British Isles Adventure Day 4

We started out first day in England by driving to nearby Windsor to tour the amazing Windsor Castle. The queen considers this her real home, and it was amazing, from elaborate state rooms and great halls to suits of armor and reminders throughout of what made Great Britain great. We enjoyed the changing of the guard, then tried "pasties" for lunch before heading out into the English countryside. We climbed Beacon Hill to have a great view of Highclere Castle (of Downton Abbey fame) and Lauren rolled down the hill, then stopped at amazing Stonehenge before making it to Bath. We had fancy afternoon tea at the Jane Austen Centre, and walked through town, enjoying evening worship at the Bath Abbey and the sights and sounds. We finally made it to our fancy hotel, staying at Beechfield House, a elegant manor house that has been converted into a nice hotel. We enjoyed the grounds and finished the night with an evening tea party, hosted by our girls. A great day!

British Isles Adventure Day 3

Monday was an amazing day in Ireland! We woke up to a wonderful "Full Irish" breakfast at our quaint bed and breakfast, with scrambled duck eggs and the best bacon ever, and had fun visiting with our hostess, Eileen Murphy. From there, we went to Adare, a small village with fun lace shops and old houses. We then drove to Bunratty HeritageVillage and had a great time exploring the Irish village, preserved from the late 1800s, with shops and homes, farms and churches. We found (according to Ashley) the best ice cream ever there. We climbed the towers of the Bunratty Castle and had a nice lunch there, then made our way to Blarney. We loved the grounds of the Blarney Castle, including a chance to hold owls and falcons, then climbed to the top of the castle where Lauren and Dad were brave enough to kiss the Blarney Stone, which promises to give us the gift of eloquence. We finished the day walking around the Rock Close, a rock garden near Blarney, then drove into Cork and flew from the airport there to London Heathrow Airport. We rented another car and spent the night near the airport, ready for another exciting day on our adventures.

British Isles Adventure Day 2

Sunday was our first day in Ireland! We flew overnight from New York to Dublin and rented a car. We did an early morning driving tour through Dublin, finding cathedrals and colleges, monuments and museums, then hit the road. We drove through beautiful scenery on our way across the island to Galway. In Galway, we attended church in a small branch. Everyone was very friendly and we enjoyed being with them. From there, we continued our drive through small villages. we drove through the Burren, a national park, and through the village of Ballyvaughan, stopping to see castles and even a "fairy fort," then continued onto Doolin and the Cliffs of Moher. We hit some rain at the cliffs, but were still amazed by the scenery. We continued our drive through Limerick and into the village of Newcastle West, where we found our cute little Bed and Breakfast in an old farmhouse. We finished with dinner in a pub (more Irish diner than Irish bar). A lot of driving, but a great day!

British Isles Adventure Day 1

Our big trip to England and Ireland started with a 12 hour layover in New York City. We decided to make a day of it and had a great time in the Big Apple. We took the subway into downtown and first saw the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 Memorial, then made our way up to Times Square. The girls loved shopping, especially at the American Girl store, and seeing all the big sites there. We caught a carriage ride in Central Park and saw the Children's Books exhibits at the New York Public Library, then finished with lunch in Little Italy before hurrying back to the airport for our flight to Ireland. A busy, fun day!

BYU Fan Fest

We had a blast at the BYU Fan Fest, held just a mile away from us (we commented that we always travel to the BYU events and it's really nice to have them come to us for a change!). We played with Cosmo, posed with the cheerleaders, rubbed shoulders with Tom Holmoe, Dave Rose, Mitch Matthews, Tyler Haws and tons of other athletes from all the different sports. The kids loved it and had a great time!

Spring Break 2014

We had a great trip to California for Spring Break 2014! We stayed in Newport Beach and had a great time at the beach, going to Legoland, playing games, swimming and just having a great time. We even experienced our first earthquake (more exciting than scary!).

Snow Fun