10 years

Matt and I went to Ireland for our 10th wedding anniversary.  it's hard to believe it's been 10 years, but it also feels about right.  what's more difficult to wrap my head around is I'm no longer a 20-something.  I think that's more of a "what?!" for me than how long we've been married.

2004

when I look at our wedding photos I always think we look so young.  I think that's because we were ;)  I was about a week shy of 20.

2009

I think the first 5 years were the hardest - definitely seemed like the longest - but we got over ourselves and got serious about having kids (I was the foot-dragger) and it's just sorta zipped by since then.

On our way!

anyway, back to our trip.  we flew to Boston, grabbed some seafood (I don't remember the name of the place but I got a lobster roll that was very fresh), and dessert from Mike's Pastry (Boston Cream pie... Matt liked it, but I thought it could use more chocolate), then flew to Dublin - longest. freakin'. day.

Dunboyne Castle

our first castle was Dunboyne Castle.  the castle was mostly a big room (that we weren't allowed to go into), and the rest of the hotel was added on around it, so it was more like a swanky hotel than a castle-castle, but the garden area with walking paths were really pretty.  we grabbed dinner at a really good place in town called The Mint Leaf and then crashed in our room.

Glenlo Abbey

View out from our window

Glenlo Abbey was our 2nd stop.  this one looked more like what I was expecting, but still felt like a modern hotel because of the add on, but the view from our back window was pretty cool.

Matt at the Guinness gates

we went to the Guinness Storehouse, then rode a horse drawn carriage around the block.  I think the kids driving weren't much older than 10-12 tops!  they maneuvered the tiny crowded roads very well, though.

 

Oak Cellar Bar

I think something I liked most about the trip was going down to the castle's pubs and eating dinner.

Kayak Polo

we went to Galway City Museum and then walked around the shops for a little while.  we stopped to watch some Kayak Polo that was going on in Eglington Canal.  locals and tourists were stopping in and sitting in the grass to watch the playoffs - it was pretty cool.

Craigboy "beach"

Matt wanted to find a beach to walk on, so we drove on some tiny, winding roads and found some water, a bunch of rocks and a small patch of grey sand.  Matt waded in the freezing water and I climbed the rocks looking for shells and small rocks.

Lough Eske

I think our 3rd castle, Lough Eske, was my favorite.  I liked their room best and the garden outside our door was lovely.

lots of pretty flowers, some varieties I've never seen.  Matt picked a pom-pom looking flower for me that was pretty much growing everywhere there.  it was in peoples yards and just growing wild along the roads.

Slieve League Cliffs

we went to Slieve League and climbed up the mountain.  I wasn't really expecting to like that, but in spite of the biting wind, I had a good time.  it was very beautiful.

Fintra Bay

on our way back from the cliffs, we stopped at an actual beach, Fintra Bay.  Matt said the water was pretty cold there, too - crazy weirdo!  they had these huge jagged rocks in the middle of the beach that were encrusted with clams and other stuff.  it was very interesting to look at.

when we left Lough Eske we found a lake hidden in the trees within walking distance of the castle that we could have gone to see earlier, oh well.  we got some quick pictures on our way out.

Cabra Castle

Cabra Castle was very cool.  it had a Victorian feel to it - I felt like we were staying in one of the historical homes we tour in Galveston.  we were on the 3rd floor overlooking the West Wing, and it was all stairs to our room.

they have two giant horse-dogs that roam around downstairs and on the golf course.  one of them is very friendly and will stop and let you pet him.  I almost got him to follow us around the golf course, but it was like he knew where he was supposed to stay.

Ames Boston Hotel

we flew to Boston on my birthday and stayed overnight at the Ames, got some dinner (we'd been craving pizza, but it was so hard to find for some reason) and dessert (Mike's Pastry again - German Chocolate Cake - so good!).  the next morning we walked around in the rain and did a little shopping for the boys, and then flew home.

2014

I'm so glad God blessed me with the perfect man for me - I'm looking forward to our next big anniversary, and the days when the time before we were together seems so short compared to how long we've been in love.

the weekend

we took the boys to Holly Lake Ranch over the weekend for some time away.

the drive wasn't bad - the boys slept for the first part and did well the rest of the way.

we planned to stop at a place called Leo's Chicken for a bite in Emory, but they were closed!  we ended up eating at a BBQ place instead, then did a little geocaching along the way.

at the resort, Leo loved swimming, the activity center, the playground, and pushing Jack in the stroller.

 

Jack ate his first pancake - not sure how much actually made it in his tummy but he had fun munching on it and getting it everywhere.

we came back sooner than we planned because the boys just didn't adjust well at night being away from home.  when one wasn't crying the other started up, so we were pretty tired and left a day early.

that was alright because I like having my last day of vacation at home to get back to normal, anyway.  we spent the day geocaching at some parks near the house until Leo had a meltdown and we came home for a nap.

 

Matt and I get some alone time in a couple of weekends so maybe we'll get some rest then! ;)

Eclair Cake

Friday night, Matt and I watched how to make an Eclair Cake on Cook's Country - it looked soo good!  so I told Matt I'd make it for him for Father's Day, which meant I had to start it the day before so it'd be all set up (unlike in their video... tsk-tsk!).

I added extra graham cracker layers and it almost didn't fit into my pan!  it makes a lot of cake so this would be good for a group of people.  the pudding isn't that sweet (to me!) but the chocolate on top is.  I'm a little torn on it, but Matt liked it so that's all that matters.  I think I'll half it next time I make it for just us, or use two smaller pans and give one away.

weekend away

Matt and I took a long weekend just the two of us.  we left Leo behind and went to stay in a cabin in Broken Bow, OK.  it was really nice!  the reservation got mixed up and we ended up only being able to stay one night :(  but that was alright.  I love the place we stayed in - the cabin was covered in wood from floor to ceiling and smelled awesome!  we fell asleep to the sound of crickets and frogs.

we tried a nearby pizza place when we got there - it was okay.  I've had better pizza, but it was a pretty cool place.  I was feeling kinda sick from being in the car all afternoon and not eating soon enough, so we went to their gift shop the next day and bought a glow-in-the-dark t-shirt for Leo, some natural, handmade soap for my mother-in-law, and a tomato spread for my parents.

we went to Forest Heritage Center Museum and saw a bunch of old wood stuff and made a smashed penny for Leo's collection of smashed pennies from places he's been (even though he wasn't with us) to someday make something cool like the leather bracelet shown here.

we also drove around looking for antique stores and gift shops, and ended up going to an auction.  that was pretty fun :)  we bid on some small stuff and won an antique shaving mirror.  I love it!  I've been putting my rings and earrings in the little routed out spots at the front of the drawer (I'm not sure what would have been stored there originally - razor handles?) and maybe later I'll line the drawer with my leftover embossed felt so stuff doesn't roll around in the drawer when it's open and closed.

we plan on making this a yearly trip (or a when-we-need-furniture trip!)  they had some cool stuff that went for what you'd probably pay for new, but it was REAL wood and good quality.  we went later in the day and that might have been the difference because I noticed the smaller the crowd got the less were there to bid and stuff sold for less.  we'll be taking our truck next time and look for a dresser or something.  I wish we had room for some of the really cool things they were auctioning off - who couldn't use a giant 5' square glass pie safe in their kitchen or a 7.5' x 9' mirror in a gold frame? ;)