Thursday in Ireland

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - it was another wonderful day in Ireland! This trip has been perfect from the moment we arrived. Our Thursday was especially spectacular :-) Martin, Grace, and I took a nice walk around Clogheen. I love hearing about memories from Martin's childhood and seeing the look on his face as he reminisces. We spent a few hours hanging out with Sharon, Tom, Michelle, and Conor. Grace is a big fan of her cousins and had a great time checking out all of their toys. Grace was particularly entertained by a megaphone toy they had. I'll post the video of her playing with it when we get home; it's hysterical :-)

We got home in time for another amazing home-cooked meal, complete with steaks, mashed potatoes, and veg! Mam and Dad are such gracious hosts, and we never go hungry when we're here. After dinner, we took a walk to a pub in Clogheen for a drink with Martin's cousin and her fiance and Caroline. Grace came along, but slept in her stroller (a.k.a. buggy) the whole time we were there.

After that, it was time for one of the things I was most excited about on this trip - seeing Michelle do her Irish dancing in the show at the community hall. The show is called Draíocht na Faille Deirge and is a show full of Irish dance and music. Words cannot even begin to describe the experience! I was blown away by the beauty of the music and talent of the dancers. It was definitely a highlight of the trip! Michelle, our niece, was the STAR of the show, and we were so proud of her! It was truly an honor to be there to see her dance. Rest assured that I'll post several videos of the show in the days to come, along with pictures of our beautiful and talented niece, Michelle!

They served scones at the show, and Grace thought the world of them. She was very entertained by the music and dancing through most of the show. I loved watching her sweet face as she looked in awe at the dancers. She literally devoured an entire scone herself, which was quite the spectacle :-) Perhaps Grace will grow up to be an Irish dancer like her cousin!