Just getting back into the swing of things after about a week and a half trip with my grandparents- We did lots of traveling around County Cork, and County Galway. Some I had done, but some was new for both of us! It was a great trip, and nice to have family here! We spent the first weekend in Cork City.  Saturday we went to Cobh ( the last place the Titanic departed from).  It was the 100th anniversary of the Titanic the week prior to our visit, so we got to see a special exhibit called "The Titanic Experience."  (Cobh (pronounced cove) was originally Queenstown)  That night we had a lovely dinner at a restaurant called The Rising Tide with Catherine and Paul, as well as Catherine's sister Josie and her boyfriend Mark.

Sunday was Nana's birthday so we spent the day in Kinsale and had a nice lunch.  I had a cake delivered in the morning, so we could enjoy it when we got back.  We of course fit in the Blarney Stone, and the Jameson Distillery Tour on Monday.  I can now truly appreciate a nice glass of Jameson on the rocks (three cubes of ice....right Papa?!).

They spent Monday and Tuesday night at a B&B near Rathcormac because I had the girls Tuesday morning- Josie (Catherine's sister) was nice enough to collect them after school on Tuesday! We took advantage of my afternoon off and spent the afternoon driving the Ring of Kerry.  After we finished we stopped in Killarney for dinner and then headed back to Rathcormac.

Nana and Papa spent the next two days in Bandon, so that Papa could go with a guide to do some fly fishing Thursday morning.  We met back up on Friday in Galway, spending the day walking around the city, having a few pints, and finishing it off with a nice dinner.

One of my favorite days of the trip was their last Saturday, visiting the Aran Islands.  We took a bus about an hour outside of Galway, and then hopped on a ferry to Inis Mor.  The island is only about 9 miles long and 2 miles wide, and the population is somewhere around 900 people.  Their first language on the island is Irish (Gaelic), they only learn English when they go to school.  Only those born on the Island are allowed to build a house, anyone moving to the island can only buy a previously constructed house.  We took a tour of the island with a very energetic and talkative guide (hence all the info)!  It was great to learn all the history and about the locals daily life.  The main attraction of the islands are their cliffs- which were amazing! According to our guide the islands are "tropical"- not quite the case, but they did have a few nice beaches- and it does get warmer there than on the main land.

Sunday morning we were up bright and early for Mass, breakfast and a trip to see MORE cliffs! This time it was the Cliffs of Moher- which I had seen before- but are beautiful! Then it was time to say our goodbyes and I led them to Ennis where they stayed their last night before catching a flight at 9:30 monday morning!


Here are a few pictures from the trip!

View from Charles Fort, Kinsale

Charles Fort, Kinsale

Charles Fort, Kinsale

Charles Fort, Kinsale

Charles Fort, Kinsale

Charles Fort, Kinsale

Banoffee birthday cake for Nana!

Jameson Distillery taste testers 

Walking the girls to school

Ring of Kerry

Ring of Kerry

Ring of Kerry

Ring of Kerry

Aran Islands, Inis Mor

Aran Islands, Inis Mor 

Aran Islands, Inis Mor

Aran Islands, Inis Mor

Aran Islands, Inis Mor

Aran Islands, Inis Mor

Aran Islands, Inis Mor

Aran Islands, Inis Mor

Aran Islands, Inis Mor

Aran Islands, Inis Mor

Aran Islands, Inis Mor

Galway

Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

Cliffs of Moher

Easter

Hope everyone had a great Easter yesterday! We had some of Catherine's family over for a big Easter dinner- great food and a good time!

Here are some pictures from painting Easter eggs with the girls during the week!

Highlights of the last 2 weeks

Well, if you haven't already heard I chopped my hair off in order to donate it to locks of love! It is very different, and quite an adjustment but definitely worth it! I will post a picture soon!

Now for some shocking news! Taylor and I have decided to train for and run the Cork Half-Marathon. Not so shocking that Taylor is planning on running it, but if you know me it is definitely a little out of character. We have been training for about 3 weeks now, and are up to a 5 mile long run this weekend! I'm a little nervous, but four went well so let's hope 5 does as well!

Taylor and I had a bit of a traumatic experience last weekend after our run- we had gone into town to get something to eat and as we were pulling into my driveway someone came from behind and hit the tail end of my car. We spun around and when we finally stopped it looked as if we had parked facing the opposite directions we had been driving! It was pretty scary, but the most important thing is everyone was okay other than being sore the next day!

London

Taylor and I went to London over the weekend- We left Thursday night and came back late Sunday evening. It was a great trip- I loved being back, and it was Tay's first time there! It was awesome being able to show her where I lived while I studied there and check out some of the sites! We did all the standard sightseeing things, even got to the Portobello Road Market where Tay is still not sure how she was talked into buying not one, but two handbags within 5mins from the same vendor. I somehow ended up getting away with just one.

We did LOTS of walking while there which was pretty tiring! The first day we were out touring around at about half eight so by 2 we were so tired we decided to have a drink with lunch and then go to the London Eye. Afterwards we headed back to the pub for a few more drinks and called it an early night!

One of the highlights of the trip for me was Mexican food, which I have REALLY been missing! Luckily Taylor and I both got our fix with a stop at Chipotle on Saturday for lunch! Couldn't have been happier!

Long overdue-

Well since my last post Naoise has turned 8 and Aoife lost her first tooth!

Naoise's bday was February 5th- Taylor and I hosted her Pajama Party on the 4th. That was quite an experience! 15 6-8 year olds in the house made the usual noise level go up about 10 decibels. We did nails, make-up, hair and then the girls watched the Judy Moody movie. Of course there was plenty of sweets, pizza, chicken dippers and cake! All the girls were pretty fascinated with the fact that Taylor and I are America !

This past weekend while I was away Aoife finally lost her wobbly tooth that she has been talking about for the past month! She is quite proud of the fiver that the tooth fairy brought her!

Back in Ireland

I have been back for about a week after my trip home for Christmas. It was great to be home for a little while and see everyone that I have missed! I was able to see a few friends, and tons of family! I missed the girls, but it was so nice to come back to them after a bit of a break.

I didn't have much rest before setting off for a weekend of traveling. Allie, Katherine, and Ashley (friends from home) had arrived on the 28th and 29th, so after a quick nap I went to meet them for dinner. We went out in Cork that night and stayed in a B&B in the city. The next day we took them to breakfast, and back to my house so I could pack to go to Galway and Dingle. We got to Galway at about 6 Saturday night. A lot of our friends from Ireland also met us there, so we had a good group of about 11 people. We all took showers, grabbed some food and then headed out to ring in the new year!

Sunday morning we all got up and went to brunch in Galway. Then we split from the big group and headed to check out Bunratty Castle. The castle is right near Shannon Airport which worked out perfectly because Taylor's sister Page was flying in that afternoon. We met up with her around 4 and then headed to Dingle. We didn't make it to Dingle till about 8, so we checked into our hostel and then went to grab dinner. We were all so tired from the travel and nights out that we came back after dinner and went to bed at about 11. The next day we got up and of course got a full Irish breakfast before heading out to do some sightseeing. We walked around Dingle for a bit and then headed out to do Slea Head Drive and Connor's Pass which are two really pretty drives around the cliffs.

We headed back to Cork Monday afternoon, but stopped off in Killarney so the girls could see the town and to grab some dinner.

I had to work on Tuesday, so I met the girls for dinner in the city once I got off. I said bye to them Tuesday night because they were leaving for Dublin around 1 the next day when I was working. It was sad to say goodbye, but I am so glad that they decided to make the trip! It was so much fun to have them here, and experience new parts of Ireland together!

Needless to say after that weekend/beginning of the week I was pretty tired. The girls were still on Christmas holidays which was nice because we got to sleep in a bit! Thursday Page and Taylor called over, and we were able to go out to lunch ( the girls had a birthday party).

I had the day off Friday because Catherine took the day off work, so I went and ran some errands and then relaxed for a while. It was nice just to hang out after such a crazy week. Saturday morning I picked Taylor up from the Cork Airport after she said goodbye to Page and we went to an early breakfast, then headed into the city to do some shopping. We don't usually make it in that early, but it was actually sort of nice because it wasn't busy at all (Irish people aren't known to get up early!). We came back to my house so we could take naps, and then went to get some food. I babysat Saturday night which was great because I really needed the relaxing weekend!

Today it was back to school for both the girls and I. It was their first day back after Christmas holidays, and I volunteer on Mondays and Fridays so I of course joined them. It is nice to be getting back into the swing of things here!

Busy Weekend-

Friday Taylor and I went to one of our friends 21st in Cork. I think Tay would agree with me it was a great night out! It is so fun to be in the city so close to Christmas, a lot of the pubs and bars were playing Christmas music, and people were sporting their Santa hats.

Saturday Taylor and I went to Blarney to stock up on some things from the Irish Shop. We also had an Irish breakfast which has become one of our favorite things here. Saturday night Naoise had a Communion Mass (they are required to go to a Saturday night Mass every month in order to prepare for their communion). I went along with them this time, and then ended up minding the girls because Paul was going out, and Catherine's sister called needing help with the new baby.

Today the girls, Catherine, and I had a full day. We went to the Opera House in Cork to see the Pantomime. It was a great performance of Cinderella. Apparently it is a big Christmas tradition here to go see the Panto every year. The girls were SHOCKED that it was my first time seeing one. After the show we went and grabbed something to eat in town, and then headed to Josie's so the girls could meet their new baby cousin! He is so adorable! and didn't make a peep the entire time we were there. The girls each got to hold him, which they were very excited about! All in all it was a great day!

Just 5 more days till I am on my way home for Christmas!