Waiting for Dad, and more from my hols

Our holiday here on north coast of Northern Ireland continues.

First here is a layout of some photos from last Saturday.

Credits Kit – June Collab by Funky Playground
Template – template53 Vorschau by Lottchen
Staple – C Renee – rusty staple For Miles
Ribbon – twisty yellow ribbon by K Fredricks
Stamped Alpha – MMBStanley
Font James Fajardo

The journaling is a follows

“Last Saturday it was a glorious morning. The kids were very excited that Dad was travelling up to the cottage for the weekend They went up and down the lane many times, trying to spot his car.. Eventually even binoculars were being used in the search. Finally, about half an hour after they started looking, his black car came over the hill. With much excitement, they followed his car down the lane to the cottage. Some things are worth the wait!”

We had some friends, Matthew and Jessica (from church) to stay who are from England and Argentina, and they have only been up here once before. We enjoyed showing them some of our favourite spots – including Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, where we met up with 2 other church friends. Our own family didn’t cross the bridge to the island – our kids not old enough yet, but the other 4 adults did. It is quite safe (!) but does take a bit of nerve and a head for heights. It is best not to look down. Although it is not a massive drop, there are waves crashing on rocks below. As they say – it is not the fall you need to worry about, it is the landing! Once over the bridge, you get some amazing views of the coast-line, Rathlin Island and Scotland, but you also know that the only way back to the mainland is to return over the bridge.

There was some rain on the way back from the bridge, but in the evening we went for a walk on Runkerry Strand near Portballintrae. It was a beautiful evening, a high tide, with a lovely low sun in the sky and even a rainbow.

Sunday morning we headed to another favourite beach – Portstewart Strand. I recently bought the kids a seashore nature spotters book, so we all spent some time searching for shells, seaweed etc to identify and tick in the book. The beach is owned by the National Trust. It is possible to drive your car on the beach, and it is now a bit of a family tradition that we allow the kids to sit on Dad’s knee and steer, while he drives VERY SLOWLY. Even Sam now gets a turn, although as you can see, he struggles to see over the dashboard.

The other highlight of this week is our potty training success of Sam. I chose this week as dh is off work, and the girls are busy with CSSM and have lots to keep them entertained. It is going well, and there have been lots of successes with only a few accidents. However dh did comment that he didn’t remember it being this much work with the other 2 – I pointed out that he had been working, and I did it myself with the girls!

There was a medieval fair yesterday at Dunluce Castle – we took a picnic, and there was lots going on – jugglers, stilt walkers, musicians, sword fighting, falconry display etc etc. I even found a craft stall by a new local craft supply shop and will definitely be visiting their shop soon.

Have you checked out weeds and wildflowers design new-look site with some wonderful new stuff – they even have pics of the Creative Team – take a peek if you dare to spot Yours Truly.

I have been tagged by Kayla to provide 8 random facts about myself…

I turn 40 next month

I have lived in Northern Ireland all my life, except for one year in Bristol, SW England due to my dh’s job – it was a wonderful year, and we made some great friends, but it was good to be back too

I married by dh, despite one of his middle names being Bertram

I love the strawberry pieces in Special K Red Berries breakfast cereal

I am a bit of a hoarder, and not as tidy as by dh

I wonder how I used to spend my time before I discovered digital scrapbooking

I hate to reverse into parking spaces

I love hot air balloons – have been to 2 hot air balloon festivals, but have not (yet) been up in one.

Now I am going to tag someone I would love to find out some more random facts about as I always love to check her blog Mrs Miles

Finally – here are a few more of my favourite photos from this past week. For those who have commented/complained that I never appear in any photos – check out the last photo!