We have just returned from a couple of weeks of holidaying in Northern Ireland. I love Northern Ireland. Gary, of course, loves Northern Ireland and all five children love Northern Ireland. It is familiar, friendly and fun. My incredible mother in law also strives to make it restful, relaxing and restorative. Gary and I lie in bed in the morning for as long as we want, she does all of the cooking and no sooner do we wear something it is washed, folded and back in our drawers to wear again. We are surrounded by farms, countryside, mountains and some of the most glorious beeches in the world. We feel free in so much space. One’s eye view is uncluttered and goes on for miles:
Our holiday consists of a lovely balance between spending time with family, visiting old haunts and taking the opportunity to enjoy just being together. Each time we visit home Gary’s parents arrange a family get together. Gary has four brothers and one sister and between us all we have 16 children! Family gatherings are large and noisy!
With lots of hilarity occurring when beards were bought in to challenge Uncle Tim’s:
We also squeeze as many extra visits to them all as well as friends as we can without them getting fed up with the sight of us!
We also visit our favourite beaches and of course Cheeky Chimps, a soft play area where we spent hours burning off energy during the older one’s younger days:
The rest of the time is spent enjoying being together as a family:
Which of course entails hours and hours of fun at the beach:
T dragged his father out of bed before dawn to drive him up the Slieve Gallion mountains to get photos of the sun rising:
Happy, happy sigh….we have determined to save up every penny in an attempt to visit Northern Ireland twice each year. Honestly, these are the best holidays of our lives. Thank you everyone (especially my mum-in-law, Heather), who make such an effort to welcome us and make us feel at home. None of us want to leave and we miss you all terribly.