Stupid Volcano

Should be writing you from France, but the volcanic ash had different ideas. Poor Sav waking at 5 and wondering why weren't en route to the airport yet - on y va, on y va, she likes to shout.

At least we never left the flat to join the airport chaos and now we can plan an option B.A wee treat below to cheer up Uncle Ty and Auntie Shark. We will miss you so much, but with two Mos in town... could the French really have handled that hair?

Painting Project Gone Wrong

Seemed like a cute idea...forgot he chews on fingers and toes.

In other news, this lad can roll roll roll. He flips about faster than nanna with her pankcakes and gives a wee triumphant giggle after each turn.

Officer of the Law - Question Mark

Do you feel the streets are safer with this officer on the beat? (rhetorical question)

Dob jumped down from this tree playing hide and seek and scared the living * out of Mhari and Sav.

Sav and Zoe on the tramp at Sam's bday.

Dad quietly getting buzzed at the party.

Gateau

I woke to a sign at the kitchen border that said this:








And was worried it had something fatal to do with this (amazing gateau by MegaMoira of Team Smith):








Luckily, a different low priority item was involved in the crash.
Happy to report less than 24 hours after delivery, le gateau now looks like this:

My name is Mackinley...

...and I am a boobaholic. Mom and Dad have been trying me on bottles for months. They boil the water, scrub the kit, and waste their money on posh milk powder. I say poo poo to it all. I'll do my rolling, my giggles, and practice sitting up. But if they want me to eat, it's gotta be boob. There's no 12 step programme for me, thanks. The sooner they surrender - and I can tell they are close - the better for us all.

Bluebells. They're Everywhere.

World Cup Victory Marred by Stanley House Vandal

While MegaDob was crossing the line first by a massive 9 second margin at the chainless mountain bike downhill world cup, a delinquent was causing upset back at base. This is the first scandal of this nature since we've moved into Stanley House - flower pots smashed, the spring veg nursery flipped over, and items stolen from one of the second floor flats.

A decision has been reached - the pictures of the crime scene will not be published. The images are far too graphic in nature and we fear the perpetrator might locate the images, circulating them as trophies. No one needs to see the wee roots of a fledgling spring onion in tatters, or the bright green shoots of peas and beans, shredded by broken terracotta.

Savvy wept upon waking to the tragedy: "They ruined my flowers. My purple flowers."

She continued: "I hope the police catch the bad man and put him in the bin."

The worst nap EVER

It took me 45 minutes to put the baby down for his nap. 45 minutes against the normal 5 to 10. I was pretty bummed.
It goes something like this:

Shhh Shhh Shhh.
Pat pat pat.
Shhh Shhh Shhh.
Pat pat pat.
Quiet.
...
Quiet?
Whimper.
Cry.
CRY.
Shhh Shhh Shhh.
Pat pat pat.
etc.

And this went on for 45 minutes.
And then...

I WOKE UP.

Yes, with my precious mini nap, I spent each minute doing the very thing I was napping to try and recover from. For 45 minutes. I think it's what they call a lose lose.

The wee monkey above. Learned how to do raspberries yesterday. Just as well he's cute.

Happy 50th Tim!

Tim hosted a great bbq birthday party. We had sun. We had rain. But most importantly, we had burgers.
The boys.

Sav dressed for the occasion.

Macavalanche 2011

When Iain and Glen entered (and were lucky enough to get into) the first Macavalanche, they thought there might be some other recreational riders joining in too. Turns out, everyone was pro/semi pro and after eyeing up the competition and walking the course, the lads were just a tiny bit nervous.
Pre race jitters at the back of Iain's van. Don't be fooled by these smiles. The guys were stressing it in silence with last minute unnecessary bike adjustments and nervous stretches.

"Do you guys need one of Mackinley's nappies?", asked Sav with a little pre race trash talk encouragement from me and Tracy.
Dob in the front seat of his lift giving us a wave.
How Ally go this pic with Dob looking down at the camera, I do not know. (All of the good pics from this blog entry are lifted from Ally who was up with a couple of his kids to enjoy the view and cheer on the Bridge of Allan boys.)
Thank goodness for Tracy helping with Sav on the ride up. The chairs were Cypress Mountain circa 1970 in terms of safety. Hardly as posh as a chopper lift...Mac's first chair ride - he's under the sun/wind hood, I promise.Mega racing. Iain beat him down and Dob stayed in the top half of the pack, but neither of the guys were happy with how they performed. Maybe if they had taken Sav up on the offer of a nappy, things would have been a bit more comfy during the ride?

Ally snapping a pic from the lift. You can see Mom has been abandoned in favour of Tracy. In fact, Tracy received an offer to move in...Sav probably gave Tracy and Iain our room!
A happy Dad with bambinos back at base.

Blue Skies, Purple Choppers, and Red Squirrels

It's always sad on the last night of a great camping trip. Cool box is empty, clothes are a bit mank, and the marshmallow roasting sticks are broken up to use in the final hour of the fire that Mega's kept burning since we arrived. But even after a few sleepless nights on a burst thermarest, there's no complaining from Team Roberts. We had an amazing sunny, midgie-free trip to Glencoe staying at our favourite Red Squirrel campsite. The highlight was Macavalanche - Scotland's second Megavalanche copy (after the Megadumyat). A separate blog will feature Glen and Iain's big race amongst Britain's elite riders, with a chopper ride to the top of the lift (yes, the chopper was purple).

As for the camping - 10/10:

Travelling light in Mr. Strawberry (Sav has named the car).
A fair amount of time spent in this chair, feeding the monster - he giggles by day and wakes by night. Can't believe he's four months old today!
Classic Scottish landscape - amazing.
Sav pondering life.
We didn't mind the wind - made for noisy nights in the tent, but kept the bugs away.
One of the rare moments Mac was asleep in the tent.
Lovely forest walks.
And parks.
Hello - cute.
About to go for a ride. Sav living it up on the site.
Soothing Mackinley takes precedence over Sav's other baby.

Sav's first shuttle run. I was waiting at the other side with Mac in Mr Strawberry.

Wearing Dad's number with pride.