Halloween as a Tween

This Halloween I had a mom moment, because it was the first time I felt like the mother of teenager (or at least soon-to-be).  Every other year for Halloween I've helped her get ready, took pictures of her always fun and never scary costume, and then tagged along as she trick-or-treated with friends.  This year however, she went to a Halloween party at a friends house.  I dropped her off at school early that morning with an overnight bag and her costume.  All the girls walked home together to the friends house after school for the party where they changed into their costume, enjoyed some party games, and then went trick-or-treating together later than night.  They spent the night there and got up the next morning and walked back to school together (since Halloween was on a Thursday night this year).  So not only was it the first time that I didn't follow along behind her while she trick-or-treated, but I didn't even get to see her in her costume.  All I got was a few pics from the party mom.  And just like that I was officially ditched for her friends.  And so begins life with a teenager!

World of Illusions

Since we couldn't travel over the long October break, we spent our time enjoying some of the touristy spots in Edinburgh that we hadn't visited yet.  We spent one day touring the Royal Mile with all it's quirky shops and vendors and then visited the World of Illusions.  We walked through all sorts of crazy optical illusions that tricked the eye and the mind.  The spinning tunnel was particularly disturbing, but Brenna loved it and ran through again and again.  They have an observation deck on the roof that offered some beautiful views of Edinburgh Castle, The Hub, and the Royal Mile, along with the less the delightful gray skies that seems to plague Scotland from October until April.  

Rosslyn Chapel

Brenna had a long break in October that we had originally planned for travel.  Unfortunately, due to activities going on at the plant, we needed to stay closer to home.  So, while Jacob worked, Brenna and I went on our own adventure in search of the Holy Grail!  Really we did, but without success.  We toured the grounds of Rosslyn Chapel built in 1446. You may recognize it as the setting in which Tom Hanks decoded the cryptex in The Da Vinci Code.  The Holy Grail is rumored to be buried underneath the beautiful Apprentice Pillar inside the chapel.  Unfortunately, the most beautiful parts of the chapel, the stain glass and masonry work inside, could not be photographed.  The light coming through the intricate stain glass windows is breathtaking.  

Holyrood Palace

Near the end of September, on one of our last sunny days before the weather turned, a friend and I visited Holyrood Palace which is the Queen’s residence here in Scotland.  We caught the bus to Princes Street, where we cut through Prince Street Gardens on our way to the Royal Mile.  The Scott Monument was looking especially grand against the cloudless blue sky.

1st Day of High School (not really, but kinda)

It was the first day of S1 Senior School by Scottish measure and 7th Grade Middle School by US standards for Brenna.  She was off to St. George's School for Girls and yes, it is an all-girls school. Jacob was especially pleased with that particular aspect.  I had my doubts about an all-girls school since that concept is completely foreign to me, but the opportunities that it’s provided have been incredible.  The school is very different from any of our previous ones (this is her 6th school, poor kid).  It stretches over a large campus similar to a small college, and the girls move freely about from building to building managing their own class schedules, lunch, and free time.  It is a boarding school, though Brenna doesn’t board, and the school is divided into houses that compete in various events throughout the year, much like our very own version of Hogwarts!  Brenna loves the cafeteria and all the food is homemade.  The school does feel very homey based on the way the girls are looked after.  The uniform policy is very strict compared to US standards.  While I've never considered Brenna to be overly dramatic, the uniform did incite some very intense conversation. The idea of wearing a blazer and skirt everyday was not met with enthusiasm and I thought we might have to call the whole thing off when she found out that she had to wear the standard uniform shoes and socks instead of her tennis shoes.  They must have their hair tied neatly back and away from their face.  Also, no make-up allowed, which I didn't think would be a big deal since she doesn't wear make-up, until we discovered that finger nail polish is indeed included in the school's definition of make-up. She lamented the loss of her hot-pink nails for hours last night!

Senior 1 (S1) is the first year of high school here in Scotland.  Initially, the thought of her being a high schooler was a little unnerving.  I thought we had more time before that happened!  But, she jumped right in with both feet and joined the Charity Committee, Debate Team, Choir, Lacrosse Club, Self-Defense and Judo, and the Field Hockey Team.  And that’s after I said no to a whole list of other clubs that she wanted to join!  By far, her greatest joy has been field hockey!  It’s played on AstroTurf and has very similar concepts to soccer, except you play with a short hockey stick and a small ball.  Now we spend every weekend on the hockey pitches

She spent the week before school started in pre-season sports camp at the school showing these Scottish football girls how we play American soccer and in return they taught us field hockey!  It was a great way to connect with the other girls and she already had friends at school by the time the first day of school got here.  St. George's has certainly been a blessing for us.

Mediterranean Cruise Vacation for Brenna's 12th Birthday

I didn't want Brenna's birthday to get lost in the move, so we had a small get together with her friends before we left.  While I offered to do the usual party themed celebration, she preferred it to be nothing more than just a fun hangout, no decorations, no cake, no fuss.  There was a lot going on during that time.  Our furniture departed for the journey to Scotland long before we did and since we sold the house, we were forced out earlier than we expected and had to live in a hotel for the final week in Houston.  Given everything else I was dealing with at the time I was especially grateful for Brenna's understanding.  Knowing that her birthday would fall shortly after we got to Britain and I didn't expect we'd know anyone, we decided to plan our summer vacation as Brenna's birthday celebration.  Brenna loves cruising as much as we do and she helped me plan everything.  On her actual birthday she and I enjoyed a spa day where we got facials, manicures, and pedicures in preparation for our cruise vacation.  

The pre-birthday hangout

Sherlock Holmes Challenge

We got our first real introduction to our new hometown while playing detective.  We spent the day with Sherlock's Secret Challenge.  It's a clue-based walking tour of old town Edinburgh.  It was a true Sherlock Holmes experience that started at the birthplace of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and ended in a graveyard. We solved riddles, deciphered codes, and uncovered mysteries as we walked the cobblestone streets, enjoying all the beautiful sights, and unraveling clues that led us all over Edinburgh!  4 hours, 6 miles, and 1 detour to Five Guys later and we solved the mystery!

A British July 4th Celebration

We got an early start to our Independence Day with an invite from the US Consulate General of Edinburgh to enjoy a 4th of July celebration at The Hub.  The Hub is a beautiful old church built in 1845 and is the accent on the ascension up the Royal Mile to Edinburgh Castle.  It's since been converted to the home of the world famous Edinburgh International Festival and the venue was stunning.  They even flew in a chef from New Orleans to cater and the jumbo was fantastic!  It definitely made for an unforgettable July 4th!

The Pentland Hills

The Pentland Hills is 22,000 acre regional park that is essentially our backyard.  One sunny morning Brenna and I packed up and spent the better part of the day hiking six miles through just a small portion of the park.  The landscape is beautiful and the sheep were happy to oblige a photo.

Malleny Gardens

During our first few weeks here, Brenna and I ventured out to Malleny Gardens which is just a mile from our house.  We didn't know it at the time, but our timing was perfect since everything was in full bloom and we got to see the gardens in it's full majesty.  

Edinburgh Zoo

Our first outing was to the Edinburgh Zoo.  The zoo is built on a hillside, so we wound our way uphill through exhibits until we reach a breathtaking view of the city.  While the zoo itself wasn't comparable to other zoos we've visit, they did have giant pandas, which is our first time to every have the privilege of viewing them.

Home Sweet Home the British Version

After a long and agonizing 6 months, Brenna finished 6th grade and we finally made the final transition of our move to Scotland where we joined Jacob.  Life in Britain is starkly different than the life we knew in Texas.  When we moved to Canada things were different, of course, but it was more of a quirky new way of doing the same old things.  That is not the case here.  Even the simplest of tasks seem to be done in a completely different manner.  Laundry, grocery shopping, and driving (oh my, driving!) have all become much more complicated.  Because my unit is a washer/dryer combo (as in, it washes and drys in the same tub, not separately) it takes on average 6 hours to complete one load of laundry.  I walk a lot or take the bus.  I generally only drive to and from Brenna’s school.  The school is less than five miles from our house, yet it takes me an hour round trip every morning for drop off and usually longer every afternoon for pick-up.   The streets are extremely narrow and there are lots of hills and curves.  Bicycles and bus stops use the same lanes as motor vehicles, and pedestrians seem to be darting across streets everywhere!  Since the average speed is 30 mph it takes forever to go only a short distance and then when you’ve reached your destination, there’s no where to park, because in a old city like Edinburgh space comes at premium and no one is willing to waste it on a parking lot.  Fortunately, there’s a bus stop just a few steps from our house.  Buses are abundant and frequent and change for “bus money” has become a priority.  

Food has been another issue in this relocation.  I certainly can’t complain about the classic British dishes served up here.  The fish and chips are delicious and I’ve even managed to fit some haggis into my culinary adventures, although I could do without baked beans and black pudding on my breakfast plate.  But I miss Chick-fil-A, Popeye’s, and TexMex!  The comfort foods we love are nowhere to be found and neither are the ingredients.  I desperately miss Rotel tomatoes and Colby jack cheese and just this week a store clerk actually laughed at me when I asked him where to find the cornmeal.  What’s Grandmaw’s chicken pie without cornbread!

Communicating has proved challenging at times.  Just for me really, because Jacob and Brenna seem to get along just fine.  I have a much thinker accent than either of them and unfortunately my southern English does not always interpret well here.  Brenna is constantly stepping in for me at checkout stands and restaurants to relay my requests.  On the flip side, the Scottish accents can be very thick and there’s also Gaelic words mixed in.  Couple that with all the British slang phrases that I don’t understand and I frequently find myself wondering if we really are all speaking the same language! 

We live in a village just outside the city center.  We were very fortunate and found a peaceful little place on the Water of Leith (we’d say river) that backs up to the Pentland Hills.  The house is named The Aspect.  It's such a lovely location.  The house is actually below the street, so if you're looking from street level you'll only see a small parking area for our cars.  You take a few steps down to our front door.  Our little hill gives isolation and serenity from the busy street above.  Every morning I wake up to the view of fluffy sheep grazing over rolling hills of green pastures.  Our garden (or backyard, as we would call it) is filled with beautiful blooming flowers and bushes.  Since I don't have a green thumb, I hope they survive our stay here. 

While there's clearly been lots of changes, it's been an amazing experience so far.  Castles are plentiful and the landscape is beautiful.  We've got lots of travel planned and Brenna is excited to start school.

The Run Down - The Last from Houston

Challenge Soccer

By far the majority of our time in Houston was spent on the soccer field.  Within just two weeks of moving into the house we joined Challenge Soccer Club.  Challenge is one of a select few competitive girls soccer clubs in Texas.  The program starts with a youth academy that feeds into league play through U18.  It's a full year club designed to develop girls for college level play.  More than 85% of last years graduating Challenge seniors were recruited for college soccer from 25 different universities.  We weren't going into Challenge with the idea of putting Brenna on a path for professional soccer, but she was set that this was the league she wanted to play for.

Things progressed quickly once we joined.  After playing the 2017 fall season in youth academy, she was bumped up to a U11 league team for the 2018 spring season.  Then in May we took part in annual tryouts and were excited to hear that Brenna was selected to play up on the U13 team (totally skipped U12...)  We had our concerns, as she was only 10 at the time and would be competing against 11-13 year olds.  Also, U13 is the first official year of true FIFA regulation style soccer; meaning size 5 ball, 11v11, and 100x60 yards fields.  For Brenna that meant learning to play a new position (verses previous 9v9 format) and a much larger field requiring more ground to cover.  After talking with her coaches, they assured us that she was ready to compete, so we joined Challenge 06 Red East.

We started with three weeks of 4-day/week preseason training in July, giving up our last few weeks of summer.  Once preseason was complete we practiced three days a week for two hours each session with games on Saturdays and Sundays and tournaments all over southeast Texas.  We played in the pouring rain, the freezing cold, and the scorching heat.  And practice was never cancelled because of rain.  They'd just move it to the parking lot.

All the girls had to complete fitness testing for rankings.  The girls took part in timed agility tests, the 25 yard dash, vertical jump, and the beep test for endurance.  The data was then used to rank the results of the entire club based on age.  We had to complete neurocognitive testing to provide baseline data for concussion management.  As I sat in the hospital waiting for our appointment I wondered how good of a parent I was if I was actively planning for my child to incur a concussion!  The club also provided nutritional seminars on healthy eating for athletes.

The coaches were tough, and not always nice.  During practices, if someone made a mistake the whole team had to stop, drop, and do push-ups.  There was lots of colorful commentary from the coaches on the sidelines during practices and games.  Some of my favorite are:

How many lefts do you have?
Can you see the ball?  Do I need to get you glasses?
I need you to make a decision faster than my grandma!
I'm going to put posters up that say "Have you seen this left foot?" on every tree in the park.
Are you dead?  You're moving like a zombie!  Pick up the pace!
You look like the Grinch that Stole Christmas!  Stop tip-toeing through the ladder!
You have to talk to each other on the field!  I know you can because you sound like a bunch of chickens during practice!

Needless to say, this club is not for the faint of heart.  It was brutal at times, but Brenna never backed down.  There were even moments we threatened to pull her out and she fought back to stay.  The program has taught her about team work and communication and how hard work and dedication pays off in skill and knowledge.  I'm so proud of the effort and determination she's put into this.

As the year progressed, so did their level of play.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a single picture or video throughout the entire year.  The game was so fast that I didn't want to try to keep up with any of it through a lens.  I didn't want to miss a second of playing time.  Thankfully, another mom sacrificed herself for the team and photographed a couple of the games and tournaments.

It was a great year with Challenge Soccer Club and a time that I know Brenna will remember for a lifetime.

6th Grade at West Lake Middle School

Brenna's sixth grade and first year of middle school was a big transition for both Brenna and me.  Brenna was super excited at her first chance to have some control over her class selection and to move throughout the school from class to class without supervision.  It was my first year to step away just a little and give her some independence.  I've always played a very active roll in all of Brenna's classes throughout her primary years.  So much so, that I still remain friends with several of her past teachers.  I was always there for every school activity, field trip, and presentation.  Now seemed like the right time to let her maneuver through this new school and new way of learning on her own.  She met the challenge with enthusiasm!  She joined choir as her fine arts selection and it was the best and funniest choir that she's ever been a part.  Her choir teacher was fantastic.  She also selected Leadership Development, Drama, and Computer Technologies for her other electives.  She also picked up all advance placements classes for her core subjects of Math, Science, English, and World Cultures.  Her after school activities were committed to soccer and choir, but she also decided to join the Library Club and dedicated her early mornings before school started as a library manager.  I was a little concerned that she may be taking on too much for her first year as a middle schooler, but somehow she balanced everything and was going strong.  It helped that she plugged into a really great group of girls that were just as active as she was.  The crew stuck together throughout the school year and made the most out of their opportunities for fun, from volunteering together at the school's Christmas Celebration, to water park choir field trips, and two school dances.

First Day of 6th Grade

Dallas Spring Break

By complete accident we seemed to be on a tour of southeast Texas having visited Houston, Galveston, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi all within a few short months.  We decided to keep the tour going by spending Spring Break in Dallas.  Other than flying through, we've never really spent much time there.  We stayed a few days at the Four Seasons Dallas at Las Colinas.  It was far enough to feel like we were getting away and close enough to make the trip easy and convenient.  The resort grounds were beautiful and it felt like a refuge in the middle of the city.  Things started off well and Brenna was excited when a tray of cookies for her picking emerged from the front desk while we were checking in. We were pleasantly surprised upon arrival to discover that despite the fact that pool was not scheduled to open until April, the hotel chose to open it for the day for their guests to enjoy the unexpected warm weather. So, we ditched our plans for the first evening and spent the afternoon enjoying a swim in the pool and then relaxing in the hot tub.

The housekeeping staff made Brenna feel like a princess. They put her name in stickers across the shower door and gave her a special kit of bubble bath, shampoo, and conditioner. The next day we came back to the room to discover they had made her bed with princess bedding and left her a fun stuffy. 

Brenna and I had a great time completing the resort scavenger hunt. It wasn't as easy as I had expected.  Some hints were tough to decipher, but at every turn we were met with friendly staff faces and knowledgeable advice to help us along the way.  Jacob and Brenna enjoyed the sports club and spent an afternoon playing a few sets at the indoor tennis courts. 

One day we ventured out for some shopping and fun at Grapevine Mills.  We conquered two escape rooms and spent some time in the arcade.  The next day we braved the spring break masses and visited the Dallas World Aquarium and Zoo.

Christmas 2018

As I mentioned on our Thanksgiving post, our time in Texas is coming to close much quicker than we expected.  Thanksgiving and Christmas proved to be challenging as our normal holidays routines competed with other immediate priorities.  We discovered that despite our short time in Texas, we were moving...again.  This is an unplanned change for us.  We had hoped to have a longer stay in Houston (or even just the USA) since it feels like we’ve barely just returned from Canada.  But God had other plans for us.

This time we're preparing for a move to Britain.  Jacob has been transferred to the United Kingdom.  Our new home will be Edinburgh, Scotland.  If fact, Jacob is already there, which is what caused the disruption to my usual holiday routines.  He moved across the pond in early December.  We’ve spent the better part of the holidays managing the mountains of paperwork that goes along with international moves, arranging temporary living for Jacob, applying to British preparatory schools for Brenna, and searching for a new place to call home.

Because of all this, we were just excited to have Jacob back home for Christmas.  We mostly spent our time close to home, enjoying the downtime.  We finished up school with some fun Christmas themed activities and hung out with friends in the neighborhood.  Brenna was excited to be pick for a solo in the schools Christmas Choir Concert and we were also proud to find out that she was selected by the WLMS staff as Student of the Month.