Cam and Cailey Update

 School is going well for Cam and Cailey so far. The walk a lot, mainly because parking is so packed on campus and it's easier to walk then find a spot. They have really taken advantage of having a kitchen. Thankfully they have been smart and done some meal planning and are cooking dinners and eating leftovers. He sends us an update each night with how his day was. It's my favorite part of the night. Its been coming with a picture of what they had for dinner. Really not too bad. 

Cam made a grilled PBJ. It was delish but...

he upgraded it with bacon.

Chicken and rice. They do have a lot of rice.

Cailey's favorite meal, Haystacks. 

French bread pizza

They're eating better here than at home.

This Weekend

 With the youngest two in school, that means that it was time for Cam and Cailey to head back to school too. Brad, Jacks and I took a trip up with them to help them move into their dorms. The one Cam has this year had a small (very small) kitchen in it, but that means he doesn't have to have a meal plan. It is on the second floor and no elevator, so we were all tired after moving everything. They're both excited for the upcoming year and all it brings. 

First meal cooked in the over, a pizza. Realized he did not take a pizza cutter though.

While we did that, Emery went to the fair with Jenna. Emery used to hate pretty much any ride, but now loves them. She just needed a friend to make her go. She said it was hot, but still a lot of fun. 

All American Rejects

 One thing I have not done enough of this year is going to concerts. Last year I had a ton. The fair was going on and All American Rejects was one of the bands playing at it. I loved them, I'd say growing up, but they were big early in our marriage; I'm now at that age?! Anyways, the concert was a ton of fun and they did a good job. He was a little quirky, but still worth going to. We had all the kids and Paul and Michelle. The kids were in the pit, but the adults got seat tickets. I'm really glad we did. 

Another Challenge Complete

 While in Ireland I signed up for another Conqueror Challenge. This one was to the Giants Causeway. I figured since were going to see the real ones, might as well walk it. Plus I knew we were going to be doing a lot of walking on the trip. I finished it with one or two days left in the trip. I really like doing these and want to do a lot more. 

While I Was Gone

 Before I left Emery wanted to paint a shirt. She did one that was from Diary of a Wimpy Kid. I think it turned out really well. 

Jacks loves the show One Piece and they just came out with some Legos. We got the ship and built that together the night before I left. 

I missed the first day of school. I was sad to miss it, but Brad had it. He took a picture just for me. It was fun to get it that afternoon (well afternoon for me). Jackson is in 9th grade and in high school. Emery is starting 11th grade. 

They of course got their first day of school candygram. We did shop for this before I left so I could help a little. 

They both have zero hour seminary because of the school they go to and they both crashed after they got home. 

It was weird to be away from them for so long, but we all survived. 

The End

 We traveled to Skerries which was really close to the airport for our flight home the next day. We ate at a tapas restaurant called The Brick. I got a pepper steak that was so good. Some went to the beach, I just relaxed. After we got out last 99. 

Our Airbnb was right on the beach. The views in Ireland can not be beat. 

When the tide went down, some of the boats were in a spot where they could not be moved. It's crazy how much the time of day effects the water levels. 

Around the town there were bronze 99s. 

For dinner we went to a pizza place. They could not seat 13 of us, so we went next door to a bar and ordered there. The bar tender had Rhett help him give us cups, and since he helped him, he made Rhett a drink on the house. Rhett thought it was the coolest thing. 

One thing my body did not like to do was sleep in. I woke up about 6 am (about midnight in Idaho). The next day Paul got some pastries for breakfast, again, Ireland make some good pastries. 

We drove to the airport and started our long day of flights back. Two of our flights were delayed a little, but it worked out. By Portland I was over traveling fully, but still had a couple hour layover and hour flight home. 

All of us ready to go home after dropping off our cars. 

Going home selfie.

Our flight got home at midnight and we got home and to bed about 1 am. Hopefully this is the last time for a bit that I'm awake for 25 hours straight. Even with that, this trip was fully worth it. I still can't believe it happened. All we saw and did was perfect. I am so glad I was able to have my mom there to show us around and tell us about her life. I hope some day to take my kids to show them Grandmas house and area she lived. 

Obviously a different country will have things different than here. Other than the soda, a few other things were interesting to me. Gas was done by liters, which adds up fast when filling up a car. The price was also done in cents. Most stations would also only let you get 50 Euros at a time. There was a slow and fast lane, but it was switched. The right was the fast lane and left was slow. On roads where they didn't have two lanes there was a half lane to the left. Sometimes slower traffic would pull into that and allow others to pass. We ran into a few places where most to all of the company took a 1-2 week holiday. Pizza and Kebab was all over the place and almost always together. We still don't know why that combo was put together. Ice really isn't a thing. We got it sometimes at places, but it was very little. I do love my ice water. The water bottles said to drink within 3 days of opening, I thought that was weird. 

But every bottle with a cap made it so the cap didn't fall off. This is one thing we need here. 

Some weird signs around Ireland. They are called humps, not bumps, which made all of us laugh. 

Dog fouling is so much better than poop. 

I'm not sure when the next big trip will happen, but I do need a bit to recoup. I can't say enough how much I loved this and how worth it the whole thing was. A literal dream come true. 

Day 11- August 12th

 Another thing I was excited to see was the Titanic museum. Titanic was built in Ireland and this was one of the best museums I've been to. The building is the same size as the ship was. 

Replica of what the area looked like where boats were worked on. 

The grass area is where the Titanic sat. You can see the outline of the front of the ship. 

Another replica of what the area looked like. 

A model of the Titanic. So impressive what they built with the limited machines they had. 

An example of what the first class rooms looked like. 

And the third class room. 

The room that told and showed who died and survived was very somber. Playing were some people who lived and their accounts of it. One said they kept being told everything was okay so he and his friends were having like a snowball fight with the ice that had fallen onto the ship. Of the passengers, only about 700 survived and 1500 did not. 

It showed and told the story of in 1985 of Robert Ballard and how he and a crew found the Titanic. He watched or read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" and became obsessed and focused on finding the ship. 

This is a deck chair from the ship that was recovered. 

These were from a couple of passengers who didn't survive. It is amazing of all they were able to recover. 

I would love to go back and do this again. 

Next we went to a movie. It was nice to relax and see how similar and different movies were there. Pretty much all the same, except no butter on their popcorn.

Last thing this day was getting candy. I may or may not have gotten way too much candy, but totally wroth it. Some was bought earlier in the trip, but all the chocolate was bought this night. This was our last night in Belfast and I was a little sad to leave. I was ready to be home, but also didn't want to leave.