Scotland comes to Coshocton!

Life has been rather different going from the usual two adults and two children to six adults and three children! June began with Gary and Johanne and Iona Smith coming to visit. A few days later I was back to the airport to pick up Sarah and Kirsten who had spent an unexpected night in Newark Airport due to thunderstorms. We have had a super time exploring animal parks, and Amish country and enjoyed local festivals such as the hot air balloon festival. The weather has been fantastic and we have been able to be outdoors lots. Sarah has been taking Abi and Matthew for a few walks in the cool of the morning and coming back with bunches of wild flowers for me! Gary and Johanne and Iona hired a car and left for a week to explore Niagara falls, and visit a friend in Kentucky. While they were away Andy and I left the children in Sarah and Kirsten's capable hands and I surprised Andy with dinner and a night in Columbus and we were able to explore German village. We had lunch at the famous German Sausage house and then visited a book loft with 32 little rooms for a few hours! Then we enjoyed some child free shopping before returning to a beautifully clean house with the children in bed! I wonder how I can keep our "nannies" forever!;0)

All our visitors have enjoyed a tour around the hanger to see where Andy works and get a real feel of what we have been called to do.

One of the highlights so far has to have been our trip to Columbus Zoo a few weeks ago. We felt so privileged to capture a family of Elephants taking a bath, and to watch the gorillas, and polar bears up close. We arrived at the zoo at 9.30am and we did not leave till near 7pm! It was a wonderful day with a little rain to keep us nice and cool.

Abi, and Iona have really enjoyed each other's company - Matthew has been quite humorous going about hiding prams and toys so Iona does not get them! He is working on the concept of sharing! He doesn't grab toys but instead waits patiently till Iona is distracted and then runs off with the toy she was playing with and puts it somewhere out of her reach!

The Smith's have now returned safely back home. A few days after they left I gave Kirsten and Sarah the choice whether they wanted to visit Canada to see Niagara falls. Obviously I can not take every visitor we have to Niagara mostly due to the expense, but if our visitors are happy to pay for accommodation and fuel then I am happy to chauffeur. So we left last Tuesday and had an amazing time.

We even went to Marine Land in Canada on the Thursday morning and saw the killer whales and dolphins and seals all doing their own shows. We could have stayed there all day but alas we had a six hour trip back to Ohio so left around 2pm. We got back to Ohio near 11pm that if you include all the stops you have to take with small children.

July the 4th is Independence Day so Andy has the day off work. We thought we would go and explore the city of Canton which is an hour and a half away and then enjoy the local fireworks display in the evening. On Wednesday we take Sarah back to the airport as she returns to Scotland. Kirsten remains here till the 25th of July and we plan to take her to North Carolina for a visit on the 11th of July. Andy is taking a weeks holiday from work so will be coming this time. I am glad I will have someone to share the driving with! It certainly has been a busy summer and I have had a few MMS things on also such as a baby shower for my English friend Jenny. Myself and another lady were in charge of the food. It's amazing how a watermelon can inspire you! You can see my food project below with Abi's old baby hat on and a dummy (pacifier) kindly donated by Iona! :0) Thanks for sharing this journey with us. God Bless, Hx