down the trampoline after their last fun on it.
Joshua earned his Star - on track to earn his
Eagle in one more year!
Eddie went to conferences in Washington D.C. and
New York on two different weekends in November,
and had Stake Conference to put on. Joshua got sick,
then I got sick, then Zachary got sick (Megan also got
sick while we were gone - why do we all get sick at
separate times -gotta love dragging it out:). It was a hard
month, and hard to prepare for our trip to the U.K., but I
still got to see "New Moon" with Eddie's sisters right before
leaving and managed to pack everything in carry-on luggage.
Eddie and I went to England and Scotland during
Eddie and I went to England and Scotland during
Thanksgiving week - he had his advanced law
graduation and we celebrated our 14th anniversary -
we left the kids thanks to Eddie's sisters and friends!
Here's the Museum of Natural History we saw on our
way to church in London - beautiful architecture.
Eddie in the Museum of Science in London - we
stopped in since we were a little early for church,
and the museum was free. It was also cold and
rainy - good thing we had raincoats.
The next day was a bit rainy, too, but we rode
the tour bus and got off at the Tower of London
The crown jewels are in this building - no photos
allowed inside.
The kings' bedchamber inside a turret.
The kings' bedchamber inside a turret.
The kings' throne - maybe King Edward sat here.
A view of the Tower Bridge from the castle wall.
A view of the Tower Palace from the other side
of the wall. We saw mostly armor and weapons
inside, but no photos allowed.
A castle wall leading to a turret. We saw
A castle wall leading to a turret. We saw
etchings in the walls made by prisoners.
Buckingham Palace, where Queen Elizabeth resides.
I bought a hat, since it was so windy, cold and rainy.
A view of Trafalgar Square from the top of a
double-decker tour bus - we got front row seats
on the top deck, covered section - great views!
A view at night from the bus top.
At Speaker's Corner where President Hinckley
spoke on his mission - too bad it's too dark to see.
Eddie's wearing an "Arsenal" scarf he bought
there since he studied a case about the maker of
the scarves during his advanced law studies.
Big Ben by the Parliament building.
Westminster Abbey - no photos allowed inside,
but we saw several kings' and queens' graves,
and memorials to Shakespeare, Handel, Jane
Austen, etc.
We got to go on a boat ride on the River Thames.
Here's a double decker bus that we rode on.
Leaving London on a train to Edinburgh.
We rented a car in Edinburgh and drove to
This was our fireplace, with a turret off of it that
Here's a double decker bus that we rode on.
We also rode the subway everywhere.
Leaving London on a train to Edinburgh.
We rented a car in Edinburgh and drove to
Inverness, where Loch Ness is located. Eddie
had a crazy time driving on the wrong side of the
car, the wrong side of the road, with a stick shift
on the wrong side, and in a bad storm most of the
way in the dark (3 hour drive).
We made it to Castle Stuart, where we stayed
the night in the top level seen at the front of this
picture, with three turrets and a section sticking
out in the rear of the castle that was our bathroom.
There were no other guests at this time, so we got
the best room available.
They gave us the honeymoon suite with this
wonderful king-sized four poster bed.
This turret had the dressing area.
This was our fireplace, with a turret off of it that
had several books to read.
This turret was the game room, with a wig
This turret was the game room, with a wig
and princess hat for pretending to be Rapunzel.
Our bathroom.
The billiard room, with the largest pool table
The billiard room, with the largest pool table
I've ever seen.
The Great Hall, where weddings are sometimes
performed.
The drawing room, decorated for Christmas.
We looked through books about castles and
family plaids, and had treats and drinks in here.
The dining room, where we had a huge breakfast -
The dining room, where we had a huge breakfast -
that turned out to be our Thanksgiving feast for
the day. This room was decorated for a children's
party to be held later that day.
On top of the castle.
Our hostess took our picture as we were leaving 
We drove back to Edinburgh and toured
Outside the building again.
Outside the Law School building.
The gatehouse for the castle.
We went to a dinner with some other graduates
Our hostess took our picture as we were leaving
the castle - their miniature ponies were so cute!
We drove to Loch Ness, but had no luck in
seeing Nessie, the Loch Ness monster:)
We did see Urquhart Castle ruins on the lake.
We did see Urquhart Castle ruins on the lake.
We drove back to Edinburgh and toured
Edinburgh Castle, built on a hill at one end of
the road called "The Royal Mile". We got to see
the crown jewels of Scotland - no photos allowed.
Eddie's graduation from the University of Edinburgh
Eddie's graduation from the University of Edinburgh
was the next day. This was inside where graduation
was held. I sat in a balcony to watch.
When the graduates were called forward, they
received a tap on the head with a special hat.
The outside of the building where graduation
The outside of the building where graduation
was held.
Outside the building again.
Outside the Law School building.
In the courtyard of the Law School.
At the other end of "The Royal Mile" was the
At the other end of "The Royal Mile" was the
Holyrood Castle, where Queen Elizabeth comes
to stay a couple times a year. We got to tour
inside, since she was not visiting at the time, but
no photos were allowed inside.
The gatehouse for the castle.
We went to a dinner with some other graduates
at a great restaurant called "B'est".
We had our last fun in the "The Scotsman" hotel
pool and hot tub. The pool had a metal floor and
sides - too hard to see with the bad lighting - I'd
never seen such a pool before - it was beautiful.
Then we flew home the next morning.
Here are Joshua and Megan with their aunts, uncles,
and cousins on Thanksgiving - nice picture! Too bad
Zachary wouldn't pose with them!
