More Macs in Ireland

I am such a blog slacker! It has been almost a month since Glenn's family members were here and I haven't said a word yet. Needless to say, we had a blast with Malcolm, Arlene, Alicia and Brendan. Glenn and I are so lucky that we have travelers in our families. Life in Dublin has been blessed with their visits.

Far from smooth, this trip was certainly exciting. First the bad news: Alicia arrived with a sore hip or back (I forget which). Glenn came home early from work the day after the group arrived with some sort or Irish plague which dogged him for the next month. Poor Brendie got sick, too. Alicia and I both started to come down with the cold/flu situation, but managed to fight it off somehow. I aggravated a shoulder injury at rugby practice to the point where my left arm was useless for the better part of two weeks. Arlene had a fall and ended up with a good-sized egg on her forehead just before coming down with the yucky cold. Did I leave anything out? Only Mal made it through unscathed. We were a big mess of sneezes, ice packs, pain killers and every kind of cold medicine available. Despite all that, we managed to have a great time in Ireland.

Alicia and Brendan actually took a side trip to Italy to visit with Alicia's friend, Soosie (sp?). They got to go to Soosie's parents' farm and Brendan had a blast with the farm animals and Soosie's big bulldog, Bullo. The pictures were fantastic and I can't wait to go with them next time.

The gang took a trip to the North and visited Belfast and Giant's Causeway. Glenn had to work and I stayed behind to catch up on some things at home. We all went out to various pubs and parks. We walked all around Dublin and spent some downtime watching movies (if you haven't already seen Wall-E, I highly recommend it) and snacking. We took a road trip all together to south to Kilkenny, Wexford and Enniscorthy. What beautiful country it is down there. I loved touring around aimlessly and seeing the sights.

Glenn and Brendan standing watch at Kilkenny Castle

We also visited Newgrange, a stone age passage tomb northwest of Dublin. Chris and I stopped here years ago and it was just as awe-inspiring the second time around.

Newgrange Tomb entrance

There were lots of other cool adventures, but most of you have probably heard of them already. Needless to say, Glenn and I were completely spoiled having Brendie and the rest around for so long. Once they left (and we napped for four hours), we were lonely for them. Going from the chaos of a full house to the quiet of just the two of us was a letdown. We can't wait to see everyone again soon.