First Ireland Pics

And at the end of the rainbow, we have... Sophie! Sorry, I forgot to flip that pic...The kids' first fish and chips experience at the legendary Golden Grill on William Street

First day of school, first day of school!

Okay, so this video mainly captures their last minute jitters, but the girls actually woke up at 7 AM, bright eyed and excited, and a little nervous, for their first day of Irish school! We ate a huge breakfast of crumpets (pancakes), hot chocolate, turkey bacon (yes they have it here), oranges and blackcurrant juice (yum! it's the most popular kind of juice over here, called Ribena). We read scriptures and a story from the Friend, said prayers, got their hair done, and then counted down the remaining few minutes before it was time to leave. We were all nervous walking to school, and I got a few hand squeezes as we wound our way through the halls looking for their classrooms. No tears though - they were so brave, and I was so proud of them! I reminded them (as dad did in their blessings last night) that angels will be watching over them. I shed a few tears on the way home and prayed hard for my little Irish lassies as they undertake this new challenge!

How do I type the Euro sign on my keyboard?

...because I spent about 700 of them today on the kids' books and uniforms. The girls look adorable - will post pics tomorrow after their first day of school - but other than that I'm kind of throwing up in my mouth a little bit right now. I kind of like the American system where the books are free and they can wear whatever I can get on sale at the Children's Place or Old Navy. Eegads! And I'm sure glad I still have the $200 homeschooling curriculum I bought and brought over here with me for Sophie, who was going to homeschool up until last Friday when she got into Milford for sure. I think I'll nickname this entry, oh, something like "bite the bullet" or "Losing Loot in Limerick." It will all be worth it though... right? We are still having fun, and Gary's meeting this morning with his PhD mentors went very well... if only everything didn't cost so durn much!

On a happier note, this is what I posted today on Facebook, because it was so funny that it sort of made me snort Orangina from my nose while trying to hold back a laugh:

Maggie, upon the consumption of her first Irish chip (french fry): "wow mom! I never experienced the true potential of the french fry until now!" Chips here are pretty good, I must say. They serve them in brown paper bags and you can sprinkle salt and vinegar over them for the true Irish chip experience! Yum.

So Much to Be Grateful For

I have many reasons to count my blessings tonight! I am grateful:

*That Gary only tore his Achilles 20% two days before leaving Ireland, and that my brother Josh is an orthopedic surgeon and I had someone to call who could tell me that he could get away without surgery for a few months if he wore a boot full-time! Phew! Dodged a bullet - sort of - on that one! He now hobbles around in his boot, but at least he can walk!

*That my kids are good ages for traveling. They were so great on all the flights, except for some superfluous Spencer hyper-ness on our last, London-to-Shannon leg when Little Man got a case of the giggles. And his giggles aren't quiet. But at least he wasn't screaming after 22 hours of travel! Maggie mostly read (Peter and the Starcatchers), and there was plenty of movies, stickers, sculpy clay, and Angry Birds to go around. I dozed when possible and read one of Maggie's other books (the 13th Princess - charming) when she wasn't looking. Gary mostly slept because his foot hurt so bad. But nobody threw up, had a meltdown, or got lost. Not a bad travel experience at all! And I only used a leeetle dramamine on everyone for the night flight!

*That we flew British Airways on the transcontinental flight. The attendants were so friendly, the food (chicken curry!) was totally delicious, and each of our seats had individual movie players - a first for me. We loved it!!! The kids watched Kung Fu Panda 2 then fell asleep, but I couldn't resist staying up to watch some movies I had never seen before: Just Go With It, and Red Riding Hood - both only so so, but still, free new releases! I even caught most of a favorite, Adjustment Bureau, before I finally was able to crash. The two hours of sleep I did get was dodgy at best and highly uncomfortable since I had Spencer's head taking up half my seat, so I guess I didn't miss much by staying up!

* That we met the nicest people on our travels, including the airline people who helped us get seats together, the cabbies in London, and even the very nice man at Heathrow who had to confiscate my passport as it had been reported stolen years ago (before I found it again behind my dresser and forgot to report it as, well, found). Seriously, he was so nice, a true English gentleman. Obviously I was who I said I was, having the kids and Gary around me, so maybe I got some pity points as well that a suspicious person may not have garnered, but still he was so helpful. He got us all downstairs and into a cab and sent nicely to the US Embassy in Grosvenor Square. Who promptly told us to go back to the Airport, use our drivers' licenses to get us on the Air Lingus flight, and just go to the embassy in Dublin to take care of it later. Somehow, SOMEHOW, this worked, and it even worked to get us through Limerick customs. That lady was nice too, although we still had to do a little song and dance to make everything work. Prayers were answered, people were kind and helpful, and we got into the country missing some major documentation! Ah, the power of prayer!

*That our landlady, Deirdre, and her son came and got us at the airport to drive us home, and that none of our luggage got lost! Miracle!

*That at the last minute I grabbed our umbrella stroller and brought it along on this trip. It has been invaluable so far! I'm seriously thinking of awarding it MVP status. Evidently the kids aren't used to walking as much as we've needed to here, so it's been handy that way. And it's been my best friend as far as getting groceries home from the store a half mile away since we don't have a car!

*That we have our little house here on Compostella in Castletroy. It is so great - a big kitchen (for Europe), all the modern conveniences (a washer and dryer! fridge AND freezer! new pots and pans!), kind and concerned landlords (who've lent us sheets and towels and invited us over to their house next Saturday night for a party). The closest house but two to both Maggie's and Gary's school, and a major bus stop. Blessed blessed blessed!

*that my mom lent me her Columbia rain-impervious jacket. Thanks Mom - I will be wearing it every day!!!

*That Sophie may be going to school with Maggie! All summer I thought I'd be homeschooling her, which to be truthful would have been a good learning experience for me. It did stress me out though. But when we got here, I got an email from her school saying there may be a place open for her (which there wasn't before due to overcrowding). We go on Monday to see if it's the right grade for her. She's very excited. I'm relieved but also a little sad. I could do either.

*That Nanny fixed Maggie's little gold rain jacket for her. She looks so cute in it! And again, it is rain-proof. So useful.

*That there is plenty of aged white Irish cheddar here, and good bread to eat it on! Ah, my breakfasts every day for the next four months are set!

More later, I'm sure, but for now I'd better turn in. Goodnight, friends and family all over the world! Pictures coming soon.

Let's Pretend...

As you sit at your computer, take a moment and imagine a few things with me. Imagine that my decrepit, dinosaur of a desktop computer WOULD let me access blogspot these last few months and that I blogged regularly all spring (oops, and summer too), telling my faithful friends and family all about the fascinating, important things that happen to my family on a regular basis. Like Sophie losing her first tooth, and Spencer and Sophie both learning to ride their bikes without training wheels (Spencer didn't even have a transition period - he was off like a bullet the minute Gary took those things off!). How we finished off the school and dance year very successfully with our Footworks Spring Concert, competition at Lagoon Nationals, and a trip down to Utah to celebrate birthdays and school being out.

Imagine I blogged all about how the kids got to take horseback riding lessons all summer, and how we did two weeks of Pirate and Princess camp out in the barn that both drove me crazy and brought out my inner Fairy Godmother (sparkle sparkle!). How we had a blast with Karsen and kids who came up for a visit in July, and how we did Yellowstone and Rigby Lake and played and played with the cousins! How we spent a magical week in Aspen Grove with the whole Hunter side of the family and had my faith absolutely reaffirmed in old-fashioned, no-tv, fun-and-games-and-hikes family vacations.

I'm sure I would have told you about how we worked intensely all summer on our Festival Team, who performed as the USA representatives and hosts at the Idaho International Music and Dance Festival (yay Maggie!). How we choreographed and costumed an 80's medley, a 40's tap/swing number, a group clog and a clogging/hoedown set for 40 dancers and a darn tootin good time. How we had 24 extra people staying at our house for the 10 Festival days, dancing, eating and playing all day every day, and how we survived it all with wonderful new friends and memories! (And yes, some emotional scarring as well due to the stress level but we won't go into that now. The good news is, I lost 5 pounds that week!)

But most importantly, let's pretend that I told you how Gary came home from work one day in early May and said, "what if we spent fall semester in Ireland?" And how I said, "awesome! Let's do it! Hmm, what shall I pack?" How we spent an agonizing month waiting for BYUI's approval and release for the semester (with pay - cool!), researching flights ($$$!), housing ($$$! stupid exchange rate...) and schooling options until I lost my hair, my sanity, and my sleep to stress.

But it all worked out in the end. Because here we are, in Limerick, Ireland, in a newly-redecorated little townhouse right next to campus, with Maggie and Sophie enrolled in the excellent local school a stone's throw away, and Gary all set to work on his PhD full time. FULL TIME! Hooray! We have renters in our Idaho house taking care of the studio, Bella the dog enshrined at Gram and Grandpa's house in Utah, and we even made it through the border in spite of my passport being confiscated when we arrived in London (long, embarrassing, stupid story involving ludicrous thoughtlessness on my part so I won't go in to it here - all's well that ends well. We did get to take a quick emergency cab ride right into the heart of London to deal with it, which was fun... right?)

None of the above arrangements were cheap, and we've returned to the world of student loans. Luckily, I am a total cheapskate and bargain shopper at heart so the penny-pinching comes naturally. We're here though, and since we're here, with kids, we are going to get the most out of this experience, hopefully including a trip to the Continent later in October. I promise to blog much more regularly in the future, so you're welcome to come along on the ride!