Goodbye from Ireland

This is our last post from Ireland. We are flying back on August 8th and are now packing to go home. We will continue to update the blog page when we get back to NC so family and friends from far away can see Emma grow, so be sure to keep checking back. Below are some of our more recent favorite pictures.

Emma started crawling this weekend!!! It is really exciting to see her moving across the floor! We'll try to catch her on video soon.

She is standing much better now, but makes me completely nervous, so I don't leave her side.

She loves to clap her hands!

Here is Daddy's girl supporting NC State!

She loves her xylophone.

So for now, bye-bye from Emma. (she snaps her fingers at the end of her waves)

Interesting Facts about Ireland

1. Drive on the left (this is a given, but it was hard to get used to, luckily Gus did all of the driving here)

2. No screens on windows or doors: this is a problem b/c there is no air conditioning, so the windows and doors are kept open quite often, we have had bees, flies and other bugs in the house b/c of this.

3. Water in the house functions on a pump: if you don’t know this and your pump isn’t on, you can’t take a shower (we learned this the hard way)

4. No thermostats for heat, it functions on a timer (dumb method and it would be really hot and then really cold in our apartment)

5. It rains A LOT, doesn’t get very warm and they have very long days in summer and really short days in winter. (in summer it gets bright around 4:30am and get dark around 10:30pm)

6. Different terminology: Lift=elevator, Rubbish=trash, Toilet=bathroom (that is my favorite, right to the point), Chips=french fries, Crisps=potato chips. “Cheers” is said all the time and if something is good or great then it is “Grand!”

7. Sheep are smart. Somehow they always get out of their fenced in areas and end up on the side of the road, or a golf course as we have seen.

8. Men don’t wear shirts when it gets semi-warm. No matter what age, men go topless if the weather gets close to 70 degrees. Especially our neighbor across the way. I don't think he owns any shirts!

9. Potatoes are everywhere! You will get fries with lasagna here! Also they tend to serve 2 potatoes with a meal, so you order fries with a meal and they bring you boiled potatoes as well. When I asked Emma’s doctor what to start her on for solids, he said “Potatoes”.

10. “Guinness is Good for You”: this slogan is everywhere and when you live here, Guinness is what you drink. Gus and I both really like it now and hated it before we got here. I think they brainwash you.