and boxing day dinner with jennifer, brian, and the edge of mhairi. once again it was turkey and vegies but still very yummy.

well this is something crazy that scots people do on boxing day !!! about 95 people were jumping into freezing water for charity. one of brian and jen's friend did it .... he must be crazy. but it was a good laugh.

well on boxing day morning we took elsa for a walk in the woods - it was very nice. a little cold, but still nice. although i was later told it was haunted woods. and there was a carpark about 100m up the road used for the same purpose as the blackbutt top carpark!!! hehe

well this is dad and i at the christmas dinner table, we had a beautiful big turkey for lunch and lots of vegetables ! it was great big feast. and i have to just say a quick congradulations to brock and donna who got engaged on christmas day !!

this is my uncle brian and aunty jennifer (dads sister). this was christmas morning as we were opening our christmas presents !!!

this is elsa and gemma (my aunt and uncle's dog and cat) they are so cute and site together on the couch at night to keep each other warm.

well we made it to my aunt and uncle's in elgin this week, where we were taken to a carol service in an old cathedral that was falling down, with no roof. it was nice a cool but not too cold which was lucky for me. although if you havent heard my singing voice it might be lucky for you.

so glasgow was a big city - lots of traffic and very old and dirty looking. we drove round and dad showed me where he went to uni and where he worked, but this was the house that he grew up in.

this one is for simon... and maybe the boys. today we went into glasgow and this is the first place dad took me (and i think he thought the most important place too)

Last night we went out for dinner at a really nice restaurant up the road. this is mhairi and bruce (my cousin and her husband) who we have been staying with while in edinburgh. they have a wonderful house filled with lots of alcohol!!

today was our first day in edinburgh, so what did we do - we went shopping !! yeah. we had to get some christmas presents, its very difficult to buy for people you dont know!! the city itself is very old and cold ! but they had these german markets in the centre - which had some pretty cool stuff. the other photo is of the scott monument, which was built for sir walter scott. it was very old and dirty looking! we saw edinburgh castle, but we were on the other side of the road and the light being behind it meant that all my photos were silhouettes.

well today we made the big move from kelso to edinburgh, about 1 hour. we are staying with my cousin mhairi and her husband bruce. on our way to their house we stop in at the distillery where bruce works. and he was able to give us a tour around it, which was very interesting and smelly !! so currently we are in edinburgh and will be here for a few days and will go exploring around the countryside. but i will keep you posted on those trips. so there is a photo of myself outside and the picture of dad and bruce inside. although you arent suppose to take photos inside because the fumes mixing with the flash may explode !! but because i was with the manager and it they were closing down for xmas there wasnt many fumes around.

i did alot today, we went and saw a few places like some old castles, and villages. i saw my first highland cattle - they were really big and hairy - i took alot of photos but would have too many to post up so you'll all have to sit through them when i get home. this photo is of jim, sheena and myself in a restaurant in kelso - it was the same place where jim and frank went for there first drink at 14.

this one is for louise - who was saying i was doing too much shopping and not visiting enough historical sites. this is the old church at kelso which had been knocked down by some guy who didnt like the catholics.

well i survived my first frost it was very cold but not too bad - my face is not coping wiht the cold too well - very red and dry. this photo ws taken as we walked to jim and sheena place. it was a really nice walk and we looked in all the cute shops on the way.

well from wooler we drove on to Kelso which is over the border it was a nice drive. we are staying in a hotel here and visiting some good friends jim and sheena, they areb currently between homes so we couldnt stay with them. but it is very cold today with the max temp being about 5 degrees. off to have a look round a few shops and get my hour of uv light.

well on the morning when we were staying at wooler with liz and duncan we went for a walk up the ponds on top of the mountain/moore thing. let me tell you it was bloody cold as you can guess from the photo of me!! my legs were so cold - i didnt have the thermols on because i didnt know where we were going !! but it was nice start for the morning.

well today we traveled up north to wooler from leeds today. we passed the angel of the north which is just before Newcastle. dad unfortunately missed the turn off so it was a drive-by shot. it was pretty amazing though. then we went to the seaside for lunch and saw the castle. it was the Bamburgh castle. it was amazing - i am told it has been divided up into apartments and function rooms.

this is a photo of marie and terry the couple we are staying with in leeds and who i will stay with once dad has gone home. we went shopping on my first full day in leeds which was an experience. although i was very tired from jetlag and there were so many people, so it was cut short a bit. although i did manage to get a few new tops and jumpers. then i came home and had a sleep after the exhausting shopping trip but was woken up by dad. but all i want to do is sleep now and dad and terry are on shifts to make sure i dont go to bed till later. so hopefully i will sleep in a bit (was up at 4am this morning).

well after a long long long trip (i think abut 34 hours) we finally made it to leeds in england. this photo is of me at dubai airport it was during our 8 hour stop over and i was very tired and emoitional. we arrive at in leeds at 6:30pm on wednesday night it was about 10 degrees (not too bad). i have got a really sore throat from the trip - so i am not sure if it will develop into anything and my body was so sore from the flights...

well i am not sure if these images need to much explaining... for simon's birthday he thought it would be 'fun' to go to paintball. the photo on the bottom is simon the morning after feeling very sore and sorry for himself. and the other photo is one of my friends - leon looking very badass at paintball. But everyone had a great day and lots of fun. not too sure how they did the next day - but i was sore.

recently we went on a picinic in Blackbutt, my friends kat and mike (who is Canadian) and i got a tour around the place by one of simon's friend; Brock. It was a very hot day - but the animals made it a wonderful day! it was amazing being able to get up and close with them. Thanks Brock!! although it was a little scary when he got to grumpy snake out to play with...