Family Holiday 2013 Day 1

So we are back from our lovely trip to Leitrim and Carrick-On-Shannon, we stayed in a guest house and we had a boat to use to cruise the river Shannon. The first day when we arrived in Leitrim we went straight to Lough Key Forest park and nature trail there are beautiful walks, a look out tower and a wonderful lake where we watched beautiful swans and their adorable babies, there is also a forest walk that takes you above the forest. We had beautiful weather and the walk was lovely, we even had lunch there. The kids really loved it here and I got some lovely group pictures.

Little did we know that we would be struck down by a horrible stomach bug... so it was great that we enjoyed our first day.

 

 

 

Our little family at the top of the look out tower where we had the most spectacular views out onto the river Shannon

 

Our little family

 

 

With my little people

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Me and my Hubby

 

 

One big happy family 

 

 

My babies

 

 

Views of castle island from the forest walk

 

   

 

 

  

It was a lovely way to start our holiday and I'm really glad we got to see it, then we headed home to get settled into our holiday home and relax. We made a gorgeous roast dinner and had a nice chilled out evening! Day 1 was a major success!

Our 7th wedding anniversary

Today Derek and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary, this year we didn't do anything fancy. We bought ourselves a barbecue and we had a lovely family barbecue with kids. After the kids went to sleep we had Victoria watch them and we went for a walk on the pier in Dun Laoghaire, and then we went for milkshake. It was very quiet and our walk was beautiful, the scenery is very beautiful there, it was also nice to spend some time together. It was a really lovely day, I got some beautiful photos from the pier as the sun was setting.

 

Views from Dun Laoghaire pier

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Anniversary to my dear husband, I love you more with each year that passes and I am blessed to have you in my life.

 

 

Happy 7th Wedding Anniversary Derek!

Trip to Powerscourt Waterfall

Last weekend visited Powerscourt waterfall and the weather was scorching hot
 

I was terrified my highlights would go brassy so I had my brimmed hat on!
 

Sunscreen and sunglasses were permanent features! I was either following the kids around with the sunscreen or the camera. ... this is what Dylan had to say about that !!
 

 

First we went down by the waterfall to have a look and take some pictures.  It was so busy there so we didn't spend too much time at this part, we were so hot we decided to go for ice cream, and then we went exploring until we found another part of the river where we stayed a while.

The kids played in the stream and Derek even took a dip! It was so cool and fresh! Dylan loved the river where he could use his imagination and play!

We stayed and relaxed there for a long time, and then we headed home to make dinner, the children didn't even want to leave! We had to talk them into leaving.

It was a really beautiful place, the lush green trees and the lakes and waterfall. We had an AMAZING time!  I'm looking forward to coming back again with friends and family and having a barbecue. I got some great photos of the waterfall, and of the kids having fun in the stream.
 

 

 

 

Where we played it was like a little lagoon with it's own waterfall, and it was protected amongst the trees, it was beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

The kids would have stayed here all day if we let them! The water was so nice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

We are definitely looking forward to coming back again! It was a lovely day!

Trip to Silverstrand Beach

We went to Silverstrand beach today which is located in Co. Wicklow, it is a really stunning beach and it's an ideal place to visit during the AMAZING heat wave we've been enjoying. The kids loved the beach and building sandcastles! They couldn't be happier than they are when they're running round in the sea and sand.....
 

I was definitely loving my view!!
 

 

The weather is set to continue long term! The summer is so fabulous this year! I can't wait for lots more outings! Here are my little guys enjoying the heat wave...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

I could get used to this!

Dublin Zoo 2013

This weekend we went on our annual trip to the Zoo! This year our Nanna and Grandad came along and our new au pair. The weather was beautiful and the kids had a great time. I loved spending time with all my favourite people! We walked for ages and we had lunch in the restaurant there too. It was a really lovely day and we all enjoyed the zoo!

 I always love watching the kids run around looking at the animals, I love how Dylan looks out for Lauren and shows her everything. I got some nice photos on my phone too!

 

 

 

 They are growing so fast!

Our new Au pair

Summer time is always quite difficult with childcare for us. It is so expensive to get good quality childcare, so this summer we decided to get an au pair, and so far it has been worth every penny to the agency.  Our au pair arrived two days ago and I took a few days off work to help her settle in.  We are looking forward to having an extra pair of hands around the house to help out! Lauren and Dylan are taken with her and love having her around. I will be able to go to work in peace with no worries about the kids and their safety. I know that they will be in safe hands!

 

 

 

 

 

~ This summer is going to be so much fun ~ 

Dylan's last day of school

 To celebrate Dylan's last day of school we had a park day! He finished up in second class and this year has been a very big and very important year for hIm. He made his First Holy Communion and he acheieved so much. He didn't get a great school report at Christmas time and so he put his mind to working so hard, he literally put his whole heart and soul into getting a good summer report. He got an amazing report, literally one thing after another. His teacher said he showed great leadership, he loves drama, he is a talented singer, he is a talented GAA player, his behaviour is great. We were blown away by the report and so very proud of him.

 

He proved to himself that if you set your mind to achieve something, you can get there with hard work and determination. We promised him a new pair of rollerblades that he has been dying to get, so he got them this weekend and we took him to ride on them! We also celebrated Lauren at the end of her school year, and she got the cutest little outfit for her favourite doll complete with helmet!

 

I took them to Marley Park and we brought a picnic and we had ice-cream, and the weather was fantastic. We had a great day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here they are on Saturday trying out their new toys! Look at the helmet on the doll! so cute!

 

 

Dylan getting tips from Dad on how to be a great rollerblader!

 

 

We are so proud of both of our children, they have both achieved so much this year and they are doing so well. As an extra big celebration my friend and I organised a bouncy castle and a party for them. My friend hosted so I don't have any pics! but they had a blast. I hope that we have demonstrated that if you work hard then you can achieve what you want and get rewards, and they also learned that if you work hard you can have the fulfillment of knowing you have worked for something and achieved it. 

 

We are looking forward to a great summer