Breathtaking

I can not get enough of these Scotland sunsets. The sun sets right through our living room window so I have an awesome view every time. I think I took a hundred pictures because I felt like the colors were constantly changing. Absolutely gorgeous and something you just don't get tired of seeing.

All the pictures were taking within 15 minute span.

Dess Woods Waterfall

Yesterday I went on another great walk with the wonderful AWA ladies(and a set of parents this time!). It was a hilly 5 miles with a beautiful waterfall along the way. This really is the best way to see this beautiful country!

Saturday Drivin'

Here are a few pictures from our Saturday drive. We headed out to a junk yard to see if we could find any treasures and ended up on a beautiful ride home through the mountains. It was getting dark while we were driving home so I didn't get any pictures this time. We found one hidden treasure at the 'junk' yard (I'll post a picture once we find a place for it) but we'll definitely go back with more time to 'dig'!

The 'junk' yard!

They're starting to till up the land!

A beautiful Scottish farm.

Rainbow!

Is he handsome or what!?

Lumphanan-Kincardine O'Neil Hill Hike

Thursday I went on another hike with the AWA Explorers group. We had much better weather this time so my pictures are much clearer. We drove out about 20 minutes to a village called Lumphanan and walked/hiked about 8 miles/12K along some very peaceful trails and along the River Dee where we ran into some salmon fishermen. It was a little windy but the sun was shining and it was about 55 degrees F! Can't complain!

A very old cemetery we passed.

The River Dee

Beautiful Scottish farms.

Some things/people we passed along the way.

The group!

Looking forward to the next hike to Slain's Castle!

Happy Mardi Gras!!

It's Fat Tuesday, y'all! Last day to indulge before the season of Lent begins tomorrow! Saturday night we attended the AWA Mardi Gras party and it was a hit! So much fun. This is one of AWA's biggest events of the year and I'm glad we arrived in Scotland just in time. The party was complete with gold, green and purple decorations, a king and queen, dutch and duchess, king cake (with the little plastic baby and all), masks, beads, hurricanes, great music and dancing!

Thanks, Alaina, for my awesome necklace!

New friends!

more new friends!

Me and my handsome hubby!

So festive!

Snowy Morning

When Ryan and I arrived home last night from a Mardi Gras party (more on this in another post) it was really snowing and we were anxious to see what we would wake up to. Well, here it is; a beautiful, snowy morning with lots of sunshine and blue skies. We couldn't have asked for a prettier day. The snow wasn't thick enough to build a snowman and didn't last long either (most of it has melted away) but it was none the less, a pretty site to see.

See....

We DO get beautiful, sunny days in Scotland! Today was warm enough I probably could have worn shorts on my run. Here's to hoping there are more days like this in my future (especially on hiking days)!

Walking about the Dunnottar Castle

Yesterday I went on a walk with another AWA group, the Walkabouts. We walked around the Dunnottar Castle in Stovehaven, about 20 minutes from Aberdeen. Stonehaven is a quaint little harbor town with fun little shops and great restaurants. We completed an 8K loop through the woods and around the castle. It was another cloudy day (are you seeing trend yet?) but the temperature was pretty mild until the end when the wind picked up. Needless to say, it was another fun outing with a great group of ladies. I think there was only one or two familiar faces on this walk, everyone else was new to me! And if this castle looks familiar, your eyes aren't deceiving you, it's the one at the top of the page.

The Shell House-decorated with thousands of seashells.

Stonehaven

LOVES

Happy Valentine's Day!

Here are a few things I L.O.V.E....

My sweet, silly husband. He makes me laugh, even when I'm trying not to.

My wonderful mom, dad, mother and father in law. They are four of the most selfless people. We miss them everyday and can't wait for them to visit!

Best parents in the whole wide world!

My families!

My adorable niece and nephew. They give the best hugs in the world. We miss these little nuggets. And....we’ll have a new niece or nephew in August! Yay!

My fabulous friends. No matter how long between seeing each other, we pick right back up.

Friends, we need to start taking pictures when we see each other. I had to go WAY back for some of these :-)

This little cutie. Today is his first Valentine’s! Cutest little love bug I've ever seen.

Running. It keeps me sane! I think the saying goes...running is cheaper than therapy. Ha! I think I’ll stick to it. Looking forward to running in Europe and making new running friends!

Internet. Because without it I wouldn’t be able to keep up with my loved ones as easy or often as I please.
(Sorry no picture, what does internet look like anyway? ;-)

These are just a few things I LOVE but they are the BEST things. I hope your day was filled with lots of LOVE. Really, I hope everyday is filled with lots LOVE!

Source

XOXO

Crathes Castle

Saturday morning we woke up to a beautiful sunrise and knew we had to get outside! The weather can change quickly so we didn't waste anytime. We drove west about 20 minutes to Crathes Castle. This Castle has beautiful grounds; it looks a little bare and brown right now but it will be in full, colorful bloom in just a few weeks. Looking forward to going back already!

This castle had beautiful painted ceilings. Only a few of the originals remain; they are the process of restoring all of the ceilings

This castle was home to the Burnetts starting in the late 16th century.

The rest of our weekend was spent piddling around the house. We finally hung a couple of pictures. Slowly but surely it's coming together!

What did you do this weekend?

Forvie Sands Hike

Today I went hiking with the AWA Explorers. (AWA stands for American Women's Association but it's actually a very diverse group with ladies from all over the world) We headed north about 40 minutes from Aberdeen for a 12K/8mile hike through the coastal lands and beach. It was a pretty drizzly/foggy day, not the best for photographing, but you if you can imagine what this looks like on a sunny day, it's nothing short of spectacular. Even on a drizzly day it's pretty amazing to see, you just can't tell so much from the pictures. This was my first hike with the group and I was able to meet a few new faces. I have been to a handful of AWA events in the 3 weeks we've been here and everyone I've meet has been so genuine. I am looking forward to many more hikes especially before I start working. What a great way to see and explore Aberdeen!

If only the sun were shinning. Stunning view!

Seals playing in the Ythan (pronounced Ethan) River. It was fun to watch them swim and wave around. Sorry for the much less than mediocre picture, I didn't have the right lens.

It is said there once was village in this area but it was demolished as the sands shifted. These are the remains of a church.