Silent Sunday

Summer Holiday - Part 2 Beautiful Edinburgh

Edinburgh is one of the most beautiful cities I've been to and I would love to go back and explore it in more detail.

We had a fabulous time and there was loads of things to see and do for all the family. Both myself and Mr P were delighted that we had chosen to come here because everyone got to do a bit of what they wanted and believe me that's not always easy with our Teen and Inbetweener who do not like the same things.

Steeped in history you can easily transport yourself back a few centuries when you are walking along the cobbled streets taking in the amazing architecture.

Here are some photos from our visit...

Weekend...

It's Friday and I'm looking forward to the weekend.

Weekend is one of my new regular posts here on the blog. 

A summary of what's been happening in our lives throughout the week- the good, the bad and the ugly.

It's been a busy and expensive week getting the last bits and pieces ready before the older two go back to school. I'm glad that everything is ready because there's nothing worse than having this hang over your head.

Our Teen starts back into her fourth year at secondary school next week and the week after our Inbetweener goes into third class.

It was very exciting here last night when our Little Fella stood up on his own, for about ten seconds then fell back down again. He is itching to walk and I'm sure it won't be long.

Our Little Fella has not been sleeping well this week which in turn means sleep deprivation for me and Mr P - lots of it. I think he is teething. Thankfully things have settled a bit as the week has gone on but I'm fairly sure I could pack the contents of our house into the bags that are under my eyes.

We have a busy weekend planned with a birthday party this weekend for Mr P's mum, a teenage disco and a spot of shopping before the schools re-open.

Somewhere in the middle of all this I plan to grab some time to relax and open a bottle of wine.

Last weekend we went to the Giant's Causeway and this photo is of all of us but as you can see it's virtually impossible to get everybody looking at the right time.

We took about eight shots here and none of us are looking at the camera at the same time, maybe though these make for the best photos.

I hope you have had a great week and enjoy your weekend whatever your plans xxx

Silent Sunday

Photo of the Week

I seriously don't know where the time is going. Each week seems to pass faster than the one before it. 

Somehow though this week I feel more organised and finding the right balance between work and home. Ever since I started my part time job things have been so hectic around here and I know now in my heart and soul that leaving my full time job was most definitely the right thing for me and more importantly our family.

Summer time is drawing to a close with every evening that passes and already I can see that our evenings are not as long.

As I look back on the year so far it has been great and I have made a mental note to make the most of what is left of our evenings, even if it's just going out for a walk to unwind.

Tomorrow we plan to have our monthly day trip joined by my sister and her husband. The Giant's Causeway is on the agenda and I'm really looking forward to it because I haven't been for a good few years. 

This week I've been toying with the idea of doing a photography course in September because since I've started this blog I really enjoy having the camera out and I am interested in learning more about it. I've decided to upgrade my camera and have started a 'camera fund'. I need to find out more about the course and see of I'm up to the challenge - this is on my 'to do' list for next week.

I finally found the time and energy to go through the photos from our holiday. This is one of my favourites and my photo of the week.

Forgive me if you think this is strange but we don't have phone boxes in Ireland like these and I think they are so quirky.

I hope your weekend is great.

XXX

Summer Holidays - Part 1 Tantallon Castle

This post is a week late but better late than never! I have finally found the time to sit down and go through our holiday photos there are quite literally loads but I have scaled down as much as I can.

The blog this week is dedicated to capturing our holiday memories, our first holiday as a family of five and our Little Fella was great and enjoyed being out and about every day getting spoiled by his big sister and big brother.

One of the first places we visited on our holiday was the very beautiful Tantallon Castle just a short drive from Dunbar.

It was such a lovely drive despite the rain and I will always remember gazing out of the car window at the beautiful yellow fields full of corn thinking to myself that this really is the life.

Thankfully the rain stopped not long after we arrived at the castle grounds.

Tantallon Castle is truly in the most beautiful setting on the edge of the coast opposite what is known as The Bass Rock and the sight of this as you drive towards it is breathtaking.

The castle was built in the 14th century by William Douglas, the 1st earl of Douglas, whose family was one of the most powerful in Scotland. 

We spent ages here enjoying the views, exploring the ruins and walking around.  Our lot had a great time which is always an added bonus especially after spending way too much time travelling the previous day.

The staff here were so friendly and helpful to us and I just loved the accents - so soft and gentle.

Here are some of our pictures from Tantallon Castle and The Bass Rock.

And if you are ever in this area I would recommend a visit because it's well worth it.

Joining in with Country Kids at Coombe Mill Blog, click on the badge to check out some of the other fabulous outdoor adventures. 

Our Day Trip to Enniskillen

This month we ventured outside Donegal and headed off for the beautiful Enniskillen in Co Fermanagh for our monthly day trip.

The sun was shining and it was a fabulous day out with my favourite people.

Our first stop was the stunning Castle Archdale Country Park which is situated on the shores of Lough Erne. This really is a fantastic place and if we had known what exactly was contained within the park beforehand we could have spent the whole day here.

But that's the beauty of our days out we just drive and see were we end up, we can always come back to somewhere we really like.

There are woodland walks and trails, boats for hire, bicycles for hire, picnic areas and our Little Fella enjoyed the ducks. We have planned to go back very soon and stay at the camping site because I know we will just have the best fun. 

In the main courtyard there are lots of exhibitions and one of Mr P's favourite things was the WW2 exhibition highlighting the role of Castle Archdale as the most westerly flying boat station.

For families this is just the greatest place and I can't wait to come back. 

You can see about Castle Archdale Country Park here.

Next stop was onto Enniskillen Castle which is right at the edge of the town. The castle is situated on the river Erne and the location is simply stunning.

We really enjoyed the exhibitions here and the military display is one of the best I've seen. There is also a very interesting display of artifacts that were found in a nearby Crannog in Drumclay.

A Crannog is an ancient artificial island built on a lake or river and in Drumclay carbon dating has confirmed that some of the site goes as far back as 670AD.

I've always loved history and for me this was my favourite find of the day.


There were decorative pins, combs made from bone, bowls, knives and it's amazing that all of these things have survived down through the years.

What a great way to spend our Saturday together creating lots of lovely memories.

I wouldn't have it any other way. 

 href="http://www.coombemill.com/blog/category/Country-Kids.aspx" target="_blank" title="Country Kids from Coombe Mill Farm Holidays Cornwall"><img src="http://www.coombemill.com/images/blog/country_Kids/thumbs/th_Country_Kids_badge_transparent.png" border="0" alt="Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall" title="Country Kids from Coombe Mill Family Farm Holidays Cornwall" />

 

Photo of the Week

It's the weekend and I'm really looking forward to it. 

We are celebrating two very special birthdays this weekend as my aunt and godmother turns 60 and my mother in law turns 70.

Tomorrow our Teen and myself are having afternoon tea at the beautiful Castlemurray Hotel with my auntie and some family and friends, a girl only afternoon.

I do love a good afternoon tea, what a great way to spoil ourselves on a Saturday afternoon.

My husband is taking the boys to watch some football and spend some time with them.

Then on Sunday we are having dinner with my husband's family to celebrate his mum's birthday.

The weather here has been totally amazing all week and today the tar on the road was completely melted. 

It feels like we are on holiday. 

We have been out and about during the week making the most of this beautiful sunshine and I have a few posts to finish about those days but in the meantime this photo was taken on Monday with my favourite people at a little picnic area and waterfall not far from our home.

I hope your weekend is great whatever you are doing xxx

I'm Still Here

So, things have been a bit quiet here for the last few weeks. 

My life has been hectic to say the least - our two oldest are on summer holidays, we've been running here and there, I've been sick and feeling a bit fed up and then to top it off I have only gone and got myself a part time job. 

It wasn't planned at all because I wasn't looking for anything at the minute, it just happened by chance and I believe that everything happens for a reason. 

It's two days a week and it really suits me and our lifestyle and I'm happy that I don't have to miss out on all the little firsts that our Little Fella will encounter in his first year that you just don't get to go back on.

I've been looking back on the blog since I started it in February and I'm so glad that I have it as a record of our Little Fella's first year and the little things we've been up to as a family and I don't want to let it fall by the wayside.

I have loads of posts sitting in draft that I hope to get sorted out in the next few weeks, we've been out and about enjoying the beautiful summer weather that would normally be associated with the Mediterranean.

This lovely photo is taken of our roses, one of the only things to grow in our garden. I love it because I took a few slips of this rose bush from my grandmother's garden and just stuck it in the ground hoping for the best about four years ago.

Finally, thanks to my husband's green fingers we have a beautiful mass of these fragrant roses and they remind me of my grandmother every time I look out at them. When you open the back door the smell of them hits you and it feels comforting.

So please stay tuned and I can't wait to get catching up on all the blogs I love to read xxx

Our Day Trip to Fort Dunree and Glenevin Waterfall

What a difference a week can make. 

Saturday arrived with the most atrocious weather ever. 

It was raining and quite windy, the complete opposite of the glorious weather we had last week.

Undeterred by the weather we had already planned our day out to Fort Dunree ( you can check out the official website here ) so we went with it dressed up in hats and scarves because after all you can have as much fun in the rain even with small children. 

Our Inbetweener was called away last minute to a hurling event so there was just the four of us with my sister.

On the way we past through Burt and stopped off at The Grianan of Aileach Stone Fort.

The ancient fort which dates back to circa 1000 AD is built high on a hilltop on the site of a prehistoric burial mound from the Neolithic period ( around 3000 BC) and provides breathtaking views of Lough Swilly, Lough Foyle and Inch Island. 

It also commands views of three counties Donegal, Derry and Tyrone on a clear day.

On the drive up to it I said jokingly to Mr P that we were mad to be out on a day like this and that there wouldn't be anyone else about but how wrong was I? There was two bus loads of tourists from America and Spain as well as three other cars and a camper van from France. 

The smell of cooked bacon wafting from the camper van reminded me of a great trip we had in a camper van when our Inbetweener was a year old. 

Great memories and here we were once again creating more great memories to look back on.

It is a step back in time and a wonderful place to visit. I think it's amazing that this structure has survived the times and is still standing strong today.

The pictures taken here a tad dull given the weather but what a great excuse to go back and visit again. The wind was so strong that it caught the Little Fella's breathe a few times but he enjoyed it all the same.

We headed on to Fort Dunree along the Inishowen 100 Coastal Drive taking in the scenery along the way through Fahan, Buncrana and Amazing Grace Country.

The famous and well loved song Amazing Grace was penned by a slave trader named John Newton. After a violent storm in the Atlantic Ocean crippled his ship he found refuge in Lough Swilly, years later he wrote the song to mark his spiritual journey which began after his narrow escape from death. This is why the drive around part of the Lough is called 'Amazing Grace Country'.

Fort Dunree is situated on the rocky shores of Lough Swilly and is a slice of history on our doorstep.

Apart from the scenery there is a military museum with plenty of interesting war items on show. The guns are impressive and certainly one for the boys. Mr P loves this kind of thing and if you are a history lover like me you would certainly enjoy it.

There are lots of walks around the now abandoned and run down camp but you can get a sense of what the soldiers had to endure.

After we had a walk around we then had a much needed hot chocolate to warm us up again in the little coffee shop, not something you would expect to be drinking in June but with Donegal weather you just never know what to expect. 

I was shocked to see that we had been there for around four hours and it felt like we had only just arrived - a sure sign that we were enjoying ourselves.

I really enjoyed our time here and we have planned to go back on a sunny day to spend more time exploring and taking in the scenery because Fort Dunree is definitely worth more than one visit.

When we were having our hot chocolate Mr P was reading a visitors guide to the local area and saw that there was a waterfall not too far away in Clonmany.

We left Fort Dunree and headed off in search of yet another waterfall but because there was so much rain we were excited to see what it would be like after our visit last month to Assarancagh (see here) on a similar wet day.

Glenevin Waterfall is just outside the lovely village of Clonmany. The fresh mountain water descends from a height of 30 feet and was quite an impressive sight.

The walkway up to it was lovely and so well maintained. A great spot for a picnic during the summer holidays.

Funnily enough on our way back down from the waterfall the rain stopped and the sun came out. It was about six hours too late but it didn't matter at that stage of the day.

A much deserved and very late spot of lunch was had in a great little pub called The Rusty Nail. The food here is second to none and it was child friendly with very helpful staff.

I even had a glass of wine seeing as Mr P was driving.

So once again we had a great day out being a tourist on our own 

doorstep, lots of fun and great company.

Can't wait for next month.