Almost double digits - Brittney is 9!

Saturday was the big day for Brittney. The count down had been on for quite some time but when the day finally came she couldn't believe it. She kept telling me she didn't feel 9! So I felt of her ribs and then my expanded tummy & told her she was definitely 9. Her birthday party won't be until January; that is one of the joys of having a December birthday - no one is ready for an additional party in December but come January people are begging for a party. We have rented out Activity World as usual so she can bring all of her friends, the other ISE families, and some of Sophie's friends.
But back to THE day... It started with Brittney opening her gifts which included the Harry Potter game for the Wii (I'll blog about the Wii a little later) and a 2nd Harry Potter wand. Evidently if you have 2 H.P. wands you can play a duelling game & cast "spells" on each other. Brittney spent the first part of the morning playing on the Wii. Then Emily came down & Kevin took all the girls to see a movie & lunch at Frankie & Benny's. He had the restaurant do the traditional embarrassing song & dessert for Brittney, and of course she absolutely loved it.
Then the night included Kevin's work party so we were gone, but Brittney & Emily had a sleep over, stayed up until 2am, and ate lots of cake & ice cream. On Sunday Brittney gave me a thank you card saying it was the best birthday ever...who knew!
But for a trip down memory lane I have included a few pictures below...

2nd Birthday - Brittney & NeeNee

Brittney as a Wooden Puppet

Preschool Graduation

Sarah & Brittney Summer of 2007

Need I explain this one!!! summer 2007

Brittney, Sophie, and Emily

Ireland Nov 2008

As a thank you to Granny for taking care of the girls & Kevin while I was in China we had booked a family trip to Ireland. It was a jam packed weekend with freezing cold temperatures. I am not sure that we did Granny any favors by taking her to Ireland but we did have the best of intentions... First off, the weather was FREEZING. I was colder than when we go skiing. We were bundled up in our winter jackets, scarves, hats, and gloves but it was not enough to conquer the cold. So, if we Illinois transplants were cold just imagine how cold Floridian Granny was... It is interesting, as I have talked to other people, the consensus is that Ireland is cold pretty much every month except July/August. Wish I would have known that before Kevin went to all the work to book us a trip, because I would have suggested something like the Canary Islands instead :-) Oh well, lesson learned!

The first day we visited the Waterford Crystal Factory. We were able to learn a lot about the process, & I have to admit it was pretty interesting. Then we walked around the on-sight "gift" shop. Much to Kevin's delight, I am not that much of a crystal girl so I wasn't interested in any of the really expensive items. That is not to say they weren't nice, just not quite my style.

Ok, I'll take this for a Christmas/Birthday combined gift :-)

A tribute to the 911 Firefighters

A replica of the New Year's ball dropped in New York

We then drove to our next destination but it was too late to get into the castle so we went on to the B&B. It was a quaint village with a great Italian restaurant. However, the B&B we stayed in did not have central heat and by midnight the pipes had froze - did I mention earlier that it was COLD! So the next morning when we woke up, we couldn't go to the bathroom and couldn't take a shower. To be quite honest, I just wanted to stay under the covers where I was warm.

After breakfast we were off to see the Blarney Castle & kiss the famous Blarney stone. Boy was the Blarney stone a let down... we were all expecting this stone that you go up to and kiss. Nope, it is part of the castle. You have to lay down on your back, lean your head through an opening at the top of the castle, and then kiss the "stone" while some stranger is holding you secure. Yeah right - not this girl! But Kevin & Brittney kissed the stone & have a certificate to prove it (sorry no pictures aloud - I'm guessing it is in case they drop you, they don't want any evidence).



See, Granny really did come; she just doesn't like her picture taken so you have to sneak it in. Did I mention it was COLD!

One of my favorite memories was skating/skiing across the icy bridges with the girls. I would pull them while they held their legs stiff. They thoroughly loved it & I did too until my back started hurting. Man it is tough getting old :-)

Next we were off to have a medieval dinner at the Bunratty Castle. All of the servers are the entertainment as well. In between the meal courses they provided a little show, and Kevin was dragged into it. He was to be the outlaw that had snuck into the event & had to beg for mercy. He did a good job of getting everyone to sing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" as his punishment. I kept having to reassure Sophie that nothing bad was going to happen to daddy - she was quite worried & upset...

Kevin begging for mercy...

You eat the dinner with only a knife - this could have proved to be dangerous. The soup is drank/slurped from the bowl, the chicken is eaten with your hands, and the potatoes are stabbed with the knife. Each person is provided a little bowl with water & a lemon in it to wash your hands periodically during the dinner. It was quite the experience.

The next morning we came back to explore Bunratty Castle before returning to Dublin.

Don't you think Brittney might be asking for trouble looking into a canon with her sister next to the trigger :-)

We spent the last day in Dublin and the morning at the Guinness Factory. Again, I was pleasantly surprised at how enjoyable the tour is. The kids loved running around, Sophie took tons of pictures in the beginning, Brittney took video for awhile, and Dad got to drink a few "free" pints. What's not to love...


Sophie in front of one of the trains used in the earlier days...

Brittney & dad enjoying lunch at the factory

As I blog about the trip I realize just how much we were able to see, how much fun we did have (when we weren't freezing), and I remind myself of just how precious time is & valuable family is. I love you all! Thanks for putting up with my moods :-)