perfect day. Dani and Claire were both rather tired and needed a nap. Once they were asleep, Katie and I snuck out and headed straight to Holyrood Park. Katie was talking non-stop the whole way there! She was excited!!!

Once we got to the park, we headed to the mountain. She was excited that I had brought her little camera along so that she could take lots of pictures. I was still the one that mostly took pictures, though. The first part of the hike basically walks up stone stairs. Katie thought this part was "a bit easy." However, she did stop a few times to sit on the steps and admire the scenery. She actually did move rather fast, but at one point, I did have to tell her that she shouldn't stop again until we reached the top of the stairs. She then declared some seemingly random spot as the top and sat down!

After all of the stairs, we had to walk along a gravelly section that was little slippery. Katie would skip and jump some and I had to tell her that she needed to be careful and walk, not jump up the mountain. This part made me very nervous! I told her that Daddy would be very mad at me if I brought her back in two pieces. Her response, "Yes. Because then Dani would be the oldest." After getting up the slippery part, we got to walk across a field where there were a lot of people hanging out and taking pictures.

We found a little rock alleyway to squeeze through and up in order to get to Arthur's Seat, and there we were with the most amazing views of the city! Katie was so excited to have reached the top and kept exclaiming over how she would tell her friends about this. She also enjoyed the views and took lots of pictures. It was extremely windy up there, and her hair kept whipping around and in her face. After a little while, she said that she wanted to head back down, but she really didn't want to walk any more.

We headed back down and she slipped a few times on the slippery section. I had to hold her hand to give a little more stability. She said once that she would like for me to carry her back and I told her that wasn't a possibility. She didn't ask again! After leaving Holyrood Park, we stopped at a little shop to pick up some popsicles and we ate them on the way back. It was a really fun outing with my big girl! When we got back, the younger sisters were both awake and running around. Katie enjoyed telling them about her adventure, and I know she's ready to go back with them one day when they are a bit older.

Grandmothers Visit - Day 2

The next day, the girls asked all morning when the grandmothers would be there. They were so excited that they were going to do something fun with them again! Since they had to move from their hotel to a nearby bed and breakfast, we weren't able to see them until about 1:00. When they knocked on the door, Dani was so excited that she hopped up and started making her way down the stairs saying, "I'm so excited. I'm so excited." over and over. The girls were definitely excited to see their grandmothers again! They had fun reading in the flat. They had to show off their latest obsession: Mr. Men & Little Miss books. In fact, for the moment, Katie is planning on having a Mr. Men birthday party in less than a month.

After playing for a little bit, I got Claire to go to sleep and the two grandmothers took the big girls to the National Museum of Scotland. When Claire woke up, I took her there to play for a little bit, then we all met Cole at the Elephant House for dinner. The girls went right in, found a table with an elephant chair and sat down with their colored pencils and notebooks. Katie and Dani shared the elephant chair. They were so cute coloring that someone even asked if she could take a picture of them. And, before we could leave, they all had to ride on a rocking elephant.

While we were at the Elephant House, I noticed a man working there looked familiar. I had just added the girls' babysitter, Susie, as a "Friend" on Facebook and had seen a picture of her boyfriend. And, there he was. At least I thought he was. Being the good parent that I am, I bribed Katie with a marshmallow to go up to the man and ask him if his name is Iain and if he's dating a girl named Susie. Katie didn't want to, but the pull of the marshmallow was too strong. So, she did it!!! When she spoke to him, he crouched down on her level and they talked for a few minutes. We were all sitting at the table wondering what was being said. Finally, Katie came back and said that he said yes. She quickly claimed her marshmallow. Iain walked over with a very red face trying to figure out how we knew him. And, I wondered how red my face was. I explained that Susie babysits the girls sometimes and he figured out who we were. I was sorry to embarrass him so much, but it was a rather funny situation.

After eating at the Elephant House, we headed to Greyfriars Kirkyard. We visited Bobby's and Auld Jock's grave sites. The girls enjoyed checking out what was left for Bobby. They also thought it was fun to play peek-a-boo behind his gravestone. Dani and Katie did enjoy chasing pigeons. And, at one point she stepped on Cole's toe. This resulted in about 15 minutes of Cole's toe chasing the girls around with much laughter. The things that make kids laugh! Soon after we got back, it was bed time and Dani crashed hard! Tomorrow will be an adventure of Katie traveling to Falkirk and Stirling with Mamoo and Grandma to see the Falkirk Wheel and Stirling Castle. I think they'll have a lot of fun, but Dani's already upset that she doesn't get to go. We'll have to find a way to make it up to her.

The Grandmothers Are Here!

When our parents found out that we were coming to Scotland, the dads were happy for us, and the moms were instantly checking out how they could come visit. With three kids under 6, I was worried that our moms wouldn't get to do enough sightseeing. I warned them numerous times that we would be very limited on what we could do with them. So, they decided to do a tour of Scotland together and then come visit us in Edinburgh for 4 days! That way, they get to see some sites and visit with us.

The girls were so excited about seeing their grandmothers. They have been counting down the days since we got back from Coventry. Last night, Cole and I were able to have dinner with our moms at the Beehive Inn & Pub. There wasn't enough room for us to all sit together, so Cole and his mom ate downstairs while Cindy and her mom ate with the tour group. Katie was a little upset that she wasn't allowed to come out and eat with them, but we were there rather late.

On Wednesday, our mothers were visiting the castle in the morning, so we arranged to meet them there at 12:00 or 12:15. After going to the gym, the girls and I headed to the castle. I was directionally challenged that afternoon, so I got there late. Luckily Cole had gotten there on time! The girls were so excited to see their grandmothers that they were all fighting to get out of the stroller as fast as possible!!! It was really cute. Dani really enjoyed walking down the street with Grandma on one hand and Mamoo on the other.

We walked down to Princes St. and the museum. We ate lunch at the museum cafe. The girls and grandmothers had to go outside to hear the one o'clock gun. Next, we had some ice cream that according to Katie tastes like whipped cream! The big girls walked around the museum with their grandmothers and then we split up. Katie, Mamoo, and Cole went to the Elephant House; and Grandma, Cindy, Dani, and Claire walked up the North Bridge to meet everyone else at the Elephant House. On the way, we stopped at a shop on Princes St. so that Grandma could buy some birthday outfits for the girls. Dani talked Grandma into a really colorful hat! And, Claire was so excited about her new clothes that she started taking off her shirt in the store. She had a new outfit on before we even left the store!

After getting some rest at the Elephant House, we headed back to our flat so that our moms could check emails and figure out plans for the next few days. Then, we went to Kismot for dinner. It was really fun to show our moms the place that has become a second home for us. And, we were fortunate enough to be able to introduce them to little Liya and her mom Rianna. Plus, Abdul was there as usual. Everyone enjoyed their dinners. Our moms were able to catch a cab at the restaurant, and we are all looking forward to seeing them some more this week!

Last Day at the Gym!

Our time in Edinburgh is quickly coming to an end! We're looking forward to getting back to our own place, but we'll definitely miss this place. Today was my last day at the gym. We're leaving July 10, so it didn't make sense to pay for another full month of membership. And, the gym said there was no way they could work with me such that I could come in for the last 10 days that we are here. I know I'll miss it, but it's also nice to not feel like I have somewhere that I have to be every morning. 

The girls like playing at the gym, but I think they were also happy that they wouldn't have to get up and rush there every morning. Plus, they are excited that they will get to see their grandmothers later today!!! So, on our last days at the gym, we made sure we took pictures with their babysitters, Miss Lucy and Miss Susie, who work in Club V. And, we got some pictures of baby Kaitlin. The girls fell in love with Kaitlin and wanted to adopt her as their baby sister!