Flat Stanley
Please meet Flat Stanley! He was only able to stay with us for a few days, but we enjoyed the time that we had while he was here visiting! Flat Stanley is the story of a boy who is flattened when a bulletin board falls on him. But, with Stanley’s unique flat features, the story depicts the amazing things that flat Stanley can do and the people he can meet…the trips he can go on and a whole new world that he an enjoy as a result of being flat! Our friend, Logan Gurney, is reading Flat Stanley’s story in their class and each student has sent Stanley to a different place o experience different things. We were honored to have Flat Stanley in our home! Here are a few pictures of Mike showing Flat Stanley around Edinburgh. He was taken to the Castle, the University of Edinburgh (where Mike studies), the National Gallery and many other fun places!
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| Flat Stanley |
Sara’s Picture Tour of Edinburgh
Hey guys–I’m finally getting around to posting Sara’s pictures from her time in Edinburgh. Tomorrow it’ll be one month since she’s returned home….sadness. But I hope you enjoy these pics! Most of these are of the scenery and views of the city. Enjoy!
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| Sara's Pictures |
Sara’s visit!
Hello everyone! We’re just posting some pictures of this year’s first visitor to Edinburgh! Sara Kuzianik used to be in our youth group when we were youth leaders in Illinois. She is now a college student at Elmhurst College and during her winter break took time to come visit us! We had an absolute BLAST and laughed so much while she was here! There are tons of pictures to see….and we’ll post her pictures soon. But for now, here are some of the shots that we took while she was here with us. Thanks SO much for visiting, Sara! It means the world to us that you took the time and money to come….we had a great time with you!
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| Sara's Visit!1 |
Marisa’s Visit!
Marisa has been in South Africa since May working with an organization called Helping Hands. She visited us on her way to South Africa and though she wasn’t planning on heading back to the states quite so soon, that’s what God had planned….so, we gladly got to visit with her again in December on her way back through to the states. We had a nice time catching up, though there’s plenty still to share, I’m sure. A lot happens when you haven’t seen each other for several months! She came on the 9th and then together she and I took a long weekend trip to Dublin before all of us headed to the US on the 18th of December to our respective families……thanks for coming, Ris. It was really great to have you here!
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| Marisa's Visit! |
Jessie’s Visit
My first visitor in December was a friend from my home church, Tri-State Fellowship. She was visiting friends in Glasgow and came to stay with us for the first weekend of December. She led an Arbonne party with all kinds of wonderful creams and makeup…we had a lovely time.
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| Jesse's Visit! |
The Showalter’s do Scotland
Mike and I were completely surprised when two weeks ago my (Trudy) Mom called and said, “hey, I’ve got some good flight rates here, we’re coming in a week and a half!!” We were SO excited and in total shock! We were hoping they’d be able to come sometime in our three years here, but it kept looking like it wasn’t going to be happening. We were thrilled when they landed at Glasgow International Airport on the 19th of September (their 38th Wedding Anniversary) and stayed through September 26th! In that time, we showed them our little town of Stockbridge within Edinburgh, the Castle, the Royal Yacht, had tea at the Howard Hotel, took them to Carrubber’s Christian Centre with us for church, and took a few days to travel through Fort William and up into the Isle of Skye. We had a lovely time. The only minimal downfalls of their time here is that though they arrived on Friday, Dad’s luggage wasn’t here with us until Tuesday. Thankfully it was all accounted for. And then on Tuesday Mom took a wee tumble on the uneven concrete of Waverly Bridge. She was okay, but really injured her arm and is now in the healing process. Aside from those little mishaps, their time was well spent and enjoyable….who knows, maybe another trip is in their future?! Below is a slide show of our time together. Pictures don’t do any of it justice, but it’s at least an attempt. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for fitting this trip into your schedules. We don’t take it for granted.
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| Showalter's in Scotland |
Marisa’s Visit
Hi all! Just a friendly little post to let you know of the fun we recently had while our friend, Marisa Covert, visited us! She was on her way down to do a year of missions work in South Africa with Helping Hands and decided to stop here along the way….what an honor! We had such a great time and I’d like to share the pictures with you! She was here the 6th to the 9th of May and if the you think the trip from Arizona to Michigan to London to Edinburgh sounds long…..just know that after being here for a few days she still had to travel 10 hours down to Johannesburg! What a trooper she is!
On the 6th Marisa arrived in the afternoon so we had plenty of time to get her to the flat and relax with a meal and some catching up.
We jumped right in on the next day with a trip to the Rosslyn Chapel. I’ll post a few pictures from our bus ride out there (about 40 minutes from the city centre) and some shots from the chapel itself….if you want to see the real deal you’ll just have to visit us!
Upon arrival back to the city centre I took Marisa to The Howard Hotel for a proper tea. This was her belated birthday present. I was having trouble thinking of something to get for her this year because I knew she was leaving many things behind in the states and couldn’t take many things with her to South Africa….so, I treated her to tea and it was lovely! We had a great time chatting the afternoon away with our tea and cakes. Take a look…..
That evening, though we had already eaten lots of food, Mike was gracious enough to cook steak and chips for us…it was SO yummy! And then we vegged just watching tv and relaxing from a long, but wonderful day.
The next day, Friday, Marisa and I decided to go on one of those bus tours of the city. We chose The Edinburgh Tour….unique name for a tour, I know. Anyway, I really loved this bus tour! I felt like I got to see a well-rounded view of the city itself and got a little history lesson along the way. Here are some of the shots…..
She really liked the cute little taxis here…this is only one shot of the many she took (just of the taxi’s)!
A gorgeous view of Edinburgh Castle.
A piper!!
We also took some time to see a church called St. Cuthberts….it was beautiful!
After hopping off the bus and catching up with Mike for some fish n’ chips for lunch, we went on a little souvenir shopping spree for Ris so she could get a few things to remember Edinburgh by….no, the silly hairy hat wasn’t one of them! She did get some great deals, however!
After shopping, we once again met up with Mike for dinner at Mama’s for some pizza…so yummy!! (But such a long walk down all those steps….you’ll all know what I mean when you come to visit us and we all walk down the steps together)!
Would you believe that Marisa’s trip was nearly to a close at this point?! The time came and went SO quickly, but we really felt like we were able to cherish each moment. The next day, Friday, I had to work, but Mike was around here with Risa helping her figure things out on her laptop and making sure she got help with laundry and such. I, thankfully, was able to be off work a bit early and came home to have a late lunch with Risa and Mike. Before heading to the airport we had a special time of prayer for Marisa and her journey to South Africa. God has called her to Bind up the Brokenhearted in South Africa and we wanted to lift her to His throne before sending her on from this place….we love you so much, Marisa, and are so excited about God’s plans for you in this year.
Thanks, all, for reading about Marisa’s visit. Hope it gives you a glimpse on what we’ll be doing when you come to visit!
Love to all!
And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day
The sixth day is really the final day that we were able to spend with the Naylor’s and we lived it up yet again. I had to work until 2, but Mike took them around the city and particularly showed them his school and study area….beautiful architecture that he sees everyday.
Mike’s lunch table….seriously. 
After their tour of Mike’s study routine they stopped by his Starbucks on the Royal Mile and came to meet me at my Starbucks in Stockbridge for lunch.
And off we were to the Edinburgh Castle on the top of a double decker bus!
Take in the views!
After seeing the crowned jewels at the castle (which we couldn’t take pictures of) we went to the Mussel Inn to enjoy some…..mussels and seafood chowder.
Two final pictures of the trip are a bit random, but fun nonetheless. The first is of an actual tree planted a few doors down from us that just looks funny and the other is of a fun sign on the bus that Carol looks forward to posting at her office.
The final day, the seventh day, was quite sad. No pictures were taken that day…..except of Mike with his Highland Coo….which hasn’t made it to the computer yet….Mike, what’s up with that?!
Mike and I really had a difficult time saying goodbye to his parents. We had had such a great time and were reminded just how much we miss everyone at home.
Thanks for looking through all the pictures and for reading of the adventures that we had while the Naylor’s were in town. We look forward to taking many more pictures with all of you when you come to visit us soon!
Love from Mike and Trudy
And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day
Day five was spent traveling back from Inverness through St. Andrews. We began the day with the Naylor’s first traditional Scottish breakfast at the bed and breakfast…..black pudding, porridge and all! Black pudding was not a hit, but no surprises there….I’m no fan either!
After breakfast, we headed for the Tomatin distillery for our morning wee dram of whisky (spelled without an ‘e’ here). We saw a video on how the whisky is made and how the workers actually live on the base of the distillery, very interesting. We continued to head “home” by way of the St. Andrews golf course to pick up some towels for some of Paul’s friends. It was great fun to drive through the city to see where Mike and I could have been if we had accepted their offer for Mike to attend school there…..still glad we ended up in Edinburgh though! This is where we are to be for now.
We also went through a town called Pitlochry where we spent time walking through a lovely little shop where they produce Heather Gems. We saw the process of how they are grown, compressed, dyed and formed into beautiful jewelry and many other things! Enjoy some of the photos from day 5!
After this meal, the Naylor’s were gracious enough to take us out to the local Costco and stock us up with a few fantastic items for home…..thank you guys SO much! Other than the woman with the cart running over Carol’s foot and being practically ushered out of the store because of its close, we had a great time!
And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day
The next two days contain the most pictures because we took a drive up through Lochness into Inverness where we stayed at the Lynver Bed and Breakfast. We stayed overnight and then drove down through St. Andrews, the golf Mecca of the world!! The drive was stunning. It was sunny, it rained, it snowed, flowers bloomed, sheep frolicked, mountains were majestic, cottages were admired. We stopped in Perth for breakfast, passed over the rainbow, had fish n chips for lunch, stopped at Urquhart Castle, landed at the castle in Inverness, went to dinner at the Mustard Seed, found the lochness monster (which is a female, known as Nessie)and finished the day off with a movie……..and if that’s not a full day, I don’t know what is!! Enjoy the shots!
