Crazy week!

Hi all!!!!

So Adam and Lindsay arrived safe and sound in Belfast on Wednesday afternoon, so Hazel and I went to pick them up! Poor kids were exhausted. Didn't do a whole lot on Wednesday...got back to Larne and then the 5 of us went to Mama's Indian Kitchen (formally Tamarind)

and had dinner. It was ridiculously slow...even for Ireland, which is slow anyway. But it was good, and filling. Adam was brave and tried the Vindaloo (which even Indian people don't eat b/c it's so hot) and he really liked it, stating that it was "the best tasting and hotest food" he's ever had. Look at that spread.....yum!

Then we headed back to our apartment and relaxed....good thing, too, as the next several days would be insane!!!!

Thursday was fairly mellow, we got a late start, walked around Larne, then headed home to get Brett and go to the Larne Leisure Centre for swimming! Adam and Lindsay worked out in the Fitness room and then Lindsay joined Hazel and I in the pool a little later! We went home and hung out a bit before going to bed.

Friday, we got a late start (Poor Adam and Linds have jetlag) so we hung out here until time to go get Brett, and then we all piled into the car, got Brett, and him and Adam went to the bank while Linds Hazel and I went to the library to return my books. We then drove up to Glenarm to walk around a little and show Adam and Linds the castle and such. It was gorgeous up there.

To kill a little time before we went to look at our house in Ballygally, we decided to take a walk in the forest at Glenarm Castle. It was just amazingly beautiful and we got to see the castle from the back which was so cool. It looked like something straight out of Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility. It makes me want to figure out how to become royalty so that we can live there.

From there we went to Mattie's Meeting House for dinner. The idea was to have a nice traditional Irish dinner...Mattie's has a fab beef & guiness pie...however, when we got there (we were meeting Matt and Jenn) it turns out their Thursday, Friday, Saturday menus are quite a bit fancier (not necessarily better) so we ended up having a less than traditional meal, which was fine.

Saturday and Sunday were absolutely mad. Just ridiculous days. We got up Saturday morning and went to Ballygally Castle to introduce Adam and Lindsay to Ulster Fry. Then we headed to County Down for some exploring. Our first stop was Nendrum Monastic Ruins on Mahee Island. It's gorgeous theres, one can easily see how you can have a religious experience on top of that hill. Here are a few pictures....

Then we drove back down the tiny tiny tiny one laned road towards civilization and made our way to our next destination....Downpatrick. Our first stop...Inch Abbey....

It was so beautiful. There was a monk on site to give us a tour and tell us about the monastry that was there. He told us howthere were educated monks and laymen. The laymen were brothers who took care of the every day necessaties such as carpentry and masonry, cooking, etc. and the interesting thing is, they weren't allowed into certain areas of the main building such as the Chapel. I just found that really interesting! Also there was the foundation of a guest house that sat right next to the river side b/c (as the monk told us) the brotherhood was very private and while they were glad to provide lodging for travelers, they wanted no contact with them. Basically they would bring them food, and guests were encouraged to rest and then leave ASAP.

After that, we headed into town to see Down Cathedral and Saint Patrick's gravesite...both were really cool, but the cathedral was just gorgeous. St. Patrick's gravestone was really neat..it's a very large boulder with a cross and Saint Patrick's name engraved in the top...it's very worn, but still ledgable! Well, in the picture you can only see "Patr."

The front stained glass window with all the saints and the altar....The organ in the choir loft...

This church didn't have ordinary pews as we know them...there were individual "boxes" with cushioned seats inside. All the boxes were different sizes and each was numbered. some boxes looked like they would only fit 2 or 3 people while others seemed as if they would hold large families!

After that we headed for more exploring!!! But I will post more later as this post is already so long!

Yea for visitors!

So this week has been a VERY busy one! Fun, but VERY busy!

Brett, Hazel, and Ikinda laid low last weekend to clean and rest up for Monday. And, boy, am I glad we did!
Hazel and I dropped Brett off at work at 7:15 Monday morning, then drove straight to Belfast International Airport to pick up Halle and Shawn! Their plane landed at 8:05 and with traffic, we barely made it in time! Once we were squared away and everyone was fit neatly in our car, we headed straight to Bushmills to see the Giant's Causeway (see the link below). This time, however, Hazel and I walked down to the Causeway with Halle and Shawn, but we opted to walk back UP the shorter flatter direction...I think Halle and Shawn thought I was a wimp until they did the hike themselves! Halle told me once they met us at the top that she didn't blame me for not wanting to carry her to the top of that!
From there, we realized that none of the adults had eaten yet, so we went into a local pub/resturant near the Causeway called "The Nook" and set down for lunch (it was 11:30) only to find out that only tea/coffee and scones are served until Noon. Sigh. So we all drank our tea/coffee...shared Hazel's scone...then set out to find food.
The weather was very cloudy and it looked as though rain was iminent, so instead of rushing off to eat (the bits of scone held us over) we drove over to Dunluce Castle. It was fun to walk around the old castle ruins again, especially with someone who'd never seen it before!
After Dunluce castle, we all decided it was definetly time for lunch, so we drove over to Bushmill's Distillery to check out what they had in ways of food! Lunch was good, it was cafeteria style, but good rich Irish food that filled you up. I sent Halle and Shawn off to the tour (they don't allow anyone under the age of 8 on the tour, and for good reason Shawn and Halled said) while Hazel and I finished up lunch and headed off to the car. By then it was 1:30 and I was EXHAUSTED from all the walking..plus H and I had been up since 5, so it was time for us to nap! We both snuggled together in the back of the car and slept until around 3 when Halle and Shawn came out.
THEN :) we decided to take the more scenic route along the coast home...which is longer, but defenitly more to experience. On the way back we came across Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge, which Brett and I haven't been to yet, but we had all the time in the world to go see it and Halle and Shawn only had about 24 hours...so we stopped to see what we could get into! It was really cool, but quite a hike (God bless Shawn, he carried Hazel most of the time). Once we got to the bridge, and I saw what it was like, I opted to sit to the side and let the other 2 go while I watched Hazel. THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS TAKING MY BABY GIRL ACROSS THAT THING. Scared me to death when I finally did cross, leaving Hazel with Shawn (once they'd gone and come back), that thing is really unstable, and very very high above everything. At one point the rope hand railing gave a bit and I screamed, making myself look like an idiot. Oh, well. It was really beautiful and I am so glad we went! Now we need to take Brett!
After that, it started to rain and we were all very tired, so we headed back to Larne to get Brett and have dinner. Dinner was good...we went to Mattie's Meeting House in Cairncastle, then we all came back and relaxed.
Poor Brett, that night, with it being so warm in our house, plus with Hazel and I snoring in tandem, he didn't actually get to sleep until 4 am, and had to get back up again at 6 for work. I felt so bad. Bless his heart.
After I took Brett to work, we came back and took a little nap, then headed off to Carrickfergus with Halle and Shawn so they could see the castle, we had breakfast at Papa Brown's in Carrick first, then they toured the castle and by then it was 1 and we still needed to take them into Belfast. We got to Belfast, parked, and because it was pouring outside and it would slow them down with us tagging along, we pointed them towards City Hall and Hazel and I hung out at the mall. We agreed to meet up at 2:30 (giving them exactly an hour to see what they could of Belfast) so they could get to the airport in time for their flight back to London. We got them there at exactly 3:15...right on schedule and Hazel and I headed back to Larne to wait to go get Daddy from work! It was a crazy 2 days, but wonderful!
Since then, H and I have kinda laid low around the house to recover, but we're going with Michelle and her little girl, Beth, to Belfast shortly. For no other reason other than to have a little adventure for the day!
In other news, if Hazel's top front teeth don't come in soon, I fear her drool will flood our apartment. It's actually cause for concern, this flooding of our house in drool. :) And she's working really hard at walking...we're hoping she'll be walking by the time we get to the US in August!
Well, I should get ready for Belfast!
Will post again soon!