Sarah's 40th Birthday

Keelin baked me a gorgeous cake, decorated with pink frosting and lots of sparkles. Ryker liked the frosting too. It was a bit sweet for my taste, but the kids lapped it up. It was a lovely day. Andrew made pancakes. He and Keelin got me beautiful flowers, cards and presents. It was a pretty quiet day at home, washing the car, playing in the sprinkler (Ryker had to teach Keelin all about sprinklers!).

Howth

We love to go to Howth which is a small fishing village north of Dublin. There are lots of great shops to buy seafood, an excellent playground for the kids and very often seals (sea lions?) in the harbor. Afterwards, Andrew took Keelin to Beauty and the Beast as a surprise and I took Ryker home for a much needed nap. She wore one of the beautiful dresses from my mom, AVO.

Powerscourt

One afternoon Andrew took Ryker and I to Powerscourt which is a stately home that is now a museum. It has fabulous gardens. Wait until my mom sees this! Afterwards, we went to Johnnie Fox's for a pint of Guinness. Boy, Ryker sure does like Guinness.

Copenhagen

We went to Copenhagen for the weekend and saw my great aunt Karen whom I like very much. She is 93 and it was important to me that she meet Ryker. We had a wonderful lunch. Her cousin, Preben, and his wife, Brigette, also came. It was a beautiful day and Karen prepared a stupendous lunch (7 courses?!). Ryker spent most of his time playing in the garden. After lunch, Andrew and I went for a quick swim while Ryker napped in the stroller. When he woke up, we put him in the water too. He's a true Viking now! The previous day was absolutely pouring. We finally took shelter in Illums Bolinghus (department store) before conceding defeat and returning to the hotel for a nap.

Dublin Bay

Sunshine! Yeah!!! We had a beautiful day and took the kids out for a day - to a farmer's market, playground and swimming (well, toes in at least) in Dublin Bay. I saw a sign measuring the water temperature. 55 degrees. No thanks. Ryker met a little "doggie" (his favorite word) who jumped up and kissed him. He loved it.

Around the House

Ryker likes to copy Keelin - drinking from a sippy cup, watching DVDs on the beanbag, playing in her Princess Castle, painting the sidewalk. He also LOVES the washing machine!

Dublin Parks

Keelin, Ryker's sister, came down for a week. I took them to the park most every day. It rained most days, but we found an hour or two each day of sunshine. Even the Irish are complaining about all of the rain! Ryker still loves the swings, but he is much more adept at climbing on the jungle gym, going down the slide by himself now, etc. On the really rainy days, we've gone to the indoor gyms.

Scaling the Fish - Orient Beach

Potato Beach - Orient, NY

We found a little beach on the bayside. The water was very calm and shallow. Annika caught lots of little crabs. Avo took the kids on a walk in the marsh and there was lots of yucky black mud. Ryker took a nap in the shade holding the sock monkey that Avo got at the yard sale.

Around the House - Orient

We barbecued and made s'mores. The kids washed the cars and made rainbows with the hose. Ryker ran out to play in the rain one morning and Annika and Jonas decided that looked like fun and joined him. We played lots of hide-n-seek, tag and soccer. Annika tried to teach Ryker how to play the piano. She is very good. Everyone, including Tara, loved Ryker's cell phone.

Morning Walk - Orient

Avo, Tara, Annika, Jonas, Ryker and I went for a walk one morning. Avo found a yard sale (everything was free!) and got Ryker a sock monkey. Jonas was tired so Annika gave him a piggyback ride back to the house. It was a long way. She is very strong.