Driving in Ireland

Hello! Finally, my first real story about Ireland. Thanks for being so patient ;)

We flew into London and spent a day there - walking all over town with our luggage - trying to find the National Gallery and then go see Les Miserables (yeah!). It was fun, but we sure were happy to get to our hotel in Nottinghill. The park just over the street looked just like the park in the movie Nottinghill. Should have taken a picture - but I was so tired. I did say "whoops-a-daisys" like 50 times. The tube ran under our hotel - but I was too tired to notice. The next morning we ate breakfast then worked our way to the airport. Whoa - we had no idea how long it would take! When we arrived at the airport we had 45 minutes to get thru security and to our gate on the other side of the terminal before it left us. You know those movies where they run to the plane...that was us.

Once on board the plane, the stewardess started talking and her accent was so strong - we were excited to hear more of that in Ireland :) When we arrived at the airport, we went to get the rental car. Their computers were down so it took a while. One super good thing was that we also rented a Garmin to help us get around - that was fun and occasionally annoying. (It didn't have the street that Bryce's aunt lives on, so it would get really annoying when we would get close..."recalculating"). We walked out to where the car was and where we were planning to meet back up with Bryce's aunt and uncle to follow them to their house. We got to the car and we were staring at the door. It didn't have a key hole. The key didn't have a button to unlock the car. We were just so confused staring at this locked car and useless key. Finally, I said we should try the DRIVER'S SIDE. The right side of the car had a key hole. Wow. This will be an adjustment. Wait til we start driving on the road - yikes!

See how happy he was to find the right (correct) side of the car?! Notice how tiny this car is. Good thing. The roads in Ireland are SO tiny. You can forget about a shoulder.

The speed limits here were insane. The roads are narrow, windy, and not very well kept - did I mention there isn't a shoulder? Rarely is there a sign to warn you about an upcoming curve. The speed limit was generally 80 km per hour (about 50 mph - but it feels like 80). We saw a huge Semi turn off down this road that was the size of one lane, whose speed limit was 100 kph! Bryce's uncle Steve said that he felt like the speed limits were a challenge. "I dare you to go this fast." Bryce thought it was more like a goal to try to reach once before you die.

Here's a little video to give you an idea of what it was like. Remember that our car is tiny (and this was a pretty decent road).

We saw several funny road signs. Well, I thought they were funny. I was getting pretty silly after spending lots of time on the road. This was one of my favorites:

I don't really know what it means...I guess the road is getting smaller...If so, that doesn't calm me. Another one I got a kick out of is "Hidden Dip Ahead". I often imagined a not smart person hiding behind a rock fence or a bush just waiting to jump out in front of us.

This was a classic sight. We were driving along this little back road with Bryce's aunt and uncle, when we saw this. Bryce's aunt slowly brought up her camera and snapped a picture - perfect. This should be a postcard or a some other "typical sites in Ireland" advertisement.

I hope you enjoyed this, my first installment of Ireland. Please remember to check Bryce's blog for some pics and stories - I can't do them all.

Happy St. Patricks Day!!

We Found It!

Ok, so here it is. It wasn't too hard to find the end of the rainbow...actually. We were just driving along the wrong side of the super skinny road and there it was. It was only the second day in Ireland. So we stayed here. Well, actually, we stayed at the hostel part, not the B&B - this one just made a better picture.

I have tons of stories to tell and tons of pics to share...and tons of work to do! I am planning on taking some time this weekend to do laundry, unpack, and write some blog entries. Sorry - you'll have to wait a bit longer so I can do the trip justice. See Bryce's blog for some stories in the meantime :) By the way, before you notice it for me, I look the same in all the pictures. Most of our time was spent outside in the wind and rain - therefore, I was wearing my coat. So, look for some differences. See if I'm wearing a hat or gloves, glasses or contacts, jeans or hiking pants.... Doesn't this sound fun?

I know, you are all on the edge of your seat.

We are going to find the end of the Rainbow

Just so you all know, we are leaving today to go to Ireland. Well, technically we are going to London for a couple days and then to Ireland - but the ultimate destination is Ireland. I am not sure yet how things will be working out - Internet wise or other - but I wanted to let you know why I may not post for a while.

We fly out today - the 8 year anniversary of when we were endowed. We will be in London a couple days and then in Ireland through our SECOND anniversary (Leap Day)- then back to London for a couple more days. We fly in Saturday night (on March 8th, my Mom's birthday - Happy Birthday!). So, don't expect too much while we are gone - but expect to see TONS of pictures when we return.

By the way, did I mention that I have never been out of the US and Canada? Well, this IS exciting.

Don't worry, Bryce has his passport ;)

Happy, Happy Birthday!

Here is our cute little stinker, Eva. She was eating watermelon one day (obviously) and she was so happy about it that I had to take a picture.

Several nights ago, Bryce was reading Winnie the Pooh to the girls and it was so sweet that I had to take a picture. Eva had to look as it started flashing and sorta ruined the mood. I bet you wouldn't guess that about 45 seconds prior to this pic, Eva was screaming and throwing a fit about not going to bed. Then about 45 seconds after this picture she was mad again because she wanted to play with the camera. Oops. I guess I ruined the peaceful moment by thinking it was sweet. Sheesh.

Today is my darling husband's birthday. Let me share with you my attempts at making this day special. (One of the reasons I wanted to make it special is that we had our first date on his birthday 9 years ago...)

For one, we stayed up late talking (after I got home at 12:30...). I told Bryce that I would get up with Isobel AND walk her to the bus stop. I occasionally get up with Isobel and help her get ready then wake Bryce up to walk her to the bus. That was nice of me;) Then I did some laundry and made him breakfast (which I NEVER do). That turned out good, too. I told Bryce he could go skiing and I'd take care of Eva while I work. I left around 11 am for Albuquerque and Bryce was gonna leave soon, too. In ABQ, I dropped Eva at my brother's house while I went to an appointment. While waiting for the appointment to start, I got a text from Bryce asking if I could talk for a minute. I called him and he informed me that I had his ski boots in my trunk! Oh, NO! So he said he'd just go for a motorcycle ride because it was a beautiful day.

I was planning on being home in time to meet Isobel - but the appointment got delayed and it took me a long time to get home... So Bryce made sure he was home in time for Isobel. Then, I got a great idea about Bryce's birthday cake. He said to make the cake easy and he wanted really good ice cream. So, I thought, Ice Cream Cake! That's super easy for me and if I get it at Baskin Robbins or something, the ice cream will be good. Well, the cakes they had were filled with lame chocolate chip or cookies and cream. That would not do. So I asked if they could make one... yeah, in 24 hours...or so...it's nearing Valentine's Day. I was so ticked! There goes good idea number 1. Well, I conceeded to buying some good ice cream at the grocery store and making a cake. So I got some phish food - which is Bryce's favorite - which we never buy. Luckily it was on sale;)

I was going to make pork chops and potatoes - but since my appointment took so long - I couldn't even start dinner til after 6 and my kids aren't very patient. I made burritos. Sheesh.

I got ready to make the cake and looked at the ingredients...no eggs in the fridge. Sheesh! This is getting rediculous. So I decided to put only 3 candles in Bryce's pint (he's 33 today). Then...yeah, it get's better...it took us 20 minutes to find the matches. We rummaged thru our storage closet forever, then found them in one of the piles in the kitchen. Sheesh.

So, here is my pathetic attempt at making this birthday cake thing special. Here we are, celebrating with Daddy. Eva is enjoying the phish food and Isobel and I are trying to look cute. We sure love that man.
Isobel took this picture of Bryce a few days ago. Isn't he cute? He is reading his motorcycle manual for his little 110. That girl really knows how to make him smile.
After all my failed attempts at making this day fabulous, Bryce didn't care. He loved the phish food, honestly doesn't really like cake, and he enjoyed having a free day without babysitting. And, he really likes burritos. So, even though it didn't live up to my expectations, He did. He is so grateful and has really enjoyed his day. Did I mention that he and Isobel went to the hot tub while I was taking too long? He made the most of his day. Thank goodness.

I am so thankful that he wanted to spend his birthday with me 9 years ago. That day was the day that I thought to myself, "this boy is so fun. He enjoys me just the way I am. He thinks I'm funny. I can say anything and not feel embarassed. I can truely be myself with him. I think he could be my best friend." I am so thankful that he is and will be for eternity.

I love you. Thank you for being my best friend. Happy Birthday, Bryce!

I'm the Man!

So, I did this funny thing I saw on Hilary's blog (angryyoungwoman). For some reason, I match more men than women. It must be my masculine glasses.
Enjoy!

By the way, I tried several other pictures, and this was the only one that gave me three females. In all those pictures my best match was Matthew Perry. It even included Larry King and "Newman" from Seinfeld. Sheesh. I need to get some better pictures taken :)

No Hair, For My Hairbrush

So, you may have noticed in the Christmas post that we really needed hair cuts. Eva's bangs were down to her chin - and I had about the dumbest hair ever! So, while mom was here, I made her cut our hair. Here is Eva and I right after our chopping - and Mom in the mirror taking the picture:)

I couldn't find a good picture of Isobel's hair - this was the next best thing. (On the way home we stopped at this random hamburger joint on Highway 14 and the girls fell in love with the santa.)

So, I think Eva might be bipolar. See the picture of Eva and I? About two seconds later, when I got her clothes on, she made this face when I tried to take a picture.

This was a few days later at Grandma Polly's house. We went there since we sold our house. I just put this picture in because she is so silly. It's not a very clear picture - but I do like her hair do. I think she may be a Princess Leia wannabe. What an innocent face. How could she ever do anything wrong?

Christmas Wrap-Up

So, I have not yet done a post about our Christmas. I did tell you, briefly, where we went and with whom. I thought I probably ought to share some of our pictures. (Some of you may have seen some of them already on Katie's blog - but these are my take on some of those experiences.)

(PS -this is us freezing in a gazebo one night in downtown Santa Fe)

This was Christmas morning. I think this little clip really captures the essence of the morning. Isobel running around getting presents for herself and others, Eva just being thrilled with each present, and me just laughing at their excitement!

Christmas night we drove to Gordon and Katie's in Albuquerque (sometimes I like to type the full word because I am so proud that I can spell it correctly;). We stayed the night so we could get up early to drive down to Carlsbad. We stopped a couple times along the way. Our first main stop was here - at Billy the Kid's grave. And because I wanted to show you how absent minded I can be at times - here's a video, too.

So, then it was off to Roswell to see some aliens. I didn't get a great view of a flying saucer - but I did get Share a T-shirt with a nice fuzzy picture of one;) My favorite part about Roswell was the enthusiasm of the town in support of alien stuff. The Wal-Mart even had aliens on it and a cheap gift shop. Best of all - by far - were the lampposts! Check these out.

I didn't take any pictures of Carlsbad Caverns - because Katie and Dad took so many - that and I think I'm lazy;) But check out Katie's blog for some pics of us. After we got back from the caves, we went to see Petryoglyph National Monument. I don't remember which day...

But here we are having a good - cold time looking at ancient graffiti. Man, it was a cold day. What kind of mom lets her daughter go out on such a cold day in a dress, I ask you? (Anyone else have a daughter who really doesn't like to wear pants?) Can you spot the bunny in the picture with both the girls? They were so thrilled!

I think this post has been long enough. So, I hope you enjoyed our vacation as much as we did :D