Holiday in Northern Ireland

Welcome to my precious moments post, a few weeks too late but nevertheless here now 🙂  I am struggling so much to find the time to do everything I need to do.  I understand now why home school bloggers of older children tend to write fewer posts.  Even though my three older ones are to all intents and purposes independent, they are also  taking past papers each week, which require marking and then going over 1-2-1.  And then of course there is the two younger ones….

Three weeks ago we went on our annual holiday to Northern Ireland to stay with my lovely in-laws.  I am so blessed to be part of this incredible family.

I was particularly good at snapping all our precious moments at the beginning of the week but not so good towards the end.  No matter, here are our precious holiday snaps:

We took the night ferry which we boarded around 930pm.  This is the view just as we were embarking:

and after embarking:

I have just started to learn about taking photographs in the dark, hence the night-time scenes 🙂

We all slept fairly well on the ferry, missing out on hurricane conditions by a couple of days.  Thank goodness.  Our last journey over night still haunts me….

Granny and Grand-dad were waiting for us at the door, with the smell of an Ulster fry coming from the kitchen:

We were immediately seated to food galore, and as none of us had eaten since disembarking the ferry at 7 that morning, we were all starving!  After we’d had our fill we began emptying the car into the rooms.  Heather always laughs at us because it takes a good few days of musical beds until we settle into which ever bed suits each individual the best:

Around Loch Fey

As we had been travelling all of the day before, as well as over night, we had all decided that a long walk was in order around Loch Fey.  Now I’ve been to Loch Fey before, and whilst I have never been all the way around it I was confident of our family’s ability to do so.  We wanted a long walk, but this was a loooooooong walk.  I had no idea the Loch was so incredibly large, and that walking around it would take hours upon hours (actually it may not have but it was raining heavily and there never seemed to be an end in sight.  And I mean never.)  My six year old did us proud, far prouder than her forty three year old mother, who may have been heard exclaiming on the rain, the cold, the length of the walk….

Just starting out.  So enthusiastically.  With no idea of the wet…the mud…the distance….  Poor deluded souls:

I’m thinking this photo might have given me somewhat of a clue.  But no.  Deluded, see?

It looks dark, and wet and did I mention long?

Granny and the little ones had a hoot though, catching up news:

Me?  Not so much.  This was right at the start, and I’m already behind!

Son kept his ol’ mum company filling me in on anything and everything there is to know about the sports camera we had bought for him as an early birthday present.  I am now a certified nut case expert in all things sport camera-ish.  I’m not entirely certain whether this verbal assault decreased or increased the length of the walk….. regardless, I was grateful to him for waiting for me (love you Thomas <3  )

It kind of got bleaker and the rain heavier with every passing moment.It did the trick though.  We all slept soundly that night 😉

Crabbing

The next day we met up with Danielle and her crew.  They had suggested we go crabbing.  It was a hit!  We had a fab time.  But before we actually got to the crabbing bit there was a, yes you guessed it, long walk down to where the crabs actually resided.  You’d think I learn…

Once down the cliff side (which was a bit precarious), we got to the business of crabbing.  Who knew all you need was string, bacon and a dishcloth?  No specialist equipment at all!

Thomas used his camera to find the crabs:

Conferencing:

B6, less than impressed:

Then the tide began to come in at a remarkably fast pace:

So we began to make our way back to the car:

but not before snapping a picture of everyone:

All ready for a feast of fish and chip take away!

Girls’ baptismr

From that day, until just before we went home, I didn’t have my camera out at all 🙁  I was fighting off a wisdom tooth infection and was not feeling 100%.  That said, I did manage to capture the girls just before they got baptised:

Photo of Gary and the twins with Gary’s childhood pastor:

With his lovely wife:

And just a few shots I took over the course of the holiday:

Happy, happy sigh.  A huge thank you to my lovely in-laws.  I could wish for more wonderful parent-in-law.

I will be catching up on everything else over the weekend…hopefully