Day 21 ~ Homeward Bound

Our three weeks in Ireland were coming to a close. Looking back, I can't believe we were able to pack so much into our time there. I would have never imagined there was so much to see in one tiny corner of that country. We never had to travel far to see something beautiful, historical or interesting.

We woke up on our final day to an absolute downpour. It was the kind of rain that ran down your face and drenched your hair in a matter of minutes. It was absolutely socked in and since we really didn't have any plans it didn't really matter.
Sinead did take me out for lunch on our last day there. We had really wanted to get out, just the two of us and this was our final opportunity. She took me to a place called Cafe Blend for a tasty lunch and we were able to have a great visit without the demands of the babies. A treat indeed.

Afterwards we did a bit of shopping at some of the bigger outlet stores. They have a TK Maxx instead of TJ Maxx and a Home Base instead of Home Depot!

We were definitely looking forward to the evening because we had a sitter coming over to look after ALL the kids and were going out to dinner!

I'm sure missing those girls. It was fun to have some female company for a change.

We also attempted to get a group shot of all the kids. As you can see Clodagh was less than impressed with the whole idea. We finally got one that we were happy with though!

As we were getting ready to leave for our much anticipated night out, Darryl made the kids these supreme and deluxe ice cream sundaes. They were quite yummy looking and it was hard not to take a bite! Our dinner reservations were for 8:30pm so we could get all the babies to bed for Eileen!

They tucked into their sundaes and watched their DVD. Happy as clams.

For dinner we went to the Lemon Tree. It wasn't super fancy or anything but a very comfortable atmosphere. The food was all extremely fresh and delicious. The men had starters....Darryl and Keith both got crab cakes I think. My memory is failing me here. For the main course I had the penne with roasted vegetables, Keith and Darryl had pan seared cod and Sinead had some sort of chicken dish. It was all divine. We were able to visit properly and relax for the evening.

I was too full for dessert but Keith and Sinead decided to indulge. Keith had the creme brulee which was uniquely served up on a roof slate.

Sinead had the lemon tart with raspberry sorbet. It was so good....she was nice enough to let me sample!

After we had all stuffed ourselves silly we weren't quite ready to go home yet. Darryl and Sinead wanted to take us out for a drink. So we walked up the street aways to the 'Cottage Bar' pub. It was a most unique place with dark little corners, interesting photos on the walls and many people socializing and enjoying themselves. Keith and Darryl had a whiskey drink called an 'Irish Mist' while Sinead and I had a vodka with bitter lemon. Strong but good. By now it was midnight and Sinead was feeling the urge to feed Emma. We sadly left for home but also left with some wonderful memories. Eileen reported that the kids gave her no trouble and the babies never woke up either. Lucky her!

At this point we decided there was no use in going to bed. It was well past midnight and we had to leave the house at 3:30 am to get to Belfast Airport. Our good man Darryl took a quick nap because he was going to go straight to work after he dropped us off at the airport. Yikes!

So we sorted our suitcases, visited and whiled away the time until it was the moment to leave. We woke up the kids (who went to bed fully dressed for this rude awakening) and also Ceara because she really wanted to say good bye. We had some teary moments, very tight hugs and heartfelt expressions of gratitude for all the hospitalitiy we were shown. I'm all teary just thinking about it again!

Packing up the car was a bit more trouble than we expected for some reason and we left a bit late. Darryl drove us there with lightening speed and because I was so tired I didn't even care one bit! I'm usually a nervous passenger :)

We arrived with just enough time to check in, get through security (where I got frisked...YUCK) and arrive at our gate. Oh and changed ANOTHER vile and disgusting diaper of Liam's (his bum was raw by this point....ouch). The flight to Heathrow was quite bumpy and I had a very teary and panicky moment. Thankfully Keith talked me down and I was most happy to finally see London. The flight was smooth over the city and I was able to appreciate seeing London Bridge, the 'Eye' of London and a few other landmarks as we descended. Once we arrived we decided to try and find something to eat. Our body clocks were all messed up but we knew we needed something to help us get through the day! We found some smoothies and fruit and wraps in the airport and before we knew it, it was time to get to our gate again. On our way to the gate I stopped at WHS Books to get some magazines and found some massive family sized Cadbury's Double Chocolate bars. I bought several and was delighted with my 'find'!

We boarded and were sort of annoyed to find that they split up our family for seating. How dumb. So Nathan was behind us and Chad a row ahead and across from us. But we were too tired to make much of a fuss and the kids insisted they would be fine. It just meant that we were sitting with a stranger and it's more stressful that way with the baby. Oh well....we made friends with a nice English lady who was coming to visit her friends in Surrey BC and had never been to Canada before. It worked out okay. The flight was very smooth and Liam did alright. I had never felt quite so fatigued and just wanted to cry.....you know when you get to that point?! I tried to sleep but never could for more than a few moments. At least the flight attendents were superb, the food was actually very very good and the passengers were well behaved. I suppose it's all you can ask for on an international flight!

When we finally got to Vancouver I was so happy to touch down. We were home! We made it! The flight attendents just couldn't stop complimenting us on how nice our boys were and what lovely manners they had. We were most proud of them.

We got through Customs quickly, found our luggage without issue and were most happy to see my parents and brother eagerly awaiting us at arrivals. It's a nice feeling to have someone there to pick you up! My mom was bouncing up and down like a Mexican jumping bean in only a way she can :) I handed Liam over to them right away and he took one look at them and BAWLED. I guess three weeks is a long time for a baby and he was not having any part of these 'strangers'!

Chad drove back with my parents and my brother drove us home in our car. It was a fast drive with all the talking we had to do...catching up and sharing stories! It felt a bit odd to be back to driving on the right side of the road again.

Just super happy to come home to our house and climb into our beds!

We had such a good time and have made memories that will never fade. Thank you Darryl & Sinead for helping to making our dream trip a reality!

The beautiful English countryside.