Now for a quick update about what has been happening with me:
The week after my trip to Belfast, Jack had a sports camp on all week - he really loved it! While he was at camp, Charlie, Gracie and I had some fun of our own. One day we went to Clare Lake and had a picnic and fed the ducks; another day we went to the library and Clay Cafe to eat; another day Charlie and I cleaned and organized his playroom (like a REAL clean and organize - it took 3.5 hours!) and then later that day Jack and I cleaned/organized his room (another 2-3 hours)......
I had a hard week because I found out about some things going on back home, but it was good to keep busy during the week.
Judi's family came into town because Gracie's christening was on July 14th. We had a great time! :)
The christening was really nice! Father Fergus (spelling??) introduced himself to everyone before the service and when he got to me Judi said "this is Jamie Tucker from Texas". Well, that got his attention! Throughout the whole christening service he would come back to me and Texas. Judi, James, the boys and the god parents had to sign a cross on Gracie's forehead - and he said "oh, let Texas do it too". OMG! Fortunately everyone was laughing about it.
After the service, everyone came back to the house for food, drinks, and to hang out. Judi rented a bouncy castle, so the kids were entertained :) It was a good day - I actually got sunburned!
Judi's family headed back to Wexford (south Ireland) and Jack went with them. He spent 10 days down in Wexford visiting all of Judi's family - he had a great time and didn't want to come back.... at first :)
While Jack was away Charlie and I did some more fun things together - we went bowling, did errands (yeah!), went to McDonalds, had a water balloon fight :)
I did get some time off and went to another au pair's house in Castlebar to have dinner and watch a movie - we watched "Fried Green Tomatoes" - LOVE IT!!! One of my new favorite movies. I spent the night at her house and headed back to Mayo Abbey the next morning.
We had more guests come to stay at the house - Judi's brother and his girlfriend and Judi's friend from Australia and her 3 yr. old son.
Jack came back on July 24th after being in Wexford since July 14th. He had a really great time visiting all his aunts, uncles, and cousins!
On July 26th Gracie was 9 months! I can't believe how big she is - she is as tall as an 18 month old! Ahh but she is sooo cute! How can you resist this face :)
Also on this day, Morgan Sink (my friend from Houston, Texas) came to visit. She was doing a study abroad in Spain during the summer and when she finished she traveled around Europe for a month. She came to visit me for 4.5 days. I was excited to see someone from back home - to show someone where I am!
James took me, Morgan, and the kids to a couple of caves that are close to where we live. They were really cool - the first one was locked but we got to walk around in the second one.
Then we went to Ashford Castle! HOLY CRAP! It is a real castle that has been turned into a hotel. The grounds are gorgeous and it looks out onto a lake!
I told my dad he can sell my brothers to pay for my wedding there..... although, I don't think that will help much :):) Love you guys!
That night, Morgan and I went out in Castlebar with some of my au pair friends - it was a good night :)
Then we dropped of the flowers for the wedding and headed to Keel Beach! It is amazing! It looks like it should be in some tropical area not Ireland!
We stopped on the side of the road to take a pic of this view!
Keel Beach
Amazing! It looks like it should be in some tropical area, not Ireland :)
I mean seriously! Look at that water!!
This is on the Atlantic Drive - a road that goes along the coast of Achill on the Atlantic Ocean - hence the name :)
Wow
It was so nice of Judi and James to take us to those place! They are great!
The next day, Morgan and I took the kids to go bowling and to Clare Lake to feed the ducks. They had a great time. On the Tuesday, I drove Morgan to Knock Airport - it was so nice to see her and spend some time with her!
If I had stuck with my original plan, I would have left on July 31st. It was weird to think how fast my time in Ireland has flown by! I'm glad I decided to stay longer :)
August 1st was Jack's 10th birthday (and my Aunt Sandra's birthday). His grandmother took all of us to Forest Park, which is like a play park. It has a zip-line obstacle course, which Jack and I did - so much fun! It also has a big jungle gym park and a challenge called Boda Borg. Basically, you have a team and you compete in challenges in each room. When you complete the challenge you can move to the next room. Unfortunately we didn't get to do that, but maybe next time. We had a picnic at Forest Park and it was a great day! We got really rained on when Jack and I were doing the zip-line obstacle course, but it was still fun.
On August 3rd, Judi and James competed in a Mr. and Mrs. Competition in Balla. I got to go with one of the neighbors and see them compete. They did really good - in the first round they got 6/6 questions right and in the second round they got out with 4/6 questions right. So they got 3rd place out of 6 couples! It was a lot of fun! After the competition, the center it was held in was turned into a pub/dance area. Good night...... yeah it was a good night :)
On Monday, August 5th, we all went to Westport House Adventure Park. It was awesome! James and Jack did the Sky Challenge, which is a zip-line course. Judi and I took Charlie to the Pirate Park where they did the splash log ride twice! He loved it! Then we went on the pirate train - it was actually very fun! Then Jack and I did the big zip-line and zorbing. Zorbing is where you sit in a giant rubber ball and roll down a hill.... yeah but we did it with water inside. OMG it was so much fun!!!!!! Then James and Jack did the Combat Games and the rest of us went to the actual Westport House. It is really nice.
It was a really great day; a nice, relaxing day.
This is the actual Westport House, people actually still live in there. It is a really nice, old home with a lot of history.
These statues were kind of freaky :)
The dungeon!
Ok, I think I am finally up-to-date with everything that has been going on here in Ireland. Of course, as soon as I publish this post I will think of something else, but oh well :)
I can't believe how fast the time has gone by - in 10 days i will have been here for 7 months .... WOW!
Here are just some cute pics of Gracie taking a bath :) And Charlie!
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