Halloween Costumes

Before we went to Scotland in September I was in TJ Maxx (or TK Maxx to those of you in Scotland) one day and found these ace costumes for a pretty great price. Jack had been asking me for months if he could be a tiger. Well, how perfect, there was his outfit...and when I saw the wee lion one it was hard to resist getting that for Pete! They seemed thrilled. When we got home Jack could not wait to get his costume on....after running around the house roaring and showing off his tail for approximately 5 minutes he demanded the costume off and said it was "too big"? What the devil? It fits, what are you talking about?!

I put the costumes away (as it was only the end of August at this point) and convinced myself that when I pulled them back out in October Jack would be thrilled once again with the tiger outfit.

On the flight back from Scotland 'Iron Man 2' was showing on the plane. Jack didn't have headphones to listen, but did he need them?....NO! He was hooked, completely mesmerized. He was Iron Man's new #1 fan. A couple of days later we were in Target. As we strolled down the newly set-up Halloween aisle Jack's eyes fell upon a new love.

In that moment I knew it was "bye bye" to the handsomest tiger and cutest wee lion I ever did see. I took as many photos as I could that afternoon, forcing them to wear the costumes against their wishes...teehee.

The following day Iron Man and Superman came to the Harris home...and they've been "protecting us" (according to Jack) ever since.

This was my favourite night while I was home. We've never all been together like this before and I loved every minute of it.

Starting from the left: Margaret (my sister in-law, married to John), John (my brother just younger than me), Me (oldest kid), Martha (engaged to my brother, Daniel), Daniel (brother #3, 5th kid), Alisa (my sister-in-law, married to Euan), Euan (brother #2, 3rd kid).

Front: Ryan (mine), Fred (my brother-in-law, married to Rachel), Rachel (sister #1, 4th kid).

We ate chinese food, the boys played computer games, the ladies had a blether, and it was all just lovely.

Family photos 2010

Last year I won a giveaway photo shoot through the blog: kateandjessphotos.blogspot.com. I know this mother/daughter photography team from our previous ward in Wilsonville, here in Oregon. I was super excited to get some family photos taken, but really nervous that the wee ones wouldn't co-operate. Well, Jack lived up to my expectations and was fairly miserable for the entire shoot. BUT miraculously the pictures turned out lovely anyway...even the ones in which he's pouting and being difficult he looks very sweet...lucky for him! Ha. Here's a few of my favs:

I really LOVE how they turned out.

Loch Lomond

Rachel, Fred, Ryan, Neal (he ditched school), and I headed out to Loch Lomond on a fairly pretty and warm day. We went through the tourist shop for a wee look and I ended up buying some tablet, fudge, and macaroon to bring back to a few people (For some reason this is underlined and acts as a link to a photo of some delish ice cream we had at Nardini's in Largs. I have no idea how this happened, but at least you get a wee peak at the yummy ice cream).

Then we sat and ate our wee picnic lunch whilst staring at this beautiful view.

I don't think I actually took a minute to look at what the story was with this bell, but Neal got great enjoyment out of spinning it as hard as he could till it turned the whole way around.

We walked around a tiny portion of the shores for a few pics, but then headed off to the outrageously overpriced Sea Life Center. Fred went in ahead and got us set up with a wee deal that got each of us in for cheaper, but really it still wasn't worth what we paid. I thought the sharks they advertised were going to be massive....yeah, they were pathetic and small.

In the wee shop after going through the Sea Life Center the boys thought it'd be great fun to dress up as pirates.

I felt kinda bad that we'd gone without the wee ones since this would have been something they'd have actually enjoyed, but we hadn't planned on going, it was total spur of the moment. So, I bought Jack (who was not feeling great due to a cold that had triggered his asthma) a Hammerhead Shark. He's obsessed with Sharks so he was content with that. Peter got this freebe hat. Pete actually loves to put things on his head...and not necessarily hats.

Machina

Miss Catriona Mitchell.

We've been best friends since we were 11yrs old.

I can't tell you how much I love her.

We laugh so hard when we're together.

I miss her all the time.

It just wasn't long enough.

Family BBQ at Castle Semple

Sunday 12th we attended Stake Conference in Glasgow. It was nice to see some familiar faces and the talks were really good. Afterwards we headed over to Castle Semple, where my grandparents and cousins, the Hales, live. My cousin, Olivia, had been married there just the month prior for her civil ceremony before heading down to the Preston Temple. The marquee they used for the cutting of the cake, and eating of the cake was still up and it was so it was there that we had our family BBQ. These are my favourite times when I go home...I love getting to see everyone all in one go.

My cousin, Larissa, also had a gorgeous wee girl not long before we got there...wee Islay was passed around quite a bit throughout the day, we were all desperate for a hold. Here she is with my sister, Rachel.

Enjoying some yummy chocolate orange cupcakes that my cousin, Nevada, made. Brilliant face in this one Dane.

The two American's in the background..Ryan and my uncle Larry.

Ben (Olivia's new husband), Larissa, Olivia, and Nevada.

I have been in desperate need of a hair cut for quite some time....luckily my cousin, Madeline, kindly offered to cut it for me. Thank you so much...I love it.

And then it was my turn again to hold wee Islay. I just loved her. I need a wee girl.

Kelvingrove Art Galleries and Bo'ness

Today the wee ones and I are loaded with the cold, so maybe while they sleep I'll be able to bust out a couple of posts from our trip to Scotland....we shall see.

My dad attended Glasgow University for his law degree....pictured below. It's such a cool looking building. In 2004, Ryan and I went for a wee mini-tour around it with my dad. We weren't able, however, to go into the Kelvingrove art galleries at that time, which is located just minutes away, as it was under renovation. Ryan was pretty anxious to get a look inside this time around.

The Art Gallery is stunning, but compared to when I was little the permanent exhibitions aren't as cool. They used to have an amazing dinosaur gallery, and an 'under the sea' room which I remember being incredible. Maybe they weren't really that great, but that's how I remember them. My granny and my aunt Joy (my mum's younger sister) met us there.

Here's a picture of the enormous organ located just inside one of the entrances. For half an hour each day a wee lady comes out and plays it...and all the old biddies sit fascinated and give her a standing ovation when it's over...I loved it.
Ryan and I looked through some of the permanent exhibitions, but we spent the majority of our time looking through the visiting exhibit 'Pioneering Painters: The Glasgow Boys 1880-1900'. There were some really lovely paintings. We got a nice surprise when my cousin, Nevada, appeared as we exited the exhibit. Later after Nevada and my mum reused our tickets for the 'Glasgow Boys', we went to the 'Uni cafe' ( I think that's what it was called) and had some yummy lunch. Ryan got his first irn bru( Scottish drink) since arriving and had a wee pork pie and beans....I think he liked it? Ryan has some issues with some of the things we eat in Scotland...it's funny to watch him try new things.

The following day, we got together with my brother and his family again. We took a 45 min drive to a wee town called Bo'ness. This is where the real 'Thomas the tank engine' lives...oh and Percy.....and the annoying Fat Controller.They charge an arm and a leg to get into this place, and really there isn't a whole lot to it, but it was still worth it for the wee ones sake. They, at least, had a fun filled day.

The train(pictured below) takes you on a 30 min ride through some pretty countryside, and then dumps you in a fairly isolated area with a few kiddy rides and a tent with a guy doing a 'punch and judy' puppet show. Ryan and Jack actually loved the puppet show....jack laughed the loudest every time 'Judy' smacked 'punch' in the face with a mallet....great.

Me (holding Peter), my brother, John, Isaac, Samuel, and Jack.

Ryan with Peter, Jack, and Percy.

We stood in a queue for a few mins to get a look inside Thomas' engine. The men that work here and are pretending to be Thomas' drivers take their job VERY seriously.

Another wee train we got to ride on....it simply went back and forward a few times...and was powered by our smiles!!! haha

Jack (and some random overly excited girl) enjoying the swing ride.

Jack got his face painted as he watched the puppet show....he wanted #4 for Gordon.

Just before we left the wee ones saw this little carousel of cars, etc.

Oh how I wish they hadn't. Jack, Samuel, and just about every other kid in the vicinity wanted to ride on the bloomin' double decker bus. Specifically the top of the bus. It turned into utter chaos and the woman in charge of the ride started screaming like a nutter that there was no way she was coming back to work tomorrow. She was even heard exclaiming " I don't care if you're related to God himself, you are not getting on the top of that bus unless I say so!" Baaahhaa

I was extremely happy it was time to leave after that.