Where does that come from?

Eoghan has a newly found interest in knowing where things come from. Obviously this can be a sticky situation... not only has he asked where Katie came from, but he has also asked where NUMEROUS things come from that I don't know the answer to. Some of the things he's asked about are: pineapples, pasta, peppers, clouds, heads, Ligas (a type of cracker), oranges, cheese, and hot dogs. And just so you know, Katie came from the hospital..

I couldn't resist taking a picture of him in that TINY little vest/belly shirt that shouldn't even fit Katie


He dressed himself this morning.. notice which way his pants are on..

Video: It was about 35 degrees outside, but he decided he needed to go running..? I don't even run out there when its that cold!:

Last night I went out to dinner with my German friend Elisa and a new au pair in the area from CANADA!! It was SO much fun talking to someone that had a remotely similar outlook on the Irish as me. Even though she lives about 20 minutes away, I'm hoping to see a lot more of her while I'm here.

E-O-G-H...?

Eoghan can spell is name... well, sort of! You judge for yourself:

Showing off for Shawny Murphy

Eoghan and I on our "laptops".. his laptop is actually the lid to a storage box

Eoghan wore his (slash Kieran's!) reflective vest so the men working next door could see him

Eoghan working hard!

Next door at the farm they are putting in a new path to make their farming set up easier. I don't really understand any of that or why they are doing it, but I do know that there is a lot of work going on over there. There are excavators (huge digger machines), loaders, and several tractors and trailers going up and down the field all day. Eoghan is fascinated by it all. Apparently a man named Shawny Murphy (a friend of Gillian and Kieran's) drives the excavators. Eoghan decided he would put on Kieran's reflective vest while he was out riding his tractors so Shawny Murphy would see him. Since the tractors are at least 150 yards away, I don't thinkkkk Shawny could possibly see him, but at least Eoghan made the effort!

Katie is flying on her feet now. I figure Courtney, Bethany, Sarah, Taylor, and (maybe..!) David will appreciate this the most- she took her first steps when they were here two weeks ago. Oh, and Eoghan also knows how to spell his name now!

The Irish VDOT

(I originally had titled this the 'Irish DMV' but was corrected by my father that DMV is not the company that fixes potholes- oops!) Tuesday morning we woke up to torrential rain and (thus) no more snow. The rainfall was comparable to the rain we'd see during hurricanes- with water pouring down the slope beside the house. I attempted to drive down to the village to mail some letters, but the road was blocked because of the flooding.

Wednesday we were able to see the damage that all the water had caused. The road that the Fordes live on was already in bad enough shape, but the power behind all the water caused even more damage. The potholes are unbelievable. There was one part of the road that a small car could barely pass through because the road had deteriorated so much on both sides. As of now, they have "fixed" the road and these pictures were taken this morning. I assume this is going to be like one of those jobs at home that takes VDOT years to fix. In the meantime, it makes running up the hill quite a challenge!

Gillian, Eoghan, and Katie surveying the damage

And the 18 wheeler milk trucks are expected to go up and down this road!

View down the hill

Notice Eoghan is knee deep in this hole (AFTER the roads have been repaired!)

In other news, I was supposed to be going to Paris this weekend, but I ended up having to cancel my trip. The person I was supposed to be staying with in Paris was diagnosed with swine flu on Wednesday and so I would have had to book my own transportation, accommodation, etc. and travel alone (which I had not been planning on doing). Before coming to Ireland, I did not have that much interest in going to France, but because I would have had a translator, a tour guide, free accommodation, and transportation, the trip had become more appealing to me. Without all of those things, I didn't see much sense in going anymore. Hopefully the opportunity will come up again!

Oh, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAVANNAH!!!

Life without my Americans

Courtney and I took the train up to Dublin Saturday afternoon convinced that her flight was going to be canceled on Sunday morning. Dublin airport was closed down all day on Saturday and the forecast for Saturday night was more snow. We figured it wasn't worth risking staying the night in Killavullen and then having her flight leave on time, so we caught the train and stayed in a hotel in Dublin.

After going to dinner and walking back in the BLIZZARD, we were sure we'd be stuck in Dublin for a couple of days. We woke up the next morning though and her flight was scheduled to leave on time. The two of us took a taxi to the airport early in the morning so she could catch her 9 AM flight. Courtney checked in at 7, to learn she needed to clear US Immigration by 7:15. Needless to say, it was a rushed goodbye (which in all honesty was probably a better thing!). I told her I would hang around in case her flight was delayed or canceled. By 8:30 it was still set to leave, so I headed back to the train station to make my 10 AM train.

The Fordes picked me up at the Mallow train station and we headed up to Auntie Marie's to enjoy the snow. Between being exhausted from my week of traveling and being a little homesick for everyone, I didn't spend too much quality time in the snow, but I made up for that today.

Killavullen got 4-5 inches of snow and its the most they've seen in 40+ years. Very few cars have been able to travel on the roads. Kieran has had to pull a couple out of the ditch. Luckily they have 4 wheel drive on their Jeep, so we haven't had a problem traveling around. I, however, will NOT be taking the Corsa out!

Their road in the snow

Carmel getting pelted by snowballs

Eoghan, Katie, Ben, Charlie, and I posing with the snowmen

Hating Goodbyes

Its hard to believe that my week of entertaining the 'Yanks' is almost over. David left on Thursday, the girls left today, and Courtney is headed home on Sunday (although apparently Dublin airport was closed down for awhile- I'm praying for her to be snowed in!). I have had such a good time with the kids here. Traveling around the country with them has really been one of the highlights of my trip to Ireland. They have picked up some Irish expressions and shared some American flair with everyone they've met. I feel like I've started saying more Irish phrases since having them around than I did before they came!

Taylor and Eoghan

Wednesday morning we took our time waking up and getting ready. We didn't have too much on our agenda besides visiting Blarney. Blarney is only 20 minutes away from Killavullen and is home to the 'Blarney Stone'. When I asked Gillian and Kieran the point of the Blarney Stone they said it was an easy way to make millions off Americans! (and believe me, it's worked) We shopped around in Blarney Woollen Mills, and then Courtney, Sarah, Bethany, and I bought tickets to the Blarney Castle. This castle was pretty unbelievable. It was much more exciting than Bunratty which we had done earlier in the week. Once we made our way up the skinny staircase, we each kissed the Blarney stone (hopefully NOT catching swine flu in the process) and (as the myth has it) gained the gift of eloquence.

Pebble Hill Roommates Climbing the Blarney Castle

Kissing the Blarney Stone

On our way home from Blarney, we stopped at the grocery store to get supplies for that nights dinner. We made pasta 'a la Taylor', garlic bread, and a vegetable stir fry. I also baked cake batter cookies with the supplies they had brought me from home (YUM!).

David was the babysitter (aka the 'Manny') while the girls cooked dinner

Thursday was an early morning taking David to Shannon airport. Sarah and Bethany followed me up in the rental car to return and then rode back with me to Killavullen. We were back by 9:30 AM (a long morning!). My car is of course still making an awful clanking noise (sounds like I'm dragging a chain.. but I'm not...), so we figured we were helping the entire town wake up for work on time as we motored on by.

Once we got back home, Sarah and Bethany went up for a nice four hour nap, while Taylor, Courtney, and I watched the kiddos (Gill and Kieran were back at work that morning). Gillian's cousin came by to take Taylor, Courtney, and Eoghan farming (and of course for their first tractor ride!). Taylor was NOT too impressed with the cow smell! I took Katie for a walk in her new bike. Based on the expression on her face, I don't think she had too much fun:

Courtney and I visiting the cows

Taylor, Eoghan, and Courtney going for a tractor ride!

I had to take Taylor, Sarah, and Bethany to Shannon this morning to catch their 1:45 PM flight. Courtney was nice enough to watch the kids while I was gone. My tiny little Opel Corsa was packed to the brim. Sarah and Bethany had to share one seat because the suitcases were taking up so much room. It was of course an emotional morning saying goodbye, but I am blessed to still have Courtney around! This blog and the pictures will never do the whole experience justice. It was so much fun sharing Ireland with these guys!

Of 'corsa' the Corsa was packed to the brim

From Dingle to Killarney

It was a little more difficult to leave the Forde's house yesterday than we had anticipated, because Eoghan gets really upset any time "all of his friends" leave. Around noon, we finally got away and made our way towards Dingle. We convinced Eoghan that we were following him to his cousins house in our own car...Gillian said he was "baffled" that we somehow had gotten lost along the way.

We eventually made it to Dingle and drove along Slea Head Drive to the westernmost point in Ireland. Getting there involved tons of scenic photo stops.


Bethany, Courtney, Page, and Taylor jumping off the wall on the westernmost part of Ireland.

The view from Slea Head Drive. Its amazing how close the mountains are to the ocean here.

After a bit of sightseeing, we had dinner at a local pub and then went to find our hostel. The hostel was called "Paddy's Palace" and David kept calling it "Paddy's Paradise." We were afraid to stop for directions, because in the US if we asked for directions to Paddy's Palace, people would undoubtedly assume we were looking for the local strip club. We eventually found the place and settled into our private room. David and Taylor were both a little anxious about staying overnight in a hostel. David kept talking about how "any time now, a girl covered in blood will come running down the hall," and Taylor was scared of the "bed bugs" and swore she was having an allergic reaction to the sheets.

We made it through the night without incident. The next morning, however, was a different story. It had snowed overnight and Page's car had started making a really bizarre rattling noise. We stopped at a mechanic before leaving town, but were going to have to wait an hour so we decided to just keep going.

We made it to Killarney and ate lunch at a local cafe. One of the waitresses was very interested in hearing about the US and discussing whether or not we liked Obama. We decided that letting Bethany answer those questions would create the least controversy. After shopping around Killarney for a while, we tried another mechanic on the way out of town. Again, no luck...but we made it safely back to Killavullen and Kieran thinks he should be able to fix Page's car.

Tonight Gillian made an awesome traditional Irish dinner and bacon (Canadian ham to us) and cabbage. And Dad, we all ate brussel sprouts.

-Sarah and BethanyThe girls in the town center of Killarney.

From Dublin to Dingle

Sorry about the brief lapse in updating my blog! We went for a few days without Internet access, followed by a short visit at home, so we never had a chance to do a massive update.

Galway was great fun. To be honest, that still is probably my favorite part of the trip. We left Ennis in the early morning to take on the drive to Galway. Once we landed in our cute bed and breakfast, we layered up and walked into the city center. David came in wearing two pairs of pants and seven shirts! (obviously it was cold..!) It was about a 1.5 mile hike into the city, but well worth it. The town of Galway is so picturesque with the colored houses by the water. David was in 7th heaven when he finally found a MCDONALDS! He made a fool out of himself by asking for a "sweet tea". The clerk just looked at him and laughed. After dinner in a small town called Salt Hill, we went back to the B&B to rest up before hitting the town for New Years Eve. Taylor, Courtney, and I were the only party animals that braved Galway, but we had a blast. We spent most of the time in a pub called 'Tig Colit' (Irish for Colit's House). We really just had the best time!

Oteys in Galway!

David (or Michael Jackson?) posing under the Spanish Arch

The next morning we ventured out on the foggy roads to drive through Connemara National Park. It is absolutely BEAUTIFUL. It reminded me of a cross between Alaska (with the snow capped mountains and beautiful lakes) and Montana with the fields. After our gorgeous drive, we made the long trek to Dublin where we stayed in Gillian's friend's Vivienne's house.

Stopping to enjoy the view

Connemara

The next morning we braved the ICE and caught the bus into Dublin city center. I wasn't too excited about being back in Dublin because (to me) its like any other city, but it was surprisingly one of David and Sarah's favorite part of the trip. We went to brunch at a crepe place that had been recommended to Sarah and then ventured around the city. Courtney, Taylor, and I went shopping while Bethany, David, and Sarah did touristy things and saw all the different sites. We then met up to go to the Guinness Storehouse. The Otey kids refused the free pints of Guinness, but Bethany and Courtney dug right in! (brave kids)

He couldn't control his excitement about seeing a Starbucks (this boy misses his fast food!)

Driving back to Killavullen was a NIGHTMARE. We were going about 15 mph on an interstate-like road. It took us a good 4 hours or so. Once we got to Killavullen, it was so fun to see Eoghan and Katie interacting with everyone. Eoghan is obsessed with David! We went into the village pub that night with Carmel and her friends and had a really good time. Taylor and Courtney are picking up the Irish slang. "Ye", "whats the crack?", and "savage" have become part of their daily vocabulary now!

Sarah is supposed to update about our trip to Dingle.. We have many interesting stories from that trek! Love to everyone at home!