Wednesday morning we drove Ava to Adare in County Limerick to meet up with her Aunts and Grandma for their trip back to Dublin and then home. They arrived safely back in NY on Wednesday evening.
It was lovely to meet Irene, Ann, and Juliet and we can’t thank them enough for bringing Ava to us! The whole family enjoyed Ava’s stay and we will miss her very much! Luckily, it is only 6 short weeks until we return home ourselves.
Have to go back several days for this picture. I realized that I had not posted about Mary arriving! Mary finished her second year of college on Wednesday, May 8. She then drove, with all her stuff, to NJ to stay overnight with her Mema. On Thursday, Aunt Carrie drove her to the airport for her flight to Dublin, where she arrived on Friday morning, May 10. Then she boarded a connecting flight to Kerry Airport just outside of Killarney. We picked her up there, happy, relieved, and very tired from her many-legged journey from Ohio.
The drive to Killarney was a beautiful and slightly treacherous one. Here is a panoramic view in Moll’s Gap. It is part of Killarney National Park and is called “Ladies’ View,” a reference to a historic visit by Queen Victoria and her ladies in waiting. They had a picnic here in the mountains and said it was the most beautiful view they had ever seen. Personally, I can’t imagine doing this trip in a horse and buggy!
Another view of one of the lakes in Moll’s Gap
Real imported BAGELS! Mary brought us these yummy bagels from NJ. Thanks, Mary! And sorry about all your clothes smelling like everything bagels. Sadly, the peanut butter and sunscreen she also brought were taken by security 😦 Now if only we had some pork roll! The Irish could use a little diversity in their breakfast meats.
A belated Happy Mother’s Day to everyone at home! These amazing flowers arrived unexpectedly on Tuesday morning, along with lovely cards from Bob. Thanks, honey! (Did you know that the postman delivers flowers here?)
In other news, we are knee-deep in paper! Since school is finished, Kelly and Bobby are spending lots of time practicing Origami with all our left-over paper. Bobby made the swords and Kelly (with some help from Thomas) made the paper cube.
The local area has lots of farm animals, such as donkeys, horses, sheep and cows. There are very few wild animals that we have seen, except for birds. This little guy must live in the bushes beside the house because we have seen him several times now. The little kids turned it into an impromptu science lesson and educated me on the differences between a hare and a rabbit. This one is a hare.
Brogans Across the Pond 
Awww ava had the BEST time!! My mom and sister couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful you were, and how darling the children were!! You’re SO kind and generous Jen!!
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