This morning James jumped out of a perfectly good airplane – he had a parachute. He’s trying to get the feel of stalls, so he thought he’d practice by skydiving. Joel wants to do it too, but I think you have to be 18.

So anyway…after he got back the girls and I went to the Elizabeth Celtic festival.

I told the Renaissance Scots I’d come and take pics. They are a living history group.

They had their village set up with the weavers/spinners, blacksmith, pub and fighting guys.

I love this picture of the guys fighting with the one guy in the back saying, ‘Huzzah!’

They put on a good show of fighting with swords, shields and daggers. After taking a few pictures we wandered over to the ice cream (how very Celtic!) and then to the kids section.

Hannah made a tiny catapult, the girls got rune necklaces and little figurines sitting on glass beads. We passed by the Roman area and the Viking area.

We heard bagpipes and saw step dancers.

We saw one lady making shoes, she was showing the girls the fur shoes that Vikings would wear in cold weather. Then we got passports and walked around clan row. There were booths for all kinds of Scottish clans and each had a stamp to put in the girls’ books.

Hannah thought it was too cool to get a stamp, this guy was busy penning a letter, so we stamped our own book.

We watched the guys compete in a game where they tossed this heavy rolled up hay bale over a pole. I think they made it up to 20 feet.

Then it was time for the haggis toss. Unfortunately the health department must have overheard them talking about tossing haggis, they said nope. So, they had some fake haggis made (dirt sewn inside a cloth and tied up.)

It worked well, the record in Scotland is 180 feet, by the time we left the longest toss was 91 feet. I think tossing a real haggis must make a difference. We heard some Irish bagpipers and yes, that’s the Saucy Wench eatery in the background.

We went past the face painting tent and I thought this made a cool backdrop.

I know what you’re thinking – that looks kind of hippie. But, you’re wrong – it’s Celtic hippie! Believing that you never say “good-bye” to someone you intend to see again, generations of Celtic women refused to bid their men farewell or even to watch their retreating figures instead they said “so long”. So, as we passed Nessie on the way out and we said ‘amhlaidh fada’ (so long.)

Go here to learn a Gaelic word everyday.