Days 7 and 8---Scotland

Day 7: We woke early to pile on the bus and make our journey to Scotland. On the way to catch the Ferry we were able to see where the Titanic was built. Interesting--and this brought on conversations of how many people on the bus have not seen the movie. CRAZY! Since the seat rotation on the coach changed each day-it was our turn to sit in the back of the bus. These are the dreaded seats of all seats. There are 5 seats across and we are expected to fit 5 grown adults in them. Not hardly. I was squished between a 94 year old women sitting sideways and my husband who needs 3 times the leg room than a women. Needless to say this was the LONGEST-most difficult leg of our journey. I tried to sleep to make the sickness go away-but that is quite difficult when you have no place to put your head. Oh well- we survived.
We caught the Ferry that would take us from Ireland to Scotland, and this time it only took 2 hours. While on the ferry we decided to have lunch. I was craving a hamburger and fries so is what we ate. We picked up Heinz packets thinking it was ketchup and to our surprise it was vinegar. Still not sure why vinegar was out in the open like ketchup is here in the states. It amazes me how precise the system is they have in place. They had the entire Ferry full of vehicles empty within 15 minutes. Amazing! After the Ferry--we were on solid ground for another 5+ hours of driving in our lovely back seats. The scenery was beautiful and it was just what I had pictured Scotland to be. Green rolling fields, sheep, flowers, rock "fences", blue sky---just really pretty. WE finally arrived at our hotel in Edinburgh--perfect timing too----we had to get off that bus before Devin and I killed each other. The hotel was tiny--tiny is actually an understatement. If you were a larger person-I really think you would have been stuck between the bed(s) and the wall. There was maybe a foot of space between. It was fine- our room overlooked a really pretty park and we could see the old part of Edinburgh very clearly. In fact, we had a perfect view of the castle. We took an evening stroll around the area of our hotel and guess what we came across??? The Hard Rock Cafe. Go figure. Of course we went there (if you travel with Devin-the Hard rock is the only reason to visit a city and/or a country) and had potato skins and ice cream. Dinner of champions. That evening we called the kids to see how they were doing. I think Cortlynn and Tristan were handling the separation better than me.
I actually hung up the phone and cried. I sure did miss my kids.

Day 8: I woke up and was exhausted. I think the traveling from the day before caught up to me and I just looked like someone had beat me. We loaded onto the bus for the tour of the city and a stop at Edinburgh Castle. Since I was in such a "wonderful mood"--I lost it on the bus and told one of the most annoying individuals I've ever met to Chill-Out and be patient. This was in my not so nice tone and when I was finished I sat in my seat and was ticked off. Devin had missed the situation but could tell something was wrong by my face and was probably glad I didn't unleash my fury on him. We toured the castle and our tour guide Richard was great. Kilt and everything. The castle was lovely and we were able to see an actual Scottish wedding--bag pipes, Roles Royce, Kilts, small little ancient church--it was really cool. After the castle we had the entire day to ourselves to explore the city. Devin had it in his head that he was going to buy himself a kilt in his families colors. That was until we went to a wool mill and he was told that for them to make a kilt in his families tartan (which is not an every day tartan) it would be $1000.00! That wouldn't even include the added accessories. That dream was dashed and he decided to get the next best thing: the Family Crest. I heard this will be awesome but we won't receive it for about 8 weeks. He's excited so that is what matters. I loved the older part of Edinburgh. LOVED IT! Everywhere you go is up hill--but it was always worth it. The old buildings, pubs, cathedrals, passageways, just everything was interesting. That evening we did a Ghost tour of the underground taverns and the graveyard the McKenzie Poltergeist frequents. This was on Devin's list of top things he wanted to do. The underground was a little scarier because it was pitch black---the cemetery, not so much. It doesn't get dark there until 11:30pm, so the atmosphere wasn't creepy at all. The tour guide was good but everything he would say would start out like," What I'm about to tell you is true and really happened to me or to someone I am close too"...right! The one story he told us was "true" and happened to some girls he knew-sounded exactly like the movie "The Ruins". Yep-I'm sure that really happened to girls you knew. Of course when you're in a group there is always a person that is obnoxious and ruins it for the rest of us. This tour was no exception. In fact the tour guide came close to kicking the guy out. Why do people think they need to be the center of attention all of the time. Just shut up and enjoy it. Don't spend the money if you're going to be a butt; I didn't pay money to listen to you flap your jaw. Next to the "scary" cemetery was a little diner where the Rowlins chick wrote Harry Potter and the inspiration for the Hogwarts school was on the other side of the cemetery. I really could care less-but I bet a lot of Harry Potter fans would have gone absolutely crazy.

Continuation of Trip- Days 4-6

Day 4: We woke up early, loaded onto the motor coach, and drove around Cardiff do view the beautiful city. We were able to stop and visit Cardiff Castle and do a little shopping before making our way over St. Georges Channel via the slowest ferry ever. After 4 extremely long hours on the ferry we reached solid ground and departed for our next stop-Waterford. Our hotel was right along the river and we had a wonderful view. That evening we had a dinner as a group and enjoyed some of the local Ireland food.

Day 5: We woke up the next morning and took a walking tour of Waterford. Our guide was great and the information he had on Waterford and the early vikings was interesting. Come to find out he has been to 2 states in the United States: Montana and Idaho. How random is that?! Later that day we stopped in Kildare to visit the Irish National Stud. This place would have been my grandfathers dream. What beautiful horses and grounds. While there we were able to "meet" a horse that costs $70,000 for his stud services. WOW!! He just stood in the field as if he knew he was THE STUD. For lunch we didn't understand anything on the menu so I went for the safe bet and ordered a baked potato--I still have no clue what was in that potato. I think everything but the kitchen sink. That evening we stayed in Dublin in a hotel right along the river. It was great until the hotel lost Devin's suitcase for over 3 hours. They had placed it in an empty room and just thought it would miraculously find it's way to the correct owners. Devin and I decided to take a walk and locate the Hard Rock Cafe. We had an enjoyably expensive American meal and toured the city for a little bit longer.

Day 6: After taking an orientation drive of Dublin we stopped at Trinity College and toured the museum and was able to see the Book of Kells. This place was hot and everything smelled like really old musty books. After existing the museum we had to walk thru a gift shop (just like getting off a ride at Disneyland-always a gift shop) and we saw a girl who passed out. She actually looked dead---they dragged her outside and called for help but in the meantime was just trying to wake her up. Devin went over to help and I sat out of the way. After a LONG time-a medical person showed up and looked lost. Not sure what he was planning on doing. Note to others traveling to Ireland: Don't get sick b/c you may not recover and help takes forever! After the college tour we had the entire afternoon to tour the city. Devin and I went to the park and watched the Worlds Best street performers. This was pretty fun and there were even break dancers from New York performing. We walked throughout the streets and enjoyed the atmosphere Dublin had to offer. We went back to the hotel to get ready for our evening dinner and tour of the Guinness Storehouse. Devin was in heaven! We toured the brewery and it was very interesting. Devin was able to taste test a Guinness and taste test some more. Dinner was wonderful and the dessert was even better. Since we were part of a private tour- the building was open late just for us and we were able to do some shopping at the gift shop. We arrived back at the hotel around 10:00 and I needed ice cream. Since there wasn't anything in the hotel, we had to walk to the nearest McDonald's which was blocks away. The long walk was worth it--that was one of the best Sundays I've had.
Overall all Ireland was pretty but not what I expected. I expected rolling hills and rock fences with castles and open green farm land. Nope- this isn't was we experienced. We were probably on the wrong side of the island but Ireland is so commercial. Everywhere you turned there was a KFC, Subway, McDonald's, Burger King, and Starbucks. It was like you were walking down a street in the United States.

Devin and Christina's Vacation Days 1-3

It's been a few days since returning from our vacation and with a few more days of rest I think I will finally recover. Our vacation was wonderful and I've decided that the next few posts will be a brief description of our trip-day by day.

Day 1: Devin and I caught a plane in Billings-flew to Denver, and had to run thru the airport to make our red-eye connection to London. We were excited when we received our seat assignments-we had the two seats-aisle and window with no one on either side. YEAH-until we realized they were located by the restrooms. Yep--10 hours of bathroom lights on-off-on-off...I remembered everything BUT a sleeping mask. Dang! Earplugs? check Sleeping pillow? check Blanket and socks? check Mask? nope Oh well-who needs to sleep?!

Day 2: We arrived in London around noon and it took forever to get our luggage and go thru immigration/customs. We located our transfer and headed to the hotel. There was no time for rest so we went for a walk thru London. This was WITHOUT a map. IDIOTS!!!! Our hotel was located in a section of London that was 100% Muslim. Everything was in Arabic and everywhere we walked was a cloud of nasty smelling smoke (the kind the Cheshire cat smokes in Alice in Wonderland). We found the main road and made a walk for it. What I didn't know was it was the shopping district of London. I am not a shopper and cannot stand people so this was not the most pleasant experience. After a few hours we walked back to our hotel to meet up with our evening tour. That night we joined a group and went to a pub by the River Thames and had a wonderful dinner. After dinner we caught a boat and cruised along the river. We were able to see all the sights along the river---Big Ben, Parliament, London Bridge, London Eye, etc. and towards the end of the cruise the sun was going down and the lights were coming on. It was gorgeous.

Day 3: We woke up at the butt crack of dawn to eat an "English" breakfast and join our tour group. Breakfast was actually very good until an idiot decided to place two croissants into the toaster and start a fire. Who does this? We picked our seats on the motor coach and began our trip. We drove to Stonehenge took a lot of photos. It was so cold!!! The wind wouldn't quit. We drove thru the London country side and stopped for lunch in a cute town called Salisbury. After lunch we traveled on to Bath. I loved Bath; Bath the city, not Bath the roman pools. When we went thru the roman pools all I could think of was fat, dirty, sweaty, Roman dudes sitting in a gross hot pool full of fungus 100's of years ago. (the pools aren't filtered so they are NASTY!) We found a really good ice cream shop and enjoyed the atmosphere of the city. We continued on to Cardiff, Wales where we enjoyed a welcome dinner with our tour group and had time to get lost on a walk thru a neighborhood. No worries-we weren't lost for long. The hotel room was small and cozy and it was our first evening of double beds. I kinda like having a bed all to myself. A little selfish I know- but with my ear plugs on and not having to fight over the covers I actually had a few hours of uninterrupted sleep. Yeah----

Until the next post---I know; you're all on pins and needles waiting to see what happens.

Toodle Looo Idaho.....

Well we are finally packed and almost ready to leave for our vacation. We will be getting up early in the morning to drive to Colstrip, MT to spend a day with the parents, leave the children with the grandparents, and drive to Billings to catch our plane to London. I sure hope I remembered to pack everything.... eek I'll post pictures and write about our trip when we get hope in a few weeks.

One Mans Crap is Devin's Treasure.....

So my lovely husband Devin is a pack rat, low grade hoarder, a junk collector; I know this and I still love him-but honestly.... One mans junk is Devin's treasure. He comes home from Fred Meyer all the time with random junk they were going to throw away but he didn't want to see it go. This week is no exception. On Sunday I was going on and on about Devin's habits to my parents and I really think I jinxed myself. Monday I came home from work and the first thing I see in my "formal" living room are Avatar movie displays. WHAT??!!! Why Devin? Why?? He told me they are cool and we could display them in the house...Cortlynn thinks we should display them in our picture window for all to see. I don't think so! Oh Devin........

Ghostly "runs" and Polyp on my Fundus....

Last night I was talking to my mom on the phone when my lovely 3 year old decided that jumping on the couch and headbutting me would be a perfect idea. Ouch! I heard the crunch of my skull and saw stars in the sky. I was certain blood would begin to stream down my face. I had to tell my mom I would call her back and quickly hung up the phone to cry. Tristan wasn't even fazed-he has a skull made out of iron.
Last night I could not sleep. I went to bed at 12:30 and at 4:00 I was still wide awake. Devin was fast asleep and snoring of course while I tossed and turned. Around 3:30 our toilet downstairs sounded like it was flushing. It kept doing this every 1/2 hour for about 2 hours. How odd is that? I must have a ghost that loves to walk around and also has a case of the ghostly "runs" and uses the restroom in the middle of the night. Crazy! I'm going to need to increase my ambien so I can sleep thru the weirdness. I finally did get to sleep around 6:00/6:30 and woke up to take Cortlynn to church at 9:00. I'm so tired!
My appointment Friday went alright. The doctor removed tissue for biopsies and had a good look at my tummy. He found a polyp in my fundus (I love saying that-it sounds gross and dirty at the same time) ;-0 For those of you that are not in the medical field-that would be a pocket of skin that shouldn't be there located at the top of my stomach. That too was removed and sent for testing. He discovered that my stomach isn't working the way it should. All of those times in high school and beyond when I wasn't the most "lady like" women and could keep up with all the boys in various areas of crudeness-it wasn't my fault. I was born that way-so technically I could blame my parents. tee hee hee
I go in on Tuesday morning for some more testing to see why my tummy isn't normal. Should be an exciting day! I scheduled the appointment at the Pocatello hospital.....WHAT??? They told me not to make any decisions after my procedure Friday and they ask me to schedule a procedure??? I really dislike the hospital here and on a normal day wouldn't schedule to go there, what was I thinking? I'm not going to the ER so maybe everything will go alright. We'll wait and see.

Nutcracker Performance and Uuuuh-You want a seat?

Today was Cortlynn's first performance of the Nutcracker. She was a cherub in the matinee performance and did an awesome job. Aunt Heather, Uncle Josh, Andelyn, and Carys were able to come over and watch too. Each year more and more people come and watch it and this year was no different. EVERY single seat was sold and they were asking for people to bring up their tickets if they knew they wouldn't be used so the tickets could be re-sold. People actually bought "standing" tickets- they paid money to stand and watch a 2 1/2 hr ballet. CRAZY! Tristan slept thru most of the first act and watched the second- without throwing a fit. I was shocked that he behaved as well as he did. Next week she will be performing again but technically will be on "tour". We will be traveling to Blackfoot for her to perform in the Nutcracker at the really nice performing arts center they have there. She is really excited to perform next week because grandma and grandpa McIntire, grandma and grandpa Swanson, and aunt Nicole will be there to watch her. She can't wait.
Tonight she wanted to eat at Johnny B-Goodes aka Johnny B Crappy Service. Holy cow-we walked in and stood there waiting to be seated for at least 5 minutes while the waitresses sat on there behinds eating and texting. When a girl finally looked at me and smiled-yes smiled! I asked if we could actually get a table and sit down. (Uuuuuh-oh-we thought you just came in to enjoy watching us scarf down a burger and ignore customers. ) Make me want to scream!