Christmas 2014

The Christmas Season:

While I was worried about being away from family during the season, it ended up being okay. We played with friends, participated in church activities and Dal and I even got TWO dates in the books. We visited the Christmas Markets in the city center and started some fun new traditions.

Fiona as a wise man, and Sabrina as Mary in their Nursery School Nativity. They did a great job and sang all their songs very well. Let me just say that I loved that the Nativity is allowed in schools in Scotland. There isn't a separation of church and state here like there is in the US, and I for one, found it refreshing. It was sweet to listen to some cute Christmas songs that we hadn't heard before. Totally darling.

At the ward Christmas party.

The Sunday before Christmas, the girls wore their Christmas dresses from Grandma Truck (Dianne) and Auntie Sarah and participated in the Church nativity where Fiona and Sabrina were both shepherds.

Christmas Eve:
On Christmas Eve, Dal and I spent most of the day in the kitchen prepping dinner for that night. Without family to visit like usual we decided to just be together. We had Swedish meatballs, which I loved so much I think I might make it a new Christmas Eve tradition, read stories together, watched some Christmas movies and read our traditional Christmas Eve stories (Luke 2 and The Happy Prince). It was quiet and peaceful and very sweet.

Google Hangout with the Robison's on Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve jammies:

Christmas Day:
On Christmas Day, we opened presents and had one of Dallin's school friends over for breakfast. We had red velvet crepes and they were delicious. Then we went to the church for a Christmas dinner with friends from the ward. We had people from the United States, England, Scotland, the Phillipines, and South Africa. It was so fun!

Christmas morning:

A trip to Disneyland!

All in all, we had a really wonderful Christmas season. Different from any other, but very special, and one that will hold a place in my heart for always.

Christmas in Edinburgh

Like a lot of cities in Europe, Edinburgh seems to go all out for Christmas. They set up Christmas markets in the city center and they have rides, games, booths, and food galore. It's quite amazing and very fun to visit. We made a couple of trips to see it over the month before Christmas.

Along George Street, there are a bunch of these fake trees with generators that all look amazing.

This is St. Andrew's Square. The ride on the left is a slide called the Helter Skelter and the ice rink below is shaped like a donut.

A view of Edinburgh Castle through the lit up trees along Princes Street. 

The Christmas tree and Fiona in Old College.

The Big Wheel at the main Christmas Market in the Princes Street Gardens.

The Big Wheel above and Santa's village for the kids below. They had a Christmas tree maze, reindeer rides, big slides, roller coasters, etc. and we had a lot of fun exploring it all!

And then of course, Edinburgh gave us several sunrises like this over the course of the month. Just absolutely gorgeous!

St. Anthony's Chapel- Holyrood Park

Last Saturday, whilst experiencing a very tiring growth spurt, Deaun needed an extra nap in the late afternoon. Dallin and the twins were itching to go adventuring, so I stayed home with the snoring child while they headed to Holyrood Park. Holyrood Park is only a 5 minute walk from our flat, so we've been several times. It's so big that everytime we go, we see something new. 

Wandering, giggling, running, and exploring ensued. They walked about two miles across the park (and then caught a bus home) and Dallin says that the twins were just in heaven running free in whatever direction they wanted to go.

(Pushing the wind back)

During their wanderings, they visited St. Anthony's Chapel on the north eastern side of Holyrood Park. While the origins of this chapel are unknown, it's been around since at least the early 1400's. Hugo Arnot, author of "History of Edinburgh" (1779) wrote that St. Anthony's Chapel was, "a beautiful Gothick building, well suited to the rugged sublimity of the rock." Aren't these ruins just breathtaking? The stone is just gorgeous and it's so secluded. I love that even in the middle of the city, you can get so far away from people and just be alone in nature.

Dallin loved being able to have a "date" with the girls. He's been really busy with school, so I think it was good for them to be able to go out together without Deaun and I slowing them down. Dallin is such a wonderful dad to take them out adventuring and they all had a really wonderful time. (Or so he tells me...)

Craigmillar Castle

Craigmillar Castle is located in Southeast Edinburgh. Some people call it "the other castle" in Edinburgh, but even if this is the case, we loved visiting it. Built by the Preston family in the 1300's, it was used until the early 17th century and then was left to ruin. 

The castle is well known because Mary Queen of Scots visited it frequently, including after the birth of her son, future king James VI. And it was there that the "Craigmillar Bond" was made- the pact to killer husband Bramley. 

Dallin and I bought a Historic Scotland membership so that we could visit a lot of the tourist places (Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Craigmillar Castle, etc.) multiple times and for free and we think it will see a lot of use. 

One of the things we loved about Craigmillar is that it wasn't very crowded. We could explore the castle at our own pace and we're able to take a lot of time without being crowded out. It was fun getting lost among all the rooms and staircases. We will definitely go again! 

From this vantage point, you can see Arthur's seat and Edinburgh Castle in the distance. 

No visit to a castle would be complete without a family selfie!

Sabrina practicing her gymnastics. 

And Fiona too! 

Craigmillar Castle- visited 13 Sept, 2014