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.

And then it comes, and I offer up my silent prayer of thanks. Today will be a new day.

This pretty much sums up how I've been feeling this week.

Content, but unsettled.

Happy, but somewhat sad.

Thankful for my alone time, yet lonely all at the same time.

There are times here when we don't see the sun for days. 

And when we do, it is oftentimes short lived. 

I need some sun right now.

I need to tilt my face up to the sky and feel the warmth on my face.

I need to be out in the fresh air with my kiddos, watching and smiling as they run and enjoy the rejuvenating effects the sunshine has on all of us.

Unfortunately, today is not that day.

Tomorrow might not be either.

So, we'll make due.

We'll enjoy the fresh air minus the sun.

We'll soak up some more rain instead. 

And I will try with all my might to smile anyways.

Dublin ~ December 2011

We headed up to Dublin a few days after Christmas.  We stayed at the Shelbourne Hotel, which I thought was pretty amazing.  The hotel is 188 years old and has seen a lot of famous faces.  They had a little "museum" room off of the lobby with the old registers from the early 1900s.  It was really neat to see that little piece of history. 

Right across from the hotel was St. Stephen's Green.  Gorgeous.  The kids loved running around, and I enjoyed seeing all of the flowers that are still in bloom.

We headed down Grafton Street and enjoyed doing some window shopping on our way to Trinity College.  Unfortunately, once we got to Trinity we found that The Book of Kells display was closed for the holidays.  Bummer.

The kids were hungry by then, so we headed back to Grafton Street to find some dinner.  We found a yummy restaurant that had great pizza.  We will definitely plan to eat there again next time we're in Dublin.

On Friday, we took the kids to Disney on Ice.  They loved it!  It was so much fun to watch the expressions on their faces when they saw different characters come out onto the ice.  Scarlett's favorite was definitely Price Eric, but I think Ken from Toy Story (aka Justin Bieber) was a close second.  Grayson really enjoyed the green army men, especially when one of them parachuted down to the ice.

That evening we headed to the Temple Bar area.  Nate and I were able to snap a picture in front of the actual Temple Bar after dinner,

and we were able to get a family picture on Grafton Street on our way back to the hotel.

Before heading home the next morning, the kids and I headed back to St. Stephen's Green to feed the ducks,

and enjoy being out in the fresh air.

Can't wait for our next long weekend away in Galway!