Family Time is the BEST time! And, CONGRATS Evan!

I had a special treat last weekend to be able to go to my dad's and have a little family reunion with my brothers and their families. It's very, very rare that we are all in the same general area at the same time!

I arrived on Saturday from Nantucket. Fortunately the weather cleared so flights were taking off again. I traveled on THE TINIEST airplane I have ever been on for the 40 minute ride to Providence! My knees were in the back of the pilot's seat and there were only three other passengers. I was nervous the entire time because I could see everything the pilot was doing and ever time there was a ding or a new light on the control board, I would look to see the pilot's reaction with initial panic thinking we were going down!

It was neat to fly so close to the ground that I could see things as we flew over it... like Martha's Vineyard and part of RI. It was also the loudest flight I had been on and others could tell I was not a seasoned traveler on these planes because the other passengers all had ear plugs!

Lesson learned for the return flight... but also, needless to say I was very, very relieved when my feet touched ground again!

Evan and Madison picked me up and off we set for good ol' Westerly RI. We weren't home for long before everyone set off for dinner and the North Stonington Fair. It's been around for years, but I have never been!

We ate dinner at the famous Mystic Pizza and I ate more grease that evening than I have eaten in a year! Oh - but it was yum :) I sat next to my 5 year old nephew and devoured his chicken fingers and french fries... on top of the mozzarella sticks and fried foods my dad had ordered for everyone as appetizers! I didn't have room left for my own dinner!

On to the fair. It was so much fun! They had everything a typical fair has... lots of food stands, rides, games to win prizes, etc. But, the first thing we ran in to caught my attention because I had never seen it before.

A truck pull!

We sat in the bleachers and watched as my sister in law and I tried to figure out the rules. We ended up having to ask the guy behind us. But, it comes down to an individual with a truck is given three opportunities to pull a heavy amount of bricks and they see who gets the farthest.

We also learned that those who deflated their front tires did much better than those who didn't. You can see that in the picture above. And, look at their extra exhaust pipe in the bed of the truck!

So, next we moved on to the cow pull. I think I've seen one of these before but I would never want to get in the way of these animals!

That's a ton of bricks!

Well, there is no such thing as a fair without games and rides, so we made out way over in that direction... with one brief stop to get a family picture.
Riley and Jace had just gotten prizes ... and that's what they're holding in their hands.

Riley going down this slide on a potato sack!

And, then on a dragon roller coaster

Jace got on his own tilt-a-whirl ride and loved it!

Evan throwing darts at a balloon to win a prize for Jace

Riley did a great job doing the same thing and won his own prize!

The boys really wanted to see the animals they had in cages. We saw sheep, hens, chickens, birds, bunnies, and other lovely farm creatures.

I thought this sheep was cute!

So, the reason Justin & Becca brought the boys to RI was for a vacation. But, Evan and Madison were there for a different reason!

Can you see him in the white shirt?

How about in this picture?

Can't miss the Half-Ironman Triathlete in this picture!!!!

I am so proud of Evan. I can't believe what he did to be able to finish this race and not keel over! 56 miles of biking, one mile swim and a half marathon - UGH. Just thinking about it makes me want to fall over! I was so glad we were all able to be there and see him finish though!

Madison took this picture right after the race... Evan's still standing. I wouldn't be!

Then, we got someone to take our picture so Madison could be in it! She had been up with Evan since 4:30 AM and there at every transition to help him... and she's 7 months pregnant!

Evan and Madison!

Evan with his rental bike!

So, another great thing was being able to celebrate my nephew's fifth birthday! Here's Jace blowing out his candles!

Make a wish!

Jace, Riley and Mom!

The next day was also beautiful. Actually, the whole weekend was beautiful, but we were able to go to the beach on my last day there. My dad only lives five minutes from it and we had special parking so we don't need to either wait in traffic or have to pay an arm and a leg for parking like other do!

My nephew's are FISH! They love the water! I loved being able to watch them and talk to my sister in law at the same time!

Such cute, adorable, well-behaved boys. I truly admire the job my sister in law and brother are doing in raising Riley and Jace. I just wished they lived closer! But, I am also excited for my new niece to arrive in September and she'll only be a mile from me in Arlington!

It was such a wonderful weekend. Playing tennis with my dad, going for a long run along the beach, eating yummy food, sleeping in my old room, and spending time with my brothers and their families, as well as my dad and his wife. I'd do it all over again every weekend!

And, Evan's inspired me to also take up swimming again. It's easy to do in Nantucket when I have access to two pools. So far, so good. Slow progress, but getting better with my freestyle each time I get in the water to swim laps. I can't wait to see what I am able to do by the end of the summer!

And, I LOVE my family!

Three simple letters, one simple word... undefineable meaning

MOM

Simple words to write, but defining it would take a novel.

I have thought a lot about what I would want to write in this post,
but figured I didn't have the eloquence in writing to do it justice.

SO, I thought I would write a summary of what
I have learned from her over the years:
Disclaimer: This is what I have learned...
not saying that I always do it!

What's right is what's right...
no matter what others are doing

Eating dinner as a family is important. It doesn't matter
what's served as long as you sit down and eat together.

It's OK to re-wrap a gift you already received
and have someone think it's new and
a surprise for you when you open it:)

It never hurts to check, re-check, triple check,
and then check again once more.

You can "talk the talk,"
but can you "walk the walk?"
a.k.a "Actions speak louder than words"

Taking "mental health days" from school and work
and really making the most of it
is TOTALLY acceptable!!
Lunch and a movie, anyone?!

Service might not always be easy or convenient,
but you'll be much better off after having done it
and so will the person you served.

A commitment is a commitment.
Enough said.

If your cell phone drops a call. Always call them right back.
If not, they might think you died instead.

While waiting, it's important to keep your shirt on
and to hold your horses :)

Cursing in German is OK.
Cursing in English is not.

Save all your receipts, emails, paperwork,
and basically anything that won't rot over time.
You never know when you're going to need it again.
You just never know.
And, even though you can't remember
where you put it when you do need it,
you'll have comfort in knowing that it
really is somewhere and you'll find it eventually!

Lima Beans are bad.
Chocolate is always OK. Always.

Be industrious.
Learn how to do/fix things on your own.
Then, teach your children.

Decide which battles are worth fighting
and which battles to let go of.

British murder mysteries and
listening to newscasters argue on just about anything
is the next best thing to chocolate and heaven.

She has one "duck" and he will always
be her "duck" no matter how old he gets. :)

If the only thing you get done during the day
is getting the newspaper read,
you can call it a successful day!

This list could go on and on... but one of the most important things I have learned from my mother is to be kind to others, especially those who are different from you or those who are not kind in return. Patience and understanding are virtues that are irreplaceable.

There are very few things in this life
I have NEVER ever doubted.
One of those is my mother's
unconditional love for me!

Happy Birthday MOM!!

This is a picture taken at her birthday dinner celebration!

Life sure is interesting... definitely never dull

Life sure does throw some curve balls when you're least expecting it.

An update: For my job, I am living on Nantucket island this summer. It's a beautiful place, but it makes coordinating my own life a little difficult.

Most of June was very busy getting ready to make the move for everyone up to the island. I kind of put my personal life on hold because I knew I'd have the last week in June off. I was looking forward to doing some day trips, relaxing by the pool, and having fun!

Well, life had other plans. A summary of "vacation" included:
1. A very, very, VERY unplanned and unexpected MOVE! Yes. That's right. For reasons I will leave off this blog, I ended up having to pack up my apartment, as well as find a new apartment, and deal with some extra drama related to that in a matter of about 6 days.

The ACTUAL move won't happen till the last weekend in July, but since I'll be traveling for work I won't be back till the day I have to move! And, yes, the blessing is that it's only a block away and so I don't have to rent a UHaul... just a couple of dolly's. So, if you have to move, I guess this is the best possible scenario.

It was actually another blessing that I found the apartment that I did. It had been taken off the market, but I questioned it, and after some checking they notified me that it was a mistake and was actually on the market! Sweet! I got it, and I got it at the reduced price!

2. July 4th was a day to celebrate our Nation's birthday, which is a wonderful event. But, it was also the day for a funeral for my trusted, mostly reliable, and ever-faithful companion...

Yes, the Saab's days were limited, but this event sealed the deal even moreso. I am just grateful my mom hadn't started to get out of the car before we were hit. I had pulled over to the side to let her out of the car and a guy who was coming from a cross street pulled out and didn't look (or stop) before he hit us. I had a sweet headache from the impact for a while yesterday, but I don't even want to think what would have happened if my mom had actually started to get out of the car.

The Saab served me well for the past 6 years or so. It's only caused me drama a few times... like when it literally BLEW UP (the engine, that is) while I was driving on the NJ turnpike.

But, you know what - I just realized that in both instances, my fabulous, patient, amazing angel of a mother was with me for that drama as well as for yesterday's drama. And, she got to experience the joy of helping me locate an apartment this week and pack up... when she thought she was coming down for a relaxed, fun visit!
I wonder if she's ready to throw in the towel and ask for another daughter... one that doesn't cause her so much worry and drama in her life?!

In any case, I never thought I would say it, but I was actually relieved to come back to this (despite its own challenges)

For the rest of the summer!

after all WE can do

Tonight I attended a fireside by Brad Wilcox. I remember him from my EFY days and he is a great speaker! Actually, while I was there this evening I kind of felt like I was back at EFY attending a lecture by him and I loved it! EFY speakers talk to a sea of youth for about 40 minutes at a time. So, they always start with interesting/funny stories and have this amazing talent to keep your attention as they talk about an aspect of the gospel. In many ways, they bring the topic alive for you or help you understand it/think about it in ways you never have before.

Tonight was no exception.

The topic of his remarks centered on the scripture in 2 Nephi 25:23. "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do."

He focused solely on the last phrase "After All we can do."

I know I have never really understood this phrase and have always thought that I just need to work, and work, and work some more before I even have a chance at returning to live with my Heavenly Father again. I think there is this fear that I'll miss the mark by 2 points or something because I didn't really do "ALL" that I could. And, gosh, even I know if that is true, at this point in my life, I KNOW I wouldn't be getting into heaven because I've definitely not done ALL I could up to this point! But, it's still a thought I've pondered because... don't we all need to continuously "Put our shoulder to the wheel and push along"?!!!

Anyway, this talk was obviously meant for me. Throughout his remarks, he gave some great examples of how it's the Savior who has offered us the opportunity to "TOGETHER" (the Savior and I walking together hand in hand) be saved. He gave this one example... a mother pays a piano teacher to teach her child. The child can't pay the mother back in money, and the teacher can't play for the child, but the child can learn from the teacher and practice in order to "pay" the mother back by gaining talent in the beautiful musical instrument. She doesn't expect absolute perfection in her child, but she wants him/her to practice, try their best, and use the help the piano teacher provides. That's the way it is for us. The Lord isn't asking us to just be mediocre and slack off because the Savior will do it all on his own... or to be absolutely perfect on our own. But, through the grace that the Savior has given us, he has provided the way that we can return to our Heavenly Father TOGETHER. First we must try our best to become all we can "be"... and then TOGETHER (the Savior and I) will be saved after all WE (The Savior and I) can do.

Ha, he did a much better job explaining it than I ever could. There's a reason why I am not an EFY speaker! But, at least it makes sense to me and that bring me peace of mind!

Ireland - March 2011

I've come to accept the fact that my original plan to blog about my AMAZING trip to Ireland just isn't going to happen. This has taken a back seat to more pressing issues, but I still would like to post some of the beautiful pictures and give a brief summary... so here goes.

I landed in Dublin and immediately set off for adventure! The idea was to see as much as we could in the short week-long trip! I came prepared with raingear since that is the typical weather for this season... but was pleasantly surprised as the week progressed :)

However, when we landed it was cloudy. We had taken the overnight flight and I was exhausted, but we set off to our first stop - Malahide Castle. And, as we walked along the path to the castle the SUN came out! Or, really, a brief glimpse of it. I was excited none the less.

Malahide Castle

Then, off to Skerries Mills. It's a unique collection of two windmills and a watermill with an associated mill pond, and wetlands. The mills were used for grinding corn: wheat oats and barley - wind power complementing water power, particularly in times of drought dating back to 1538. And, they still work! We got a private tour because there were no other visitors there! (One of the benefits of visiting in the off-season!)

Windmill #2

After this, we were spent. And, after having spent lots of time getting lost, we decided to just go to our hotel and find dinner before dark. Sunday was bound to be another adventure!

Sunday - We checked out early and set off for Newgrange. It's a Megalithic Passage Tomb that was built around 3200 B.C.. In the picture it's the large dome structure in the back top left hand corner. This picture is from the museum for it. The kidney shaped mound covers an area of over one acre and is surrounded by 97 kerbstones, some of which are richly decorated with megalithic art. The 19 meter long inner passage leads to a cruciform chamber with a corbelled roof. It is estimated that the construction of the Passage Tomb at Newgrange would have taken a work force of 300 at least 20 years!
Next we went to the Hills of Tara. A large area containing ancient monuments, and a former sacred site for kingship rituals. But, also, really just an incredible amount of small "hills". Almost like bunny slopes for a young skier to learn on!

St. Peter's Church was located on the grounds as well and had an old graveyard associated with it.

Final tourist stop for the day was Clonmacnoise. This was one of the places I really wanted to visit because I had read about so much of its history. It was created between 545 and 548A.D. The monastery's location helped it become a major center of learning, religion, craftsmanship, and trade by the 9th century. It was visited by many scholars from all over Europe and many of the High Kings of Tara were buried here.

This was also my first introduction to a "High Cross" or "Standing Cross". It is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and richly decorated with symbolism. They often feature a stone ring around the intersection forming a Celtic cross.

After touring the ruins of the monastery (so cool!!), we headed to our hotel located in a "city" right on the River Shannon where I had my first and last "pub" experience (there really is one on ever corner... or more) and was sad to find out that "Subway" restaurants in Ireland don't offer the same footlong deals that they do in America!

Monday - The sun is OUT! Wahoo. A beautiful day!
Off to Galway

So, Saturday we started out in Dublin (eastern Ireland) and by Monday morning we are all the way on the western side of Ireland in Galway (a college town on the water). Very pretty. Sadly many of the museums we wanted to see were closed... because they always are closed on Mondays, but we walked around town.

I thought this sign was funny.
But, made a good point.

And, yep. Thought this sign was a little unnecessary... isn't that obvious?

A colorful row of homes right on the water.
So pretty!

After Galway, we set off for our drive through the Burren, an Irish word meaning "great rock"... and in a minute you'll see why it's given that title!

But, first we drove through Kinvara to see the Dungaire Castle (picture above... it is thought to be the most photographed castle in Ireland... and I aided in that thinking!) and I saw my first thatched roof cottage roof. It was only sitting 2 feet from the main road. I would be scared a drunk driver would drive right in my living room! But, I guess the stone wall would prevent that! Smart thinking to put it there!

Me sitting next to the Dunguaire Castle in Kinvara. It sits right in Galway Bay and it's a very pretty area.

We drove past this sign on our drive to The Burren. Ha. It made me think of Boston, MA being just around the corner! Boston would fit right in, in Ireland. It's got crazy street layouts that don't connect like you think they should!
However, this is a picture of the typical crazy signage we had to figure out in Ireland. No wonder we got lost so many times. A slight breeze from the wind could turn the sign in a different direction!!
Entering the Burren... you can tell by the ROCKS! It has a Karst topography, which is a landscape shaped by the dissolution of layers of soluble bedrock.

In 1651, Edmund Ludlow stated, "(Burren) is a country where there is not enough water to drown a man, wood enough to hang one, nor earth enough to bury him...... and yet their cattle are very fat; for the grass growing in turfs of earth, of two or three foot square, that lie between the rocks, which are of limestone, is very sweet and nourishing."

So true! I also learned that many farmers would let their cows roam here during the winter months and saw herds of them as well!

Can you see the cattle at the top of the hill?

Looks like a storm was coming,
but we never had any rain!

Typical Ireland parking.
Totally would confuse me as to which side
of the road I was then driving on if I did this!

Poulnabrone Dolmen is a portal tomb in the Burren dating back to the Neolithic period, probably between 4200 BC to 2900 BC.

Temple Cronan, The Burren
A chapel built over a sacred spring, or "holy well"

Our final stop on the tour of The Burren was at the Kilmacdaugh Monastery. One of the significant features of this monastery is the slim 30 meter tall round tower! It's doorway is 7 meters above ground level!

The tall tower :)

We headed back to our hotel for dinner and some google mapping out our next day. (I highly recommend a GPS for anyone doing this in the future!)

Tuesday: We checked out of hotel to head south down to Cork, but stopped a few places along the way. First stop was the Bunratty Castle and Folk Park. So Cool!

The Folk Park brings to life a 19th century village. Here are some of the highlights:

This was a servant or peasants house... where, yes, their livestock lived in the house with them!

The cooking area
Some nice dishes... in my opinion!

Yes, that is a bedroom up there! Space was tight! They had a rolling ladder that was moved to the side of the room when not needed. Sounds like a perfect way to torture a sibling or punish a child that wouldn't behave. Stick them up there and move the ladder!

The CASTLE!
The Castle is the most complete and authentic medieval fortress in Ireland. Built in 1425 it was restored in 1954 to its former medieval splendor and now contains mainly 15th and 16th century furnishings, tapestries, and works of art which capture the mood of those times.
It even hosts medieval dinners for guests in the evening!

The inside dining hall.
I climbed all the way to the tippy-top!
It's a long way up some very narrow steps!

This was one of the houses in the village.
A pretty shade of blue, I thought!

The Rock of Cashel.
This is a tourist trap. It was expensive to get in to and not worth it at all! It is under renovation, but still. Very disappointing. Many of the things we saw for free were much cooler than this. The one great thing about it was the views from its grounds since it sits on a huge hill!

This is the Hore Abbey which was just below the Rock of Cashel. It was free to get in to and much cooler to walk through!

The rest of the day we continued our drive to Cork and to find our hotel. Ha, that was an adventure. And, I won't even mention how LOST we got trying to get back to our hotel after dinner. However, many, many Irish folks tried to help us find our way! One guy even walked over two blocks to meet us again to help us get on the right road. Ugh... an hour or so later we returned. It should have been an 8-10 min drive!

Wednesday: We set off for Skibbereen Heritage Center. This is a really cool museum about the Irish Potato Famine and does a great job of helping the guest understand life for the Irish people in that area in the 1840s. However, the other "gem" we found at this museum was their volunteer "Terri". She was absolutely LOVELY and so fun to talk to! And, she told us all the things we should stop and see on our drive over to the Cobh Heritage Center. All of the "gems" she told us to see were not in any tourist book! LOVE THAT!

The drive she took us on followed the coast. So, on this sunny day we were constantly in awe of the very pretty coastline and the small towns we saw along the way.

First stop: Drombeg Stone Circle
A.K.A. Ireland's Stone Henge

Amazing views as well

Standing between the male and female stone
and opposite the mid-point.

One of the pretty towns we drove through
So quaint and peaceful.
You would think no one lived there.

I just laughed every time I saw cars parked like this!

We spent the rest of the day at the Cobh Heritage Center and in Cobh.

Thursday: We had to make the long drive back to Dublin because we flew out early the next morning, but we stopped at a few places along the way! This was also one of my favorite's from the trip. Again, totally free to get in and walk around... and AMAZING views! Rock of Dunmase

I just LOVED the green and rolling hills!

And, then this is still me at the same place as the pictures above. Storms roll in quickly so we took the picture before it started pouring! We were so lucky with weather and never got caught in the rain when we were out and about.

The rest of Thursday we spent getting to our hotel by the Dublin airport and just enjoying one last evening in this beautiful country! I can't wait to go back!!!