Tadhg and Sadhbh fly home

After a fantastic week and a half in Ireland, Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad flew home to Canada on Tuesday morning. Grandad came to wave them off and it was great to see him again. Sadhbh unexpectedly had a sky cot on this trip which meant a much more comfortable trip for her and mom!

Tadhg was a great traveller and spent the beginning of the trip watching the in-flight movies and solving his new puzzle book. He eventually napped for a couple of hours to arrive refreshed in Toronto. Ontario had experienced a heat wave the previous week so everyone was a bit shocked to get back to hot, humid weather after a week of rain! After a quick change into summer clothes, they found their car and headed home. It was nice to be back in their new home (especially to see the newly painted bathrooms!).

Tadhg meets some more old friends!

Monday was Tadhg and Sadhbh's last day in Ireland on this trip. Tadhg's old playgroup buddy, Lochlann, and his family had just returned from their holiday so Tadhg managed to squeeze in a final visit. Lochlann and his sister Keeley had grown so much since the last time the kid's had met up. Tadhg and Lochlann quickly renewed their friendship and were soon running around the garden playing tail tag! It was a great way to end the Irish trip.

After the visit Tadhg and Sadhbh went to bed early to prepare for the long day of travel ahead.

Tadhg goes shell hunting

On Sunday, Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad met their Irish family in Dun Laoghaire (a seaside town south of Dublin city centre). The sun continued to shine so it was a beautiful day to enjoy the seaside. Everyone met at the regular farmer's market which had lots of interesting food and oddities. Tadhg wanted to go looking for shells to bring home to his baba so everyone walked down to the beach.

Tadhg and dad wandered across the slippery rocks and small pools searching for interesting shells. Along the way they managed to spot some mussels, periwinkles, limpets, "squishy things" and tiny crabs. Tadhg had a great time and managed to gather a nice collection of Dublin shells to bring back to Canada.
Tadhg loved the cannon which points out over Dublin bay. It hasn't been fired for a long time, but Tadhg imagined he was a pirate captain firing out over the sea!
The fresh sea air brought on a hunger which required a visit to Milano's restaurant. Milano's is one of mom's favourite restaurants so it was a great opportunity to sample her favourite pizza. It was great to spend another day with Grandma, Granddad, Uncle Eddie, Auntie Maria and Kyle. Sadly it was the last such visit on this trip but Tadhg and Sadhbh hope to see their Irish family again soon.

Tadhg and Sadhbh visit a fort

On Friday the sun appeared for the first time on the holiday! Seeing an opportunity to finally enjoy some outdoor fun, Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad hopped in the car and drove to Fort Lucan with Jamie, Millie, Lewis, Auntie Sheena and Auntie Louella. The kids ran around like prison escapees and were quickly climbing ladders, sliding down slides, bouncing on trampolines, tip-toeing across high walkways, racing cars, playing crazy golf and doing all the other fun things on offer. Tadhg had a great time and really enjoyed being with his buddies Jamie and Millie.

Sadhbh's feet were a bit chilly so she tried on Tadhg's Lightning McQueen socks (which were a little bit big and didn't exactly match her pink outfit!). Everyone had a great day. It was nice to see how beautiful Ireland can be when the sun breaks through.

Tadhg and Sadhbh's play zone!

On Thursday, Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad visited with Grandma, Granddad, Uncle Eddie, Auntie Maria and Kyle once again. After lunch in the impressive Carton House golf club and hotel, everyone went to a big indoor play centre to keep out of the rain. Tadhg was excited to get into the play zone but was a bit overawed initially by the noise of hundreds of kids racing around. After gaining confidence in the under-5's play area, Tadhg was quickly on to the older kids play area and zooming down the giant slide. Tadhg had a great time and was the last one to leave. He even met another little boy called Tadhg which is unusual for him!

Sadhbh was happy to snuggle up to Grandma and once again fell asleep in her lap.

Tadhg is Batman!

On Tuesday, Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad went for a swim in the CRC pool in Clontarf where Tadhg had his first swims as a baby. It was great to be back at the pool and to see how much Tadhg has grown and how comfortable Sadhbh is in the water. After the swim, a trip into Dublin city centre was in order to sample the flavour of the city. Tadhg spotted a Batman suit in Mothercare and just had to have it. After some lengthy and complex negotiations with mom and dad, Tadhg's dream came true and he became the Dark Knight!

Tadhg loves his new superhero suit, especially the mask, and zoomed around the house defeating evil and saving the innocent. He is perfecting his superhero pose (which works equally well for Spiderman, Superman and Batman).

Tadhg meets an old friend

On Sunday, Tadhg went to his old friend Reuben's house for the day and the moms and dads were able to catch up as the boys played. Sadhbh was introduced to Reuben's new baby brother Diarmuid. The rain stayed away long enough for a trip to a local playground where the boys competed with each other on every machine!

After playtime, it was back home to Reuben's house for some birthday cake for Reuben's dad. Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad were still a bit jet-lagged so headed back to their holiday home soon after. It was great to catch up with Reuben and his family and to meet baby Diarmuid for the first time.

Sadhbh meets her Irish family

On Saturday, Sadhbh met her Irish family for the first time. Everyone was very excited to see the new arrival and to renew acquaintances with young Tadhg as well. Sadhbh slept through the introductions but was soon snuggling up to Granddad...
...and GrandMa. Tadhg and mom hadn't been in Ireland for almost a year so it was great to see everyone again. Kyle has grown so much and is now walking around and babbling away.
Tadhg was soon playing with Kyle's "big boy" toys and Kyle was amazed at his older cousin. It's a real novelty for Tadhg to be the elder cousin!
It was all a bit much for Sadhbh and she nodded off in GrandMa's arms.

Sadhbh's first trip to Ireland!

Sadhbh, Tadhg, mom and dad flew to Ireland on Thursday evening and arrived early on Friday morning. Tadhg is a seasoned traveller but it was Sadhbh's first flight. Brother and sister were great on the flight and both slept most of the way. Unfortunately, mom and dad weren't able to get much sleep so were pretty tired when they arrived in Dublin airport.

After picking up the rental car and somehow squeezing all of their stuff into it, the family drove to Jamie and Millie's house (Auntie Sheena and Auntie Lou's house!) where they were staying for the trip. Tadhg slept in the car but woke up full of beans as soon as his head touched the pillow so dad stayed up for the day while Sadhbh and mom managed a few hours of sleep. It was a long day and everyone slept well on Friday night.

Tadhg's breakfast bench

The new house is slowly starting to feel like home and on Sunday a new kitchen table, chairs and kid's bench arrived. Mom and dad put it together on Sunday evening so Tadhg was excited to see it when he came down for his breakfast on Monday morning. Tadhg loved having a long bench he could hop up on. He loved it so much he brought his superhero friends along for breakfast.

Tadhg Spiderman

Tadhg is a super big fan of Spiderman so was thrilled to try on a Spiderman mask during an expedition to Toys R Us.

Sadhbh's first swim!

Tadhg loves going to his cousins' house at any time but especially love going in the summer so he can play in the pool. Tadhg has had regular swimming lessons since arriving in Canada and is a great little swimmer. Sadhbh loves being in water for her baths but had never actually swam until mom took her for a quick dip on Tuesday. Even though it was a bit colder than her bath, Sadhbh took to the water immediately and loved splashing about with mom.
Big brother Tadhg was able to show her his swimming tricks as he played with his cousins.

Tadhg and Sadhbh enjoy the Port Dalhousie fair

Port Dalhousie hosted a fair for the Canada Day weekend with lots of rides and activities for all the family. After working on the house on Sunday morning, Tadhg, Sadhbh, mom and dad decided to wander down to Lakeside Park for the final day of the fair. Tadhg, Sadhbh and mom had already been there during the week but it was dad's first visit. Tadhg was excited about the trip and wanted to go on the Haunted House ride (mom wasn't able to bring him on this ride when she had to mind Sadhbh as well).

Tadhg wanted to go on everything when they first arrived and finally decided on the mini-rollercoaster. Tadhg went on with dad and had a great time going up and down on the small roller coaster. Even though the ride seemed to go on forever, Tadhg didn't want to get off at the end! Next was time for the Haunted House ride. Dad wasn't sure Tadhg would like it but Tadhg was adamant insisting "it's scary and I like scary things!" As soon as the car entered the Haunted House, Tadhg was very scared and dad had to cover his eyes and ears for the rest of the ride! Tadhg wasn't to keen to go back after that experience! To take his mind of it, Tadhg went on the motor bike ride and had so much fun he went on again. Then it was back on the rollercoaster. In between the rides, Tadhg won an inflatable Batman on a fishing game to add to his inflatable Superman and Spiderman which he won last time.

Mom and dad wanted to take a break and spend some time on the beach, so Tadhg was able to paddle in the water. The beach was packed with daytrippers and locals alike enjoying the warm weather. The small bay was full of boats, jet-skis and swimmers. There was a real holiday feel in the air. After splashing about, mom wanted to walk out to the lighthouse so the family took a stroll along the pier and took in the hazy Toronto skyline on the other side of the lake.

Then it was back to the fair for a couple of spins on the flying elephant ride which Tadhg loved. On the way out Tadhg wanted to play another game and showed his strength by banging a mallet to earn points for a prize. Once again Tadhg won and chose a giant inflatable sword to add to his inflatable superhero collection. After a busy and hot day, Tadhg nodded off on the walk home (Sadhbh had slept for most of the trip).

It was a great way to end the long weekend and once again mom and dad realised how lucky they are to live in such a beautiful place!