Nationals times three

Nadia joined our church's Bible quizzing team in January 2020. Nationals were cancelled that year. I don't regret that I didn't join the team when they went to Oklahoma in 2021 as that is a very long drive, but if I had to do it over again, I'd have traveled to South Carolina in 2022 and Indiana in 2023. Both of those times the drive plus what to do with Milo and Oliver factored into my decision. All five of us attended Nationals in New York in 2024 and in Indiana in 2025. I thought the same would be true last week, but due to Milo and Paul being under the weather, only four of us were at Houghton last week. It was the third time Oliver and I were at Nationals, and the first (and only) time that that all three of my kids were participating. This was the sixth time Nadia competed at Nationals, first time for Oliver, and fifth time for Ian. Nadia was the captain of the B team. Her teammates were Lucy, Daniel, and Alex. Ben was the captain of the A team. His teammates were Ian, Leila, and Joey. This was Ian's third year in a row of being on the A team with Ben and Leila. The fourth member of the team was different each year (Faith, Isaiah, and Joey). Jillian was the captain of the C team. Her teammates were Isaac, Abby, and Oliver. 

A team

In the six preliminary rounds of team quizzing on Thursday and Friday, Ian's team was undefeated, North Rome A only lost one match, and Nadia's team only lost two matches. There were supposed to be eight teams competing, but at the last minute one team from Indiana changed their mind and did not attend. Our C team was technically the fourth seed, but they were beaten by large margins when going against the top three teams, and the matches were neck and neck when they went against the bottom three teams. So, the decision was made to have only three teams in the A division for the final found on Saturday. Nadia's team lost both of their matches, so they finished in third place. Oliver's team won all of their matches on Saturday (by 5-10 points each time); they finished in fourth place. Ian's team beat Nadia's team but lost to North Rome A. Looking at the three days of quizzing, North Rome A and Milton A each had only one loss, but because they lost in the preliminary round and we lost in the final round, it meant that they were the champions and we finished in second place. 

Boys

In 2024 North Rome entered the finals as the second seed, but they ended in third place behind our team and Sweetser. Last year North Rome entered the finals as the second seed, but a loss to our B team during the finals meant that they didn't compete in the championship round. Our A team won the championship from 2021-2025. Last year there was a three-way tie for second place, and the tiebreaker was the score on the writtens, which meant North Rome was in second place and our B and C teams were in third and fourth places. Three members of North Rome's A team this year had memorized all of I and II Corinthians. I am guessing our coach wouldn't share my sentiment, but I honestly felt like North Rome deserved to win as I feel their team was more prepared as a whole than our team was. Ruth scored a perfect on the writtens (answered 110 questions correctly). Her sister, Julia, answered 109 of the questions correctly, and one of their teammates answered 104 of them correctly. There were two reasons why some didn't feel the match was totally fair. First, of all they had six kids on their team, whereas we only had four on ours. If one or two of their quizzers quizzed out, they would still have four kids on their team, whereas if one of our kids quizzed out, we'd only have three kids left. Secondly, part way through the second half of the championship round, their team began eating up the clock. If they buzzed in first, instead of quickly giving the answer to the question, they would keep quoting from the appropriate passage until time expired. I don't think the outcome would have been different even if they hadn't worked to use up as much time off the clock. Daniel was one of our top quizzers, but our coach put him on the B team so that team would also be competitive. The coach of North Rome put all his best quizzers on his A team. 

C team

Ian listened to the whole book of John twice while he was at work this morning. If he continues to do that, I think he will be a much stronger quizzer next year. He, Joey, and Daniel have made plans to work on memorizing all of the book of John together over the next year. I hope they all achieve that goal! If they do, I think we will be better prepared to quiz against North Rome A next year. I think the fact they did not win first place the sixth year in a row will help at least some members of the team to be more motivated to study over the next twelve months. In 2024 Ian finished in 8th place in both the writtens and individuals. In 2025 and 2026 he finished in 7th place in the individuals. Last year he was in 9th place for the writtens. He wasn't in the top ten this year for writtens. Nadia finished in the top ten once in the writtens (tied for 10th in 2025) and twice in the individuals (tied for 9th place in 2025 and tied for 10th place in 2026). The plan is that Nationals will be held in South Carolina in 2027 and Indiana in 2028. I hope it is held in South Carolina one of the next two years as I have some places I'd like to visit in connection with Nationals such as the Biltmore Estate and Billy Graham Library. For five months Oliver kept asking Paul and I if he could stop participating in Bible quizzing. At the beginning of June I fnally agreed to his request, and then last week he told me he wants to stay on the team. Go figure. He told me he will memorize at least forty of the memory verses, which would be a lot more than he learned this year. 

A team vs. B team

June 21 was Father's Day. Paul's dad came up to spend several hours with us. Nadia made oatmeal raisin cookies the previous night as they are one of Pop Pop's favorites. Ian (using our handy dandy Walmart+ membership) bought Paul a jar of peanuts and Pop Pop a jar of cashews. Oliver made them each a card. I had some of Pop Pop's favorite ice cream in our freezer and bought shrimp for Oliver and Pop Pop to share. I also defrosted two ribeye steaks that Paul grilled for Ian, Pop Pop, and himself to share. I also served watermelon, corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes. The six of us played SkyJo together. Ian and Pop Pop played chess while Paul and Oliver played each other. Those four also played some Mario game on the Switch. I called my dad, and I also grieved a little for the baby we lost in 2005. I used a Father's Day card to tell Paul that I was pregnant, so I always remember our first baby at Father's Day each year. 

Unfortunately, Paul and Ian were a bit under the weather on Father's Day. Ian had started not feeling well the previous night. Oliver, Nadia, and I were the only ones who went to church that morning. That evening Nadia also started to not feel well. Thankfully hers was just a 24-hour bug. She called off sick on Monday, but I think she could have worked that day. Ian went to work on Monday even though he was sicker than Nadia. Thankfully, all of the kids were feeling fine by Wednesday. Nadia had a physical on Tuesday. The doctor's office is less than a mile from our home so we drove it two cars so I could sign Nadia in and pay the bill. Mostly she just needed the doctor to sign her immunization record for Liberty. I was gone for less than ten minutes, but during that time Milo was biting at his butt and caused it to bleed. I called the vet to ask if I should just clean him up or bring him in. They thought I should bring him in. They sedated him because they thought one of his anal glands was abscessed. There was inflammation but that was about it. Unfortunately, Milo takes after me (ha ha) and doesn't do well with sedation. Even though they gave him an anti-nausea medication, he threw up for the next almost 24 hours. He wouldn't eat or drink. I spent a couple more hours with him at the vet the next day. They gave him a shot of antibiotics since he wouldn't take any oral medications, and they gave him fluids under his skin. His behavior continued to get worse. He wouldn't even walk one tiny step. Paul had to carry him in the house. Thankfully, he finally peed on Thursday, and he pooped for the first time in five days on Saturday morning. He also started walking (at least some of the time) that morning, and when I came home on Saturday night from Houghton, he ate dog food for the first time in five days. I managed to escape the respiratory bug, and the kids are all healthy again. Milo is definitely on the mend. Paul didn't go to church again yesterday, but he is feeling a bit better today. Hopefully by next Sunday he'll be back to normal.

B team

We had booked an Airbnb (same one that Oliver, Paul, and I stayed at two years ago), but this time we thought we'd have it to ourselves as Oliver would be in the dorm with the team. It was very strange staying in an Airbnb by myself. My lodging in the dorm would have been free since I was an official, so had we known Paul wouldn't be able to come, I wouldn't have paid for that expense. My meals were free. I was supposed to get two t-shirts, but I wasn't present on Wednesday night when Houghton gave out free shirts (which would have been special to me because my mom attended Houghton in 1963), and some of the kids took a different size quizzing shirt than the one their parents had ordered for them so all that were left were two size small, and I had asked for size large. Sometimes I can wear a medium, but I know from experience that these particular ones run small. Either way, I knew I couldn't wear a size small. I'm hoping it works out for Nadia to be a coach or an official the next two years so that all five of us can be at Nationals again. Time will tell if she'll be able to do that or not. 

Since I drove a little less than three hours on Saturday night, I would have loved to stay home on Sunday afternoon, but Paul didn't feel up to driving Oliver and Xandir to camp in the Poconos. Thankfully, I stayed awake. That was not an easy task as I was very tired as I was driving out there. I ate a little something at PMBC, so I had an easy time staying awake on the drive home. Faith (and Melinda) will be driving out there on Saturday to pick the boys up. Nadia is at Camp Susque until July 18 so Ian had to ride his bike to and from work yesterday due to me driving to PMBC. The kennel is a little less than 3 miles from our home. 

Ian only had one piano lesson in May and one piano lesson in June, but I think he'll have five piano lessons in July. He's having his first voice lesson tomorrow. 

My dad also had a tough week last week physically. He fell on Thursday night and broke his back. Thankfully, it was "only" a compression fracture - no brace or surgery necessary. He still plans to get married on July 18. Praying for a swift recovery! 

Milo has been in our family since December 12, 2020. Prior to last week, the only times we took him to the vet were for his annual physical, immunizations, and to be neutered. Last week we spent a little shy of $600 at the vet which was definitely unexpected. However, when I consider that we have only had to pay for him to be at the kennel once in the last two years (due to swapping dog sitting with the Seiberts) and we only paid for him to be groomed once (I've done it myself since then), we have spent a lot less money on Milo than most dog owners probably spend over a 5.5 year period. Hoping we can go a long time before we encounter another vet bill that large. 

Oliver and Xandir eating dinner on Saturday night at camp

18 years old!

The age one is considered to be an "adult" seems a bit up for grabs. You can legally vote once you're 18, and you can get an unrestricted driver's license in Pennsylvania when you turn 18. You have to be 21 to purchase alcohol or cigarettes. I hope our kids never purchase cigarettes! Sometimes you need to be 25 to rent a vehicle.  Sometimes you need to be at least 21 to check into a hotel. In my mind, you're an adult when you're no longer a dependent, which for many is probably closer to age 21 than age 18, but maybe the reason it's hard to nail down exactly when someone becomes an adult is because it's a gradual process of moving towards independence. Although Nadia certainly isn't financially independent, I realize that her days of living here under are roof are definitely numbered as she plans to spend several weeks at Camp Susque this summer before moving to Virginia in August.

Over the last twelve months she had many first-time experiences including visiting Hawaii (the fiftieth state she's traveled to), learned how to parallel park and got her driver's license, swam with dolphins, sea turtles, and manta rays for the first time, had her first surfing lesson, went parasailing (1,000 feet) for the first time, traveled to Europe for the first time (Dublin, Paris, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland), played the part of Aquata in The Little Mermaid at MCS and of Wendy in our homeschool production of Peter Pan, was in her first car accident, saw Joshua at Sight and Sound, saw Phantom of the Opera and Paddington the Musical in London, got her first Kindle, graduated from high school, earned sixteen more college credits through Liberty University, went to a Josiah Queen concert with Maddie, and began connecting with other incoming freshmen at LU including her future roommate, Carolina. 

Nadia received her main birthday gift from us a few months early - a new cell phone. The new phone came with an international plan, which she greatly appreciated using in Europe. I also got her a memory foam mattress topper for her to use in her dorm and an attractive hamper that she had on her wish list for her dorm room. She has more t-shirts than she knows what to do with, but still I got her two t-shirts. She wanted one from the Isle of Skye in Scotland, and her I've traveled 50 states got a hole in it (not on a seam) after the first time she wore it. I got her a replacement as she had been the one to pick out those shirts last year. She invited five girls to celebrate her eighteenth birthday with her. Four of them joined her for a painting night in Williamsport last night. We planned to celebrate her birthday (as a family) at Olive Garden on Monday, but Nadia, Paul, and Ian weren't feeling well that day so that outing has been postponed. The kids traveled to Houghton today for Nationals. I will join them tomorrow morning. Paul planned to go with me, but due to the fact that he and Milo aren't feeling well, they are staying home.

Here are eighteen ways I'd describe Nadia:

1. Brave - ever since she was very young, she's wanted to try new experiences whether that be an amusement park ride, going to summer camp, being on stage, etc. She'd like to go sky diving, and she plans on learning how to scuba dive while she's in college.

2. Although I wouldn't always label her as being super competitive, it most regards I'd say she fits the "Type A" personality, which is very typical for firstborn children. Since she was very young, she has been very focused on schedules, calendars, and such, which is not true for her dad or brothers. She had a very smooth transition to taking online college classes because she was easily able to meet the deadlines without any encouragement from me. Similarly, she began interviewing for her first job a few weeks before she turned fifteen. She worked for Reptiland in the summer of 2023 and has worked at Camp Susque and Joyful Petcare from 2024 to the present. 

3. She greatly values her friendships. She's been close with her cousin, Rachel, for many years. At the moment I think her closest friends are Faith, Abby, Leila, and Maddie. She's made friends through working at Camp Susque and at church. Many of her friends are in Bible Bowl and our homeschool co-op. She enjoys talking, texting, shopping, playing games, and having coffee or a smoothie with her friends. 

4. She prefers colder temperatures, so it makes sense that two of her most favorite activities are ice skating and skiing. She hopes to live in a colder climate after she graduates from college. I'm hoping that means the northeast rather than Alaska. Time will tell!

5. She remembers Bible verses she memorized many years ago in AWANA. Her long-term retention of Bible verses amazes me. Over the last six years she has grown in her skill with Bible quizzing. I look forward to seeing her compete Thursday-Saturday in New York for the last time. She is the captain of the B team (other members are Lucy, Daniel, and Alex). I expect they will compete in the A division.

6. She loves animals! I look forward to seeing what pets she will have once she's living on her own. She's the reason we had guinea pigs from 2016-2026 and a big part of the reason we have had Milo since 2020. I look forward to seeing exactly what type of job she'll end up having after she earns her degree in zoology and wildlife biology. She is currently leaning toward marine conservation. Her favorite animal is still a sea turtle. I didn't find that option for painting a canvas, so she chose to paint an orca last night.

7. She is very close with Ian. They are going to miss each other! I hope the two of them stay close friends for the rest of their lives. Just looking at how many pictures of Ian are on her phone is proof of their strong bond.

8. She really enjoys reading whether that means listening to an audiobook, reading a physical book, or reading on her Kindle

9. She has done a great job of saving money over the years. If she spends her money, it has typically been for clothing, a coffee, or an energy drink.

10. She loves listening to music. Two items that she's had to replace MANY times over the years have been watches and earbuds. She currently pays for a Spotify subscription. Personally, I enjoy wearing earbuds to listen to something while I'm mowing the lawn or going on a walk by myself, but I have to say I think that many teenagers tend to wear their earbuds too much when they're around other people. Because she *always* wants to have carry around her phone and earbuds, it's a requirement that all of her pants and shorts have pockets. The only time I've seen her use a purse was when her prom dress didn't have a pocket. 

11. She loves doing jigsaw puzzles. The kids and I spent many hours in 2020 doing puzzles, but it was a temporary thing for some of us. It hasn't been temporary for Nadia. Earlier this month I organized the cabinets that contain our games and puzzles. During that process I discovered that Nadia owns seventy puzzles that each contain at least 1,000 pieces. She plans to take a few of them with her to college, and I think once she moves out on her own after college she will take far more of the puzzles with her. Many times, after lunch and dinner she would spend time working on a jigsaw puzzle in the dining room.

12. She's what I would call a Messy Marvin. I'm hoping that this won't be a problem with her roommate and suitemates. They have dorm inspections twice a week which should be helpful. 

13. She loves to eat fruit and baby carrots. She typically eats at least one apple a day, and she enjoys just about every kind of fruit except for bananas. Some of her favorites include pink lady apples, clementines, red grapes, cherries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, plums, peaches, and nectarines.

14. Her favorite restaurant is Olive Garden. She loves their salad, breadsticks, and five cheese ziti al forno.

15. She uses her cell phone a lot. She's not into video games, but she likes word games, Sudoku, texting friends, listening to music or audiobooks, etc. On a larger screen (ex. Chromebook or laptop) she enjoys watching shows such as Boy Meets World or Full House. 

16. She loves to drink vanilla lattes and if given the choice will choose an iced coffee over a hot one. Ian hadn't gotten her a birthday gift, so I suggested to him that he treat her to coffee at Wagging Tail as her birthday present. He liked the idea, and that is what they did this morning. They also stopped at Dollar General to buy some energy drinks to take with them to Houghton.

17. Her least favorite subject is math. She has two required math classes for her major. Her score on their math assessment was high enough for her to register to take the statistics class this fall. Her SAT score was not high enough for her to take Calculus next spring. If she doesn't take the College Algebra CLEP test, she will need to take College Algebra at Liberty prior to taking Calculus. She also wasn't a fan of physics, so she has opted to take other classes which isn't a problem as long as she doesn't want to get a master's degree. I'm hoping that she will excel in ALL of her classes at Liberty - including math. I know she's definitely capable! 

18. She rarely eats breakfast, and when she's at home she almost always has a grilled cheese sandwich on Italian bread that she makes using a panini press. She also usually makes Ian's sandwich. Her sandwich usually contains a slice of provolone cheese and a slice of ham. She has been doing most of the baking in our house for at least the past year. She has been dubbed the "dish fairy" at Camp Susque. I haven't seen evidence of that at home. I clean up in the kitchen after she's done baking. Between her experience with cooking dinners and baking at home plus her experience in the kitchen at Camp Susque, I think she's gained a lot of skills that should come in handy the rest of her life!

Bye bye bunk bed

 

Nadia and her cousin, Rachel, had a photoshoot last week

For four days we had four kids in the house, but only one was our own child (Oliver). Yesterday I drove to Messiah to pick up Ian and give Nathan three of his siblings. It doesn't feel normal yet to be a family of four, but for most of the year that will be the new normal. At least I keep in touch with Nadia via texting almost every day. Ian had a good time at the cybersecurity camp, and he also enjoyed spending time with Jenna, Toby, and Nathan. He and Jenna played multiple games of chess. I think she's the most skilled chess player when it comes to my nieces, nephews, and kids. Ian never beat her, but he said they got to an endgame several times, and Jenna said some of the games were close, which was an encouragement to Ian. He played video games and board games like Exploding Kittens with Toby and Nathan. Now that Ian is back, he needs to focus on finishing precalculus, finishing memorizing I Corinthians chapters 7-8, and working. He worked for over 5 hours today at the kennel, and including today he's working 9 of the next 12 days. Nathan isn't a morning person, and Ian usually relies on me to get him up in the morning. I was impressed that Ian used an alarm and got Nathan up each morning in time for them to arrive at Messiah by 8:30 each morning. Similarly, I was surprised that Ian was already up when I went to get him up this morning for work. 

Blackhead Coastal Path, Northern Ireland

Many of the Towfighis were sick last week, and some were still under the weather when they arrived last weekend for Nadia's graduation party. Oliver has come down sick, but so far, the rest of us are healthy. Hoping he feels better soon! 

Our van has been making a strange clanking sound since last Friday night when Paul drove us home from ballroom dancing lessons (which as a side note were cancelled for the rest of the summer, so sad). I was very nervous about driving it for over three hours round trip yesterday, but everything went smoothly. I usually do all the car appointments, but I was nervous they'd try to take advantage of me. The van had a safety recall, and it was due for an inspection by the end of July. I never take it to a dealership for the inspections, but since that's where you need to go for a recall and we thought if a part was needed to fix whatever was causing the sound, they were most likely to have it. So, Paul took the van for all three reasons today. They wanted him to replace the tires, but since they technically passed, we got our inspection sticker without buying them. I'll get new tires elsewhere this summer. Paul had hit a curb on Friday night, and when he did it had dislodged a cap or cover or some sort. They just fastened the cap back on, and Paul didn't hear any clanking on the way home. PTL! That was a big relief.

Milo used to alternate between sleeping with Nadia (on her loft bed) and Ian (on his top bunk). Last summer that came to a grinding halt. He slept with Paul and I for a couple of months, and then we gradually and painfully transitioned him to sleeping in his crate in Oliver's room, which is what he's been doing ever since. For whatever reason, when we got back from Europe, Ian started having Milo sleep with him again. Milo was back in the crate the last several nights while Ian was in Dillsburg, but yesterday he and Paul took the top bunk to the basement as Ian said he would just sleep on a bed at a normal height for Milo's sake. So, it seems that whenever is at home over the next two years, Milo will be sleeping with him. I had suggested this idea to Ian last summer, but for whatever reason he didn't want to do that last summer, but he did want to do it now. I'm sure Milo likes it better than being locked in his crate.

I'm continuing to make progress with the license plate game even though I had decided not to play it this year, ha ha! I saw New Mexico yesterday, which like Hawaii and Wyoming is usually one of the hardest ones to find. I have eight states left to find, and I think the hardest one on my list is South Dakota. 

I tried to call the IRS ten times over the past two days regarding a tax issue with the trust, and when I called at 4:48 yesterday afternoon, I was put on hold for the first time. The other nine times the call was disconnected due to high call volume. I even tried at 7:00 am on the dot as I had read online that was the best time to call, but there was already too high of a call volume at that time. When I finally got through, I was on hold for over two hours, but I finally actually spoke to a human shortly before 7:00 pm, and at 7:10 pm she told me the matter had been taken care of. Mission accomplished! I hope that I don't need to call the IRS again any time soon.

Eilean Donan Castle (Scotland)

Graduation Party

It's been a month since I wrote a gratitude list. Here are some things I've been thankful for over the past month.

1. I am thankful that we have all been healthy for more than a month, and considering we were on several flights during that time (which seem to be an easy place for germs to spread), I am very grateful for good health. 

2. After the panic over needing to adjust plans when one of our flights was cancelled about a week before we left, I am grateful that nothing else was cancelled on our trip (except by us). 

3. Aside from a downpour when we were at the Arc de Triomphe and a mist being blown onto us (which caused us to be rather soaked) when we hiked on the Isle of Skye, we didn't experience any rain, which is quite amazing for that area of the world. The temperatures went from unseasonably cold at the beginning of our trip to a record-breaking heat wave at the end of the trip.

4. Although renting vehicles was more expensive and stressful than anticipated, I am very grateful that Paul was able to navigate driving on the "wrong" side of the road, endless roundabouts, and very narrow roads, parking garages, and parking spots without incident.

5. Our accommodations were very nice during the entire trip. Typically, I use Priceline.com, hotels.com, Airbnb, and VRBO to find places to stay. The website that was the biggest help for this trip was Booking.com. 

6. We had some amazing experiences on the trip. If each member of our family was asked what their top 3-5 experiences were, here are some of the answers that would be given: Alnwick Castle, Phantom of the Opera, Paddington the Musical, Conwy Castle, Snowdon Mountain, Caerphilly Castle, Big Ben, Camera Obscura, Arthur's Seat, Quiraing, and the coast of Northern Ireland.

7. Milo was well cared for by the Seiberts while we were gone.

8. Xandir spent some time with my boys at our house on May 9, and Abby and Faith spent some time with Nadia at our house on May 28-29. 

9. Ian started his first job on May 28.

10. The Schrecks came over for dinner on June 4. 

11. Rachel spent a few days with Nadia. She flew here on June 4 and returned back home on June 7.

12. Paul and I started another eight-week session of dance lessons on June 5. This is the first time we're taking two classes at one time (two hours each night).

13. We had Nadia's graduation party at an indoor roller-skating rink on June 6. Based on the RSVP's, we anticipated over 70 people attending. The amount who came was much less than that, but Nadia had a good time. Our neighbors won the prize for having the very best reason for not attending. Shortly before they were about to leave to come to the party, the wife was struck by lightning. I'm sure they would rather have been at the party than the hospital! Thankfully, she is fine. We had a lot of extra food, drinks, and paper products, but they will be used eventually. I don't think I'll rent an entire roller-skating rink again, but I think it made for a special graduation party for Nadia. I made a 17-minute slideshow that was playing on our television that we brought from home during the party. If any of you want to see it, let me know. I can't post it on YouTube or anything like that because I used some of her favorite songs as the background music, but I can send the link to the file on my Google drive by text or email.

14. Nathan and Wesley arrived at our home on June 5, and the rest of the Towfighis (plus Jenna and Toby but not including Andrew) arrived on June 6. Most of them left on June 7, but Wesley, Micah, and Julianna are still with us. I'll be driving them to Messiah University on Thursday afternoon, which is also when I'll be picking Ian up to bring him back home.

15. Ian has been attending a cybersecurity camp at Messiah University this week. He's staying at Jenna and Toby's home, and Nathan is also staying with Jenna and Toby and is driving Ian to and from Messiah.

16. Micah, Wesley, Oliver, and Julianna have been enjoying having a free lunch at the park each day this week (starting on Monday). 

17. Aside from a dress I got for Jenna's wedding, it had been nine years since I got myself a new dress. My dad gave me money for my birthday that he wanted me to use toward a new dress. I got myself two new dresses, and I wore one of them this past Sunday. I got the WORST haircut of my life on Thursday so it helped to at least have a pretty new dress to wear when I was feeling self-conscious about my hair. Ian's reaction when I first came home after my haircut was that he was very grateful that I cut his hair (because he thought I do a much better job than the woman who botched my hair). Yvonne's first reaction when she walked in our house was "I'm so sorry" when she saw my hair, and that was after I snipped some more to try to even it out. In addition to being 2-3 inches shorter than I requested, the sides were very uneven. I am determined to not be in any photographs until it grows out and doesn't look so embarrassing. I'm hoping that will be true in August when we are in Canada, but time will tell. The good news is that it's just hair, and it will grow back. I wish I liked wearing hats as that would be a great way to cover it up. 

18. Yvonne gave me money towards a new ski coat for my birthday. She knew I haven't ever liked my 1980's ski coat. Instead of getting a ski coat, I recently got a longer really warm coat that I plan to wear when we walk Milo and it's very, very cold outside. I donated my 1980's ski coat to Goodwill on Thursday. It was still in great shape as most years I only wore it when I went skiing. 

19. This recent vacation was definitely not one of my favorite vacations, partially because I kept waking up too early the entire trip. A few days ago, I had my best night of sleep in over a month. It felt heavenly. Also, my right knee was in a lot of pain during the trip, which was problematic given we were typically climbing hundreds of very narrow, spiral staircases on many days (in castles, Big Ben, National Wallace Memorial, etc.). Thankfully, I've been wearing a knee brace, and my knee is doing much better. I've decided that in the future I should always bring a knee brace with me on vacations just in case it's needed. My right elbow has been in pain for months, and I haven't found a way to reduce that pain yet, but that doesn't slow me down when walking. I'm having serious doubts about the idea of going to Japan (Ian's request) in 2028 due to how long the flight would be and also how significant the jet lag would be (13 time zones away). I have two future trips planned - an 11-night trip to Canada this August and a 5-night trip to Canada in August 2027. I've begun working on a trip (I'm guessing it will be about 9 nights long) to Utah and Nevada for May 2027. I'm trying to make the trip a loop so that we can rent a vehicle through Turo. I don't have anything planned beyond August 2027. At one point I said I wanted to visit Australia and Africa at some point, but right now I'm content to stay in North America.

20. I've enjoyed listening to the series The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion the last few weeks.

Home Sweet Home

Although it is nice to be able to visit other places, there's nothing quite like being at home. I always feel like I have to hit the ground running when we return as there are usually a list of tasks that need to be done as soon as possible such as doing laundry, putting away the suitcases, mowing the lawn, calling the orthodontist to reschedule the boys' appointment for June as it conflicted with Ian's work schedule, and buying eggs, milk, and produce. Ian and I were affected by jet lag the most as we were both waking up far too early the first few days after we returned home. Susie's 22nd birthday was on Wednesday, but due to jet lag plus the fact that she's in California, I waited until Friday to talk with her. The only thing on our calendar on Wednesday was Bible quizzing for all three kids plus Nadia's small group met after that. On Thursday Ian and I went to the high school to get him a work permit. Nadia worked the morning shift on Thursday, and Ian worked his very first shift that afternoon. Abby and Faith came over in the afternoon on Thursday and stayed until Friday afternoon to spend time with Nadia. She is seizing these opportunities before she heads off to work at Camp Susque and then moves to Virginia after that. The boys both had a tooth extraction on Friday at the dentist, which was at the request of their orthodontist, and Oliver also got his first filling. Nadia and Ian haven't had any cavities yet. Nadia and Ian worked a shift together on May 30 which was special. Nadia has worked at the kennel since November 2024.

Being at home also meant a return to our church. On May 3 and 10 we attended only one service at our church, and we were in Europe on May 17 and 24. This meant Paul and I had missed four weeks of our Sunday School class. We're studying the book of Acts currently. We were able to attend both services on May 31, and I was asked to play the piano in the foyer after both services. And being at home means Ian has his first piano lesson today since May 8. It will actually be his only piano lesson this month. Next month he is scheduled to have five piano lessons and four voice lessons. I also was able to go to the library and get a DVD for us to watch as a family (Soul on Fire) and also a book for myself. I've been busy preparing for Nadia's graduation party which is this Saturday. I've put MANY hours into making a 16-minute slideshow that will be playing on repeat during her two-hour party at the roller-skating rink. I've taken thousands of pictures of Nadia over the last almost eighteen years. I selected about 400 of them for the slideshow.

Although we are back at home, at least for Nadia and Oliver, they are not back to doing schoolwork. Ian is still finishing his precalculus class through ASU. We shall see if he finishes it by the end of the month or not. Oliver knows that I expect him to do three things every day - read, study I and II Corinthians, and get some exercise. He has really enjoyed listening to audiobooks for some time, but thankfully he has recently become more of a reader and has progressed to reading longer books. Nadia has begun the process of going through her bedroom to figure out what to give away, throw away, leave at home, and take to college.

My faith in the USPS has definitely fallen over the past several months. I had an incident awhile back where a Christmas card I sent to Annapolis took more than six months to come back to me. In December I mailed a 9x13 envelope to the PA Dept of Treasury with tax documents from the trust. It came back to me about one month later. The accountant showed the image of the envelope to someone at the PA Dept of Treasury, and they couldn't understand why it wasn't delivered because they said it was the correct address. They gave an alternate address to use, and I mailed it again in January. Unfortunately, the accountant accidentally put an extra 1 in the zip code. The employee at the Post Office caught the error, but instead of deleting the extra 1 in the middle of the zip code she just took off the list digit. That 9x13 envelope has yet to be delivered OR come back in the mail to me (4 months later), and we only live a 90-minute drive from the state capitol. At the beginning of May I mailed the documents a third time, but this time I used UPS instead of USPS, and they delivered it the very next day. Similarly, I mailed Susie her birthday card before we went on vacation, and while we were away it came back in the mail to me. I showed her a picture of the envelope. She said I had addressed it correctly but that she frequently has the issue of mail bouncing back. So, I took a picture of the card so she could see what I had written, ripped up the check, and sent her money by Zelle instead. I remember debating with my friend, Joanna (who is a lawyer in Annapolis) back in the early 90's that I thought the USPS should be privatized, and my opinion has not changed over the last 30+ years! 

Here are some additional random observations from our trip to Europe:

1. I was never asked to show a credit card or ID when checking into a hotel or any other type of lodging. I remember 20+ years ago being asked to show a passport, and of course here in the US I'm usually asked for a credit card and a driver's license. 

2. Often when traveling to a foreign country you have the issue of encountering a different language. The only time this happened on this trip was during our day in Paris, but English was easily spoken by ever person we spoke to on the trip. In Ireland and the UK English is spoken, but of course with a different accent than we have here in the US. In our experience, the Scottish accent was the one that was the strongest and sometimes made it harder for us to understand what was being said. While we were on vacation, I started listening to a book series (The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion) which is read by a British actress. There are eight books in the series, so I've continued to listen to them since we arrived back at home. There are also instances where different words are used than we typically do here in the US. Garbage is rubbish. The place where rubbish goes is called a bin (not a trash or garbage can). Bathrooms are either labeled toilets or WC. Traffic circles are roundabouts. Parking lots are car parks. Chips are steak fries, and what we call chips are called crisps. 

3. We did get confirmation on Friday that our second parking ticket would be cancelled because we submitted proof we had paid for parking prior to the ticket being issued. We were very grateful for the rare instances when we had free parking. This happened in Alnwick and also when we visited the C.S. Lewis Square in Belfast. 

4. As I said, we usually attempt to curtail how much we spend on food on our vacations. One way we did this on this trip was to buy meal deals at some convenience stores. They varied in price but were often around 5-6 pounds per person and included a main dish (ex. a ham and cheese toastie) plus a drink and a snack (usually candy or crisps). The kids would often choose an energy drink in this instance. When we were punting on the River Cam, our tour guide informed us that it was actually illegal in the UK for Oliver to have an energy drink because he was under the age of sixteen. Oops! They let kids have wine at a meal starting at age sixteen, and they can have any liquor at age eighteen, but they are stricter with energy drinks.

5. Nadia and Ian definitely consumed more caffeine than they usually do. Nadia and Ian had coffee almost every day, and Nadia also had many cups of hot tea. Ian almost always orders a mocha. One time he had a double shot of espresso in his mocha. Nadia had at least one latte in France, Ireland, Scotland, England, Norther Ireland, and Wales. All but one time she had a vanilla latte. She broke that trend and had a caramel one the last time. The coffee machines available with the Holiday Inn free breakfast even made lattes and such. I'm the only person who didn't consume any caffeine on the trip. I had only two hot drinks - hot chocolate both times. The first time I was grateful for the warmth it provided my hands because I got it after we climbed to the VERY cold and windy summit of Snowden Mountain. I wasn't keen on the taste, and after I had a free cup of hot chocolate at a Holiday Inn I then came to the conclusion that I like hot chocolate better in the US, so I just stuck with water from that point onward.

 

Europe 2026

Here are 15 random observations from our 15 days abroad.

1. We never had to pay to use the bathroom, which was a pleasant surprise as we’ve had to pay in Europe in the past.

2. We also never had to pay for a glass of water, which was another unexpected blessing.

3. Growing up I remember eating a lot of complimentary meals on airline flights. Our kids have not had that experience, but Aer Lingus does still serve free meals on transatlantic flights. One the way home we were served a beverage with Penn State pretzels followed by a main meal. We had two choices for the main dish (chicken or pasta) and everyone received a chickpea salad, piece of wheaten bread, water, and a small serving of passion fruit mousse. Coffee and tea were offered with the meal. Several hours later we were served a very small cheese sandwich and a small brownie with coffee or tea.

4. Back in 2001 I remember hearing the phrase "mind the gap" many times. We heard it again on this trip. On this trip I noticed in Scotland and Ireland that they often used the phrase "wee bit." 

5. Wales is a VERY dog friendly place to visit. We saw dogs in most shops, restaurants, etc. In one restaurant I noticed they had free dog treats and also toys available for the dogs. As long as they were "on a lead" they were permitted in most places. 

6. Stop signs are almost nonexistent. There are some stop lights, but much less than we have here in the US. Instead, they have what felt like about five million roundabouts. I'm very grateful Paul was the one driving as I'm not a fan of roundabouts. 

7. Except for the night we stayed at the Cowshed Bunkhouse (boutique hostel), we had complimentary coffee and tea available at every place we stayed. Many times, there was an electric kettle in the bedroom. That kettle came in handy the morning I wanted to make instant oatmeal that I had brought from home. On the other hand, we never saw an ice machine or had a microwave or refrigerator in our room unless we were staying in an apartment that had a kitchen.

8. Gas is ridiculously expensive. I'm sure the war in Iran made that worse, but wow it costs an arm and a leg to fill up the tank of a SUV. They also don't have pay at the pump at gas stations. Everyone has to go in to pay, and most people do some shopping while they're in there so if you're waiting for a gas pump to become available, you might be waiting awhile as people buy groceries or just an ice cream or whatever in conjunction with paying for their gas.

9. Parking spaces and parking garages were not made with SUVs in mind. We were SO grateful for the amazing cameras that the vehicles we rented had but still parking and navigating a parking garage were not for the faint of heart. My hat is off to Paul. I would have had to have a smaller vehicle if I was driving. 

10. I enjoyed seeing the statues inside the Wallace Memorial as they honored a variety of Scottish people including Robert Burns, Mary Slessor, Adam Smith, David Livingstone, and John Knox.

11. During the majority of our trip the temperatures were lower than normal for May. The good news is that it hardly rained when we were walking around, and that was a blessing as usually it rains more than that. May 23-26 the weather was unseasonably warm. In fact, they had record breaking high temperatures in the UK on May 24. We actually got some sunburn that day! We definitely didn't need any umbrellas any of those days it was very hot and sunny. 

12. Slices of bacon are SO big in the UK and Ireland. The first time I saw a piece I thought it was a slice of ham due to the size. 

13. We had many delicious breads in Paris, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. For example, I really liked the soda bread we had with our breakfast at the Guest House on May 25 in Northern Ireland.

14. Some foods that they serve with breakfast are not ones we typically have at breakfast in the US. We ordered breakfast sandwiches in Dublin our last morning (by that time we knew what baps were), and on each plate there was a small salad. You also never get to pick a salad dressing in the UK. Breakfasts also usually included baked beans (which I didn't mind although I don't plan on eating them for breakfast at home), stewed tomatoes, mushrooms, sausage, and bacon. 

15. We were able to use a credit card to pay for almost everything. I had gotten some pounds and Euros through AAA before we left because I knew that we had to pay cash for our dinner at the guest house, and I figured we'd need some cash for bathrooms and such. We did need cash a few times such as at the Cardiff Market and the machines in some parking lots only accepted cash, but the vast majority of the time credit cards were accepted. If I had to do it over again, I would have just used our debit card to get some cash at an ATM over there, and I wouldn't have exchanged as much as we did. We made sure at the end to use cash instead of cards so that we would come home with as little of those currencies as possible. 

Northern Ireland

Renting a car in Belfast was a very quick, yet rather expensive affair. You either have to pay a lot for insurance or allow them to put a hold for thousands of dollars on your credit card. Ugh. Our first stop was the Blackhead Coastal Path which was beautiful but not as stunning as the Gobbins Cliff Path. We stopped for ice cream and snacks at The Rhinka which is a family owned ice cream shop that has been selling homemade ice cream since 1921. We have enjoyed trying unique flavors such as Biscoff, rhubarb, and sticky toffee pudding. Because our 2.5 hour hike on the Gobbins Cliff Path was a guided tour, we had to wait awhile as we got there early. We then drove to our guest house which was located very close to the Giant’s Causeway. We had preordered a dinner (at an extra charge) from the guest house. After eating we hiked around the causeway. The views from the guest house were absolutely stunning, the beds were very comfortable, the water was very hot for the shower, and there were three twin beds plus one queen size bed in our room. Perfect! The free continental breakfast was quite comprehensive, but we also bought three hot breakfasts.

After breakfast we drove to the Carrick a Rede rope bridge which again afforded us amazing views of the beautiful coast. We ended our time in Northern Ireland in Belfast. We had a one hour private guided tour outside the museum that included a free small drink and a small bit of food at a restaurant, and then we went inside the museum. It was very different from the Titanic Museum in Tennessee as this one is focused on the building of the ship. It was very high tech and even included a ride. Our last stop was to C.S. Lewis Square where we saw statues of the beavers, White Witch, Mr. Tumnus, Aslan, etc. We were surprised they didn’t have statues of Peter, Edmund, or Lucy. C.S. Lewis was born and lived in Belfast for the first several years of his life. We drove to the airport to return the rental car, took two taxis to the train station (don’t ask how much that cost us!!), grabbed a bite to eat on the train, and rode a train for 2 hour plus 15 minutes to Dublin. Thankfully we only paid for one taxi to take us to our hotel. I was game for walking the one mile from the train station to the hotel, but I was outvoted. The kids shared a room with three beds. Paul and I had our own room. The most any one room could accommodate was four people. This morning we walked to a cafe for breakfast as the hotel we stayed at charged extra for breakfast. Then we took one taxi to the airport. We arrived very early, but I knew there wasn’t enough time to do something in Dublin before going to the airport so we decided to play it safe and get there earlier than necessary. We are supposed to be served two meals on our flight to Newark. Thankfully this is not a red eye flight like we had coming over here. I’m not looking forward to the jet lag, but I’m very much looking forward to holding Milo!

Scotland

We spent five days in Scotland, longer than we spent in the other countries. We spent the first day and a half in Edinburgh. They pronounce it “Edinboro.” We had a guided tour of Edinburgh Castle. That was the first site we visited on the trip that was very particular about our entrance time. I do not enjoy the added stress that comes with the fact that timed entrances are required for SO many activities. Most places were very accommodating even when we showed up rather early. Thankfully they bent their rules a little and let us come in prior to the time of our guided tour. Most of the places I had made dinner reservations, reservations weren’t actually necessary, but it did come in handy at the Makars Mash Bar. We tried different types of mash(ed potatoes). When planning vacations I try to choose the top rated activities, but when it comes to food, affordability factors in far more heavily. This restaurant is rated the second best casual dining in the UK, but due to three of us ordering bowls of tomato soup instead of a main dish, it wasn’t a splurge financially. The kids’ favorite activity that day was the Camera Obscura. Because of the late nights, we decided to skip the hike up Calton Hill. We stayed at an apartment on the outskirts of the city. The washer and dryer were two separate machines, but the dryer was utterly pathetic. I was babysitting the dryer from 4:30 am onward. Some of the clothes were still wet when we left. When Paul and I were in London in 2002, our hotel room was so small we barely had room for a suitcase. The room was almost the same size as the bed. Thankfully that hasn’t been the case this time around. 

Wednesday morning we had pastries from a bakery for breakfast and then hiked up Arthur’s Seat trail. One of the types of pastries was called a yum yum. The pastries were delicious and the views on the hike were beautiful! I had my first two sightings of the Eurasian magpie, which I saw elsewhere on the trip. We had lunch at the Haggis Box which was in the same building as John Knox’s house, which we visited after we ate. Oliver had haggis with neeps and tatties (mashed turnips and potatoes). Ian and Paul tried a bite of Oliver’s haggis the next time he ordered it. After touring John Knox’s home, we had gelato (second time on the trip for Oliver and I and third time for Ian and Nadia). Next we visited St. Giles Cathedral where John Knox was the first Protestant pastor there (it had been a Catholic Church prior to that). We didn’t have any timed reservations that day which was so freeing!! No tickets are needed for St Giles, a hike, or the National Museum of Scotland, and no advance tickets are needed for the John Knox site. We also visited some places that JK Rowling had used as inspiration for the Harry Potter books. We have never spent so much time trying to find specific gravestones in a cemetery before, ha ha! We had a delicious and inexpensive dinner at the Piemaker. Nadia and I really enjoyed our feta vergas. Oliver loved his macaroni cheese pie. Our day ended with the Kelpies in Falkirk. Had I known that our ride on the Falkirk Wheel was going to be cancelled, I would have booked an apartment in Sterling, but the upside of where we stayed was the fact the dryer actually worked! By the time we left we had washed and dried all our dirty laundry, and we didn’t lose any sleep to accomplish that feat.

Thursday morning Paul asked for us to visit the Battle of Bannockburn since we couldn’t ride a boat on the Falkirk Wheel as planned. The kids stayed in the SUV. We all went on a guided tour of Stirling Castle after we had explored part of it ourselves. Nadia dubbed this vacation- castles and cathedrals. We’ve climbed a LOT of stairs on this trip. Most of them have been very narrow circular steps. There were 246 of those steps at the National Wallace Memorial. When planning vacations I always factor in how much driving will be required. Sometimes we skip something that sounds really good because of how much extra driving would be required (ex. Big Bend National Park in May last year). If we had skipped the Isle of Skye on this trip, we would have saved a lot of driving, but our hike ended up being Nadia’s favorite thing we did in Scotland so I think I made the right call. 

We spent one night on the island in a boutique hostel. We had a room with four bunk beds. My preference would have been to get a room with six beds, but that one didn’t come with its own bathroom. Paul preferred having our own bathroom so he and I squeezed into one twin size bottom bunk. Obviously neither of us slept well. We had stopped at a grocery store on the way there the night before to buy an ice cream treat to eat right away and some food for breakfast and supper the next day. The view from the Cowshed bunkhouse was amazing! Unfortunately, it was very foggy and was misting during our first 2.5 hour hike at Quiraing. Oliver really wanted to do the loop that included hiking over the top, but we weren’t all capable of that so we went out and back. The views were utterly stunning, but it was rather nerve wracking as if you slipped, you’d probably die, and we had to scramble over walks and through a waterfall. I wasn’t always sure I was capable, but I succeeded and never fell down. The fog had lessened on our walk back, but the wind had blown the mist onto us so the backside of our clothes were soaked. Our next stop was just a viewpoint for a waterfall. We planned to hike the Old Man of Storr hike, but due to the fact we were wearing wet clothes, we opted to skip it. Given how full the parking lot was there, I’m not certain we would have been able to park there anyhow. We got found a bathroom in Portree where we could change into dry clothes and bought some individual wood fired pizzas that we ate in the SUV. On our drive to our bed and breakfast we stopped to look at the Eilean Donan Castle, our last for the trip. Thankfully our drive toward Glasgow was much less stressful than our drive from Stirling. There were so many sections of that windy, curvy road that were two way but only one narrow lane! Yikes! We’ve seen a lot of sheep this entire trip (except in the big cities), but Paul was disappointed that he didn’t get a glimpse of any Highland cows in Scotland. That is a disadvantage of being the driver. 

We spent our last night in Scotland at a bed and breakfast. The couple served us s lovely breakfast. We ordered what we wanted the night before. Breakfast was included. We paid extra for five bag lunches plus one small load of laundry that the wife did since our clothes were wet from the hike. We had a very short drive to a birds of prey center. We had booked a 90 minute owl experience. Paul and the kids each interacted with three different owls. I took pictures. Then we watched a 45 minute flying show before walking to the pier where our 60 minute boat cruise on Loch Lommond departed. Next we drove to Glasgow and visited the Riverside Museum. They were having a music festival there that weekend so the Glenlee tall ship was closed. We had dinner and filled the gas tank before checking into the Holiday Inn at the Glasgow Airport. Paul returned the SUV while I checked in to the hotel. We had two rooms again. Unfortunately, Nadia left her Kindle in the room she and Ian shared. She also left her Alaska hoodie somewhere else in Scotland. Not having the adapter has been far more annoying, but that didn’t cost anywhere near as much as the items she left behind.

The cooked breakfast didn’t start until 6:30, which was when we felt we should walk to the terminal. We were able to eat a continental breakfast. It turned out we could have eaten the hot breakfast as we waited awhile at the airport before they even told us what gate to go to. It was a domestic flight so we didn’t go through immigration. Their security was very sensitive. They even tested my stick of deodorant?!? I’ve never had that happen before. The weird thing is that Nadia had the exact same kind of deodorant in her bag, and they didn’t test hers. It was a very short flight to Belfast. Thankfully, I’ve gotten on a very good streak with making it through the body scanners without any issues. We’ve learned to take off hiking boots even if it’s not required because they set off the scanners.

England and Paris

 

On May 15 we began our day with a visit to Jane Austen's home in Chawton, England. Nadia had specifically asked for us to go there. She has read three of Austen's books, and years ago one of Nadia's favorite book series was the Mother Daughter Book Club, and in one of those books the girls visited Austen's home in England. We then drove to London and parked the car in the parking lot of the apartment building where we were going to be spending three nights. We planned to take the bus, but then we thought it would be faster to take a taxi to Buckingham Palace, and we didn't want to be late for our "private" tour (we were 5 of 20 people in the tour). A comedy of errors ensued. We had trouble getting the app to accept our credit card. Then we waited for the first taxi driver who accepted our request, but then he changed his mind. We had to wait for another taxi driver to come our way. We *thought* we were helping out by walking in the direction of where he was coming from, but in reality he came to where we had been when we requested the taxi so we then had to RUN back to where we had been in the hopes he would still be waiting for us. We were supposed to arrive 15 minutes before our tour began to go through security, but in reality we arrived one minute after our tour began. Paul knew that they would be collecting our phones so he turned off his phone as we were walking into the palace. Paul and Nadia got new phones this year, and when we upgraded their phones they were switched to a plan that includes international traveling. Ian didn't bring his phone, Oliver doesn't own a phone, and I've only been using my phone in airplane mode. Unfortunately, Paul forgot that the tickets were on his phone, and ironically when he turned off his phone, it went through an update and had to be restarted on Wi-Fi, and there wasn't any Wi-Fi in that area of Buckingham Palace. So we had no way to show our tickets. I took my phone off of airplane mode (which incurred a $12 charge from Verizon) to try to access the tickets on my phone, but that also was unsuccessful. Thankfully, they had my name on a list and finally let us in without actually showing tickets. From that point forward I made sure to save screenshots of all tickets on my own phone. The tour was interesting, but the tour guide spoke very quietly (trying not to disturb those who were working there). 

As we walked from Buckingham Palace to the British Museum, we stopped at a Pret A Manger for dinner. It's a British fast food restaurant which serves much healthier options that most fast food places in the US. Paul and I tried to go to the British Museum in 2002, but they were on strike the day we tried to go. The Bayeux Tapestry which we saw in France in 2002 will be on display in the British Museum from September 2026- July 2027. I wish the kids could have seen that, but I'm very glad that Paul's 24 year wait to visit the British Museum is over. We ended the night with Phantom of the Opera at His Majesty's Theatre. It was my third time seeing that Broadway show and Paul's second time, but it was the first for the kids. They liked it. Ian jumped a couple of times (such as when the large chandelier fell down). It was the kids' sixth Broadway show. When we saw Aladdin in Buffalo while on vacation I was mortified at how underdressed we were compared to most people, but in general people weren't dressed up for the show in London so we were fine. The bus ride was only supposed to take about 20 minutes, but there was an incredible amount of traffic that night even though it was late so by the time we got to our apartment it was about 11:45 pm. In hindsight, we could have gotten back much sooner if we had walked back despite the fact it was about 2 miles away. The first two nights in Wales our apartments had a machine that was both a washer and dryer, but I didn't do laundry because our trip had just begun, and then we stayed at hotels which didn't include free laundry. I started a load that first night in London and it took me days to get that small load of laundry dry! I had hoped to do multiple loads over the course of three days. That didn't happen. The first night of our trip we got almost no sleep as we were on the plane. The second night we went to bed later than planned because of a variety of factors. The third, fourth, and fifth nights of the trip we were able to go to bed at a very reasonable hour and didn't have to get up early. Two of those nights Nadia and Ian had their own room, and I think they (or at least Ian) stayed up later than recommended. He also didn't think to take a shower either of those days or nights, and he left our adaptor at the hotel, and that has been sorely missed since then. The sixth, seventh, and eighth nights of the trip we didn't get enough sleep.

On May 16 we walked to the Tower of London and had breakfast at a place called Cheese & Peppers on the way there. Paul and I prefer guided tours. The kids generally do not, but they did all like the Beefeater tour at the Tower. Thankfully we saw the crown jewels before the line got really long. Our next stop was the Tower Bridge. These two stops were the only ones that were repeats in England for Paul and I. The Tower Bridge tour hadn't changed that much, but the Tower of London site was much different. Next we took the underground toward Westminster Abbey. A protest was being held that day very close to the Abbey so we had to alter the route we took to get there. Our fourth stop was the Churchill War Rooms. We planned to visit the bronze statues at Leicester Square, but many roads were closed due to the protest. We finally gave up on having dinner where I had planned and also skipped seeing the statues. We had time for shopping before we went to see Paddington the Musical at the Savoy Theatre. The kids liked Phantom of the Opera, but they absolutely loved Paddington. They have been listening to it every day since then. Thankfully we didn't encounter extra traffic on our bus trip back to the apartment that night, but it was still a VERY short night of sleep because we had to get up at 2:45 am to drive to the airport for our flight to Paris. 

I thought leaving at 3:15 am would allow us plenty of time. I was wrong. The line for the security screening was very long. By the time we got to our gate, they had already started boarding. In Paris we bought 5 passes that allowed us unlimited use of the trains/subway for the day. We took the train from the airport to Notre Dame. They didn’t give out any reserved tickets that day, but thankfully the line wasn’t long. Since it was Sunday morning, they were having a service while we were there. After visiting the Cathedral (which Paul and I had been in before the fire), we bought some baguettes and pain au chocolat, which was a treat I really enjoyed when we spent a week in France in 2002. They were having a bread festival outside of the cathedral. Our next stop was Sainte Chapelle, which is my most favorite cathedral I’ve ever been in. In 2002 we had a private guided tour of it, which we loved. We just walked around it ourselves this time. There were far more security screenings now compared to 24 years ago. We went through scanners 8 times in one day (two times just for the Eiffel Tower). We had crepes for lunch at Chez Suzette before visiting the Musee de Orsay, which was the only site on our itinerary that wasn’t a repeat for Paul and I. Monet, Manet, and Renoir are three of my favorite artists so it was a delight to see so many of their original works of art there along with ones by Van Gogh. We ended our day in Paris with a visit to the Arc de Triomphe, eating pizza at Chez Pippo, and going to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. I didn’t bring my camera to Paris because of the rain forecast. We did experience a total downpour for about 75 minutes in the afternoon around the time of the Arc. We had brought two umbrellas with us and bought two more in Paris. Considering how frequently it rains in the UK, we considered ourselves fortunate that this was the first time we had much rain. We took the train back to the airport, and then we had a long wait at the gate because our flight was delayed. By the time we drove back to our apartment, I had been awake for almost 23 hours straight. The kids had slept in the car and on the airplane. Nadia really wanted to visit Paris, so this was a gift to her.

 On Monday morning we started our day at Kensington Palace, took the underground to Westminster, and toured Big Ben. They collected our phones so we didn’t get credit for going up all those stairs, ha ha. It was a very interesting tour. After the tour we took the underground back to where our SUV was parked and drove to Cambridge. Driving in London is not exactly pleasant. We had a punting trip on the River Cam (similar to gondolas in Venice) and walked around the town some to get dessert at Jack’s Gelato. We got another parking ticket, but we have challenged this one because they said we hadn’t paid for parking at 6:13 when we had paid for two hours at 6:03. We have proof that we paid so I hope our appeal is successful. I never, ever want to rent a car in another country again! We didn’t have this trouble when we rented vehicles in Europe from 2002-2004. Paul has been a champ driving on the left side of the road, but it can be stressful especially on very narrow one lane (yet two way) roads (especially true in Scotland). We got behind schedule in Cambridge so we didn’t check in until around midnight at our hotel. It was the only Holiday Inn in this trip that had a room that could accommodate 5 people, and they had an amazing breakfast selection. 

We ended out time in England at Alnwick Castle on Tuesday morning. The kids were excited because some of the scenes from Harry Potter movies were filmed there. We took a guided tour that focused on the movies filmed at the site. Due to the grass being wet, they weren’t having broomstick training that day, but they did provide broomsticks for photos. Due to the fact it was raining  when we parked, I didn’t bring my camera to the castle. It never rained while we were there so I wish that I had brought it because it’s much harder to freeze action with a cellphone. Paul was more interested in the history of the castle. After eating lunch at the castle, we drove to Scotland.