Happy Valentime's Day!

Well, that is how Justus says it (and Aunt Peeps, by the way!).

Justus had school that day and took his teachers and his friend Luke some Star Wars valentine's that we printed online ("Yoda one for me" - they were awesome). He also thought I was putting Piper's shirt on him (ha!) but he grew into the idea of wearing a 'pink' shirt. (Trav preferred to call it 'salmon' - okay, Ross Gellar! Ha!)

 

 We love you!! XOXOXO

Now I've Gone & Done It...

...let's face it, people. I am WAAAAY too far behind on this blog. Only some minor milestones missed - our trip back to the States, Piper's 1st Birthday, Christmas, our 8 year Anniversary, meeting my new niece for the first time, getting to see our families, coming back to Scotland, Justus starting school, Piper starting to walk. I think that's it. Not bad. And now I'm having a dilemma...try to post something about it or not. AAH! Why do I do this to myself? Well, here is a VERY BRIEF rundown of all the fun we've been having for the past two months for those of you, besides me, who care :)

Piper turned one. We were in Colorado and still a little jet-lagged maybe. It was two days before Christmas and a little crazy. But she turned one and we celebrated, Hello Kitty style. Nothing major. Homemade (and, as always, hand-decorated) cupcakes and mini-bundt cakes. She didn't even eat one bite of the cake, I don't think. She did try the frosting but that's about it. But she got to celebrate with my mom, Trav's parents and her great-Nanny too, so that was special :)

Then came Christmas. We had actually already celebrated our own family Christmas in Pitscottie before leaving for the States. It was small, sweet and fun.

But Christmas at the Buchanan's is a whole other matter...it is BIG. They go all out. Then add Kay Kay to the mix. Needless to say, the kids (and us too!) were spoiled! We were opening presents from 8am-1pm. INSANE! Then a big Christmas dinner with more family. It was a full, fun day.

,

Then just when you think the celebrating is over, Trav and I had our 8 year Anniversary on December 27th. 8 years??!!! Crazy. We had a nice dinner out thanks to the 'rents and then were spoiled yet again with tickets to a Broncos game (in a heated suite, nonetheless)! It was amazing. Too bad they lost...but when you're eating freshly sliced prime rib, you care less. :)

And I can't say enough about our families...we got three weeks in Colorado with Pops & GiGi, and Kay Kay came and met us for a week! Plus Nanny came for a few days. Then Piper and I got to go meet my newest niece, Iris, in Salt Lake City and see Anna & Chris. Then we were off to Alabama to stay with Leah & Justin and their family, and Peeps & Tom came up to spend five days with all of us. It was seriously the best. I LOVE OUR FAMILY!!! I miss everyone like CRAZY being over here, so just seeing everyone and spending time with them was definitely the highlight of the trip (for me)!

Pops & GiGi

Nanny

Kay Kay

Uncle Chris

Aunt Anna

Iris

Aunt Peeps

Uncle Tom

Aunt Leah

Uncle Justin

Evan

Kiley & Reese

Believe it or not, that is all for now. More on Justus in school and Piper walking later. I think this is enough. :)

Hi

Piper learned how to say "hi" and it is so cute!!

My little Spaniard

This kid cracks me up. Please watch this.

Ha ha! One time when he was playing with his swords, Trav was trying to teach him to say "Hello! My name is Indigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." (From the movie Princess Bride in the sad case that you did not know.) So a few days later he was playing by himself and I overheard him and had to get it on video. Nevermind that he thinks the guy's name is Ginigo Nutella... his little voice is the best!!! Aunt Peeps is always laughing about how he sounds like Gloria from Modern Family! His accent is amazing. Definitely not Scottish. Ha!! (Oh, and in case you were wondering, at the end he really wants to watch the "video" - a.k.a. "weewo"!)

Air Show & Dunhill

Back in September we went to the Annual RAF (Royal Air Force) Air Show. The weather was shotty (we did get poured on and completely soaked walking back to our car) but we braved it and went to watch. First we set up camp right by our car and watched. Piper didn't seem to mind the SUPER LOUD planes flying right over our heads...

...but Justus did!! He did not like the noise level (at least not at first) and decided he wanted to sit in the back of our car and watch (with the hatchback closed and everything)!! Ha ha.

It was a great show, as usual...at least what we could see of it until the storm blew in and blocked our view. We could still hear them flying around up there, though!

We relocated to the beach to meet up with some of our friends (this is how we ended up far away from our car in the pouring rain!) and Justus had much more fun there. This boy LOVES the beach.

Here he is, showing off some shells with his classic Jutsus smile!

A few days later was the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship - an annual golf tournament with pro golfers who are paired with celebrity partners. We went to Kingsbarns Golf Course to go watch on two different days. It was nice because most people tend to watch at the Old Course so we didn't have to fight the crowds.

Justus sat and watched (briefly) and cheered everybody on :)

Piper behaved herself, as usual.

And, of course, Justus brought his clubs. Thankfully he didn't hit any balls onto the actual course. He did manage to score some free balls from several caddies and players who thought he was awesome (because he is). Trav only kept the really nice ones for himself :)

We got to see Rory McIlroy hit a few.

"It's Michael Douglas, everybody!" Ha ha! We did see Michael Douglas and followed his group around for awhile. It made us think of the time Tangy and I were in New York and we saw Kirk Douglas get out of a limo right in front of where we were walking, and Tangy yelled to everyone around (yes, yelled), "Kirk Douglas! It's Kirk Douglas, everybody!!" Ha ha ha!

I kept my eye out for Catherine Zeta (and I'm pretty sure Trav was hoping to catch a glimpse as well!) but alas, she was not there. There were several women following him though who were wearing clothes much too young for them and completely inappropriate attire for a golf course (high heels and all), obviously trying to impress!

The next day we went back to catch a glimpse of "Flopsy"...

...otherwise known as Hugh Grant! We followed him around for several holes as well.

I wouldn't say I was star-struck or anything, but it was fun to watch him play and see him so close. I was just waiting for the right moment to say, "I'm also just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her." Ha ha!!

Our Tradition

It has kind of become our tradition to go to Cairnie Fruit Farm to celebrate Justus' birthday. You've already seen the blogs about it (when he turned 1 and 2), but this year was better because we had little Piper girl with us too! So here are the kiddos celebrating Justus turning the big 3...

This year, Justus was just about big enough (FINALLY!) to ride around the dirt track on his own!
Well, okay...he sat on the bike by himself, had his feet on the pedals and controlled the steering wheel, but Travis did have to run and push him around the entire track! Props to dad for this one!!
On top of the big haystack maze, with his classic Justus smile :)
Piper LOVED the trampolines about as much as her brother did!

Looking so cute and so grown up! My little man...
Letting dad get some much needed rest. Ha!!

Then onto the giant 'Jumping Pillow' where every year Trav terrorizes children of all ages and sizes!

Sandboxing it for a little while.

One question (I think you all know what it is): Why are you so cute??!!

Ending the day on his favorite swing of all time...catching some serious vertical air, might I add!
And of course, the best part of the tradition, a strawberry ice cream cone for birthday dessert. Yum.
For a trip down memory lane, here he is last year on his second birthday...

And here he is on the day he turned one.

Until next year...

I Miss Grammie

As some of you know, my sweet, AMAZING Grammie passed away on August 25. She was seriously the life of the party. She was a feisty redhead (this is where Piper gets it!). She was the queen of inappropriate and random gifts. She loved sex - talking about it, joking about it and, as she often bragged about, having it!! Ha ha! She loved my Poppa like crazy - they were married 61 years and inseparable. But most importantly, she was an incredible example to all of us on how to show Christ-like love to EVERYONE. She didn't judge people...she just loved them. Truly. And I want to be like that someday. I love her and miss her lots. This family will not be the same without her. Thank God for grace. Can't wait to see her again!

I am SUPER thankful to have been able to fly back with Piper to Oklahoma for a week to be able to attend her memorial service and to be with my family. And Peeps and I got to celebrate our birthday together for the first time in a long time! The boys even busted out Junior's Curbside Grill for us!

Me and Peeps - and all the yummy mixed drinks courtesy of Marshall the bartender!
Kay Kay with Piper and Peeps with sweet little Reese :)

An amazing hostess (and even better aunt!), Auntie Lynn and Kiley bear.

Reese and Kiley on our big Stillwater outing...to the hangar to visit Uncle's plane and to see the arrival of his friend's private jet (yes, this was all uncle's idea but we went along with it!).

Papa Chop Chop with "Juliet" :)

Peeps and Heidi practicing their Kardashian private jet exit. Well done, girls.

Baby Evan, looking cute as ever.

Kiley and Pipes - I love when all the cousins are together!

Even though it has been two months (and I am way behind on all my blog posts), I wanted to give an official 'good-bye' to Grammie. I LOVE this picture of Gram and Pops holding hands at the end of her life here (thanks, cousin Heidi). They were so in love, and I want that. I am so thankful for their example. We all feel a sense of loss and are reminded that life was not meant to end this way. Praise God for his free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ!

Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her:

“Many women have done excellently,

but you surpass them all.”

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

(Proverbs 31:28-30)

XOXO. If you'd like, you can read her obituary here.