The Emerald Isle: Day 2

We woke up Monday morning after 13 hours of sleep (in which Ryan battled and defeated a horrible fever) ready to see the North Coast.  We had a glorious full Irish breakfast at our guest house before we departed for Giant's Causeway.  The weather was horrid; about 39 degrees and pouring down, sideways rain, we were still game for a good time!

The North Coast is rich in both history and beautiful scenery.  We drove all along the coast and visited Dunluce Castle, I love all of the beautiful ruins that you practically just stumble upon.

We had planned to visit the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, but upon arriving and having the door of our rental car blow back with amazing force we decided we didn't want to spend money to be blown about in the freezing rain on a rope bridge!  So, instead, we ventured into the warmth of the Bushmills Whiskey Distillery for an incredible tour.  We also ate lunch at the Bushmills Inn which dates back to 1608, just like the distillery.

We had a beautiful drive south to Belfast where we checked into our lodging and immediately walked around the neighborhood to find my old dorm on Derryvolgie Avenue.  It was so neat to see how much had changed/stayed the same over the past nine years.  We stayed in another great guest house that was in a wonderful location for walking in Belfast.

The Emerald Isle: Day 1

Yes, I am finally recapping our recent trip to Ireland/Northern Ireland!  Aren't you happy?  Here goes...

sunrise over the ocean

We landed in Dublin on Sunday, May 6th at 6:55am.  We had a nice, but fairly sleepless, flight over the pond and were excited to be on our way!  We changed clothes and exchanged some money at the airport, picked up our rental car, and proceeded to drive 45 minutes in the wrong direction!  Upon realizing our printed google maps directions were wrong, we stopped for a Dublin city map.  And then realized that Dublin is the most difficult city to drive around in; most street signs are either missing, in Gaelic, or on the side of a building that you just passed.  We had a very stressful hour or so of driving in circles where I recounted again that I did not have a good relationship with Dublin.  I spent a week feeling lost, lonely, scared, and confused there once and this was rapidly seeming similar.  We finally decided to park in a garage and immediately upon exiting I knew exactly where we were and we walked to our destination: Trinity College!

a building at Trinity

We quickly strolled through the grounds (I found the building I had stayed in, of course) and on to the library which hold the Book of Kells and the Long Room.  You aren't allowed to take photographs there, but we snuck some.  :)

the Long Room, Ryan's personal heaven

By this time, we were starved and took the recommendation of several friends to eat at The Queen of Tarts.  It was delightful, if you are ever in Dublin we recommend it as well!  We had a lovely brunch before heading north to Ballymoney, Northern Ireland for the night.

At this point, fatigue (and what we would later realize was Hand Foot & Mouth disease, thanks Liam) was setting in for Ryan, so I got to drive!  Let me just say that it was a trip!  We were in a manual car and I think the most difficult part was shifting with my left hand, and remembering what to do at the round a bouts!

we didn't die!

We arrived in Ballymoney in the mid-afternoon and checked into our lovely guesthouse, Country Garden House.  We could not have been more thrilled by the quaint cottage and lovely hosts.  They greeted us with tea and wanted to hear all about our lives.  We settled in and drove into Bushmills for an early dinner before going to bed at 7:00pm!

Colorado!

We are home from an incredible week in Colorado visiting family and friends. It is always such a treat to just get to share life with our extended families. If you live near yours, be thankful!

(landing in Denver) 

I didn't take tons of pictures, I was busy enjoying myself, but I did have tons of fun!

(elk in Estes) 

Liam had a great time playing with his cousins and getting loved on by grandparents and aunts and uncles.

(a moose at the visitors center in Estes) 

Ryan and I got to cash in on some grandparent babysitting generosity and spent our first night away from Liam. We stayed in a condo in Estes Park, ate delicious food at the Stanley Hotel and saw, "We Bought a Zoo," (new favorite movie) without rushing to get back to relieve a sitter...divine!

(beautiful drive into the mountains) 

We ate at all of our favorite places: Blue Parrot, Swing Thai, Little Man, Udi's, (new fave) Snooze, and even got to have Barb's meatballs!

(great am cocktails at snooze) 

We even got a little snow while we were there! Liam loved getting hit in the face with snowflakes. We took it one step further and ate ice cream in the snow! So fun, so cold!









Our trips home are always too short, but we are so thankful for our time to visit! Thanks for making time for us, all you Colorado people! We love you very much!

(Grami and Papo love)

Home again, home again, jiggity jig.

We just got home a few hours ago from a wonderful, family-filled vacation. Everyone has bathed, Liam is asleep, and the washing machine is already getting a work out. I'm ready to cuddle up on the couch with my husby and a certain schnauzer I missed like crazy! East, west, home is best!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Whirlwind Vacation

We got home late last night from a super quick, super fun vacation!




(best hometown in all the land)
We left Friday afternoon to head to NW Arkansas for a dear friend's wedding that was on Saturday. Ryan's old band, Jackson Waters, played at the reception which made the whole event even more fun for us! It was such a fun reunion of both friends and music. I danced and sang myself silly, and loved every minute!



(love these folks, a lot)
Sunday morning we started the long trek to Dauphin Island, Alabama, where we met up with my older sister's family and some of their friends. We had a blast crashing the beach with them for a few days. Liam got to dip his little toes in the sand and ocean for the first time (pictures to come!) and he loved it!




We got home late last night and have been resting and working on laundry all day.



(sweet baby during a driving break)
The numbers...
Days gone: 5
States visited/driven through: 6
Hours in the car: 28
Jackson Waters memories relived: hundreds
Meltdowns Liam had in the car: 0
Pairs of sunglasses sacrificed to the waves: 1
Snow cone stops: 2
Loads of laundry done today: 5



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Baby Love & Temporary Insanity

One of my dearest friends, Miriam, gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last night in my hometown.

Her sister, Kirsten, informed me Tuesday afternoon that Mir was going to be induced early Wednesday morning. We both immediately began taking steps to get Wednesday off of work, I fortunately already had today off. Once that was figured out, I did a load of laundry, packed for me and Liam, took a shower, gave Liam a bath, and the three of us were out the door and bound for North West Arkansas. At 7pm.

As you can imagine, we were flying high on baby-anticipation-adrenaline and talked 90 miles an hour the whole 9 hour drive (Liam slept the entire way without a peep). We pulled into the Pohle's house at 3am and by the time I got Liam fed and back to sleep I had been awake for 24 hours! So, then of course I was wide awake at 7am having just gotten 2 hours of sleep. We were too excited about surprising Miriam and waiting on the baby to sleep anymore.

We had a blast surprising Miriam and eating at our favorite local eateries. We were in and out of the hospital all day and had the pleasure of seeing both of my parents as well as some old friends.

Little Elloise Nicole graced us with her lovely presence at 9pm weighing in at 7 pounds 4 ounces and 19.5 inches long!




Isn't she a doll?! I am so excited that I have a close friend to share these early years of motherhood with now! And even more excited that, hopefully, Liam and Ellie will be lifelong friends!

Miriam handled her labor and delivery with such grace, it was so special to be able to see her throughout the process. We got to see them both once more this morning at 4am before we departed for Nashville. Definitely worth 18 hours of driving, and 6 total hours of sleep to get to love on my friend right afterwards!

Now, I'm counting down the days until we get to see them again in May and have the first of many E+L play dates!

I have definitely realized that I'm no longer physically able to function on zero sleep, but there was no way I could pass up the opportunity to be there. I felt like we were back to our spontaneous selves from college with the exception of the little boy tagging along with me! Liam was a prince the whole time, I'm so thankful that he is willing to roll with the punches so easily. He even stuck to his normal routine.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Great States

create your own personalized map of the USA
 or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

This is a map of all of the states that I have visited.  Can you tell I'm from the south?  :)  It's a dream of mine to visit every state during my lifetime.  I've got a ways to go, and I have no trips planned to visit any new states but I've got a lot of life left in me!  My grandparents were able to accomplish this dream for themselves after they retired.  Is it bad that I'm 26 and already looking forward to retirement so that I can travel?  I'm thinking Ryan and I need to come up with a fun vacation to one of those blank states this summer!

24...How many have you visited?  Which is your favorite?  Arkansas and Colorado are tied for my first place spot.  :)

i think i can, i think i can...

I am psyching myself up for a very very busy week.  Isn't the week before vacation always the worst?  I mean, I am usually pretty busy so I don't think I actually have more to do this week.  I am just so ready for a break that it seems like far more than it usually does.  The good news is; my Monday is over!  All I have to do today is empty and load the dishwasher and make supper.  Wonderful!  

Then I get to open three days in a row, have my monthly meeting with my district manager, go to one super fun birthday dinner, go to my amazing home group, do a lot of laundry, pack for myself, pack for Gus, find out what we are doing with Gus, eat all of the leftovers...and we're off!  

Like a herd of turtles.  

I am so looking forward to relaxing and doing nothing for a few days.  Ahh...  

harry potter has taken over our lives!

so a little less than a month ago ryan and i drove to colorado for a family vacation. now, you might be might be thinking we are crazy since this is a 20 hour (one way) drive and you would be right. we're crazy. but we really had a great time on our drive. ryan decided that he was finally willing to delve into the harry potter universe. so, he bought us the box set and i started reading. out loud. for roughly 20 hours. on our trip alone we read the first two books and half of the third. now that we are no longer on vacation the reading progress has slowed down a lot, but we're still making it happen. we're in the 5th book now and are really having fun reading to each other instead of watching tv. we've been going to bed at least an hour earlier than usual so that we can read. and since we are sharing one car now, when ryan is driving me to and fro work i read (about an hour a day).

i really wasn't sure if ryan would enjoy the series or not. i should have known better though, he is getting really into it. after the first day of reading he started calling gus a muggle lover and we pretend to cast spells all the time. i highly recommend turning off the television and picking up a favorite book and reading aloud to a loved one. so fun!

in a flash...

this is going to be quick, because i'm at the library. sorry it's been a month since a post, but life has been crazy! crazy good though. soon i will no longer have to untilize the internet at the library because we will be able to afford our own internet connection... i got my assistant manager promotion and will be started at a different store september 11th. i'm really excited! we took a most wonderful vacation to colorado for summer and toby's wedding, and to visit the amazing fam. and next week we will be traveling to the great states of arkansas and oklahoma for brian and lindsey's wedding. so like i said, busy. hopefully things will slow down and we can actually get back to regularly posting. and i will eventually get around to putting up pictures of the house. i promise.