So Happy Together

Okay so it's not quite this cute ALL of the time, but for the most part Justus and Piper are pretty happy together (that is, when Justus is not stealing Piper's toys from her - which she actually doesn't seem to mind as much as I do - and when she is not knocking down his Star Wars bases that he builds!). The fact is that he really likes to have her 'nearby' when he's playing (he's always calling her into whatever room he's in), and she absolutely ADORES him. :)

We Love the Fishers!

Our good family friends, the Fishers, all came to visit us for 8 days and it was so good to see them! They are a big golfing family and they surprised their dad, Howie, with the trip for his 60th birthday (I mean really surprised him...he didn't find out he was coming until he was at the airport...he thought he was just dropping off a friend!). There was lots of golf played, lots of candy consumed, lots of cokes/diet cokes drank, lots of late-night games, and lots of fun new memories made. "Well you're gonna so that's awesome."

One nice thing about having visitors is that we can actually get a photo of our whole family!

Another nice thing is that we actually get out of the house and do something adventurous, even if it is a little chilly outside!!

On one of our 'fish n chips' outings, we discovered Piper's love for peas. She pretty much drank this entire bowl down to the dregs.

Piper reminded us of Ralphie's little brother from A Christmas Story all bundled up, keeping cozy.

Walking around the abbey ruins at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.

Justus started doing a new thing: requesting that pictures be taken of him and posing for them. He has never done this before and normally it is like pulling teeth to try to get him to smile for a picture. So I was snapping away and he kept asking for more!!

Trying to lift the old cannon balls at Edinburgh Castle.

Making a call.

Looking like a Scottish Viking - or whatever this is supposed to be.

Showing off. Being awesome.

Looking cute. Go Broncos.

Showing off some more. This one is my fave. Gotta love him.

We miss our friends already. Now someone else get out here and come see us!!!

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.

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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!!