Ventured out on Boxing Day for a walk in the snow at Mortonhall and some sledging. Going to see Avatar in the evening.

Snow !

Max and Colin headed to the hills for a very brief walk on Sunday morning. The wind was quite strong making it feel exceptionally cold. Got to the top of the ski slope before heading down.

Girls 9 Dads 7

The P7 girls had their annual match against the parents and went to a stunning 9 - 7 victory on a snowy Meadows.

Craigmillar O

Lots of shopping over the weekend and an orienteering event on Sunday morning. Excellent long mixed forest/urban course at Craigmillar. Hannah went out on a yellow event for the first time in quite a while and seemed to enjoy it.

Glasgow 3 Parks Championships

Max and Colin set off early in the morning for the three parks champs. 10 am start at Springburn park. Then on the Kelvingrove and finally to Cathkin Braes. Max did extremely well with good fast runs on every course. He came 2nd of the 5 male juniors. Colin got injured on the last course and had to withdraw. Wasn't doing great.

Walk in the Pentlands

Went for a short walk in the Pentlands. A heavy fog had descended on Edinburgh but all was clear on the Pentlands with views to the clouds below.

Scottish Score Champs

Colin went out to Pitmedden forest to help with the event and run in 60 min score event. Weather was quite nice in a very pleasant location. Pleased with placing of 17th.

Scotland 9 Australia 8

First trip to Murrayfield for Max and Hannah. We were joined by Aymane as Cherry couldn't make it. Treated to a fantastic match. They put on a good show at Murrayfield and the lights and band and fireworks make quite a spectacle. The match was tense throughout with a fantastic climax. Scotland took a strong 9-3 lead with around 10 mins to go and then had to soak up the pressure. Australia scored after 80 minutes and then missed the kick. Kids loved it!

Loch Leven Walk

Went out with Les on Sunday morning for a long walk round the Loch Leven Heritage Trail. Nice weather and a very scenic walk that took about 3 1/2 hours to get round 13 km. Started at Kinross and ended at the Vane Farm RSPB reserve. Colin ran off to get the car as the path only did a 2/3 circuit of the loch.

SOSOL 1 - Barr Wood

Another glorious day with clear blue skys and chilling air. Max and Colin headed off to Barr Wood near Stirling for the first SOSOL of the new season. Colin did a fairly poor job of navigation and got round in a disappointing time. Max struggled and gave up after the third control on a difficult course.

Tinto Hill Race

A massive crowd out for the race this year. Started near the back of the field and made steady progress up the hill. Fantastic views on the way down with the sun shining on the field and hills below. Made up a few places on the descent which is a lovely fast 15 minute downhill dash. Time probably just outside time from 2 years ago.

Explorers Garden & Enchanted Forest

On Saturday we had a short stroll past the Dam and on to the Explorers Garden above the Festival Theatre. Nice in the autumn colours. Worth a visit in the summer as well.

Then went to the Festival Theatre and saw a demonstration of Scottish Weapons and Dress. Max got to the from and led the charge !

Watched a couple of hours of open Mic performances while Cherry completed her knitting !

In the evening we had a nice meal at the Old Armoury and then went to the Enchanted Forest. A walk round an illuminated lake with many small historical or mythical sets.

Dougie MacLead & Eddi Reader

We all headed North on Friday afternoon for a concert at the Pitlochry Festival Theatre. Dougie MacLean did a very good 45 minute set on his own. Then Eddi Reader and band played for about an hour. Both excellent and everyone really enjoyed.

ESOA Champs

Max and Colin headed out to cold, wet and windy West Lomond hills in Fife for the East of Scotland champs. Colin was off form and very slow. Max did well coming 4th in a good run on the Light Green course.

Crieff Day 5

High Ropes in the morning. Scary Stuff. Max did incredibly well completing all the tasks - even complete the leap from telegraph pole to trapeze ! Hannah did very well as well although the telegraph pole was a bit too scarey.

Nice dinner at the brasserie.

Crieff Day 4

Disc golf in the morning then Cherry & Max had a go at Archery in the afternoon. Tennis later in the afternoon and some great doubles.

Crieff Day 3

Another sporty day with a short badminton tournament and a game of squash. A swim in the pool and haircuts for Cherry, Hannah & Max.

Crieff Day 2

Busy day. Started with a walk up the Knock. Then Max, Hannah and Colin played 5's in the sports hall recording a great victory. In the afternoon we did outdoor laserquest which was brilliant. Nice dinner at the Brasserie.

Holiday at Crieff Hydro Hotel

Travelled up to Crieff Hydro for a 5 night stay. Stayed in one of the chalets just above the hotel. On Monday we went to the Family Fun and played lots of short tennis and badminton. Colin was persuaded to put on a Sumo suit and get slaughtered by a 6 ft rugby player.

Survival of the Fittest

Colin ran a 10 k obstacle course through the centre of Edinburgh on Sunday morning. Great fun with obstacles ranging from an army assault course, water slides, wrecked cars and skips.

Some photos here

http://www.sleepmonsters.com/photosystem/menshealth/index.php?search_value=773&event_id=7508&page_action=Search

Came in place 372 of 1303 in a time of 1 hr 3 mins.

Fight with the Night - Craigmillar

Ridiculously difficult night orienteering at Craigmillar Castle. Loads of horrible nettles as well. Yuk.

Manor Water

Colin was on his own for a trip down to the sheepdog trials and hill race in the Manor Water valley near Peebles. This is a very nice race with a long steady ascent over 5 miles with it runnable all the way to the ascent of The Scrape the final summit. Really wanted a PB so pushed hard all the way up maintaining a steady pace and resisting any temptation to walk. Reached the summit in 58 minutes and then enjoyed the long fast run home. Suffered a bit from lack of water and felt I might have gone a few minutes faster if I'd brought a drink.

Very pleased to finish in 1 hr 35 min 30 seconds over a 1 minute better than previous fastest in 2006.

Hopefully some photos to follow.