Home again, home again...

We have arrived back home and are starting to adjust to our routines. We are still waking up very early (which isn't a bad thing overall), but the days are long and it's tough to last past 9 p.m. We are all glad to be back in Canada and while we know we had the trip of a lifetime, it was time for it to be done.

Approaching the gate for our flight from Edinburgh to London on our way to Halifax, Findlay asked, "what language do they speak in the country we are going to?" You know it is time for the poor guy to get back home!

We took away many great memories and it was as though we had three trips in one. The ringette one in Finland, Paris and Copenhagen as a family exploring Europe and some of its unique cultures and then Scotland to connect with relatives and the homeland (for Tullochs anyway).

The thought of Olivia's 13th birthday is now leaping into my head and the holidays approaching is never far from our consciousness (thanks to commercials and decorations everywhere). I hope we can look back on our time that seemed so long and remember all of the unique experiences we had.

Here's hoping it won't feel like the fast forward button was pushed....

Andrew inspecting Zander's 50 year old mini...completely rebuilt.

Zander's sailboat.

The Forth bridge.

Always a smile from Meredith.

Reached the top of Arthur's Seat.

Edinburgh.

Pictures to be added...

Roundtower in Copenhagen. Enjoyed an ascent up a building without stairs

From Vacation

From Vacation

Edinburgh Castle under a blustery evening sky.

From Vacation

The kids stumbled upon a familiar friend in St. Andrews, Scotland.

From Vacation

Tivoli Gardens for the kids will be remembered as this.

From Vacation

For me they will be remembered as this.

From Vacation

Edinburgh Castle Viewpoint

From Vacation

Quite a backdrop at this playground.

From Vacation

St. Andrews Castle Ruins

From Vacation

Duncan enjoyed playing hide and seek in the ruins with Findlay.

Every day I feel like I take an endless amount of photos and each day I think of something I forgot to capture. Photos jog our memory, but it's tough to recapture those emotions at the time. It was so nice to reconnect with our friend Krista and have an afternoon with her very adorable children. It was nice to hear another Canadian accent amidst so many Scottish accents.

The train adventures kept us on our toes and it was comfortable riding, once we knew we were on the right track!

Tomorrow is Tulloch visiting and meeting. The time is winding down, but still so much to see and do!

Bonnie Scotland now...

We've landed in the land of the Tullochs now and it was nearly like arriving home. There was family to greet us at the airport and a home to go to with meals prepared for us! We explored Edinburgh yesterday and it was extremely blustery, but clear and not rainy. Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen was definitely a hit for the kids, but we were ready to depart. The transport to get to the airport from the city in Copenhagen was fabulous and if only Canada could have train travel like that.

The girls and Findlay have made fast friends with Andrew's cousin Zander's children as they are all very close in age and Olivia has found a new source of reading material from Samantha Tulloch's library. The kids had a great time last night playing and we look forward to more Tulloch time together tomorrow as there is a half day of school and we will connect with Andrew's other cousin Kirsten and her twin boys at their home.

I'll attach a few photos of Tivoli Gardens and our day in Edinburgh at the castle.

Technical difficulties for photos...will try again later. Off to St. Andrews today to visit a good friend from PEI.

Finland to Paris to Copenhagen...

This trip has definitely been worth the wait and we are all enjoying the adventures each day brings (except when we are lost and tired and hungry...which happens more than we would hope). Our current home base is the Imperial Hotel in Kobehavn (Copenhagen) and it has treated us the best of our various locations. Most Danish people have a strong grasp of English and I feel we flounder less with language barriers than we did even in Paris (and then I am not the official spokesperson for all things as I was in Paris).

Yesterday we did Legoland after a long wait for Findlay. It was quite a long drive from Copenhagen to Billund where Legoland is located. We rented a car and it was nice to have the freedom to go at our own pace. Andrew enjoyed driving quickly along the highways and we only had a challenge navigating on our way back to Copenhagen.

Findlay is as elated with what he bought at Legoland as much as visiting the place itself. There were Christmas elves on every Lego display all over the park and the kids really enjoyed getting their driving license in Legoland. They all were smiling ear to ear while doing that and they got an official license at the end. There weren't any Canadian flags for their licenses, so they chose the British flag and Danish one also.

Windmills were everywhere and all of them were going. We crossed the Nyborg-Korsor bridge, which was quite impressive and while we were crossing we saw a rainbow.

Today we plan to visit the Zoo, the Round Tower and tomorrow will be Tivoli Gardens, which looks spectacular all dressed in Christmas lights.

We are looking forward to the next leg of our journey where we take the kids to Edinburgh to meet family and discover Scotland. I expect they will enjoy hearing English spoken as the main language, but I also expect the accent will throw them for a loop!

Here are pics of the last few days....

This guy greeted us at the entrance.

Thought the scene was cute and noticed a familiar name.

Girls' washroom in Legoland.

Legoland done. Findlay was just ecstatic to have a new set to build!

Meredith driving in Legoland. Working stop lights, roundabouts and merges made for interesting driving.

Santa was everywhere in Legoland.

Notre Dame in Paris. 200 years to build. Worth the effort. Amazing.

Last meal in Paris.

Looking forward to going beyond the gates at Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen.

The details at Tivoli.

Gold Medal Round now

Time is flying by, and we're exhausted and exhilarated almost in the same hour. A lot of hurry-up and wait and then the amazing time of on-ice when the players get to do what they've been training to do. Tomorrow we will jump out of the starting gate and battle with the Finns for Gold.

It's been nice to have small moments to connect with the family, but it also makes me look forward to our real trip together once the Worlds are over when I can spend all of my time with them.

The family waiting across the street from where we were meeting in Tampere, Finland. They have done a LOT of walking during their sightseeing adventures.

The team at Opening Ceremonies

Fried herring we bought at a vendor at the market. It was really yummy and tasted more like french fries than fish!

Tomorrow we take the first step towards winning. Let's step with confidence.