As I mentioned in my previous post, the kids missed the first week of school due to a trip that we took to Ireland. The last time we were in Ireland as a family was five years ago. Finorah was about 18 months and I was three months pregnant with Conall. E has wanted to make the trip over for the past four years. E wanted to name Conall after his Uncle Con and he really wanted Uncle Con to meet his namesake. After finding a new airport with super cheap flights, we were on our way!
We flew into Dublin and E's family is in Donegal. For those not in the know, Dublin is on the southeast side of Ireland and Donegal is on the northwest side. The drive up was 3.5 hours. We rented a car and we were off. Unfortunately, the car we rented combined with the fact that we were on the wrong side of the road and it took E a bit to get used to shifting with his left hand, poor Conall who is prone to get car sick, got car sick three times on the way up. We stopped in Cavan after he got sick the first time to walk around and get the kids some lunch.
While in Cavan, we went to a restaurant where Finorah proceeded to break her soda glass all over the floor. The place was so silent after it fell, that it took a bit of reassurance to Finorah that she wasn't in trouble. There we also found goujons (goo-johns), which were the kids' food staple and were simply tenders made from real chicken, not processed chicken and chips, which were a fancy name for french fries. The kids loved the fact that it was the same food, but had different names.
We saw the most vibrant rainbow I have ever seen on the way up to Donegal, while in Northern Ireland.
While getting our pints and sodas, Conall was able to flirt with a lady to get a couple of lollipops for him and his sister.
We continued on after lunch and arrived in Donegal around 7:00pm. We stopped for a pint and a soda and a "99", which also became a staple for the kids. A "99" is simply a soft serve ice cream cone with a little chocolate bar stuck in the side. We also had Irish sprinkles, which at some point in the trip, we took a photo of the bag, so we could buy them at home. The best sprinkles we have ever had!
Uncle Con lives about 15-20 minutes outside of Donegal near a small town called Frosses. So after the "99" outside of Donegal Castle, we headed up to Uncle Con's which is where we were staying for the week.
Uncle Con's is absolutely beautiful. It is set deep in sheep country. The road that leads to his house is a single lane with grass growing in the middle. If you meet a car on the two mile drive out to his place, you have to pull off into the ditch to let the other car pass. Uncle Con lives at the end of that road, so we saw no other cars pass his house unless they were arriving to visit.
Uncle Con has over a thousand of acres and hundreds of sheep. He also has a quad, which Conall fondly named the "gator" bc my parents have a John Deere gator that he loves to ride on while in Iowa. We had taken the quad out multiple times during the week to visit far reaches of Uncle Con's property (which I'll get into more later).
Uncle Con also has a border collie named Jess. Jess was there the last time we were in Ireland. She had a companion named Spot who has since passed (God bless his soul). While we were there, Spot was the kind one and Jess was aloof. She liked to get into Uncle Con's truck and sit to get away from all the kids that were around then.
This time, Jess was kind and patient, especially with Conall. She is such a sweet, sweet soul. The only time she growled at him was when Conall tried to lay on her (twice). She isn't used to such affection -- I mean, she is a working dog afterall. When I tried to kiss her on the forehead for the first time, she got scared and ducked her head. But she warmed up to me quickly when I started slipping her food from my plate.
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