Mom and Dad Visit Edinburgh

As you know Phil's mom and dad were able to visit us for 11 days at the beginning of January. We unfortunately don't have any pictures, but we all had a great time. As I was writing essays, Phil and the boys went along most of the time. The boys had a lot of fun with their grandma and grandpa. Harrison even learned to tie his shoes, with Grandma's help, and has been proudly tying shoes ever since. It snowed one day they were here. Since it hasn't before or since, we're convinced they brought the snow with them from Canada.

Phil's mom and dad took in a lot of sites while they were in Edinburgh. They visited Edinburgh Castle, the National Gallery, the University, and a train trip to see Stirling Castle. We all got a chance to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat which was playing at a local theatre. They had a contest in the UK called "Any Dream Will Do" to choose the person to play Joseph. Our Joseph was one of the finalists, Craig Chalmers. He is from Edinburgh so the crowd was very supportive.

I was able to take a few days out to spend some time with mom and dad. Phil, dad, and I visited Mary Kings Close - part of the city that is underground. It was very interesting to learn how people lived in the 16th and 17th century (pretty harsh). It is worth a look if you're in Edinburgh - as long as you're not afraid of the dark - they do try to scare you a bit as well.
On the last day of their visit, I took mom out to the Portrait Gallery which features portraits and biography's both historical and contemporary. Mom liked it so much we wanted to take dad as well. Fortunately, later in the evening there was a Scottish fiddler at the Portrait Gallery. Mom, dad, the boys and I went to watch the show and had a short chance to show dad around the gallery. Mom and dad were both very impressed and the gallery will definitely be on the agenda again for a future visit.

Phil and dad often took a long walk in the mornings and explored the surrounding neighbourhoods. Both mom and dad like to read books by Andrew McCall Smith (44 Scotland Street) who features many of the local highlights in the surrounding area. Mom and dad both had fun visiting some of the places they had read about.

Mom and dad were a big help with the kids. Dad enjoyed taking Harrison to school. Mom and dad also did a lot of homework with Harrison and helped in teaching him more tips to improve his reading. Mom and dad also gave Phil and I a few nights out which was great. It was definitely great to have their help around the house with the kids.

We had a great time with mom and dad!