Asher starts Nursery!

A lot has happened in 2 weeks... Asher started school, Seth and I had some date mornings before his school started, and we are trying our best to learn the city!

August 27th - My big 3 year old started school at Newington Nursery in Edinburgh. He is absolutely loving it! His favorite part of the day is playing in the garden where he can ride bikes, climb trees, play in the sandbox, roll down a hill... the activities are endless. I come every day to pick him up and he says, "10 more minutes!"

When the kids are away the grown ups will play! Seth and I had 7 mornings free of kiddos! We lived it up! We were dying to hike Arthur's seat, as we can see it out our flat window, so that we did.

We enjoyed quiet, fun spots for breakfast.

Grassmarket and Greyfriar's Bobby

Deacon Brodie's Tea House 

(A real life inspiration for Robert Lewis Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde)

And even went Scotch Whiskey tasting!

August 31st: We had dinner with Jack and Phyllis Adam from Olivet! It was such a lovely night at what has become one of our favorite places to eat, The Salisbury Arms. Jack and Phyllis were on a group tour through Scotland and stayed the last couple nights in Edinburgh. We are very grateful they took the time to visit us!

September 1st: We checked out 2 of the city's free spots - The National Museum of Scotland and the Botanic Gardens. We easily spent hours at each. We are very lucky to have these places so close, as I think we will become regulars!

The Museum

The Botanic Gardens

The gardens were spectacular! The kids loved the beautiful waterfall feature. Seth and I now have loads of pictures and ideas about English gardens! 

We have made many new friends, including Adele and Miriam, who moved here from the states a few years back. Adele and Miriam showed us the beach at Portobello, one of their favorite spots. Portobello is a residential suburb of Edinburgh that is about three miles from the city centre. Kylie and Norah had so much fun swimming in the Firth of Forth, even though the water temperature was in the low 60's. Thanks Adele for sharing your wet suit! A big thanks for showing us this great little beach community!

We have had so much fun getting to know our neighbors Ema and David. The girls are in school with them and have had many playdates! Ema and David are from Albania, and their father is here studying at the School of Divinity, where Seth is at.

We are looking forward to our visit from ANN!! She arrives on September 9th! Hurry up and get here! Stay tuned!