One more...

This was a scene from one of our recent walks... = ) I've done a lot of walking with the kids...rediscovering old haunts and discovering a few new ones!

Hard to believe...

Hard to believe but my days here in Ireland are coming to a close again...Monday afternoon will find me on a "hairplane" (Harvey's words) back to the States. Here are some more fun pics for your viewing pleasure!

Rhia and I enjoying our morning coffee, or in her case, milk. We both look a wee bit sleepy yet! = )

Rhia showing off a war wound.

A surprise visit from a fellow Washingtonian (and teacher!), Rebecca Cressell. And don't you just love the swimming caps...they were insistent that they would need them for the beach!

Happy 1st birthday, Shirley-girl! It is pretty neat to get to be here for the big day, since I was here when she was born too! = ) Olwyn took the day off and we took the kids to Fota Wildlife Park to celebrate. (Shirley slept through a lot of it, but we all had fun!)

Harvey making funny faces!

Olwyn's cousin Linley is here visiting...we decided to make the trek to the beach with all 4 kiddos + Cormac's friend Andrew.

Rhia and Shirley enjoying the sand...

I'm not sure Shirley had ever played in the sand before...she loved it! = )

Linley, Andrew and Cormac

Shirley and I, enjoying each others company.

Goofin' with the kids...

Here's some more fun ones of the Shorten Crew...

Rhia continues to be my shadow...it's kind of fun being adored!! = ) I hear "Issa? Where are you?!?" and "What you doin', 'Issa?" A LOT these days! She was the one that was usually attached to my hip when I was here before too.

The other night, out of the blue, Harvey asked me, "Do you have a shower in 'Merica, Lissa?" - Random, but funny! He is very into 'Merica right now, and is pretty certain he will just come home with me in my suitcase! I don't know...do you have any opinions on that, Alec?? = ) He also still calls the airport the "hairport" and he knows that I've been living there for the 8 months since I saw him last! After all, that is the last place he saw me, so...that must be where I've been!

Miss Shirley is about the cuddliest baby I've met...she is just plain adorable. It hasn't taken us very long to get reacquainted and now she buries her face in my shoulder when there are other people around that she doesn't know very well. Smiles. I'm soaking up my baby time!

Cormac is off at a friend's house this week, so I don't see too much of him! He has been a busy boy the last couple of weeks!

If you looked up the word "trouble" in the dictionary, this is what you should see!

Rhia showing off her wellies at the beach

Harvey was still scared of the water last year when I was here...not anymore!

Happy boy!

Shirley looking cute, as always.

Cormac and I played tennis the other night...or some variation of it anyway. Mostly, he hit it and it was my job to go fetch it! = )

Rhia sporting someone else's shoes...she does that frequently, it seems!

Watch out for your toes...this kid is on the move!

Another walk...but a different set of kids! How Rhia always ends up in the back, I'm not sure, but she doesn't seem to mind. We've been to all my old haunts...on this particular journey, we headed to the village to visit the coffee shop run by a woman from Seattle!

Shirley being shy. = )

London - Day Two and Three

Day Two and Three in London - wow, Krindee and I managed to pack a lot into our days here. No wonder I was so tired by the time we got to Ireland! On Day #2, we booked a hop on, hop off tour on a double decker bus. We hit all sorts of places in London that day, including Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Oxford Street (the BEST shopping!), Houses of Parliment, Westminster Abbey...and to top it all off, we even saw a show that night. I think I dozed off a couple of times on the Underground headed back to our hotel after all that... = )

Sitting on the bus, trying to wake up for our day! I was pretty certain the two Starbucks lattes would help...! Just kidding, one of them was Krin's!

Krindee took both of these pics from the top of the bus...yes, we were a little close to that stoplight! And yes, traffic is a bit crazy on a typical London morning!

A very cool fountain in Trafalgar Square...it was fairly early still, and the square was quiet and peaceful. Didn't last too long, but it was neat while it did.

A view from Trafalgar Square...Big Ben is in the background.

Krindee with a guard in front of residence of Prince Charles...we were warned by our tour guide several times that these guys mean business. Please don't touch them. Please don't run at them. They'll shoot you. After checking out their weapons, we obeyed!

This, my friends, is a picture of a person blocking my view of the car Prince Harry was in!! Isn't that lame??

The changing of the guard...which was interrupted by...

the Queen's carriages and eventually the Queen's car! (The Queen wasn't actually in them, but our guide was about beside himself with joy...first Prince Harry, and now this unexpected procession, led by policemen and the whole works!)

Buckingham Palace, and the mass of humanity that was there for the changing of the guard - our guide is the fella in the hat and the English flag. He managed to find us two other quieter spots to watch the changing of the guard. Notice the flag on top of Buckingham Palace...the Queen was there for the day!

Finally...lunch in the park! And someone has conveniently placed these chairs for us to sit on! How kind of them...oh, wait a minute, we have to pay for them??? "The chairs are not free, Miss!" Oh, of course not...how silly of me... = )

Big Ben - one of my favorite sights in London, both on my last visit and this time too.

Our hop-on, hop-off tour included a little river cruise...looking back on the Houses of Parliment and Big Ben.

The Tower of London, which we explored the following day.

And to top our day off...Les Miserables!!

Day #3 -

St. Paul's Cathedral (or at least part of it!)

You can climb way up to the top of the cathedral and get some amazing views of London...we were told the view was just as good from there as what you get from the London Eye.

Views of London from St. Paul's...the ferris wheel looking thing would be the London Eye.

This was a bit disconcerting...this is a pedestrian bridge (the Millenium Bridge, I think). Look at the picture at the end of it...yup, it's a guy pointing his machine gun at you. I wasn't terribly impressed.

Hanging out next to the Tower Bridge...the sun was shining and our feet hurt, so we figured this was a good place to sit for a bit. Krindee wrote postcards...I fell asleep. = )

Walking across the Tower Bridge...I didn't know you could!

All for now!

Luv, Alissa

London!

Well. Isn't this amazing. Another post so soon! It only took me coming back to Ireland to get with it!

Interesting fact: the national average for rainfall the first couple of weeks here in Ireland is up 420% from last year. = )

Harvey, Rhia and I went walking today, just like we used to! Either I've gotten a lot weaker, or those kids have gotten a fair amount heavier! We did our same loop today, and it took us about an hour and a half. Not too far off from what we did it in last year, but I was tired by the time we got home. And we're walking to the beach again here soon... = ) I'll sleep well tonight.

On the road again! (Sorry, kiddos...I see now you were looking directly into the bit of sun we had!)

Last time we did this stretch of road, Rhia wasn't walking yet. We went up an insanely steep hill today, and these two got out and walked all the way up it! (They were ready to get back in the buggy at the end of it!) Notice Rhia's adorable wellies and Harvey's slippers!

The view. = ) It was a bit overcast today, so the sky and sea kind of blend together.

Loading up the car to head to the beach...Rhia is waiting very patiently!

These two pictures are of the sunset in Wicklow one night last week, when we were up on holidays at Olwyn's parents.

LONDON: July 22nd to July 26th (Day 1, anyway!)

These first pictures were all taken at the British Museum...Krindee and I hadn't planned on making a stop here, but we were waiting for STA to open and discovered the Museum while wandering around the Russel Square area of London. Admission was free and the place was amazing! You could easily spend days in there. We actually spent some of our 1st day in London here and then part of our last day as well. = )

The inside of the British Museum...isn't the roof neat??

The stairs are pretty cool too!

Krindee almost touching part of a reconstructed wall from the Palace of Darius - we were well aware that you weren't allowed to actually touch the wall, but according to the security guard, pretending to touch it isn't so cool either. = )

The library of King George III - amazing! The pictures definitely don't do this place justice.

This would be the slightly-crazed expression that I get when around so many old books just waiting to be explored! Thanks, Krindee...great picture. = )

Kensington Palace

Princess Diana Memorial Fountain - it was COLD!

Once I got over the shock of being cold, the pictures turned out better! = ) The fountain is actually a big circle, and the water makes different patterns depending on the surface below it. It is supposed to represent openess. It actually was pretty neat.

I enjoyed the "polite notice" signs.

A smart car - for anyone who has seen the Pink Panther with Steve Martin, you'll know what Krindee and I were laughing about when we saw this one parked.

The Underground - most convenient IF you didn't pack too much luggage. Krindee thought we probably should have tallied how many times I managed to get some guy to drag my suitcase up the stairs without even having to ask our last day in London, when we had to use the Tube to get clear across the city. You can also ask Krindee about what happens when you are 5'2", too short to reach the top hold bar, and have to be squeezed in the middle of the train during rush hour traffic. That is a good story! Or, the one involving the door closing before I was all the way through it...another good one. The Underground and I are NOT the best of friends, actually...

An excellent reminder! It's amazing Krindee and I survived London... = )