Ireland the 5th best place to live in the world...look it up

We spent the night in Tralee and went to eat at this amazing pub that I'd ate at before. Stephen beheld and drank of the magical elixer known as Guinness. Irelands largest export, Guinness has been known to fuel men and cars for long periods of time with it's thick oil like consistancy. Isn't it spellbinding to behold?
We found this great little Irish coastel village that had a great beach and camping area. When I go back again, Rachel has to come here. This is on the South West part of Ireland. Past Killarney and the Shire and around the corner from Finn Bar's. Know what I'm talking about?

These are the famous lake's of Killarney. I was ready for Robin Hood to come prancing out chasing a deer belonging to the Sheriff with his bow and arrow in hand. It just seemed untouched and ancient.

Here's Garreth and Stephen in Killarney. This town is really famous and a huge tourist location. It's the starting point for the Ring of Kerry drive. Me and rachel went here before and rode horses in the National Park there. It really is one of Irelands coolest places.

Here is me pondering whether or not Real Salt Lake would make it into the playoffs. Actually I was waiting for Stephen to get out of the toilet. This is looking over the Slieve Mish mountains in Killarney.

This photo was on the plane on the way home...we were in the exit row. Confidence was high that we could have helped in an emergency after taking this one. There are 9 more of them, some day I'll add them, right after Garreth is elected to some public office position.

Here is Jackie, Ciara and Saoirse in Ballymun. They play on a Camogie team called Satanta. It's brilliant to watch. They play with a traditional hurl and it's the fastest and most physical sport you've ever seen. Women were breaking fingers and getting smashed the whole night. Quite fun to watch. If you ever get a chance to see some Gaelic sports, you need to.

I had to. I know I shouldn't but I had to. Here is Garreth at Powers Court falls. You know the amazing house that the Count of Monte Cristo buys in the latest movie...well that's Powers Court in Ireland. Garreth was feeling inspired by his surroundings and cultural connections so he decided to take a photo that put him in touch with...something.

Here's me and Nanny Ratchford (Grandmother). Many of you know her as she took money from you years ago in poker. I've always had a great time with her. She spent a lot of time with us when I was in High School and she was never short on good advice. Usually she would slap me around and humiliate me in front of girls. I guarantee that my 80 something old Grandmother would win if she was on "Survivor". The lady would have everyone worshiping her like a Jungle Queen. Tough lady through and through.

Here is my nephew Breen. He's in his Hurling gear. He's 6 years old and is an unbelievable athlete. It's amazing how the kids over there are bred for conflict and sport. I'm not even kidding. I could take him over here and he would be an immediate star on his soccer team. Amazing to watch.

Here's Stephen, Garreth and me posing on top of a hill on the South end of the Ring of Kerry. Frodo Baggins would call this place home. I had seen some of this land before, but not like this. It's what everyone always asks me about when they learn I'm from Ireland. They ask about it being Green and hills and Leprechauns and Green and so on. I usually just play it off, cause Dublin isn't really like that. But I must say Ireland is beautiful. It's an amazing place with history and culture that few places can come close to. I'd go back in a hear beat.

Here's the 3 of us outside Stephens house. I posted this one cause you can see my 1988 George Michael beard going on. I was quite proud.

This is what I'm saying about Ireland. This is the River Lara. The river had these giant stepping stones across it. We just pulled off a road and there it was. It's unbelievable how many cool things like this are just around the corner.

More of the river Lara.

Here is my niece Muireann. She is as Irish as any kid will get. We got on good right away. She slept all the time. She'd sit on my lap and just fall asleep. She had the thickest Dublin accent you've ever heard.

Glee-fully Waiting for the Next Episode

Nothing is better than painfully getting your children to bed and having a favorite show to watch when it is all over. It makes the whole long process so much more bearable. As the summer ends and the fall line up of TV begins it is like having a new release to view every night.

There are many shows that make the list of favorites worth spending an evening viewing. But there is a stand out this year that I think is complete genius. I save all the recordings so I can re watch. There is music that I download and sing at the top of my lungs during the day. It may be a sickness how much I am looking forward to watching it tonight. All I can say is if you haven't been watching start tonight. It has it all singing, dancing, genius writing, romance, and you will laugh your guts out.

GLEE - Imagine a picture here but blogger wont upload it right now.

Check out one of my favorite songs on you tube. "Somebody to Love"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTzB8W8shi8

The Irishman Returns

my two vikings

Grandpa Tom and Merrily came down to visit while Dave was away

Leah, Eva and Ronan made a bunch of signs and "masks" to celebrate their dad coming home

Dave's dad makes all this cool stuff. He makes these kid bench's in 3 colors, Red, Blue and Black with all sorts of cool paint schemes on them. They are really well built and sturdy. If anyone wants one, I think they only cost $235. Not bad at all for some custom kids furniture.

The Last, Last Hurrah

There were so many things we planned at the end of summer that were suppose to be the last hurrah. Then we had to squeeze this one in the weekend before we went back. A friend of ours took us for the best day boating at Pineview. Great weather, good company, happy kids, complete entertainment. We stayed until the very last second possible. There was some frantic moments getting the cover on the boat in the dark. But it was worth it.

Leah and Eva always had thumbs up for faster. I took Eva on a crazy ride with me. It wasn't until we were dumped in the dark water that she decided she was scared.

Grandparent's Day

Leah got to have Grandma Flo and Nana come to school today. They went on a tour of the school. Did some activities together. Leah showed them her class, locker, explained all the exciting things they do at school.

Nana

Grandma Flo

Sitting behind her teachers desk made her very nervous. She is so into the rules at school. She will come home and say she couldn't go to the bathroom or get a drink. Even though I try to reason with her that I am sure her teacher would let her she doesn't believe me.

The story corner. She is already making so much progress in her reading. It is exciting to watch.

Summer Catch Up - Monster Truck

A little summer catch up. The week before school started Dave had a Monster Truck event. They actually had a full carnival set up in front of the stadium. And we were hooked up with enough ride tickets to do every ride.

We are missing Davy. The kids have a collection of drawings to give him when he gets back. Only 2 more days to wait. It has gone really fast but I will be so happy to have him back.

Check out the kids faces in this one. It is a little blurry but that face on Ronan and Eva were so classic.

We went to the fair after Monster Truck didn't go so well. Lucky for us everyone else was in at the event. So no lines, cooler temperatures, unlimited rides. It made the drive down to Sandy worth it. I thought the kids would love Monster Truck. So we gave it a chance. Which ended up being about 20 minutes. Let me explain.

This is Grave Digger. I guess the car is sort of famous in the Monster Truck World.

It was the loudest thing I have ever heard in my life. No joking I thought my heart might drop out of my chest. Luckily I noticed everyone with their ear plugs and bought us some before it started. Then we could still hear it through them. Also we were really close up and all I could imagine was a truck rolling and landing on me and my family.

Never ever buy these ear plugs at an event and expect them to stay in the tiny ear canals of you children. This one is ripped in half. I honestly had to re-place them back in each child's ear every 10 seconds. You think that I am exaggerating, but it is completely true. By the time I would get them back in one set of ears they would be out of another. They kept falling on the ground and then we would have to search for them. I have never been so close to a panic attack. A mothers idea of torture.

What was sad is the Ronan loved it and actually held completely still. Eva was scared to death and begged me to go. All it took was one kid that was unhappy and I was out of there. Lucky for us there was a carnival to go to.

The First Annual Homestead Labor Day Vacation

Over Labor Day we decided that we didn't want to stay home. Who really wants to Labor on a day named after it. And we had heard about the Sheepdog festival which we were sure the kids would love. So we found a great deal at the Homestead. Wow were we impressed with the amount of stuff to do there. We enjoyed the peaceful setting with plenty of area to let the kids run wild.

Pretty impressive photo when you consider I put it on a timer and ran.

The outside of the crator

The girls getting ready for their swim. A little nervious at first but they loved it.

There were scuba divers we got to watch as they were underwater. The water is warm like a bathtub and very clear.

Sheepdog Festival

This huge event is held every year in Midway at Soldier Hollow. We watched as they let 3 sheep out clear on the top of the mountain. Then the border collie took off from the bottom. He was up to the top in seriously 1 minute. Then with just a whistle to tell him what to do brought the sheep down the hill through a series of gates. It was pretty amazing. There was lots of booths and activities for the kids.

Splash dogs proved to be the favorite activity. The kids LOOOOVVEEED it. Pretty much people entered there dogs in to see how far they could jump into the water. Some were pretty impressive. Some were scared of the drop and wouldn't do it.

Nothing more darling than the face painting. We had to take pictures since they were washed off by 2 hours later when we went to the pool.

Ronan if you can believe it held perfectly still.