Aghagower and Westport, Co. Mayo

We were finally able to drive up to Co. Mayo Easter weekend to visit my cousin, Shari, and her husband, Olcan, at their gorgeous new home in Aghagower.  The drive up was great and we loved seeing all of the baby lambs romping around the fields.  They were SO cute!

 Olcan takes photography groups on 10 day tours through Co. Mayo and had his coach (bus) at home for the weekend.  It was so nice to be able to all drive around together while he showed us around Westport and the surrounding area.  Scarlett was especially thrilled.

 Olcan pointed out this pub to us which just happens to be owned by a member of The Chieftains, who I love.

A beer garden AND a playground.  What more could you want?  :)

My kids loved this bicycle sculpture.

Back at the house, my kids were obsessed with Olcan and Shari's cat, Mr. Pip.

After a delicious dinner, we headed down the road to explore the cemeteries in Aghagower.   The kids were thrilled when a neighbor's dog, Daisy, started walking down the road with us.

Olcan is an amazing tour guide and Nate and I were trying to take in as much as we could.  Olcan was great about getting Grayson involved, too, and had him on the hunt for the oldest person buried in the cemetery.  According to the headstone, he was 137 years old!!

 Olcan was showing us around the ruins of a  monastery and pointed out the "face in the window," and "3-D Jesus." 

I couldn't pass by this phone booth without snapping a picture.

Unfortunately, my camera died at this point and I forgot to bring the charger with me.  We had a fabulous time visiting with Shari and Olcan and absolutely can not wait to go back to see them soon!!

More with the Ohio Irwins

Our 3rd day with the Ohio Irwins was spent at the Cliffs of Moher.

We've spent a lot of time at the Cliffs, but it never ceases to amaze me.

Unfortunately, day 4 dawned with a stomach bug descending on our house.

Within 24 hours, Grayson, Nate, Chris, and myself were all struck with a 24-hour bug.

It meant postponing our trip to Dublin by a day, and even then, Scarlett and I ended up staying home.  I think everyone else had a great time on the Viking Splash Tour and at The Guinness Storehouse, though they would have to tell you more about it themselves.  :)

We spent the last 2 days of their visit hanging out at our house.  It was great to let the kids enjoy some down time with each other playing around the house and outside, especially since it meant that the adults could spend time doing this:

Thanks so much for making this trip happen, Chris and Laura!! 

We so enjoyed having you here!

Can't wait to see you in July!

Catching up

Can't believe how long it's been since I posted here.  Life has kind of taken over the past month or so and we have been completely busy.  We just finished up 3 weeks worth of adventures and travels with family that came to visit us here in Ireland.  It was so amazing to share our new home with family, and I can only hope that they enjoyed their time here as much as I am.

Our first set of visitors were Nate's brother, Chris, and his family. We were so incredibly excited to see them!  It was great to see the kids pick up right where they had left off like no time had passed at all.

We tried to lay low their first day here so that everyone could catch up on some sleep, but we did sneak in a short trip to Lough Gur.  The kids were quite happy to run off some energy, and most of them were happy enough to pose for a couple pictures.  ;)

Love all of the fun "wellies" in this one.

I think we managed to get some great family pics of the Ohio Irwins.

 I love the way Katelyn is standing in this one. 

It's very "Katelyn," and makes me smile every time I look at it.

That night Laura and Katelyn surprised Scarlett with a new nightgown.  She was beyond excited when she realized that it matched Katelyn's.

After a (surprisingly) good night of sleep, we headed to Durty Nelly's for lunch,

and then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Bunratty Castle and Folk Park.

The girls were thrilled to get up close and personal with the "princess" at the castle,

but I think it's safe to say that the animals took the cake,

especially Irish Wolf Hound, Finn.

Stay tuned for more of our adventures with the Ohio Irwins!!

Happy St. Paddy's Day from Ireland!!

Galway ~ February Mid-Term Holiday ~ Post 1

The kids had 2 days off of school for a mid-term break, so we decided to head up to Galway.  The kids and I had already spent some time there, but it was Nate's first visit.  We didn't go with any real agenda and it was perfect.  I love how laid back all of our weekend trips have felt.  These are just the pictures I took with my phone and are completely out of order.  I'm too lazy to try and switch them around, so you'll just have to bear with me.  :)

Self-portrait with Galway Bay in the background.

I absolutely love this kid.

Our pints at the Quay Bar. 

Scarlett loved walking on the walls between our hotel and the aquarium.

This picture isn't that great, but it's a good memory. 

I took this at the first pub we visited. 

The bartender was great with our kids. 

Scarlett had asked for crayons and paper,

which he didn't have, so he gave her his biro (pen)

and a piece of paper, and then came back with a pack of stickers

that he had found somewhere.  About a half hour later he came back

with chocolates for both of the kids.  They were in heaven.

Scarlett attempting to hold a crab at the aquarium. 

That sucker was pretty heavy for her little hands.

Gray wasn't too thrilled about holding the crab,

but he thought touching the starfish was pretty cool.

Nate wouldn't hold the crab and the kids weren't too sure,

so I stepped up and took the poor thing. 

It was a little creepy, but seeing me hold him

convinced Scarlett to give it a go.

Had to take a picture of this bakery since my brother's name is Griffin.

More wall walking.  Loved the view behind her.

Sleeping Beauty.  This girl sure knows how to hog the bed.

Walking down the main pedestrian shopping area. 

Seems all of the bigger cities in Ireland have these

and I love just meandering down them with my family.

Scarlett posing with Oscar and Arthur (?) Wilde.

I'll post more pictures from Galway tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

A Date With My Boy

I took Grayson out for a date a couple weekends ago.  We don't get much time alone together anymore and we both miss it.  Gray had decided that he wanted lunch and a movie, so we parted ways with Nate and Scarlett and headed out.

 

Getting annoyed with me for taking pictures while he was trying to eat lunch. 

He chose popcorn chicken from KFC.

While eating lunch he decided he didn't really want to got to the cinema after all.  We discussed our options, and he chose walking around the mall and a new DVD purchase.

We stopped in one of the sports store where Gray felt the need to try out what felt like every. single. rugby. ball.

When he decided he'd had enough, we walked over to pick out a DVD.  He went in with lots of ideas, but ended up coming out with the

Home Alone boxed set, movies 1-4.  :)

We headed home after that, much sooner than I had initially anticipated, and he quickly abandoned our movie for playing soccer outside with friends. 

He is growing up and away all too quickly, but I am so thankful that he's still willing to take time out to spend with me.

"We need to start giving others a hand."

Grayson was busy drawing this morning before school. I didn't really think much of it, as he is constantly drawing, coloring, and writing. Right as we were getting ready to leave for school he handed his paper to Scarlett and asked her if she would take it to school with her so she and her friends could talk about it. I glanced at it and had to do a double take. As I read what he had written and took in his simple pen drawing, my heart swelled with love for my very sweet boy. We are most definitely doing something right as parents and my boy's kind heart is all the reassurance that I need.