Youghal (pronounced Yawl)

We went to Youghal a couple of months ago but the pictures never made it to the blog.  I want to share as much as I can so here is the gist of it.
Our trip to Youghal was fun and short.  On our way back from visiting Blarney we decided to take a detour over to Youghal and see a small part of the Atlantic. 
One of my favorite things about Ireland is the many small villages.  They are full of friendly people, and old world beauty. 
Our first arrival there was to the local Petrel Station to get some soft-serve ice cream cones.  If I haven't mentioned it yet, Ireland sales soft serve at almost every "gas" station and it is delicious.
With ice cream in hand we then drove to the town of Youghal.  Our first site was the typical Irish town with beautiful little colorful homes alongside shops and people walking along the streets. 

Below is some sites we saw while arriving into Youghal

 

The coast line was beautiful and we really enjoyed wandering about.  Tatar-Tot had a blast looking at all the colorful rocks.  She is our little rock hound and so it was a real treat for her.  She also had a few moments of squishing her little hands into the wet sand and then trying to put wet sand on us.  She just giggled and giggled.

 

 

                                                                                 

 

 

 

                                                                           Seaweed

 

Babby and Tatar-Tot had fun looking for seashells which are very easy to find here.

 

 

 

Spending some quality, sibling time together.  Although they do fight on occasion they are best friends.

 

 

 And the last of our pictures from this day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tatar-Tot enjoying the view.

 

 

 

 

  Some pictures on the drive home

 

 

A Summer Walk

These are pictures I took while taking a walk near our home this summer.  The difference now is that there isn't as many flowers and some of the trees have lost their leaves or changed color.  I have been amazed to see that the grass is still green.  I don't have very many new pictures yet, since it is quite cold out. 

 

Our First Holiday in Ireland

I didn't really know how Halloween would go so I went for a walk yesterday and asked some of the locals what we should expect.  Before going for a walk I researched Ireland's Halloween.  I found out that it originated here with the Celtic people.  The Celebration marks the end of Summer and the start of the Winter months.  It seems innocent enough when you think of it that way but Halloween was actually a very superstitious holiday revolving around the dead.  The Celts at one point called it Samhain pronounced (Sow-een) meaning All Hallowtide.  The creepy and scary part of it all is that it stands for the 'Feast of the Dead'.  Halloween was one day when the Celts believed that the dead could revisit the mortal world. 
There were many superstitions revolving around Halloween night.  One of them was to dress up in a costume.  On that very night children would dress up in scary costumes and go house to house.  They did actually say 'Trick or Treat'.  In addition they dressed up to disguise themselves as spirits and devils.  It was believed that the the evil spirits and devils would not know they were mortals if they were dressed that way.  By being disguised they had high hopes to avoid being carried off in the night. 
I find this a bit disturbing and therefore Halloween is my least favorite holiday.  We make it a point to not decorate with anything frightening or dress as anything evil.  I see it as a time for little ones to enjoy dress-up, appreciate the changing seasons as well as give and get some candy from some neighbors we might not have met otherwise.  I don't see a need to make the night one that will terrorize children. 
Click here for an article about celebrating Halloween in a positive way.

Here is Tatar-Tot dressed up as a fairy.

 

The whole family took her to visit neighbors, look cute and get some candy.  She did very well and was adored by all.  Halloween here was much like an American holiday, which is what one of the locals told me it would be like.  The kids dressed up and went door to door saying, "Trick or Treat."  We even had one kid say, "Trick or Treat, smell my feet."  (With a very cute Irish accent)  Many homes had decorations up, both scary and not so scary.  We were done by 6PM and answering our door.  I bought six bags of candy and only handed out 2 a person.  We were out of candy by 7PM.  I had to put a sign on the door, sadly announcing our shortage.  I am glad we went.  We saw many new faces and met several neighborhood children.  We had recently heard that much of the neighbors were very well aware of the "American family" moving in.  It gave us an opportunity to make a presence without being over bearing. 

I mean, how often can you go door to door and meet every neighbor in one night?

A Brisk Autumn in Ireland

Fall is definitely in the air here in Ireland.
I just went for a walk to the store with my son and it was completely beautiful.  Many leaves have fallen or changed color.  Every step we took seemed to be on a leaf.  What we noticed different was that there was no crunch.  The ground is so soggy that instead of a crunch you either hear nothing or a light sloppy sound.  The air was cold and brisk.  It truly is beautiful outside.  The perfect weather for a hot cup of coffee, tea or cocoa.  Actually, I think might just  go get one...

Back in Ireland

I am very happy to announce that we are back in Ireland.
Our flight was pleasant other than occasional turbulence.  (not something you want to feel when flying over the Atlantic)
We have had a bit of a hard time adjusting to the time change.  It's 11 AM over here and  the older kids are completely knocked out and our little Tatar-Tot just woke up.  At midnight I was wide eyed and feeling like it was quite early.  Well, if we were in New Mexico then it would have been around dinner time. 
Below is a picture of Tator-Tot pulling (with determination) one of our carry-ons. She really wanted to fit in with the rest of the people at the airport.

And here is the beautiful view we had while flying into Dublin. 

 

This morning was a little foggy.  This is looking out our kitchen window.  I really like the fog so it was a real treasure to see this while the coffee was brewing.

 



Ireland Here We Come!

We recently found out that we will be flying out on Friday.  YAY!!!
We are so very excited to get there and live in our wonderful Irish home.  It has been such a blessing to be here in America but the exploring side of me is beginning to get restless.  And little Tator-Tot has been asking for the house with the snails.
Ireland, here we come!

Back to Blogging

     I noticed that our blog is still being viewed and that sure made me feel good.  I am so sorry that I haven't updated.  For those of you who do not know, we are currently residing in Albuquerque while we wait for more paperwork to get processed.  We discovered it was time to come back home two days before our flight which was on September 6th. 
Since our flight to the U.S. we have been VERY busy visiting with family members as well as some friends, homeschooling, and working through college stuff for our oldest (in addition, Paul is a busy-bee, working) which has left no extra time for blogging.
    I can't tell you how blessed we have been to be able to visit the sunny southwest as well as all the people in our lives.  We have so many blessings waiting for us here in New Mexico and so many people we love and miss.  We have also realized just how much we miss Ireland.  We made so many wonderful friends.  We have discovered we love not only New Mexico for it's dry, sunny climate but we also love Ireland for it's wet, cloudy, mild climate and the kindness of it's people. 
    While in Ireland I was missing so much about New Mexico but while here I miss so much about Ireland.  My heart remains torn between two very different places.