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March

March of course is marked by World Book Day and Euan's choice of character this year was Snoopy. Mummy had to hastily make a costume after our Amazon order failed to arrive on time - so Euan was a particularly fleecy looking Snoopy!
We also had parents night this month - as always Euan is getting on fine with his learning and is a little star in the classroom! This term Euan's class have been learning about the Romans and had organised a Roman Feast for parents to attend. We were served may treats such as honey cakes and bread the childern had made. Mummy declined to dress up for the even but Euan looked splendid as a Roman soldier.
We thought it was a little early in the year to spend Easter in a tent this year, so we spent the weekend in a wooden shed (camping pod!) at Applecross in the northwest of Scotland. We were grateful for the hut as the weather was a bit wild during the night! We had a great time walking, playing on the beach, visiting the Applecross Inn and driving over the famous Applecross Pass...with a little snow at the very top!
Mummy was back at work on Easter Monday so Daddy and Euan headed off on their own to visit Auntie Gillian in Berwick. They all went to Kelso for lunch with Euan chosing a Ploughman's omelette and sweet potato fries. I'm told it was delicious!!

April

April was pretty much dominated by school holidays which started on the 2nd and should have ended on the 19th however Euan caught chickenpox and his return to school was delayed by two days - ending his prefect attendance record! Euan coped extremely well with the chickenpox, it didn't put him off his food or stop him sleeping.
For the first week of the holidays, Euan was at Errol Childrens Club. They spent their time doing lots of craft projects which Euan really enjoyed. They also had a visit from 'Zoo Lab' who brought along a selection of exotic animals for the children to see. Euan held a snake! - very brave of him!!
Mummy took the second week on the holidays off so we did exciting things like going to the dentist for a check up!! We also visited the new Dundeee Olympia swimming pool. Euan loved it - especially the flumes and the waves ..Mummy wasn't quite so keen. We had a day trip to St Andrews but it was wet, windy and absolutely freezing so not as enjoyable as it could have been! We took shelter in a cafe and had a couple of wonderful ice cream sundaes, so not a bad day out after all!
Mummy had a cupcake commission this month - 10 sheep and 10 pigs! The lady who ordered them was very pleased with the finished articles!
We popped in to see Auntie Rosemary and Uncle Brodie on our way back from the rugby tournament in Edinburgh - it was very noisy as they were busy tagging the new lambs who weren't happy about being seperated from their Mummies. Euan was also delighted to meet the piglets although I'm not so sure he will be as keen to be in beside them as they get bigger!
We have been busy in the garden with euan beimng very helpful, planting the tatties and painting the wall.

May

Not sure how we managed to fit everything into May - a very busy month ideed!
It kicked off with Euan's school trip to the Science Centre in Dundee related to their Space topic this term. Other school activities this month have included a bike skills day, tennis training and the Glee competition at Perth Concert Hall. Errol Primary won the Esprit d'Glee trophy on the night and are now through to the grand final on 20th June. How exciting!
Euan also picked up Star of the Week for his descriptive writing. The class got to watch "Meat the Campbells" and then had to continue the story. Here is. Euan's story
Daddy has been exceptionally busy in the garden this month with shed shifting activities ...Uncle Brodie and Auntie Rosemary came to help with the roofing and final assembly of the sheds - we thanked them with a Greek buffet - everyone enjoyed that!! Pictures documenting the whole Shed Shift process are in an album on the website.
There was quite a bit of rugby in May as well. The Perthshire Rugby festival was a great day and all of the players worked very well against some excellent opposing teams. At the end of the month, it was the P4's Mull of Kintyre rugby tour - a fab weekend with great weather, voracious midgies, beach training, raft races and a giant bonfire with barbeque. Everyone had a ball!

June

Euan's final month in Primary 4 and a superb report for the year from Mrs Mackinnon! here it is School Report
Euan's class were back at the concert hall in Perth on the 20th June to take part in the Glee Competition final. Sadly Errol Primary were not amongst the prize winners on this occasion but sang really well and thoroughly enjoyed taking part.
There were lots of outdoor activities in June - John and Euan spent an afternoon playing in the surf at St Andrews beach - after his initial reluctance to get in the water, Euan had great fun splashing about on the surf ski whislt Mummy stayed on the beach and tried to keep warm. The final rugby training of the season was also located at the beach - Tentsmuir. We had a super barbeque and Mummy made a rugby themed cake for the occasion - it must have been good - only a few crumbs in the box after lunch! School sports day was on the 8th June and the weather was kind this year- Euan wasn't placed in any of the races but he enjoyed the barbeque and ice cream on offer for school lunch that particular day.
We manage a visit to the Highland Show this year again. Uncle Brodie and Auntie Rosemanry very kindly gave us a lift and we had a fabulous day wandering about sampling items in the food hall and looking at the livestock.

July and August

We have been so busy over the summer holidays that July's blog never quite happened so this will be an update for two months!
The start of July brought us visitors from Thailand. Peter and Flora had arrived back in the UK for about 6 weeks. We enjoyed the now traditional weekend in Pitlochry with them. Euan made the most of his stay by shunning the childrens dinner menu and dining on delights such as haggis, neeps and tatties as well as roast beef and yorkshire puddings. Although the weather wasn't great, Mummy and Euan took a short train trip from Pitlochry to Blair Atholl. We had a fascinating time wandering round the castle and the grounds.
Mummy and Daddy were busy working at the start of the school holidays so Euan had three weeks of attending Holiday Club which he really enjoyed - especially the cafe days where he was in his element attending to customers!
We spent one breezy Sunday at Lochore Meadows Country Park. Daddy was keen to see if he could remember how to windsurf ... it went ok until he fell through the sail! Meanwhile Mummy was trying out her new bike whilst Euan cycled off into the distance ... a fun day out for everyone!
Towards the end of July, Mummy and Euan headed off to Shetland to visit Granny - leaving Daddy to fend for himself .... he survived and the happy holidaymakers had a great time! Once we were back from Shetland, Euan had an overnight stay at the farm so that Mummy could go to her colleagues retirement party. I think Euan kept Auntie Rosemary very entertained!
Eventually in August, Daddy finally had a week off work. This was the opportunity for a 'boy's' trip away. Great fun was has on the canoeing trip on the River Lyon but they were more at risk of drowing in the tent following an evening of torrential rain. However, they survived, came home, and did a quick unpack then repack for an overnight sleeper train trip to London. Daddy took Euan to see his old school in Loughton - Euan thought it was 'awesome'! A quick visit to see Uncle Bob in Romford, then up to Ware to retrieve Mummy's car now that Pedro was finished with it! On the way home we stopped in Berwick for the night and took Auntie Gillian out for dinner.
And before we knew it, the 16th of August had arrived and it was back to school! Euan's teacher this year is Miss Sewell. Of course, being in Primary 5 now means that information about his school days is not particularly forthcoming....
Rugby training has started again for the season. Not only on Sunday morning's but also on Tuesday evenings. This isn't too much hassle as it gives Mummy the opportunity to get some exercise by running a couple of laps of the North Inch in Perth!
The end of August saw Errol Show take place. Mummy had quite a successful day. First prize for the clootie dumpling yet again! And a cup for her hand knitted article! Euan managed to achieve a second prize for his sunflower (4ft 11inches) but still no flower!

September

September was dominated by rugby activities. Tuesday nights have been added to the training schedule! Training on Sunday is also on going and a few matches have been played too. The team is certainly getting plenty practice. The Under 10's team also had the fantastic opportunity to play a half time exhibition match at Murrayfield!. They provided a guard of honour for the Edinburgh Pro 12 team in their match against Leinster as well as meeting the players - a fantastic experience. A team also went to Kinross mini tournament where they played 5 matches and came second overall. Well done.
Euan is still enjoying being back at school. His project this month was to create a musical instrument.... he decided upon a banjo!! He even sacraficed a couple of pages from his beloved Beano's for decoration.
The Dundee Food and Flower festival took place at the beginning of September. Although we all submitted entries no one had any success. We'll try again next year!
Mummy also visited another festival in September with her friend Jane - The wee G&T festival in Perth. A very enjoyable day out from what I can remember....

October

Almost at the end of the first term in P5 for Euan and he seems to be enjoying it! Two weeks school holidays this month so the first of these was at holiday club in Errol and the second was our adventure to Chester
We loved our holiday attic and day trips to Manchester and Liverpool, as well as Chester zoo
We celebrated Daddy's birthday this month - Mummy even made him a cake with beer in it - everyone enjoyed it ... even Euan who has requested the same type for his birthday next month!
Shetland Granny was visiting at the farm this month too so we travelled down for a family tea whilst Helen, Adam, Oliver and Auntie Jennifer were there too. Uncle Brodie and Angus did a grand job of the cooking.

November

We had Shetland Granny come to stay for the weekend at the beginning of November. We took a trip to Perth to have a look round the Farmers Market and she treated us to a tasty lunch in Willow's Restaurant
Mummy went along to the school parents night on the 8th November. Miss Sewell confirmed that Euan is a little star who is doing very well in all of his subjects especially spelling. It was lovely to hear and it was also a good opportunity to look round Euans classroom and see some of the wonderful work he has produced.
Another school event in November was the Hi-Viz day. As part of his role in the iBike Crew, Euan helped organise this to encourage children to wear brightly coloured clothing if they walk or cycle to school. Mummy did offer him her flourescent pink T Shirt to wear, but this was declined in favour of a slightly too big Daddy vest!
There were two in service days in the middle of the month; on the Thursday Euan went to Karen's and had great fun with the other children and telling Karen all of his news. On the Friday, Mummy and Euan headed down to Edinburgh on the train. We had a great visit to Edinburgh Castle. Euan did jump when the One O'clock gun was fired! Although it was a beautiful day, it was bitterly cold so we sought refuge in Mums Cafe for lunch. Not only did Euan love his sausage and mash (3 x lamb and mint), he was delighted to find they had copies of the Beano available to read. While we are on the subject of Beano's - Euan appeared in a copy this month, as Star Letter, posing with the Beano Banjo he had made
Of course we also had Euan's 9th birthday on the 25th. We were lucky enough to be invited to the St Andrew's night ceilidh at Cardenden, so Euan had Happy Birthday sung to him by everyone attending. Euan had put in a request for a Baked Bean cake this year. Hopefully Daddy will add some photos to illustrate the final result!

December

Last month of 2016 and it's been quite a busy one!
Mummy and Euan had a stall at the school fair which was quite successful. Euan was allowed to keep the money he made from selling the edible wands but spent it all at the other stalls! Mummy's gin and lime marmalade proved rather popular.
There were lot's of festive activities this month too. Euan went to see the pantomime, Dick McWhittington, in Perth with the school. Both Mummy and Euan had Christmas jumper days at work and school. Euan had a lovely jumper with lights on it and Mummy opted for a fleecy rudolph hoody with bells on! Euan had two other parties too - thankfully he survived the rugby party unscathed this year!
Christmas Day was lovely with lots of great presents and scrummy food. We took a quick trip down to Bowhill to see everyone at the farm - Euan claimed Auntie Rosemary's jellies she had been given by Uncle Brodie - I don't think she was sad to see them go!
Daddy and Euan have managed to fit in quite a few bike rides through the woods and along some muddy paths near the village with a few of Euans friends. The washing machine is claiming overtime to deal with the aftermath of these trips!!
Daddy and Euan nipped down to Berwick between Christmas and New Year to visit Auntie Gillian and take her out to dinner.
The Scott family came round to see the New Year in with us. It was great fun, with a Scaletrix tournament, boards games, good company and lots of food and drink! An excellent end to 2016.

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