Starting School round 12...13 if we count kinder...are we counting preschool?

It is always with mixed emotions that we start another school year...this year especially because it is Grant's LAST year of school!  He starts as a senior

with leftover attendance school to do from his junior year, so that is hopefully not a sign of how this year is going to go!  Ha!  He says he is already ready to be done. 

Katelee is starting her sophomore year and gets to go to school with Grant everyday!

She is thrilled to be in high school and out of middle school and she is so ready!  She is ready to go to dances, on dates, football games, drive and all the fun that comes in high school.  I am trying to talk her into coming to see me in the library a lot but she doesn't think she will frequent the space.  I am going to have to stock my drawer with really good candy this year.  

Brenna finished up elementary school in the spring and says she is NOT ready for middle school.  She had seventh grade orientation day stressing about getting lost, hearing scary things, being overwhelmed with classes and just flustered in general.  

She came home feeling good!  We had to do two pics-first day with the sevies, and the next real day when school offically started.  She was feeling much more confident after the orientation day, so she is going to rock it.

Harrison is the sole elementary student in the house now.  He was excited to be reunited with his friends.  In fact, one day right before school started, Harrison had a dental check up.  We walked into the office and from across the room, Harrison saw his friend Camden from 2nd grade.  They made eye contact and Camden exclaimed, "Harry!"  He ran over and jumped into Harrison's arms, wrapped his legs around Harrison's waist and Harry held him like a long lost love.  It was slightly awkward, but mostly hilarious.

Mrs Heugly is Harrison's teacher for the second year in a row and we are definitely pleased with that arrangement! He was styled with a slick haircut (courtesy of Great Clips where he told the hairstylist our family life story and explained how his siblings were learning lessons the hard way!), Dave bought him an athletic polo, which Harrison wore for the first day and then decided to send it back.  Ha!  

School started and then BAM it was Harrison's 9th birthday.  Last year of single digits for our little baby.  He is pure joy (minus the occasional rages that still happen).  He loves to do nothing the most (sit in front of a screen), but he also loves sports and logos of sports teams.  

He draws them all, designs new ones, still keeps up on stats and is passionate about his fav teams.  He has adopted the Braves now after his trip to Atlanta. He is going to be joining a year round comp basketball team, so we will see how he feels about basketball after a year.  

 He continues to adore history and know more than some people in the house and we get a kick out of all his opinions, theories and discussions.  

He doesn't always love piano and we have had to go on a break when I couldn't handle the outbursts, but there was one time during a piano lesson that he stopped and said, "I need a break."  I kept talking and explaining the technique/song we were one and he took my heat in my hands and said, "STOP- we are having a moment" and then he cuddle against me.  Pretty sure it was called manipulation, but he knows how to work it.  

We celebrated his birthday with a BYU cake that somehow melted, honestly probably the first epic fail of all the birthday cakes I have made for our kiddos.  He wanted a friend party this year that included a basketball game out front, smores around the firepit, and then a movie projected from our hammock corner.  It turned out pretty great.  

Here he is with Krew, Tate, Dash, Dodger and Paxton- a bunch of turkeys, but they are 8 and 9 so I don't know what else to expect.   On his actual birthday, I asked Harrison, "How does it feel to be 9?!!"  Harry replied with " differentsies and samesies."  I thought that was valid but I wanted to know how exactly he felt different.  I asked him that and he said he felt "taller and just more responsibility, ya know?"  Hahaha!  Hopefully the weight of being 9 doesn't exceed the joy of childhood.  

We got one last hike in during August before school started.  We always have grand plans of what we will do for summer- a pretty decent bucket list.  We always think we will go on lots of hikes and make it up the canyon more than we do...maybe next year.  

But, for now, we begin a new school year prepping for what's ahead.   I think it's kind of like Harrison taking in the view here-He could see a lot of fun and hard work and a path through, but there will be things we can't anticipate and we will make it a great journey and all we can do is start with one foot in front of the other.  Let's get this Party (school year) started.  

Heading to the Homeland

As I mentioned before in my post about the kids' summer adventures, Dave and I have been anxiously anticipating a trip to Scotland/Ireland for years.  Of course our ancestors are both from that region (I mean we are McArthurs and my granny was born in Scotland) so it makes sense it has been calling to us!  Once we had plans for the children, it was a green light and we decided a perfect place to celebrate our 20 year anniversary!  It had been a decade since we did Europe together on our dreamy Italy trip, so it was time to go again!  YAY!

Time for the travel log...We kicked off the trip in Edinburgh.  We arrived before our room was ready so we immediately told ourselves we were not tired and started walking to Calton Hill and and the Greyfriars Cemetery.  

We learned all about Greyfriar's Bobby-the cute little dog and wandered around looking at headstones where Dave discovered Tom Riddle himself!

JK Rowling was highly inspired in Edinburgh and you can see sprinkles of HP all over.  

I would say some of the best food we ate on the trip was in Edinburgh and the worst food ever in my life I ate there as well.  The first night was my favorite meal

Steak and Ale pie-delish.  The Royal Mile was lots of fun to walk up and down

 and the little restaurants are first come, first sit.  Pretty convenient way to work it.  

The next morning was the worst food of all time and while it looks appealing...it was not.  Never will I eat blood/black pudding again.  NEVER.  Haggis was actually fine and we promised ourselves we would try the local cuisine.  I did it and I will never let it pass my lips again.  Bleh.

After a traumatizing breakfast, we went to catch our tour bus for our Scottish Highlands tour.  We didn't read the instructions thoroughly enough so we didn't arrive 15 min early, but just as the bus was getting ready to go.  That was ok, except we didn't get to sit by each other.  By the end of the day, Dave had made friends with Steve the Scottish tour guide who had the best accent ever and asked to sit up front with him.

I had spent the day with a 20 something Brazilian tourist, Giovanni, who wanted me to share his ice cream cone and stay in the hostel where he was...so I'd say that turned out great.  

The Highlands tour was beautiful.  We drove by the James Bond road from Skyfall,w which is obviously important, made our way through The Caingorms National Park, up to Inverness and Loch Ness.  

At Loch Ness, we did not see Nessie, but we did tour the Urquart Castle ruins that are standing and did a boat ride on Loch Ness.  

The water is dark and it was pretty chilly, but we enjoyed the landscape with some new friends from Singapore.  We have his business card if we ever find ourselves in Singapore and in need of a barber.  The tour continued through Glen Coe and we learned all about the different clans and William Wallace as we passed by Stirling Castle.  Since we stayed in Edinburgh the entire time in Scotalnd, our tours were very long.  We traveled far out of the city and then returned to the city, so we got back super late and caught cat naps on the bus along the road.  The only restaurant open when we got back seemed to be owned by the Italian mafia, so we ate quickly before we were roped into their gang.

The next day in Edinburgh, we stayed in the city and explored via the Hop on Hop Off bus.  

We had an appointment at the castle, which was really like a fort.  

It was a little town even.  I walked around with my headphones on taking in the history and Dave walked around with his headphones around his neck and sitting on the bench while I listed to the audio tour!  Ha!

We loved the city of Edinburgh- the architecture, the bagpipes, the little alley ways a and stairs everywhere, the new town/old town areas, just the whole vibe.  Highly recommend.  

The next day, we had a tour that touched a couple areas we had already been to...but it was on the Jacobite train!   So, it was totally necessary.  We caught a bus first and then boarded the train in Fort William where we met our new besties from Ireland.

James and Emma hung with us for the day and we loved getting to know them.  Really, we would hang out again if they ever come our way.  We ate fish and chips but passed on the mushy peas.  

The Hogwarts train was so great!  We passed through beautiful countryside,

 ate treats off the trolley and squished in our  little booth.  I don't know what Harry, Ron and Hermione did to get their seats, but I will say, they were first class...we were not.  

The way up on the tour, we rode the train OVER the viaduct.  On the way back, we rode the bus so we could stop and see/hear the Hogwarts express going over the viaduct.  It is so funny, there are just loads of people on both sides of the track on hills just videoing and cheering as the train rolls by.  Seriously cool.  

The next day was Sunday and we thought it would be neat to attend a ward in Scotland.  We caught an Uber to the address on the church website and that Uber driver dropped us off and hit the road as we approached a barricaded building that turned out to be a military anti-terrorist base.  So, no sacrament meeting there!  But, alas, the Lord still blessed us because there was another couple trying to attend the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who was also dropped off at that location.  They knew how to work the bus system and accompanied us part of the way back to the city, so yay for a worldwide church with fellow saints because the Ubers were nowhere to be found.  We said goodbye to Scotland that day and took a little flight to Dublin.  Our flight was delayed so I was able to get on our ward link and see the farewell of a YW I really was sad to miss as soon as she and the other departing missionary gave their talks, our flight was boarding.  So another little appreciated blessing!

Ireland welcomed us with dinner and a good night's rest so we could prep for picking up our car to drive on the opposite side of the road. 

 Dave was so excited about this part of the trip and had been pumping me up to take a turn at the wheel.  Luckily it was a bank holiday the day we rented a car, so less cars out in the city.  Dave jumped in the car and took us to the Glendalough area to Wicklow Mountains National Park.   It was so pretty and fun!    We hiked and really enjoyed the park.  Dave finally talked me in to taking a turn behind the wheel...I was just a little nervous and didn't think I wanted to.  But, I hopped in and took off.  I had a great time and I know I was doing a spectacular job but Dave was a basketcase and insisted I let him be the driver!  

We just really explored this day.  The driver that took us to our hotel from the aiport the day before suggested we find the local sheep dog tournament.  So, we went to a tiny rural competition and watched sheep dogs herd the animals.  It was so cool.  We went to a little fishing village for lunch, we went to a garden estate that is ranked #3 by National Geographic called Powerscourt Gardens.  

We meandered through the different themed gardens, smelled the roses, felt the moss,

hid behind giant leaves, you know, the typical garden tour.  

It really was relaxing and lovely.  We had to have the car back by 5:30pm and had a bit of a hairy time with that but walked into Hertz at 5:25pm.  phew!  We stayed across from St Stephen's Green so we moseyed through the Green in the rain and stopped at this fantastic chocolate shop.  The worker was so friendly, gave us some samples and then everytime we passed the shop the next couple of days, we wanted to get a treat.  He happened to be there almost every time and would give us free bags of chocolates.  It was so so nice and kind of weird but we weren't complaining! We had fancy room service that night and enjoyed our extra sleep because we had another early tour coming our way.   

We needed to get to the train station by 6:30am for our train ride to Bunratty Castle.  We had the greatest Google Translator conversation with a group of travelers from Italy.  They were blown away that we were celebrating our 20 year anniversary and had 4 kids!  They had been all divorced and were shocked at our success and craziness at home.  They pretty much offered to babysit our kids next time we went somewhere and planned a getway for us in Italy.  It was so sweet.  

Bunratty Castle was a great little village/castle tour.  

The people were all dressed up and immersed in the history.  Reminded me of our time at This is the Place.  They had a little farm area, house, castle, shops, etc

Those Dark Age castles would have been no fun, let me just say....and so stinky and everyone would be getting sick and dying from the cold or smoke inhalation.  Bless our modern day miracles.  

The tour took us to a little village Pub for lunch  before getting to the ultimate destination of the Cliffs of Moher.

One of the most beautiful places we have ever been.  We walked as far as we could on both sides of the cliffs until it was time to be back with the tour group.

  It was stunning.  It was there that we really got to know our tour guide, Ian, who is a self described 'bit of a wit.'  

Ian entertained us for the entire 3 hour train ride back with his history lessons, stories and scientific theories.  I was shocked Dave didn't pretend to fall asleep at some point! 

Our last day in Ireland was a jam packed day of Dublin.  We hit another Hop On Hop Off bus, as it seemed to get us everywhere we wanted to explore.  We walked and walked.  We went to the long room library at Trinity College where I could say I had a spiritual experience.  I just had to stop and take in the books.  

We actually ran into our Italian friends from the tour the day before.  It was like reuniting with good people.  We loved our interactions with so many people on this trip.  We really connected with so many new friends from all over the world.  People are good, people are different and we all have stories to tell.  It is nice to remember that.  

We went to the Dublin Castle which was the most bougie of the castles/buildings we saw.  We should have gone to the queen's fav spot in Edinburgh and that might have won, but for us, Dublin Castle was the fanciest.  

We went to a couple of the famous cathedrals where you are supposed to pay unless you are going in to worship, so we made sure to pray each time.  

We walked by the Temple Bar and rode by the Guiness Factory where ADP spends all of its time when traveling.  We heard about a new Immigration museum which turned out to be very interactive and fun.  

And we capped off our anniversary trip with a steak house (Dave wanted some GOOD food) and Ireland's own RIVERDANCE at the Gaeity Theater.  Riverdance was phenomenal.  We were dying of heat in the old theater but we were so impressed.  

The trip was outstanding!!  We had such a great time and feel pretty great about making it to 20 years!  People from across the globe celebrated us and congratulated us on a dang big accomplishment.  And we appreciate your support, world!  We were so tired because this vacation was run run run and up early lots of days.  Our flight got delayed and canceled going back to the states which was problematic since Dave had to make it to Atlanta to grab Harrison and Brenna in time to bring them to me before he collected Katelee and Rylee in California.  So...it was a bit hectic as he landed in Utah and took a read eye back to the east coast, but it all worked out.  He is a master trip planner and I am so grateful I get to spend my life with him on these adventures!

 

Worldwide Adventures

Dave and I had an epic vacation planned for the summer to Scotland and Ireland.  Three different years at ADP Dave was supposed to go for President's Club to the Emerald Isle, but for various reasons it was canceled.  So, we decided instead of joining the ADP destination this year, we'd take the trip we've been anxious to go on and head to Scotland and Ireland on our own.  (yes, it just so happened that after we booked our trip and secured it, ADP announced Ireland for 2023...but what do you do)  

Anyway, we knew we'd be out of the country for 10 days and what would our children do in our absence? It just so happened they too had amazing adventures planned...ok, it didn't 'just so happen,' it was strategically orchestrated.  Thought I would share what they were experiencing before I chronical our trip in more detail.

GRANT

Grant has been wanting to do a humanitarian trip for awhile now.  He saved up a good chunk of money and we told him we would match it.  He chose a destination and registered with an incredible company (Humanitarian XP) and set out for Cartagena Columbia for nearly 3 weeks.  

The purpose of the trip was to help build  a center for the community there.  It was extremely hard work.  Every morning they would have to bale out the water that accumulated and so progress was slow.  

But, Grant threw himself right into the hard labor and embraced it.  He wanted to knock out some of the projects (I think it was a re-bar day) that he just went a little too hard.  We were actually at home preparing for our European trip when I got a text from Sam from Humanitarian XP asking if I could call because there was an issue with Grant.  The text let me know he was ok but I needed to get a hold of them.

Of course, my stomach just dropped and all sorts of scenarios played through my mind.  Dave got a similar text shortly after and was a bit frantic as well.  We called and it so happened that our fair little red head had heat exhaustion/borderline heat stroke.  He was dehydrated and hospitalized for some fluids and electrolytes.  He had become disoriented and didn't even know where he was.  After hours in the emergency room, he was released but we were worried we needed to come get him, make sure he was ok etc.  We actually didn't even speak to him, just to his coordinator and they assured us he was recovering and didn't need to be sent home, just to take it easy the next few work days and get shade/water better from there on out.  We were definitely concerned but felt like we could continue our plans and knew he'd be so disappointed if he had to come home, so Columbia continued!  The funny part is they told Grant they talked to his mom and all I pretty much said was to tell him to "feel better soon!"  Ha!  As if I wasn't pacing and praying from home but just wishing him luck on his recovery.  

So, for four days of each week the group of teens would load the bus and continue their work service.  He had a great group of people from all over the US volunteering with Grant.  They stayed in a hostel/air b n b place in the city and they loved walking around at night.  Grant thought the food was incredible and he loved the people.  

They were able to go to church, do activities and socialize a lot with locals of Columbia and immerse in the culture for his few weeks.  He met a great guy that Grant gave a ring to (he has plenty to spare) and the guy wrote the nicest note about how the whole group impacted him, particularly Grant.  He told Grant that whenever he looks at the ring he will think of him.  It was great to see how people from different countries and beliefs could bond and Grant felt the same way.  

Of course the group spent time being travelers and adventurers-they snorkeled, canoed through a mangrove forest, went to an aviary, rode a party bus through town, swam in the ocean and my personal favorite hearing about was the mud volcano.  Grant said it was such an odd feeling floating in mud.  Afterwards, the elderly woman that lived there insisted the boys get "natural" as they no-nonsensily scooped water ALL over them to rinse off.  Grant had us cracking up as he explained it.  

When Grant decided he wanted to take his volunteer time in Columbia I was a bit of a basket case imagining drug cartels adopting one ginger thug.  But, the only danger he experienced was sun burn and a visit to the emergency room from heat stroke...nothing Columbia's fault, truly.  It turned out to be a very impactful opportunity and one Grant will look back on fondly for the rest of his life.  

KATELEE

Katelee was home for the first few days we were out of the country.  Shannon and Grandma stayed at our house a couple of days until Shannon accompanied the younger two to their destination.  Katelee stayed at home a couple extra nights with Aunt Lisa and Lizzy who were in town.  Luckily Aunt Lisa was here so she could yell at the people that kept toilet papering the house repeatedly in one night!  The final night before her adventure, she stayed at our neighbor's the Sanchez's so they could take Katelee and their daughter, Rylee to the airport to get to California for their AFY week.  

Katelee and Rylee spent the week at a church camp on a lake experience spiritual devotionals, lake activities, friends and pure fun.  

They chose that location for some of the adventures- mountain boarding and rock climbing...which both got canceled and that was a total bummer.  But, these two girls know how to make the best of any situation and partied hard anyway.  Plus, they were in a gorgeous locale with some fun new friends and 

 cute boys so they weren't that mad!  Ha! 

They had a great time and came back bruised and scarred from "dock wars" but now Katelee will have forever memories etched into her legs.  

BRENNA AND HARRISON

The two "littles"  (don't know how much longer I can refer to them as this, but probably forever) had a cross country adventure as well!  They stayed home for a couple of days and then Shannon flew them to stay with Aunt Anna and Uncle Curt.  

And boy did they live it up!  Aunt Anna and Uncle Curt took them to a Braves game

 which of course gained a new super fan in Harrison.  The Braves won, they met a previous Braves pitcher that sat by them and even signed their hats, 

and they had a post game dance party...so pretty much couldn't have been better.   

And this was just the beginning of their stay!  They road tripped from Atlanta down to Pensacola to spend a couple days on the beach.  They had a great time at their hotel swimming and fighting pirates, going to the beach and making memories.  

The weather wasn't as sunny as they hoped but they got lots of play time and lots of laughing time.  I was sent  a video of a bubble gun and little bum farting  with giggles galore, so we would call their trip an overwhelming success.  

Uncle Curt and Aunt Anna were the ultimate hosts (as well as Coco, of course) and planned lots of fun for the kiddos.  I am pretty sure all four of our little people would love for us to leave anytime if it means they get to go trippin like they all did!  We are so happy they each had amazing experiences and appreciate everyone who helped get them where they needed to be and help them have the time of their lives!