Wardlaws at the Highland Games

Here we are at the Highland Games! This was taken Saturday afternoon, when we finally arrived (I had to work until 2:00). That was okay though, because it was hot! We only stayed about an hour and were ready to go when the awards ceremony ended. As we walked to the tent there were still a few people tossing the caber, and the fencing people from the parade were teaching people to throw battle axes.

The parade on Friday was fun but sadly we have no pictures, except ones taken with a cell phone. My mom and I forgot our cameras! There were all kinds of people, tartans, and attire. My favorite was Braveheart. I don't need to explain, do I? This guy went all out and I bet no one ever asks him if he's wearing a skirt. Suzi pointed at him and asked, "Dat?" ("That's Braveheart, honey.") We'll have to show her the movie when she gets much, much older. The streets were lined with people--two or three deep, in some places. I was not expecting it to be so crowded! Lots of people commented on the beauty of our purple tartan, as well as the cuteness of our one-year-old in her little tartan hat. (I am kicking myself right now for not having pictures. I really am.)


This was taken in our front yard when we got home; I asked Jordan to run inside and get the camera. I didn't get all laced into that bodice to not have a picture taken!

We went shopping Saturday at the vendor tent and I bought these: a Celtic knot tote bag (it matches my bodice!) and a pin. I had to safety pin my tartan on and this will look much better. It wasn't my first choice of pin though. I saw an amazing one-of-a-kind sterling silver Celtic knot with I think amethyst in the center and it was handcrafted by a silversmith in Scotland. It was big, beautiful, and 350 bucks. So I backed off. My mom's pin fell off and she nearly lost it Friday, so I never would've spent that much even if I'd had it! That's just setting yourself up for a panic attack.



And one more thing. We had a few people ask us "is that the Montgomerie tartan?" Theirs also has a lot of purple in it. I found a picture of the Montgomerie and want to show how different they are. Here's the Wardlaw...


And here's the Montgomerie:


Our tartan is relatively new, designed in 2005 by Diane Wardlaw with help from the House of Tartan. Of course, I think it's the most beautiful tartan there is! The tartan is new, but the lineage is not. There is a history page on the Clan Wardlaw site but I can't link directly to it.

Note: This post was made possible by two sleeping angels.


P.S. It's a good thing the little sleeping angel didn't have a dirty diaper.
P.P.S. I hope the big sleeping angel doesn't mind me posting yet another picture of him sleeping.