Life in the Johnson household

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted – and I suppose I’m way overdue for an update.  We haven’t been up to anything too exciting, so you haven’t missed much.  Ben has been working, working, working – very hard, on his thesis.  I’ve been looking after Samuel and keeping everything else afloat (or at least trying).  And tomorrow, Ben submits his thesis!  I can hardly believe it, and I am so excited for him to be done.  Also, we’ve been trying to sort out a bit of our future, to the best of our ability.  We have officially decided to leave Durham.  We are really going to miss this beautiful place.  It has been a wonderful home for us these past three years.  We have made some amazing friends, been part of a wonderful church family, have been blessed to travel around the UK and mainland Europe, and most importantly – our precious little guy was born here.  We’ve accomplished what we’ve come to do (get a PhD…well, he doesn’t have that yet but he’s almost there), and it seems like it’s time to move on.  We’ve tried to find ways that we can stay, but it just doesn’t seem to be a door that is open to us.  For those that want an update – there’s still a chance we may be in England another year (job reasons), but if that doesn’t work out we’ll be moving back to the NW.  One of the hardest parts of leaving is realizing that this phase in life is over, and we’ll probably never live here again.  When we left Portland three years ago we always knew it was possible to end up there someday, if not visit fairly frequently.  I’m sure we’ll make a point of visiting England again, and for sure Durham, but 5,000 miles does make that a bit more difficult.

However, regardless of where we will end up this autumn – we are coming back to the NW at the very end of this month!  Yay!  We are so excited to see family, friends, and the beautiful Northwest.  Please, please, please, order nice weather for us!  The weather we’ve been having can hardly be called summer, and I’m sure if it weren’t for the vitamins I take – I’d be severely deficient in vitamin D.

I don’t have any pictures of Ben hard at work, but maybe I should take some pre & post finishing thesis pictures to document the occasion and post them tomorrow.  But, I do have pictures of our adorable little guy.  So, enjoy!

What?

Not a great photo, but I had to document Samuel in Edinburgh as we were there to make him an American citizen! Officially that is.

Tired little guy on our way to catch the train back to Durham. He had finally fallen asleep.

hanging out…

Happy with dad

Edinburgh (ED’n-burah)

Last Wednesday Ben, Em & I trekked up to Scotland for the day.  We took an early morning train & came home that night as I had orientation for work & Ben had class.  Em, however, braved it by herself & stayed the night in a hostel & toured around the next day.  She’s awesome!  Edinburgh is amazing.  Amazingly beautiful and also freezing!  It’s that much further north than Durham, and that wind bites.

We focused mostly on Edinburgh castle, spending three or so hours there.  A few highlights from the castle are Scotland’s crown jewels which “were made in Edinburgh – in 1540 for a 1543 coronation – out of Scottish diamonds, gems and gold…some say the personal gold of King Robert the Bruce.  They were last used to crown Charles II in 1651″.   Next to the jewels is the “Stone of Scone” (a.k.a. the “Stone of Destiny”), which sits next to the jewels.  This is the coronation stone of Scotland’s ancient kings from the ninth century.  The “Stone of Scone” was swiped by the English and remained at Wesminster Abbey for seven-hundred years, from 1296 until 1996.  (Rick Steves, Great Britain).

We also went to the National Gallery of Scotland which has a nice collection of European art.  It was fun to see paintings by Raphael, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, and many others.  We walked the “Royal Mile” which is quite the historic walk.  By the time we got out of the castle it was already dark so we didn’t see as much as I’d like, but it was still fun.  Besides all of the interesting history packed on the “Royal Mile”, it is lined with fun shops & cafes.  The Scottish are known for their whiskey.  I had already tried it and am not a fan, but Ben & Em gave it a go.  Don’t think Em was very fond of it either.  But, you never know unless you try, right?

Edinburgh is a wonderful city, packed full of history & culture.  We will definitely be going back.  It’s only an hour and a half train ride.  Not bad.  Well, enjoy a few pictures!

Looks like hard work. Not to mention it's freezing!

Can you see the castle off to the right?

This seemed odd - T.G.I. Friday's and a castle off in the distance...

Edinburgh Castle

Don't know the name of this church but it was beautiful.

Part of Edinburgh Castle in the background.

View of part of the city from the castle.

Cemetery for Soldiers' dogs. Seriously!

Listening to our audio guide at the Castle.

Part of the castle from inside.

View from the castle. It was SO cold!! Durham felt like the tropics in comparison.

Watch out!!

Mind your head!

And there you go!