Searching

Both Joseph and I have ancestors that lived in England. Joseph's mom sent us a list of some family members that are buried in the surrounding area, so after church for the last two weeks we have ventured out to little villages to search for them.


We haven't had any luck yet in finding their headstones, since most of those we have looked for were buried in the early 1800s. Sadly, most of the stones that old are no longer legible.


We bring a picnic lunch and enjoy the afternoon, looking at beautiful old churches and cemeteries. The kids actually really enjoy it, and it has been so much fun to introduce them to family history work in this way.

One of the churches we visited was built in 961 AD and was absolutely incredible. I can't believe we are visiting places that are a thousand years old!

Oxford

We spent a day in Oxford last weekend. We took a boat ride on the Oxford Canal, rode a double decker bus, visited the Oxford Castle, and hiked to the top of the Castle Mound to get a good view of the city. It was a really fun day and we can't wait to go back and visit more of the University buildings and other areas we missed.





p.s. I just started using Instagram so you can check out some of my pictures on there if you want! My username is catgedge.

Edinburgh, Scotland

Last weekend we were able to visit Edinburgh, Scotland. We weren't necessarily looking to travel quite yet, but with a four-day weekend ahead of us, and an empty house while we wait for our belongings, we decided to head out. It took us about 7 hours to get there, and it was a beautiful drive! I couldn't believe how green everything was.


We visited Edinburgh Castle, built high up on the rocks overlooking the city. It was so interesting! We loved walking through all the old buildings and the view was absolutely incredible.


We also visited a cute farm on the outskirts of the city and picked the most beautiful raspberries and strawberries. You could see the city and the ocean from the farm, and I think it was maybe my favorite part of the trip.

Edinburgh goes right up to the oceanfront, and we were able to walk along the beach for a little while. Again, the view was amazing (we kept pinching ourselves that we were actually there!), and the kids loved running around and playing in the sand. Matthew and Anna did so well on the trip - they had to walk a lot, but they were great sports and really loved everything we got to do.


It was a great trip and such a lovely country! Definitely my favorite place we have traveled here so far. :)