After the madness of Queensday in the Dam it was time to pack up again and head to Dublin for 9 days (1st to 10th May). Pepe (as in granddad De Somere) and Griet brought Alina to met us and then after lunch in the sun we jumped on a plane and landed in cold, wet Ireland. As usual the taxi man, my aunt and pretty much everyone else we met remarked on how the weather had been “glorious” and the rain had “only just started” – sure sure!

Next day was Julie, my first cousin, and Kieran’s wedding, they were getting married in New Inn and the reception was down the road. We discovered that poor Alina gets carsick if she spent more then 15 mins in the car – roads not the best around there – something else she takes after her dad in Luckily it was only 13mins between the church and the reception. We also discovered Tim (well with my help) had left his suit in Kay’s. Alina looked fab in a dress her cousin Sinead bought her, so no one noticed tim really!

Luckily the rain stayed away long enough for some pics. The bride wore a classic dress that I just loved, she looked absolutely stunning. As did the bridesmaids. Kieran wasn’t looking to bad either Alina refused to sleep, there was way too much happening, so eventually I brought her upstairs…..I passed out before she did. Tim took over at 11pm and I got to go downstairs and join in the dancing. Mum and dad were jiving – they looked great. Edel, Liz, john and I took on the new inns in a kind of dance off (thanks to Dave) – of course we won! Riverdance, rock the boat and some ceile later, I was exhausted and exhilarated going to bed! Great day had by all.

Sunday night we got to Ballyhard and just relaxed. It was cold and wet and so we had the perfect excuse for sitting inside in front of the fire and doing nothing (actually poor tim was working). I love our home, especially when you’re trapped inside. It is so welcoming and in fact fosters relaxation. We lazed, chatted, ate and drank for 3 days. Mum and dad also got to have some “Alina time” for themselves.

Then we were off to Dee and Steve’s wedding in Wicklow. This time we were going sans Alina who got to hang out with her grandparents until the aunties took over for night duty. Simon and Gill took us down with them. Also going to be there was steve and lorraine, dd and niamh, hugh and ruth, feeb and michael. We were all staying, so I was really looking forward to a night away with great friends …. Friends who mostly have kids and so we don’t get to catch up enough at all. The ceremony was outside and the sun shone just long enough to let that happen, dee looked beautiful and radiantly happy. The wedding was in an old house, so you got to wander between rooms chatting to different groups. Inevitably the girls ended up talking about birthing stories, while the boys drank at the bar! It was great to catch up, great to see FeeB bounce of some walls as she headed to bed, and mostly it was great to see Dee and Steve so happy.

Final stop was to Luxury Hotel Betson, where we got to hang out with friends, be served great food and drink red wine. And of course Mayah and Alina got to play and fight over toys I love staying with Si and Gill, they make us feel so welcome, everything is so easy, and I always end up feeling recharged. On Sunday before we flew back to Barcelona, edel, kev and liz joined and we had food outside in the sunshine in Gill and Si’s – yes I admit the day was a beautiful one.

In between we also got to met Max William Fowler, the beautiful son of Claire and Martin. He is perfect.

So all in all a wonderful trip, relaxing and filled with quality time with friends and family – sure what more do you need!