(This is a now page, and if you have your own site, you should make one, too.)
Week of Dec 23
Christmas is over and we’ve spent way to much time in various houses over the past week eating and feeling trapped. It’s time to get out so we’re wrapping up 2019 with a little more adventure, the start of a new tradition hopefully. Looking forward to more changes in 2020. See you next year!
Week of Dec 16
In between a sprinkling of holiday festivities we’ve all been besieged by sickness. Vivi got it first, with a third of her school getting knocked out by a flu-like bug, and then it spread to Kav where it seemed to get fiercer, and then to Nick, who almost died. Ok not really. In between battling fevers and sleepless nights the kids did manage to sneak in and perform at their Christmas plays, Nick joined his co-workers for a holiday dinner in Glasgow, and Kav and Nick both got out to Edinburgh for a show. We haven’t even gotten to Christmas yet!
Santa letters are off! 
The only way to see hair on one of these heads Week of Nov 25
It was Thanksgiving this week, and it was really cold. Celebrating the holiday here made us reflect a bit more about it’s place in the holiday pantheon, and it had a different meaning now that Kav is a US citizen. It’s a holiday that travels well. We are celebrating not the origin of the day itself but rather the idea that it’s a good idea to get together to share a meal and be thankful for each others company. Simple is good.
Fosty biking 
About how high the sun gets this time of year 
Crafts and Christmas songs Week of Nov 18
Kav was away this week (getting her citizenship to the US finalized) so it was just the kids and Nick full time. It’s great to have family close by and it wasn’t too hard considering Nick was working for most of the week.
Nick pulled out all the stops when it came to Dad-duty, which consisted of “finding” a new fire station lego set in the closet, a trip for ice cream, and a movie night with popcorn as the kids main course dinner.
Yes, the week went well!
Week of Nov 11
This past week we went to the isle of Arran on a weekend getaway trip. We only went for one night, but these excursions are our favorite part of our move out to Scotland so far. It’s a little bit like being able to take a grand holiday with minimal expense, anytime you like. We’ve done three or so in the four months since arriving and come back from each relaxed and wide-eyed from the beauty of what we’ve seen and the therapeutic effects that seem to naturally occur the moment you remove yourself from the home and the self-inflicted mess that often surrounds a family and constricts it without them noticing.
We’re already planning the next adventure out.
Week of Oct 28
It was halloween week in the uk and it’s quite different than in the us. On the negative side, it’s a much more subdued affair and the pumpkin quality is much poorer. On the positive end, trick or treaters are expected to actually have a trick (aka a joke or a song) in order to get a treat, making for some rich entertainment while making the rounds.
The days are getting darker and Kav made Nick a card to help remind him of what’s ahead.
Fall colors are still in full force as well:
Week of Oct 21
Felt like a restart this week. Nick started work again full-time this week and Sam started nursery at Vivi’s school (now their school). We met up with people we didn’t know (in hopes of friendship and friends we do know in Glasgow on the weekend. Nick got out for a kayak club pool session on Friday. It felt like we reached a new level of integration attempt in our Scotland life but the record is not playing without a lot of skips. Let’s just say we’re still finding our groove.
It’s fall here in Scotland which means there is a lot to love about being out on a farm:
Week of June 3
We’ve sold our house, Nick has submitted his resignation from Microsoft, and now it’s time to get rid of everything in prep for move. The to-do list is seemingly endless, but isn’t it always? There is a strangeness in knowing this the last June 7th we might spend in Seattle, or in Washington for that matter. It’s funny to look at the trees on the side of the trail we frequent almost every day with that in mind. As Vivian says, “I’m feeling a little bittersweet.”
The next five weeks will be filled with endings, goodbyes and good cries, and also beginnings and hellos and good laughs. Five weeks from now we will have moved and have started a new chapter.