Didn't want to rub it in, but........

Christmas day at Redondo Beach!

Joyeux Noel to One and All!

Allie and Toby- the mischievious elves, are looking forward to the festivities this year! We hope you, gentle reader, have a peaceful and happy time.

I'll sing you Six-oh (and Three-Oh)...

My Mum wanted to celebrate her 60th birthday with her children(Robert also turned 30) and G'children, so we took a wee trip to Bonny Snotland for a weekend of fun in the middle of November.

First stop- dinner at a lovely hotel restaurant near Troon. This was a real 'eat-out' meal, complete with dressing up and courses. Walter and I have taken the boys out to eat a few times, with consequences going from 'alright, I suppose' to 'disasterous'. Maybe it was the setting, or company, or alignment of the planets, but they were angels!

Apero time. Boys sitting nicely. We told Toby to whisper to us if he felt like he was about to 'go crazy'. He rather took to that idea, and a few times we took him for some exploring.

The Stockwells dining with aplomb!. Allie sat beside G'ma at the end of the table. Apparently, he didn't stop talking all night. I've noticed that when he's tired he starts talking and doesn't stop.

Sarah and John. :)

Marie-Claire, Robert and his birthday cake. Somewhere in the lights.
Usually, when Toby's tired, he starts getting more and more frenetic. This time he curled up on my knee and went to sleep. I think we've used up all our gos and won't ever be eating out again. Unless it's pizza on a park bench.

Walter and I went over to Jamie and Susan's new hoose. It came with a hot tub! In Scotland! Ha! It was the perfect opportunity to try it out for the first time, with the support of Jamie's daft brothers. Notice the lack of anyone else......

Ooooh I'm daft.
Daft times 3.

Sadly, I didn't get to see them get out.

Wee Archie.

I finally got to knab the wee bugger. There was stiff competition from his Auntie Sarah, Auntie Marie-Claire and Grandma. His poor mother got the occasional look-in.

I can also testify that he is a stunning redhead! He's started smiling, and would really give it some when he saw my Dad. We reckon it's the beard.
There was a very quick trip to Edinburgh, but no photies were taken.

Kibres Came a Callin'

I'm going to go backwards post-wise, from the most recent event in Suisseland- The visit of Walter's sister Sue, her husband Nick and daughter Wini (7). They made it out for a 2 week trip around Thanksgiving, and Sue got to see her old friend Kim (see previous posts) to boot! We mostly just hung out with them and took the occasional trip around the area. They visited Lauterbrunnen (we went at the end of Oct... posting soon) and the Jungfraujoch, and took a couple of trips to Zurich. Wini wowed the Swiss kids on her skates, and the wee boys had their cousin all to themselves.

Sue and Nick at the Saint Blaise port, smiling despite the cold!
We had the full Thanksgiving meal.

We all took a trip to the Roman town of Avenches (Aventicum in Latin). It had a lovely amphitheater and exhibition of Roman artefacts found there.

Kids on the train. Only a half hour away from Saint Blaise.
A panorama of the amphitheater. Nick on left. Walter in distance.
Everyone down below.
The cousins spent a long time playing games and running around. Better than watching the feeding of the lions.
Alasdair ponders the 2000 years of history there.
Why not finish with an artyfarty pic?
We didn't have time to see the medieval part of the town. Undoubtedly, we'll be back. The Roman exhibition itself is worth it!

So now the Kibres are home, and time flew way too quickly.... they need to come back to finish seeing the sites ;)