Random

I'm not sure why, but I am in love with this picture. Ethan was swinging Maddie in circles in my bedroom, and I tried to catch it. She posed for me just as he was getting ready to lift her. There's something about it I can't quite articulate that captures who these two are at this moment in their lives, and when I look at it I'm struck by how much I love being their mother. Ethan created this city scape on the Etch-a-Sketch. Much better than anything I've ever done with it! He's much more patient than I am.

Ireland!!!!

I left the kids with Jason and flew to Ireland with my friends Jill and Jennie. We met up in New York (they were coming from Salt Lake City) and took the red eye to Dublin, where our friend Kimberly was waiting for us. We all knew each other in Boston and it was so fun to be back together with them. I wanted a shower and a nap, in that order, but Jennie and Jill didn't want to waste a second of our too-short trip, so we bundled up (it was a little chilly) and took the bus tour of Dublin, accompanied by Kimberly and her daughter Samantha. A highlight was the Book of Kells and the park. I loved Dublin!

The next day we packed up in Kimberly's car and headed south. The scenery was very...Irish. I don't know how else to describe it. Our first stop was the Rock of Cashel. Great views and history. Next we went on to Blarney Castle, where Jennie "kissed" the Blarney stone. I passed. The grounds were so gorgeous and I loved the castle and its history. We made one more stop at a town called Macroom...very quaint. Then stopped for the night in a seaside town called Kinsale. It reminded me a lot of Annapolis. I loved the place we stayed and the dinner that evening. It was so good and so fun. The next day we set out on the Ring of Kerry. It was the off season so dry and deserted, but still a fun drive. We stopped in yet another quaint town called Sneem for lunch. We drove and drove until we reached Doolin, a little town on the coast. There are no street lights to speak of, no signs anywhere, and we've long lost where we are on the map. I'm navigating with a combination of my good sense of direction (seriously), the map I'd studied earlier, and a good deal of luck. Jennie is ready to give up when suddenly our B&B is right in front of us. I told her she's not allowed to doubt me ever again. Jennie sent a little bunny on to its Maker on the drive. It was us or the bunny. Glad she picked us.

We found a pub in Doolin that we begged to serve us dinner (we had arrived just after the kitchen closed down and we were starving). Apparently it was "wear a red shirt" night, but nobody told me. The band playing Irish music made me really miss Jason. He would have loved the banjo! We stayed up late playing cards...a theme for the trip.

The next morning I got up early and went for a run through the Irish countryside. One of my favorite parts of the trip. So beautiful and peaceful. After yet another delicious breakfast, we packed up and headed over to the Cliffs of Moher. It was foggy, foggy, foggy, but still cool. We headed back to Dublin after that, but decided to get ourselves a little lost in the countryside along the way. We avoided the highways and just drove. I LOVED this. We saw so many cool things, including this ancient burial area. The rock walls are amazing. They're built so the wind can go through them, and I honestly don't know how they do it. This girls' trip was so good for me. It was so nice to get away and be with friends who are so easy to be around and have known me for so long. There are some great quotes from this trip, but they aren't suitable for a public audience. I'm still laughing... Can't wait for the next one!!

Eno River State Park Family Hike

Fashionista

Madeline has lots of strong opinions about what she'll wear, or won't wear. She found an old field trip tye-dye shirt of Ethan's in his closet and insisted it was a pretty dress. She put it on with her pj bottoms, the gloves her Aunt LaDonna gave her, and then went to bed this way. She insisted wearing it out the next day. Unfortunately, every single person who saw her told how pretty she looked. Sometimes positive reinforcement is a bad thing.

She was really proud of this ensemble. I think she is the cutest thing around, even if we diverge in our fashion sense.

Spuds

Since our kids are 75% Idahoan, we figure it's our responsibility to introduce them to that state's culinary delights. Such as spudnuts. They were so good. Although this picture and description are a little misleading, because I remember this being a really rough day with lots of fighting and meltdowns and tantrums (the kids, not the parents). P.S. How can I convince Colin to wear pants and a shirt at the same time?

Happy birthday, Ann!

We left the kids with babysitters for a long weekend and flew to southern California for a combined birthday party for Ann (my mother-in-law) and Rhonda (her best friend). The best part of the whole thing was that nobody except Jason's brother and his wife knew we were coming. It was great to surprise her. It was a whirlwind trip with Ann and Rhonda's birthday party one night and Gavin's baptism the next day. I'm so glad we were able to be there for both events. Jason played the banjo and Nathan played the guitar to a version they wrote of "The Ballad of Jed Clampett." The evening was perfect and it was fun to catch up with some many family and friends.

Y Guides

Ethan and Jason finished up their first year of Y Guides with a campout down at the coast. It's been a really fun activity for them to do together. I think they sent the picture of soda in bed just to torture me. This actually ended up being a pretty scary experience. There were tornados tearing through North Carolina all day. When they hit Raleigh they did some pretty serious damage. My mom was huddled in a bathroom in Wal-Mart in Cary with a woman who called home after it passed to find out (from her husband) that their roof was completely gone. I was upstairs with Colin and Madeline when it sounded like a train was coming through the master bathroom. I ran downstairs and turned on the TV, but the satelite cable was out. My dad called right after that to make sure we were okay. It didn't touch down near our house, but the wind was crazy. It left Raleigh and headed to the coast...straight to where the Y Guides troop was camping in a remote area in a small log cabin. I was on the phone on and off with Jason that evening, and in between was sitting on my bed with my laptop watching the storm pass over them and praying it wouldn't touch down. They came through it fine, albeit with a few traumatized 6-year-olds. It ended up touching down across the river a few miles away, and wreaking havoc across the state, so it was a little too close for me. I'm sure Ethan will never forget it!