Happy Birthday to Me

My beautiful babies made me some Peppa Pig cupcakes, with a little assistance from me. But they picked it out all on their own and were eager to make them for me....well it took some convincing that it was MOMMY's Birthday and not theirs, but we got there.

I didn't take very many pictures of me on my day, but it was sure fun spending it with these two. Zoey and I spent some quality time at the mall and Brooks is always being silly!

 



 This picture was taken after midnight so please excuse the puffy eyes and drab looks on our faces, we just finished a rousing game of Apples to Apples.

 

 We went to dinner at Shimla, the local Indian hut, where the food was amazing but the service was extremely lacking to say the least. After waiting an HOUR to have our order taken we still had nothing to drink so Stephen ran to the local Spar and brought back some 2 litres of Coke.

We were at the restaurant almost 3 hours, including the 30 minutes it took to dispute the bill, sheesh.

But it was delicious so we'll probably be ordering takeout the next time.

 

 Chicken Korma, YUMMM.



Life in Ireland

So we've been here about a month now and I think we're finally settled in. We were living in the city center for two weeks when we first arrived until we decided where we wanted to be and located a nice, affordable apartment. The penthouse we were in would have been almost 3000 Euros a month, a little out of our price range. But I'm so glad we got  walk around the city for a few weeks and see and experience Dublin city life. Here are a few pictures of our adventures so far.

 

 Double decker busses aren't just for tourists, they are the city busses.

Random street with a few nice restaurants and cobblestone street. I love all the flowers all over the buildings everywhere.

 

 When I lived in England when I was younger one of my favorite memories was riding the train into the city and getting some nice hot donuts from street vendors. So I did a little research to see if they had something similar in Dublin and I found this little donut stand, so YUMMY!

 

This is St. Stephen's green in the city, just one block from where our temporary apartment was. This picture doesn't quite convey the beauty of all the plants and flowers that are so lush and gorgeous!

There are several ponds throughout the park and a very nice playground for the kiddos.

I just thought this little shop was so cute!

We stumbled upon this museum on our walk to the big ships festival one weekend. It had rows and rows of real stuffed animals in glass display cases, the kids loved it, a little creepy, but FREE entertainment.

 This is Stephen's office. It is right along the ocean inlet waterway and this was during the big ships festival, hence all the people in the streets.

 



This was our first walk through the streets of Dublin. We found a very nice outdoor shopping area known as Grafton Street, it gets very busy on sunny days, full of performers and tourists from ALL OVER the world. There is also an indoor mall just to my left.

 



We rented a car for a few days in order to get a better idea of the area we wanted to live in, but after a day of apartment hunting we decided to take a drive to the coast. We ate some delicious fish and chips walked the beaches. Our only excursion so far, but many more to come!

We are LOVING Ireland so far, the people are so fun and extremely friendly and helpful. The food is good and the shopping is GREAT! The kids are having a great time too meeting new friends and picking up new phrases, so cute! We can't wait for more adventures and visitors to share it with!

Bee Smart!

 Brooks is on his way to pre-school, I can't believe what a big boy he is!

He attends Bee Smart Montessori in Clonsilla, Ireland.

 The montessori is a building in our friend's back garden so we wait out front on the drive until they open the gate.

 Zoey had to have a pic too.

 

And they're off!

 Most kids have to be prodded by their parents to line up, but Brooks runs to the door and stands patiently in line all by himself!

 They start the day with tracing shapes to increase their proper writing skills.

,

So proud of our handsome boy!



More Partying

 The Birthday Girls!!

We celebrated a little early, but it was great to be together and have a party!

It wouldn't be a Peterson party unless EVERYONE got a gift, even if it's not your birthday.

 

 Doing a little yard work, teach 'em young.

Stephen and I had an anniversary get away at the beach!

We had a nice seafood dinner, went for a bike ride, relaxed on the beach/at the pool, went for a drive and just enjoyed each others company, just the two of us!!

 

 Court and I hanging at the zoo.

Saying "see ya later" at the port.

We sure do love spending time in NC, it really is a vacation, thank you grandmama and grandpapa!!

Love you!



Farewell Texas

 Our last few days in Texas we made sure we played outside in the sun, and I tried to captured plenty of fun memories of splashing in our little pool in our back-yard.

 LOVING my new camera!

 

 

 

Packing up the last few things, and we're off!!