A Few Things I Love

A pup who loves water as much as his brothers and sister, and who has a really cute "guilty face."

A man who plays the piano.

Catching my kids in rare, unexpected, peaceful moments.

A spontaneous (and hot) husband who forces me out of my planned routines once in a while, like piling all the kids into the van in their pj's to check out a gorgeous beach sunset before bedtime.

Being the mom of the four craziest, cutest kids in the universe.

The beauty of where I live.

A Schmidt-y Visit

(So sorry, Cait, I just couldn't resist.)

Two of our favorite people in the entire world (oh, and their parents) came to visit us last week and we had so much fun.  I love love love being with my sister.  Here are some shots of our week.

Tom, Cait, Halle, and Kael, thanks so much for coming up to see us!  We love you guys so much!

Oh, and if any of you are thinking about coming up for a visit, you should know that when we have company come, we always find a highly dangerous project for them to do to earn their keep.  Be forewarned.

Ireland: Part One

Finally got Garreth to add his commentating to his trip pictures.  Enjoy!

This is our nephew Breen in his Hurling Gear. He is 6 and is absolutely amazing with the hurly stick and ball. They play two teams against each other and you can lift the hurly up over your head and whack the ball as hard you can into the goal. Injuries are frequent (hence the helmet).  Rough sport, very fast, but they're tough kids too. 

This is our niece Saoirse. Here she is playing Gaelic rules football (we call it Ga for short) which is very like Australian rules football (looks like tackle-soccer, you can pick up the ball). She is also really good and the girls don't hold back at all. Full tackle. Very cool. Made me homesick.   

Davy, Stephen, and Breen out at Howth Head 

Nanny Ratchford punching Davy in the face (some things never change)

It was great to see Nanny again, she is a lot of fun to be around.

The Mulhaul family (my aunt Anne)

Breen looking for some more sweets (candy). I gave in.

Saoirse is just the Irish version of Grace. It was unbelievable to me how similar they were in their mannerisms, even the way they talk (minus the accent and that Saoirse speaks Gaelic at home) and everything they were into. She is such a sweetheart.

See, just like Grace, full of laughs.

Ok, so this one is a dynamo in 3 year olds clothing, Muireann has the funniest little personality you have ever met. She loves talking but was very shy at first. She has the thickest Dublin accent and loves to sing songs all the time. Absolutely adorable. 

....but mischievous

Powerscourt Waterfall, Co. Wicklow

Stephan, Ciara, Saoirse, Breen, Muireann

The U2 Album Cover that never made it - Un-Sync

Cheeseball Falls

The wee ones together

If there's a rope swing around, a Ratchford lad will find it. They even have brilliant rope swings in Ireland, I swear this place has it all, rope swings, electricity, socialism....

Rock crossing at the River Lara

Jackie, Ciara, and Saoirse, after their Camogy match (womans hurling). Ciara and Jackie play for Ballymun' s Setanta team and Saorise plays for the junior team.  I forgot how much sports they play, no wonder they're all so skinny.