Glad to be home!!

Oh wow.. I am super way belated on my last vacation posting!!  We enjoyed our last few days in England.. visited Stratford upon Avon (home of William Shakesphere and Anne Hathaway).. Coventry Cathedral (destroyed by German bombers in WWII).. all very interesting!!  But we were glad to arrive safely home : )
And life has been eventful since!!  I had a handsome new nephew to come home and meet.. and my TRAVEL AGENT has managed to get herself engaged since we arrived home!  Megan and Fred were announced this past Sunday. Sooo.. hopefully it won't be another month or two til my next post.. but knowing me it will!!

Edinborough

Blech!! This is my third attempt at this post!  Blogspot keeps locking up on me!!  So I'm on an actual desktop computer, hoping IT will cooperate.

OK, so we had a wee bit of wind today.  The sun shone, but we nearly blew away!!  OK, so it wasn't that bad, but it was pretty blustery.  We started out with our usual city tour on the bus.. saw the sights, saw the beautiful Georgian architecture that Edinborough is famous for.  It really is a lovely city, as our tour guide Michael would say!!  We then toured Holyrood Palace and Edinborough Castle.  We got to see some really neat pictures of the royal family at the Palace.  We've definitely learned a lot about the royalty and peerage during our time here in Britain.  It was especially windy for us at the Castle, as it is perched on a cliff above the city.  We then wandered down the "Royal Mile", did a wee bit of shopping, and ate a wee bite of lunch.  In case ya haven't picked up on it, the Scots LOVE the word "wee".  Use it all the time!  At one point, Meg and I ducked into a Starbucks for warmth, and I ordered a creme brulee macchiato.  I've had the caramel version many times, but this was a first.  And lets just say I hope it's not the last.. it was really good!  I'm hoping it's not just a British thing : )
Tonight we had a Highland dinner complete with music and dancing.  It was pretty neat!  They had a bagpiper there and it was really interesting to watch him.  I also was able to try a Scottish dish called haggis.  Let's just say it's the sheep meat equivalent of a hot dog or headcheese.  The leftovers all rolled into one big lump and then stored and sold in the sheep's stomach.  It was..edible.  But not really tasty!!  Tonight I developed an itchy rash on my elbows and arms.  Megan says it's from the wind and cold.  I say it's an allergic reaction to haggis!!!
Good nite.. sleep good..  I love and miss you all~!

Oh my it's windy here!! The after effects of Hurricane Katia..wow! One town in Scotland apparently reported an 82mph wind gust. Crazy. So..we left Wales this morning and crossed back into England. Our first stop was in the Lake District. Talk about charming and gorgeous all rolled into one. I was so taken by this place..the lakes..and mountains..and little stone villages. I can't wait to come back someday!! We did cause an altercation between some shop owners there..let's just say it involved our quest for a bathroom..a fair amount of yelling (at us) a little bit of pushing and shoving (not us) and a lot of embarrassment (yes, us). I'm pretty sure it wasn't a really awesome relationship to begin with though !! We them traveled on to Scotland and stopped in the little border town of Gretna Green. Gretna Green is significant for three reasons. #1. it is here that our hair got pretty much demolished by the wind. #2. we saw our first Highland cows here. They are extremely hairy and icky looking, but being good tourists we took pictures anyway. #3. lots of English people over the last 200 or so years have eloped here. Scotland's marriage laws are less strict..so they come here and get married in the blacksmith shop. Classy folks : ). We actually saw two wedding parties in the short time we were there. We are now in Edinborogh..hoping that we get a reprieve from the wind for our city tour tomorrow!! Love y'all..good night!

Wales again : )

Well, the good news is.. our "voyage" across the Irish Sea went ohsomuchbetter than last time! We did buy some of the Irish version of Dramamine yesterday..but the water was much less choppy. We had a stop (after the ferry) at..and I'm not kidding..actually I'm not even gonna bother typing it. Just google something like "town in Wales with really long name" it's crazy. We then traveled on to Caernarfan Castle where Prince Charles was crowned Prince of Wales. It's gorgeous there and the castle was really neat. Heading south again, we went through Snowdonia National Park, which I would love to see more of. The mountains aren't very tall, but it was beautiful. We are staying tonight in Ewloe. It was nice..tonight at dinner we had a moment of prayer in remembrance of the victims and families of 9/11. It's a little odd to be out of the US..and seeing all the coverage of it. It's hard to believe it's been ten years. Our thoughts and prayers are also going out to the Heinolds in Mexico today and in the days and weeks to come.

Dublin

I am in love..again. Tyler. Travis. Blake. Logan. And now precious little Landon Jon. So much to be thankful for!! I still can't get pictures to post,much to my dismay.. but he is adorable!! You can take my unbiased word for it!

Today we had a city tour of Dublin. We were able to tour St. Patricks Cathedral and saw a lot of other sights around town. Lunch at McDonalds (yyyeeeeessss!!!) and then we four girls went to Trinity College to scope out the Book of Kells. Did some more wandering around town, spent some time in a local park. We had supper on our own tonight so we just chose some random cafe : )

He is here!!!!

Landon Jon Wiegand arrived this morning!! So thankful to hear that all went well!! And to add to the excitement..he is currently nursery mates with his little second cousin, Ava Jean Wiegand (Luke & Sarah's)!! Can't wait to meet and cuddle the little guy!!

You can pray..

There was some discussion on the bus today about our voyage BACK to Wales. Most of us are already turning a wee bit emerald green in anticipation. So our ohsoencouraging tour guide,who had already checked the forecast informs us.."wellll, in computer talk, let's just say you can cut and paste the last ferry ride onto Sunday's.". Oh joy. Hello Dramamine.

On to Dublin!!

We left Killarney this morning and made our first stop at the home and dairy farm of Paddy and Margaret ___. Wow I'm getting forgetful in my old age! It was a nice Irish sounding last name though! But we toured their home and
Margaret served hot drinks (yay coffee!!) scones (which I've unfortunately seemed to develop a taste for) and guinness cake. We then got a tour of the old home on the property (built in the 1600's) and the farmyard courtesy of Paddy. It was nice..smelled just like..a farm!!
We then went to the Rock of Cashel..where St. Patrick preached. There are old monastery and cathedral ruins there now.
Meg and I have developed an intense craving for some gourmet American food..ala mcdonalds..in recent days. The McFlurry's have been calling our names!! Soo..after much deliberation, and consulting with michael, we took off for the local Mickey D's. "a ten minute walk" he said. Eh, not so much. 20 minutes later..as we are wandering out of town, the nice ladies that we asked..smiled sympathetically and informed us "if you go all the way oh there, you will be hungry when you get there and hungry again when you get back!!" mission aborted.
We proceeded on to Dublin then. Tonite we had dinner and a show at an "Irish House Party" which was quite neat. Well, the entertainment was..our fish and chips were a little iffy!! But the music and dancing were great! One guy played the flute, there was a guy playing an instrument that looked kinda like bagpipes but it wasn't, a girl played the accordion and another guy was on the guitar..and it was even a Martin!! It was truly neat to hear their Irish music! But ah..off to bed now!!

Killarney & the Ring of Kerry

Today started out in typical style..with a breakfast buffet here at the hotel. One thing is certain..none of us are going hungry on this trip!!
We then hopped on the bus for our tour of the Kerry penninsula. Along the way, we made a brief stop at the Gap of Dunloe (for pictures) and Moriarty's (for shopping!) the Ring of Kerry is beautiful!! It's the westernmost part of Europe and juts out into the Atlantic. Lots of great scenery and pictures. The day started out a wee bit foggy, but that mostly cleared which made us all happy!! We arrived back at the hotel midafternoon. In front of our hotel..not like in the front yard..but definitely in walking distance, they have these horse drawn "jaunting carts". So we hired Molly (the horse) and Billy (the driver). Billy, like most of the other people over here has a great accent!! And, as a totally random sidenote, he is the father of five children, the oldest of whom is six, and his wife is expecting their sixth baby in late october. Wow! But he took us around town, to the cathedral and national park..fun times! Later we had supper at a restaurant (I already forgot the name of it) where they had some really good food (haven't forgotten that yet!!) we plan to head to Dublin tomorrow.

Waterford & Blarney

Today was ohsochilly and damp! But no pneumonia outbreaks yet!! And I woke up and was so glad that I didnt have another boat ride to face today! We started out with a visit to the Waterford crystal visitor's center and then toured one of the factories. So very cool! I haven't been able to upload any pictures from my iPod onto blogspot..but definitely some cool pics today. We then traveled on to the city of Cork, home to Blarney Castle. We all made the trek to the top, gritted our teeth..and gave the stone a quick peck!! We then ate lunch and did a little shopping at Blarney Woolen Mills. We are spending the nite finite in Killarney..our hotel here is really cool. : )

Update!

Hello! Sorry for the missed post yesterday: ) we left London in good time.. Favorite stop was in Bath..home to the roman baths..hence the name! I loved this beautiful city! We spent the night last night in Cardiff Wales. This morning we made a stop at Stonehenge which was really neat to see. Now we are enroute from wales to Rosslare, Ireland. The water has been really choppy and it was pretty rough on most of us. I've never been seasick before..and would have to say its an experience I wouldn't need to repeat!! We are spending the night in Waterford tonight.

Out and about in London!!

Lots of walking and sightseeing today!! Started the day with breakfast at the hotel, then boarded the bus and took off!! Our tour guide is michael..and the bus driver is hugo. We started the bus tour by viewing parliament (aka Westminster Castle) and then proceeded to buckingham palace, westminster abbey, london bridge and lots of other fun places in between. It rained this afternoon so our umbrellas came in handy!! The 4 of us girls then went up on the London Eye..like a big ferris wheel..great views! This afternoon was a tour of the Tower of London followed by tea at the Meridian Hotel!! Tea..crumpets..scones..petit fours..finger sandwiches..very cool! We then got dropped back off at Westminster Abbey.where we watched the evening service in order to scope out the interior of the cathedral : ) took off walking again to Coventry Gardens for a street show and supper. A quick taxi ride later..we are now back at the hotel and bed is looking pretty inviting! : )

We are here!

We arrived safely this morning..no major flight issues aside from a departure delay. We arrived at our London hotel and grabbed a quick bite. I am pretty tired but so excited! We can see parliament and big Ben from our hotel so we walked around that area and were also able to see Westminster abbey. Makes me majorly excited for the tours tomorrow!

Singing From the Heart

This past weekend, some of my family had the privilege to spend a weekend in Shipshewana, Indiana.  It was a good weekend, enjoyed by all.  One of the biggest highlights for me was the Dailey and Vincent show that we had tickets to on Saturday evening.  Definitely a top notch show!!  Their song "On the Other Side" has been my favorite song for the last year or so.. so it was a thrill to hear it performed live.

The joys of boys.

 Lesson #1 :  Sliding boards were never REALLY meant for sliding down.  They exist only to be jumped off of.

Lesson #2 : I am 3 now.. AND I DON'T NEED YOU TO PUSH ME ON THE SWING.

LESSON #3 :  REAL men always wear shirts to the dinner table.



Airborne again!!!



Our little "marshmallow".  The toasted version.  Love those squishy brown cheeks!!





A bath feels so good after a long hard day of play!!

MUSINGS.

It's April.  It's spring.  And I'm LOVING it!  Every minute.  It's been a month of milestones.  Well, only two.. but they are thought-provoking ones.
One year ago..April 2, 2010.. our beloved Grandpa Wiegand was suddenly taken from us all.   And while it hurt very much to "let go".. there is still such a rejoicing that he is at Home with Jesus.  I think of him so often.. the big smile.. the big hugs.. his love of gardening.. and I miss him.  He definitely left a lasting impression on my life.. and I am so very thankful for that.
Thirty years ago.. April 7, 1981... I was born.  Yes, it's my THIRTIETH this year!  Can hardly believe it.  It was a wonderful week.. complete with a surprise party.. and a surprise trip to Chicago.. just to name a few.  It was definitely a week of wonderful memories that I will treasure for a long time to come.

As I did my devotions this morning.. I was reminded all over again at how blessed I've been in my life.  Salvation in Jesus Christ.  Family.  Friends.  Good heath.  A job I love (usually!)  Three precious nephews.  I won't bore you.. but I was just kinda overwhelmed.  And I opened to this passage in Psalms that just really put into words that love and thanksgiving that I felt.

"I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live: I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.  My meditation of him shall be sweet: I will be glad in the Lord..Bless thou the Lord O my soul.  Praise ye the Lord".  (Psalm 104:33-35)

Some random images from my birthday..

My bedroom..re-decorated.  (Thanks Marla & Logan!!!)

The masterminds behind the Chicago surprise.. enjoying lunch at the Grand Lux!

Yolk. It was oh. so. worth. the 45 minute wait for a late breakfast on Saturday.  Cinnamon roll french toast is OUTSTANDING!!  And the crepes and regular french toast were terrific too!



The "Bean".  We are kinda off center.. but if you look close.. we're there!!  The Windy City lived up to its name.  It was very chilly and windy.. but we had a great time!



What's not to like about KC?

It was the deluxe version of a YG trip.. an opportunity to be with the girls.. do some shopping.. and still have that fellowshipping time with the YG..  The shopping was great.. I love the architecture in and around the city.. and we had a really nice time at the Kansas City church.  We won't mention the late nite escapades of our little hotel room neighbors.  Suffice it to say.. revenge got pretty creative!! Not sure those panty hose will ever be the same again!!

I loved this sculpture!!

Together.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND

FEBRUARY 2011

We were all blessed to spend a week on Anna Maria Island, courtesy of Mom & Dad.  It was a week of fun.. togetherness..relaxation.. and enjoying the beautiful weather.  And to top it all off, we were in the company of three small boys who loved their first time at the ocean.

"I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which something very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens..but just those that bring simple little pleasures.."

L.M. Montgomery

That cold white stuff.

They were calling it the worst blizzard in a decade. The OSF crowd was jokingly calling it

"Snow-magedden"  And if this is the WORST, then I can handle that.  And I must say, the aftermath of it all has a beauty all its own.  But only in hindsight. 

At 4:30am, camped out in the hospital, it is SO not beautiful.  The self pep-talk begins.  "You only FEEL like you're curled up in a cardiac chair in a hospital waiting room.  You are ACTUALLY at home, warm and snuggly in your soft bed!!" Not extremely effective.  Oh well..you'll have that sometimes!!  But, I must say, it makes me long for that WARM white stuff on the beaches of Siesta Key!

The morning after.. headed home down US 24.

Out the front door..

.. and the side...

..and the back : )

Siesta Key.

I love this place.  There's nothing quite like driving over the drawbridge from the Sarasota mainland.. and knowing that "we're almost there!!"  And there's no place on Siesta quite like Sea Club V.  A home away from home, I guess you'd call it.   There's always that first walk.. down the brick sidewalk.. out onto the beach.  And the sand.  You slosh through the loose stuff first.. and then get to the "walking sand".  The kind that's packed down by the waves washing up.  It's truly a beautiful place.  And while, deep down, I'll always be an Illinois girl at heart...there are times when the Midwestern winters- gray skies and salt encrusted vehicles- well, a girl just needs a break!!  And I love the times in Sarasota.  The familiar faces and smiles and routines of Sea Club.. eating breakfast at Millie's..going to church and seeing people from all over.. the walks on the beach... late nights playing games and soaking in the hot tub.  Each year I come.. and treasure the memories from years past.. make new memories to remember next year.. and know that I am blessed.

Siesta sunsets..

Dinner at Sharkey's with the girls!!

 

The night isn't complete without a stop at Sweet Berries for dessert : )