Day 224: Osprey offspring

06/03/2022

Hi all, we suggest you grab a coffee/ tea/ Irn-Bru for this one. The intention was for a weekly post when we are kicking about Glasgow, but the kids are endless entertainment. Instead of two small posts, this predictably turned into one longgg one.

Monday morning, the girls got a phone call from Juju inviting them for a swim at a David Lloyd Club. Eloise was so excited even though she did not want to take off her Elsa outfit.

Eloise could not possibly leave the house without Foxie, who was in the carrier.

All the girls and Lachlan loved the swim. Sophie and Jane were trying to convince the girls to put their heads underwater while trying to stop Lachlan from showing them how. There was even a wee soft play area to burn off more energy.

The girls then went on a mission to find Lachlan a puddle suit so he can play with Eloise. It was a success, but now he needs wellies. It was a busy day, so lunch was on the go.

The seasons must be switching with the Scottish weather reaching Australia as there are “floods in Queensland and NSW”, and “heavy rain turns Adelaide streets into rivers”.

Tuesday was a cracking day. This week it was as if someone had flicked a switch, the sun was back and Lachnado knew it.

Liam has enjoyed the return of the regular family walks, exploring the neighbourhood in the afternoons. Eloise enjoyed showing him around as she has spent a lot more time on the streets with Lachnado and Super Mum. The boys are still shaking off their 100-day cough, the lateral flow tests are still coming back negative, but in Australia “Prime Minister Scott Morrison [tested] positive to COVID-19”.

Due to a lack of milk and our lives being chaotic, Pancake Day was celebrated a day late, on Wednesday. Lachnado was sweating it out in the kitchen and produced a nice spread. Meanwhile, Eloise was watching Peppa Pig visit Australia. We asked Eloise if she would like to go to Australia one day and she said “no Australia, me too little”.

This is Lachnado’s trick of the week…

… It must be hard work.

Each afternoon when Liam clocks off, he is usually greeted by Eloise in her puddle suit, “playground please Dad, playground, build biggest sandcastle ever”.

Friday started where Thursday ended, back at the playground, this time Eloise and Foxie were accompanied by Emma. With the beautiful weather, we are entering the hiking season again. We have been looking for a second hiking baby carrier. Sophie thought she would ask Jo, because you know, Scotland, surely everyone has a baby hiking carrier. Funnily enough, she had the same Osprey Poco carrier as us. They very kindly lent it to us and we did a trade for Eloise’s trampoline, a win-win.

At midday, we picked up Dad and it was time we checked out the Milngavie Market, the brownie went down a treat.

To make the most of the weather we headed back to Mugdock Country Park, there was no snow this time, so Eloise set a faster pace and we made it back to Mugdock Castle.

Saturday morning was shaping up to be a big day. Eloise made sure to have a double breakfast and then downed a lemon because she is a weirdo.

After some encouraging words, Peppa Pig and a restraining device, Eloise was finally getting ready for the day. We had to set up Emma’s hiking carrier. Eloise was very excited and made sure she went in Emma’s today.

After dusting off our sunglasses it was a short drive where we all got sufficiently car sick due to the “windiest road ever “. Eloise is going through a “biggest ever” phase: “biggest pizza ever”, “biggest snowman ever “, “biggest Irn-Bru ever”. Feeling a wee unwell we arrived at the Ben A’an car park and managed to stuff gently put the kids into their hiking carriers. Liam had chosen the Ben Aán “walk”, another two boot, short, “slightly slopy walk”.

With the kids in their carriers and the old man sticks in full swing. It was time to get this show on the road.

After going up a long set of stairs, there was a wee flat section before the next set of stairs. There was a picturesque mountain that we thought we were walking by. However, the path started to turn towards it and we realised that was actually Ben A’an, so much for this “slightly slopy walk”. After the stairs the gradient suddenly got steeper, this was getting serious.

It was such a beautiful day, it seemed everyone in Glasgow were out for a walk/ hike/ climb/ whatever this was turning into. The snacks were flying out of Eloise’s hiking bag, but they were going straight into her belly, which was not making the carrier any lighter.

There was a bit of a scramble to the summit over an icy section which was starting to make us think twice. We were so close though.

Darryl was screaming for a cheeky flight.

It was nice and toasty with the sun out, but the wind still had a chill to it. To make matters worse, Lachlan was starting to get scared of Juju’s wee penguin mittens he was wearing.

We were all getting hungry and Eloise was out of snacks, it was time to head down. With a child hiking carrier, down is usually the tricky bit, trying not to roll your ankle with an extra 15kg going through your joints. We had to get over the icy section first.

As we descended, the kids were lapping up all the praise from the friendly Scots for their “hard work”. It must have been hard because all of a sudden Eloise got heavier on one side.

Like sister, like brother. Lachnado was not far behind, the wee waterfall put him to sleep.

It was a race to the bottom as the sun had some power behind it. We were worried Lachlan’s receding hairline was not protecting him from being sunburnt.

The next trick was working out how to get them both into the car.

Lunch was well overdue by this stage, so it was a short drive east to explore the wee town of Callander and find some grub.

We decided we liked Callander, it had a nice vibe about it. Again there were lots of people out and about enjoying the sun. The Waverley looked like a nice spot for liner.

After inhaling our meals we wandered down Main Street, where there was a nice view of Ben Ledi. Ben Ledi is a three boot rated hike. As you can see, a big jump in difficulty compared to the two boot walks we have been sticking to so far. The climb is not as steep as Ben A’an, but it is almost three times as long. We think we may need Hugh and Jamila to help us get the kiddies up there.

It was a nice drive home through the sunny countryside, we managed to arrive just in time for the football, which always seems to be on in this country.

When we woke up today the legs were feeling surprisingly good. The beautiful week was continuing so we headed to Mugdock and Craigmaddie Reservoir. After all the action yesterday, Eloise wanted a shot using the old man sticks. After a dawdle and some football we only ended up making it around Mugdock Reservoir, we could have laid down all day in the sun.

Lachnado’s balance is getting better each day.

After a big weekend, Eloise was concerned that Foxie was still not napping. Taking a trick out of Super Mum’s book, she tried to walk her to sleep. Lachlan was enjoying the ride.

Today a wee “Earthquake [rattled] Adelaide but [there were] no reports of damage”, did any of you feel anything?