26. Today I am grateful for friends to pick me up at the airport

The first day of summer is commonly known as the longest day of the year with the most hours of daylight in a 24 hour period. However, today was the longest day of the year for me. I got to the Glasgow airport at about 7am and arrived in Edmonton at what would have been 1am the next day but with a 7 hour time difference it was now 5pm and still Wednesday. I did manage to sleep a bit but I am still really tired so I am very grateful for my friends, Kristine and Taylor will be picking me up from the airport.

25. Today I am grateful to spend time with my Grandma

One of my main reasons for coming out to Scotland was to see my Grandma. I have written a bit about my gratitude for my Grandma in a couple of entries. However, today I just felt gratitude for spending time with her. I went to visit with my Grandma today and as I was there I couldn’t help but think that this could be the last time I see her face to face in this mortal life. As I left I thought that I would feel sad but I didn’t, I felt at peace. Whether that means the next time I see my Grandma again will be in mortality or immortality, I’m not sure. However, I am grateful for the time I did spend with her; it has been two weeks of memories to cherish.

24. Today I am grateful for a stranger offering help

On my last trip to Scotland I spent a lot of time searching for my ancestor’s graves and visiting the streets and areas they lived. This trip has mostly been spent with family events and touring various parts of Scotland. However, since then I had found the grave number of where a set of 2^nd great grandparents were buried so I convinced my brother to travel out to the Cathcart cemetery in Glasgow to help me find it.  We found the section number and split up to look for the headstone. While I was looking a lady walking by asked me if I was looking for a particular grave and I told her I was and she asked if she could help me look. She said she often walks around the cemetery and has met people from all over the world looking for a grave of an ancestor. On many of the headstones the lair number was hard to see but the number before and after the number I was looking for was clearly marked, the one in between them would most likely be the one of my 2^nd great grandparents Andrew and Annie Burrows Primrose, but unfortunately had fallen over facedown. It was disappointing but I am grateful for that lady who took the time to help me. She suggested calling the cemetery office to see if they can get someone to lift it up. She also took my name and email and said that she would keep an eye on the area and let me know if it does end up being raised back up. I just love it when people selflessly serve others and this was a wonderful example to me.

23. Today I am grateful that I captured a photo like this...

I’m not sure I have to explain too much about this photo. It is hilarious and has kept me laughing all evening. This photo of my mom was taken on our drive back up to Scotland from our overnight stay in England. I am grateful that the car drove by at the time it did, making this photo so much better!

22. Today I am grateful for events that bring families together

I love events that bring the family together whether it is my immediate family or includes extended family members. Today, my cousins wedding, was an event that brought part of our extended family together from Scotland and Canada. My cousin’s husband is from California and it was so wonderful to get to know his family.

The wedding was really nice and I am grateful that I was able to be there to celebrate. The wedding ceremony was held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Dumbarton, Scotland. After some photos several of the family members and other guests travelled down to Chorley, England for the sealing at the Preston, England temple. Normally LDS couples who marry in the temple will just have their sealing ceremony at the temple without having a civil ceremony. However, England laws require that a civil marriage is performed prior to the sealing. The civil ceremony was nice with wonderful and spiritually uplifting talks but it doesn’t compare to the sealing. It is hard to explain really but to witness the sealing of this couple and the covenants made between them and God and to hear them pronounced as husband and wife for time and all eternity was a beautiful thing to witness.

We also had lots of fun after! Everyone that went to the temple stayed at the Preston temple accommodations. In the evening we all hung out and ate some yummy Indian food and played games, my favourite being “Do you love your neighbour”. I am grateful for this time I have been able to spend with some of my immediate and extended family. 

21. Today I am grateful for ceilidh’s

Ceilidh (pronounced Kayley) is a Gaelic name for a social gathering, particularly one that includes traditional Gaelic folk music and dancing. My cousin had her reception tonight and all the music featured traditional dances. Even though at times I didn’t really know what I was doing I had a lot of fun dancing to the different dances. The couple will be moving to Mexico so we had Mexican food for dinner, making the pre-wedding reception party a Ceilidh -Fiesta! 

20. Today I am grateful to explore the beauty of Scotland

Yesterday I wrote about the beauty of the highlands but today I would like to expand that to the beauty of the whole country. I love the rolling green hills, lochs, rivers and flowers. I also love the castles and historic buildings. Now there are definitely some sketchy parts of Scotland, just like anywhere but I am constantly amazed by the beauty that surrounds me.

Today was the first day I have been here where it didn’t rain at all so I thought I better take advantage of the nice weather and go explore somewhere. From my previous trips to Scotland I have come to love Loch Lomond. It’s a beautiful peaceful lake surrounded by trees and flowers. The area of Loch Lomond is also home to Scotland’s National park. I have been to several parts of Loch Lomond and I think my favourite is Luss which has a romantic and almost enchanted feel to it. I also like the area of Balloch which is more touristy but still very beautiful. I went out to Balloch today because it is the closest to Dumbarton and easily accessible by train. When I got there I went to the information office where I picked up a guide to the walking trails in Balloch around the shores of Loch Lomond. I love walking, especially when I am surrounded by beautiful scenery. I also found out that there is a bike/walking path around the whole loch, if I had planned better I totally would have done that. I most likely won’t have time to do that during the remainder of my trip but I will have to definitely put that on my list to do next time.

p.s. Even if you have never been to Loch Lomond, you have probably heard of it because of the well known song, “Loch Lomond”.