The Scotland Adventure Begins ... First, in Ireland

May of 2015 will forever remain among one of the very most favorite and unforgettable times of my life, for it is when we adventured to the land Matt and I had always longed to see: Scotland.

Thanks to the generous help of our families in helping to watch Makenna back at home, Matt and I were able to plan a fun-filled extended vacation including a two day stop in Dublin and seven full, glorious days to explore Scotland's cities, villages, and countryside at our leisure.

I've long mulled over how to share about our dreamy experiences on this here blog of mine. Should I do a day by day recap? No, there were too many days. On top of that, so many of our experiences in Scotland involved visiting castles and estates {I believe we saw at least fifteen!}. Nothing could be more fun for Matt and myself--we are, after all, history-lovers who both majored in history during college. However, I realize that perhaps seeing countless photos of countless castles may not be the most interesting thing for my readers?

Thus, I have decided to break up our Scotland post into sections regarding sights, food, Bed and Breakfasts, the countryside, etc.

But first I shall begin with a big, fat posting about experiencing the lovely city of Dublin, Ireland!

*******

A bright and glorious sunrise greeted us as we rolled off the airplane in Dublin. Our adventure had officially begun!

We took a taxi into the city center to our hotel. Our taxi driver was especially lively and chatty for it being 5:30 in the morning. The city seemed to be still sleeping for the most part, and with the time difference, our bodies were crying out for some rest. We checked into our room, showered, and set our alarms to sleep for several hours.

By about 12:30 pm Dublin-time, we were awake, dressed, hungry, and very ready to explore this famed city. We had only the latter part of Monday and most of the day on Tuesday to see the sights before we would hop on another flight to Edinburgh.

Dublin is a lively, bustling city, full of charm. Just walking from one destination to another afforded us wonderful sights and experiences.

A delicious pub lunch with a view of the city from Arthur's Bar.

We made multiple coffee stops to rest our tired little feet. I was delighted to indulge in some Costa coffee again. Costa is a coffee chain in the UK I fell in love with when I spent a summer working in England back in 2008. There was a drop of sentimentality in each sip.

We ventured to the incredibly lovely Trinity College.

For the die-hard book lover in me, we first saw the ancient Book of Kells. It is an illuminated manuscript of the gospels dating from about 800 AD--an unimaginable work of art and beauty. A single page laid open, and I could have stared and studied it for days. It is forever etched into my memory.

We then got to see the monumental library itself. A dream among dreams for book lovers like myself!

A morning view of the river Liffey spurred us on to fresh adventures on our second day.

A simple and perfect breakfast: a latte, freshly squeezed orange juice, and the most delicious raspberry scone I've ever tasted at the Queen of Tarts.

We stumbled upon this tiny and serene cemetery located within the city center.

Before we had to end our tour of Dublin, we stopped for a delicious supper at the Pieman Cafe.

We have vowed to return to Ireland again, one day. The emerald isle fills my heart with happiness, and I feel so at home there.

{Not pictured are the several lovely museums we visited. The history fanatics within us both leave us desiring a good dose of museum-exploring during our travels. We are the couple who carefully examines artifacts and stands around reading all the plaques. Aren't we a match made in heaven?! Dublin has some outstanding museums unlike any others we've ever visited.}

An Epic Trip

I have some very exciting news to share!

In exactly two months from this very moment, Matt and I will be here:

Via

That's right--SCOTLAND!

Matt and I have no words to express just how excited we are. This is truly a dream-come-true trip for us, at the very top of our list of desired places to visit in the world.

We'll be beginning our trip with a two-day stay in Dublin, Ireland, to see that wonderful city. I have visited western Ireland before but not Dublin, and Matt has yet to see any of Ireland.

Then it's off to Edinburgh, Scotland for two days. From there, we're renting a car and will spend five days exploring the beauty of Scotland, including traveling far up north into the Highlands.

It goes without saying that this trip would not be possible without both of our amazing families. It is because of their generous flexibility and aide to care for Makenna while we're gone that has made this dream trip a reality for us. Saying thank you seems so incredibly inadequate!

You can best believe that I will have an obnoxious amount of photos to share upon our return, which will be exacerbated by the fact that we'll be bringing a new camera along with us.

I haven't been back to anywhere in Europe since March 2011, when I returned from my long-term stay in Hungary. I had been to Europe every two to three years or so between ages 19 and 27, so to say I've been itching to travel overseas is a huge understatement. And to have the opportunity to explore Scotland over a week's time is truly as much as I could have ever hoped for.

Let the countdown begin to our wee adventure in bonnie Scotland!

Back to Oregon

The recent passing of my Grandma, although heartbreaking, provided the happy opportunity for Matt and I to return to one of my favorite places in the world: Oregon.

It is my home away from home. And I will tell you that last night I dreamed about Portland's old, distinct, and famous (well, at least to Portlanders) airport carpet, which is set to be replaced.

Most of the extended family on my Mom's side reside in Portland. I was so excited to see them all again! But I was most excited to see my brother, Brandon, my sister-in-law Karyl, and my niece and nephew Krista and Sam. It had been a year and a half since we'd last seen them. They used to live in Portland, but moved over to the Oregon coast about one year ago.

We decided the trip would be too hard on Makenna at this age with the flights, funeral, family gatherings, driving, hotels, etc. Thankfully Matt's parents were available to watch her for us and Makenna had a blast staying at "Nana and Papa's" house. In retrospect, we absolutely feel we made the right decision in not taking her along.

We squeezed in so much in the four days we were in Oregon and it was just lovely. Besides reuniting with extended family (and I must say that time was far too brief), I arranged for my first friend in life to swing by our hotel room for a quick visit.

The lovely Katie

The day after the funeral, we visited my "happiest place on earth," Powell's bookstore in downtown Portland.

It's an entire city block of new and used books. I know precisely where to find their archaeology section. I have lugged so many books home to Michigan from this section over the years.

We left Portland behind and headed west to the beautiful coastal town of Astoria, where my brother and his family now live. Portland bid us farewell with this gorgeous view of Mt. Hood.

We arrived in Astoria at sunset and met Brandon at the prime lookout point in the town. There are no words to describe this beauty.

Astoria is nestled on the shores of the Colombia River {the river which runs between the borders of Washington and Oregon}, right where it flows out into the Pacific Ocean. It is simply breathtaking, and the weather was perfect, especially for the winter time.

We hopped into Brandon's truck and he drove us down to a spot along the ocean lined with big boulders. We arrived just after the sun had set.

Brandon and Matt climbed down to pick mussels off of the rocks for our dinner that night. Karyl was cooking us a seafood feast with homemade clam chowder, crab, and mussels {of course!} cooked in a rich and delicious sauce. Quite fitting for their new home on the seashore!

As the guys were busy at work, I sat and enjoyed a gorgeous view of the Oregon coast.

It was just what my soul needed. Watching water has a way of calming my heart like little else in this world, and I find myself deeply drawn to the shore, whether it be the beaches of Lake Michigan, where I was fortunate enough to grow up, or the mighty oceans.

I visited the Oregon coast with my Mom and sister just after my Grandpa Dorsey passed away. It seemed only right to return here again after Grandma passed, too. Some of my last memories with them in the years before their health started declining were trips to stay along the Oregon coast. We always had amazing views because they so loved to just sit and watch the ocean. It felt like a small homage to them, to return to their beloved Oregon coast after both of them had passed.

After plenty of mussels had been gathered, Brandon drove us down onto the beach. There was barely enough daylight left, but we were able to catch a glimpse of the remains of a famous shipwreck which hauntingly protrudes from the sand.

We celebrated New Year's Eve with Brandon, Karyl, and the kids in their home. It was so lovely. Although, we had to laugh...the kids weren't able to stay awake until midnight and us four adults barely made it. {Matt and Sam had fallen asleep cuddled together on the couch!} The fact that it was almost painful to stay awake that late certainly made us feel pretty old!

We enjoyed a wonderful New Year's Day brunch together at a restaurant after sleeping in. Then they showed us around downtown Astoria {so quaint--I wish I had more pictures!} and took us down to the docks to watch the seals.

Another highlight was stopping to see the house from the beginning of the movie Goonies. It was filmed in Astoria and the private owners of the house welcome visitors to walk up to their house and check it out, from the outside, of course.

The "Goondocks:"

We also went to the Astoria Maritime museum. It was especially fascinating because Astoria is located on some of the most treacherous waters in the world for sailors--it is there that the powerful Colombia River flows into the mighty Pacific.

We stopped to check out antiques and finished our busy day with a quick visit to a nearby waterfall. Waterfalls are one of my very favorite, plentiful features in Oregon. It wouldn't seem right to visit Oregon and not see a waterfall.

It wasn't frozen, but the mist from the waterfall covered the surrounding area in a thin layer of frost.

I am so thankful for all we did and saw in Oregon, but most especially the wonderful memories we made with Brandon and his family. It was perfect in every way, except that it was far, far too short.

Until next time, Oregon.

Recounting Fall, part one: The Family Wedding and Our Tiny Flower Girl

The very last of autumn's leaves have faded and nearly all have fallen to the earth. The brisk and pleasant temperatures have disappeared all too quickly and we have suddenly found ourselves in the midst of what appears to be the onset of winter.

Now here it is, mid-way through November, and I haven't written on my blog for almost two months. But I simply must rewind a bit and share because the past weeks have been absolutely marvelous with the wonderful things filling them. In fact, October itself was downright epic.

I will not begin by backtracking in chronological order, but instead regale you with the single event that helped make October so spectacular: Matt's youngest brother got married! His bride and our newest family member is named Hunter and she is as sweet and lovely as they come.

The wedding was such a fun-filled, loving, and gorgeous event. Hunter especially poured so much of herself into making the details reflect her own lovely style.

I took lots of photos of the details:

Two different flavors of tea bags were inside:

I felt utterly honored and blessed that Hunter asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. {No surprise: I was the oldest one--yikes!} Back in 2008 I was asked to be a bridesmaid to my other sister-in-law, Jennie. How very sweet that both of my sister-in-laws asked me to stand with them on their wedding days!

Me and my lovely mother-in-law, pre-ceremony:

Here is the stunning Hunter, taking a final pre-ceremony once-over of herself. Isn't her dress just exquisite?

A quick photo op:

Not only were Matt and I both in the wedding party, but Makenna was one of the two flower girls. The other flower girl was our darling niece, Cora. If you recall, Cora is only 8 weeks younger than Makenna and having them as flower girls together was absolutely priceless.

We were all holding our breath to see how the girls behaved during their part of the ceremony. After all, this can be a precarious age with boundless energy and the inability to understand the importance of the occasion. We planned to have Hunter's youngest sister pull the girls down the aisle in a wagon. We didn't expect them to drop petals, just sit and look pretty.

The best photos we have currently are blurry iPhone pics, but still cute nonetheless.

{Makenna is munching on puffs as they wait their turn to go down the aisle. We'd sprinkled those in the wagon to help keep them preoccupied!}

{Thanks to our friend, Jalene, for capturing these photos!}

I am happy to report that both girls behaved during their part, and that they just loved being the center of attention! Cora blurted out "Dada!" when she spotted her dad up front and both girls smiled and waved at the guests. Then, when they reached the end of the aisle, Makenna decided to be a real ham and lay down in the wagon and thrust her feet and arms into the air. Of course this got lots of laughs and she loved that. She sat back up as they were being wheeled back out of the sanctuary and Makenna was laughing loudly and covering her mouth with her hands. I know the wedding photographer got a few shots of Makenna's comedic moment and hopefully I'll be able to share those photos soon!

The reception was a blast, as well. The girls loved socializing and dancing. They were both exhausted at the end of it all. {As were we!}

{I heart this photo!}

It was a really lovely, very memorable day!

The entire Perry family is thrilled that Aaron found such a beautiful woman, both inside and out, to join our clan and cherish as our own for the rest of our lives. Congratulations, Aaron and Hunter!